SUMMARY

The Critical Factors for Information Technology Investment Success is a modern, leading edge discussion on the factors that give rise to information technology, strategic planning and business optimisation failure and how to design solutions against failure.

Coverage includes chapters on the attributes that constitute a world class solution, factors that give rise to failure, the critical factors for a successful solution and a discussion of various other principles necessary for a successful outcome.

There is a detailed discussion of the manner in which data validation tables and associated codes represent the critical interface between knowledge of the business and the technology. This is vital for success and is the solution to the syndrome of executives spending millions on new information technology investments only to find they cannot obtain the information they require.

Other chapters discuss a business outcomes based approach to software procurement and outline a structured approach to corporate strategic analysis and design of corporate strategic plans.

Lawrence Borok, CEO of Vantage Point Healthcare Information Systems, Inc. has this to say about this book:

"The great service of this book is that now a knowledgeable and experienced engineer is educating his software engineering colleagues and business executives about the tried-and-true principles and specific steps to construct or procure and implement systems - in this case information - that succeed."

James Robertson is CEO of James A Robertson and Associates a consulting company specialising in the strategic and successful application of information technology. He has diverse experience in engineering, mine design, investment economics and military leadership. He has over twenty three years experience in the effective application of information technology in business.

Dr Robertson has spoken at numerous conferences internationally and has been listed in Who's Who in the World for four consecutive years as well as in Great Minds of the 21^st Century and 2000 Outstanding Intellectuals of the 21^st Century as well as other accolades.

The Graphic on the Cover is based on the Strategy - Tactics Matrix of Professor Malcolm McDonald, used with permission.

Review in The Financial Mail
The book was reviewed by Duncan McLeod on page 33 of the 5 March, 2004 edition of "The Financial Mail"

fmmail@bdfm.co.za

CONTENTS OF THIS WEB PAGE

Summary

Overview of the Book

Forward

Preface

. About the Author

. About the Book

. Acknowledgements

Chapter 1: The Context of Information Technology Business Solutions - An Industry Characterized By Failure

Chapter 34: Wrapping Up

Table of Contents

Index

Pricing and Ordering

OVERVIEW OF THE BOOK

The Critical Factors in Information Technology Investment Success recognizes the extremely high level of Information Technology Investment failure, catalogues the causes of failure and presents a structured approach to avoid failure.

Compelling messages the book contains include:

Only ten percent of Information Technology investments meet or exceed the original business requirement and seventy percent of projects fail totally. Only ten percent of Strategic Plans succeed. Seventy percent of Business Process Re-engineering projects fail.

This book explains why.

Information Technology, Business Strategy and Business Process Re-engineering are all facets of one composite field of business improvement which require an integrated holistic approach to achieve results

Information Technology is not about technology, it is about people.

A clear understanding of the strategic driver of the business is one of the most critical factors that determines Information Technology Investment success.

Highly structured validation data and codes in a comprehensive data model represents one of the biggest opportunities for businesses to secure real benefit using Information Technology.

This book confronts probably the single most challenging topic confronting business management today - how to apply Strategic Planning, Business Optimization and Information Technology to support business effectively, strategically and sustainably.

Top of Page

To obtain a new perspective on the effective application of information technology, ORDER NOW

FORWARD

I've seen and worked on many software projects over the past twenty years, and rarely have results equalled expectations. These projects were at some of the largest corporations in the United States, and ranged across such industries as banking, mutual funds, insurance, entertainment, healthcare, as well as government. While some were massive in scale, truly "enterprise-wide" undertakings, others were more modest, focussed on improving workflow in a single department. But what they all had in common was a significant gap between what was promised and what was delivered. In the research field there is a concept known as "gap analysis," but rarely has this concept been applied to information technology, specifically software engineering for business. This book performs gap analysis on the subject of why most information technology systems fail.

