1. COMM 226 Acquiring Information Systems Through Projects
Chitu Okoli
Associate Professor in Business Technology Management
John Molson School of Business, Concordia University, Montréal

2. IT Operations and IT Projects
IT projects: acquiring and implementing new IT in the organization
A project consists of a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product, service or result
IT Operations: running and maintaining existing IT in the organization
Q3 What Should You Know About IT Operations and IT Projects?
The IT department is generally responsible for providing IT services to an organization.
There are two basic activities required to provide these services. The first is
maintaining the current IT infrastructure; the second is renewing and adapting the
infrastructure to keep IT working effectively in the future.
The delivery of service, maintenance, protection, and management of IT infrastructure
are often accomplished as part of IT operations . These services demand a
large portion of the IT department’s operational budget. Industry professionals often
refer to this as “keeping the lights on,” or KTLO.
The renewal and adaptation of IT infrastructure is normally accomplished
through projects. IT projects come in all shapes and sizes. Large IT projects are often
high-profile, high-cost changes to the status quo of the organization, and can often be
funded outside of the IT operations budget.
The distinction between operations and projects is important for several reasons.
For one, operational work and project work tend to attract two different types of IT
professionals. IT people who prefer to work in operations often want to specialize in
particular technologies. Networking specialists, operating systems specialists, database
administrators, and hardware technicians are examples of these types of positions.
These workers continually seek ways to improve the efficiency and security
of the entire set of systems that support operations. These active systems are often
referred to as production systems . Stability , predictability , accountability , reliability ,
and security are the key words in IT operations.

3. BTM 480: Project Management
Prerequisite: COMM 225 or 226 or 301. This course covers the theory, tools, and techniques associated with the management of projects including the use of project management software. Cases from various business contexts are used to illustrate essential steps in setting up project plans, scheduling work, monitoring progress, and exercising control to achieve desired results. The course integrates the Project Management Body of Knowledge with the Project Management Institute's certification requirements.

4. Some Risks Inherent in IT Projects
Lack of experience in the team
Lack of support from top management
Lack of participation from system users
Unclear and uncertain project requirements
A high level of technical complexity, and changes in the project environments
Q4 Why are IT Projects so Risky?

5. Software Development Life Cycle

6. Software Development Life Cycle
Q5 What is the SDLC?
Figure Phases in the SDLC

7. Phase 1: Defining Systems
Q5 What is the SDLC?
Figure SDLC: System Definition Phase

8. Phase 2: Requirements Analysis
Management of scope in an IT project
Determine and document specific features and functions of the new system
Approve requirements
Less expensive to change system in this phase
Q5 What is the SDLC?

9. How can Software be Acquired?
Four basic methods for acquiring software applications:
Buy it and use it as is
Buy it and customize it (most common)
Rent or lease it
Build it yourself or outsource it
Acquiring new software is NOT the same as acquiring new information systems, because there is a lot more to think about in systems than just software
Q1 How can information systems be acquired?
This is shown in Figure 11-1.

10. Technology Acceptance Model
Davis, F. D. (1989). Perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, and user acceptance of information technology. MIS Quarterly, 13(3),

11. How much FUNCTIONALITY should you implement? Perceived Usefulness
Same functionality as old system
The new system must at least be as functional as the old one
User-requested functionality
The system should add new features required by users
Analyst-suggested functionality
The system may optionally go beyond users’ expectations

12. Same functionality as old system
How much RETRAINING effort would it take users to learn to use the new system? Perceived Ease of Use
Same functionality as old system
Minimal effort, or net zero effort (takes no more effort than time and effort saved from switching from old system)
User-requested functionality
Users must feel that new retraining is worthwhile considering the benefits they have asked for
Analyst-suggested functionality
No extra retraining should be required, unless users are absolutely convinced of benefits of extended functionality

13. Phase 3: Component Design
Q6 How are information systems designed, implemented, and maintained?
Figure SDLC: Component Design Phase

14. Phase 4: Implementation
Q6 How are information systems designed, implemented, and maintained?
Figure SDLC: Implementation Phase

15. System Conversion strategies
(b) Plunge

17. Phase 5: Maintenance
Q6 How are information systems designed, implemented, and maintained?
Figure SDLC: System Maintenance Phase

18. Problems With SDLC SDLC waterfall
Phases are not supposed to be repeated
Often teams have need to repeat requirements and/or design phases
Difficulty in documenting requirements
Analysis paralysis or uncertain requirements
Scheduling and budget difficulties
Multiyear projects difficult to properly schedule
Estimations on labour often produce insufficient budgets
Q6 How are information systems designed, implemented, and maintained?

23. Some Alternatives to Building Systems Yourself

24. What is outsourcing and what are Application Service Providers?
Outsourcing is the process of hiring another organization to perform a service
The outsourced vendor can be domestic or international
Offshoring is when vendor is overseas (e.g., China, India, and Russia)
Application service providers (ASPs, online services) are a special form of outsourcing
Q7 What is outsourcing, and what are application service providers?
Outsourcing is the process of hiring another organization to perform a service. Just
about any business activity in the value chain can be outsourced, from marketing and
sales to logistics, manufacturing, or customer service. The outsourced vendor can
be domestic or international. When a vendor is overseas, outsourcing is referred to
as offshoring . Offshoring has become an important consideration for IT services.
Offshoring experience has shown that establishing clear requirements is the key to
providing success in an offshoring agreement.

25. Outsourcing An easy way to gain expertise Concern cost reductions
To reduce development risk
Q7 What is outsourcing, and what are application service providers?
Many companies today have chosen to outsource portions of their information
systems activities. Why? First, outsourcing can be an easy way to gain expertise. Suppose,
for example, that an organization wants to upgrade its thousands of user computers
on a cost-effective basis. To do so, the organization would need to develop
expertise in automated software installation, unattended installations, remote support,
and other measures that can be used to improve the efficiency of software management.
Developing such expertise is expensive, and is not part of the company’s
strategic direction. Consequently, the organization might choose to hire a specialist
company to perform this service.
Other common reasons for choosing to outsource concern cost reductions.
Skilled programmers in other countries, such as China, India, and Russia, make as
little as one-sixth the wage of an experienced programmer in North America. Even
without this wage difference, organizations can obtain part-time services with outsourcing.
An office of 25 lawyers does not need a full-time network administrator. It
does need network administration, but only in small amounts. By outsourcing that
function, the office can obtain network administration services only when it needs it.
Another reason for outsourcing might be to reduce development risk. Outsourcing
can cap financial risk by setting specific prices on components of the system. In
addition, outsourcing can reduce risk by ensuring a certain level of quality or avoiding
the risk of having substandard quality. Organizations also choose to outsource
IS activities to reduce implementation risk. Hiring an outside vendor can reduce the
risk of picking the wrong hardware or the wrong software, using the wrong network
protocol, or implementing incorrectly.

26. Application Service Providers
Usually Software as a Service (SaaS)
ASP agreement
Organization contracts with a vendor to “rent” applications from the vendor company on a fee-for-service basis
Vendor maintains the system at its own web location and the client organization accesses the application on the vendor’s website
Payments
Monthly or yearly
Based on number of employees or “users”
Q7 What is outsourcing, and what are application service providers?

27. Sources
Most of the slides are adapted from COMM 226 Business Technology Management by David M. Kroenke, Andrew Gemino, Peter Tingling, and Earl H. McKinney, Jr. 2nd Custom Edition for Concordia University (2014) published by Pearson Canada. ISBN 13:
Other sources are noted on the slides themselves