I've known James Robertson since 1999, when he contacted my company to submit a proposal to a healthcare organization he was helping at the time. We did submit, and got as far as making a presentation to the Board, but alas, the organization was acquired by a large insurance company shortly thereafter and the project was stillborn. But having gone through the gauntlet of his evaluation process, I can attest to his investigative thoroughness. More than that, I experienced firsthand his relentless (and good humoured) probing to understand the structural underpinnings of our system. His perspective was unique, able to be systematic in the strict engineering sense and also analytical about the system's ability to fulfill the needs and capabilities of the business it was supposed to serve. Many engineers don't have a good grasp of business; James is one of the few who not only has a good grasp of business, he understands business.

Information technology professionals sometime forget that the reason that IT systems are designed and built is because they help people and businesses accomplish things. In other words, without the "users" that many in IT have a condescending attitude towards, they would be out of a job. This book begins by pointing out that the vast majority of new systems are considered failures by the companies which had them built, something which should be very humbling to the software developers. But rather than romanticize about human usability design, James patiently explains proven techniques and lays out detailed sequences of tasks commonly found in other engineering fields, to software engineering.

This is perhaps the first book on the subject of software engineering to discuss how to avoid building a system that fails. James takes many classic engineering techniques, such as having a laboratory and performing extensive testing, that goes far beyond the typical QA team found in most software organizations. Another is his belief in the preparation of extremely detailed written specifications, so that, as he puts it, "Software construction is then a matter of advanced 'cabinet making' working exactly to the 'drawings'." In other words, just as any building is constructed from a set of blue prints, so should software.

The book also makes many critical points either overlooked or not well understood by software developers, such as the necessity of designing the data structures before the process logic. As someone who has designed and built software, I can attest to the wisdom of this point. Computer programmers can't wait to start "screen painting," and often the data structures are an afterthought. The result is that their works of art can't reach all of the data needed to fill them completely, so they have to go back to the drawing board.

This last point goes to something deeper, namely that software must be designed based on a solid understanding of the business that it addresses. Somehow this understanding must be embodied in the data structures. Only then can the sizzle-the screens and plethora of features and functions-truly make life easier for the people who must get their work done every day with the system that we built.

Throughout the book the architecture / engineering / construction model is mapped onto the software development life cycle. The strength of this book is how completely it maps the ways in which engineering projects must be organized and managed-no one wants to have a bridge collapse-to software construction. While many software companies and IT departments in corporations do implement some of these concepts, usually they are applied in a fragmentary way.

Although many in the software industry use some of the same terms, very few actually have studied their origins and understand their full meaning. The great service of this book is that now a knowledgeable and experienced engineer is educating his software engineering colleagues and business executives about the tried-and-true principles and specific steps to construct or procure and implement systems - in this case information - that succeed.

Lawrence Borok, CEO

Vantage Point Healthcare Information Systems, Inc.

New Milford, Connecticut, USA

lborok@vantagepointinc.com

Top of Page

To obtain a new perspective on the effective application of information technology, ORDER NOW

PREFACE

Seventy percent of all business information technology investments fail totally. A further twenty percent fail to meet the business requirement. It is reported that ninety five percent (nineteen out of twenty) of all enterprise resource planning investments do not deliver what is promised. Ninety percent of strategic plans fail. Seventy percent of business process re-engineering projects fail.

The business solutions industry, as mature as it seems, is surely an industry characterised by failure.

There is clearly a need for a robust approach to designing failure out of what is undertaken whether strategic plans, business optimization programmes or information technology investments.

I have been involved in the strategic application of computer systems in business for over twenty years and in the development of effective business strategies for over ten years.

In the early years of my experience I undertook a number of projects which were notable successes and which created real competitive advantage for the organizations for which the information systems concerned were developed.

Subsequently, I started to consult in the field of effective application of computer systems in business. As time progressed I experienced some successes but also failures. My training is in Civil Engineering and I have BSc and PhD degrees in that field as well as practical experience. In addition, I have been designing and building things since childhood. Most of them have worked and worked well.

My first experiences of sub-optimal information system projects were challenging and traumatic, I was not accustomed to failure. In fact, my whole engineering training had trained me to expect success by designing against failure. The whole discipline of engineering is about designing failure out of solutions.

Without really consciously deciding to do so, the moment that I experienced failure in information technology projects I started to examine the projects in detail in order to understand what had caused failure so that I could design failure out of subsequent projects.

This investigation took me into a diversity of fields. Early on it became apparent that there was a vital requirement for the alignment of business information systems with strategy and consequently I started to explore the field of strategy development. I rapidly found that there was an absence of rigorous comprehensive methods for strategy development and implementation and started to undertake research and development in this field.

I also soon came to discover the widely reported ninety percent failure rate for business strategic plans.

As I continued to gain experience and continued to experience a mixture of success and failure, I came also to recognize the enormous impact of so-called soft issues or people issues on implementation failure. In gaining understanding of this I came to understand the close correlation between information system implementation and organizational redesign. If the system is effective it will have an impact on the structure of the organization.

Progressively I came to understand that the three fields, business strategy, organizational design and business information system development, procurement and implementation were all different facets of the same field of organizational improvement and could not be considered in isolation. They are all interlinked and interact in a complex manner.

As this journey of discovery continued I found increasing evidence that the factors giving rise to strategy failure were the same factors giving rise to information technology investment failure and were the same factors giving rise to business optimization failure.

As this understanding and experience increased I developed an ever increasing catalogue of factors giving rise to failure. I also found myself speaking at conferences in various locations around the world on these subjects. Subsequently, I received international recognition through Who's Who in the World, Who's Who in Science and Engineering and a number of other accolades.

I continued to undertake projects and continued to find that sometimes things went well and sometimes things did not go so well. As this happened, the catalogue of factors contributing to failure grew and, at the same time, the experience of the things that worked to prevent failure also grew.

Because the experience evolved in what one might term an "organic" fashion the body of knowledge was initially relatively unstructured.

More recently I started to analyse the data that I had acquired. This was done using the critical issues strategic analysis process which is discussed in chapter 33, to analyse this body of data and bring greater structure to it. At the same time I gained even greater insight into what was required to design failure out of strategic solution programmes, be they information technology, business strategy or business optimization.

In doing this I became absolutely convinced that the only way to avoid failure was to regard all three of these aspects as different components of a total solution and to design solutions that incorporate all these facets.

This book represents the culmination of these years of experience and on-the-job practical research, learning and development.

It sets out to make visible the factors that give rise to failure. It outlines the factors that are necessary for success and it offers an overall approach to design failure out of strategic business solutions.

The book is written with particular emphasis on major corporate strategic information technology investments since these represent one of the greatest untapped opportunities and greatest challenges of the years ahead. In presenting the thesis around this dimension the book also addresses the full inter-relationship with strategy and business optimization.

In fact, I would go so far as to suggest that it is very difficult today for any organization to take radical new measures to create sustainable competitive advantage. To create sustainable competitive advantage requires a holistic plan of action that includes information systems and business optimization in support of business strategy in the manner presented in this book.

Top of Page

To obtain a new perspective on the effective application of information technology, ORDER NOW

About the Author

Dr James Robertson has BSc and PhD degrees in Civil Engineering.

Dr Robertson has been exposed to the use of computers since the days of the card punch and typewriter terminal. He was also actively involved in the practical application of the first desk top personal computers. He has been actively involved in the practical application of computers in business for over twenty three years.

His experience includes a five year postgraduate materials science research project. During this project he used computers to analyse the stability and forces in large dams and to process over seven thousand pages of laboratory data. This included the development of graphics software for plotting complex graphs of the research results. In the process he researched information cataloguing techniques and developed a complex information cataloguing scheme. He received a major national award for the resulting doctoral thesis and travelled internationally as part of the award.

He then joined a firm of international investment consultants. He computerized this business and developed first principles computerised economic models of major corporations listed on the stock exchange. He also developed a database and flexible reporting application to allow rapid production of presentation quality reports for clients. In the first year these developments allowed the firm to increase it's client base and double it's turnover. During the four years that he was with this firm he also studied the global economy and commodity markets and gained a solid grounding in economics.

While with this firm he was also involved in consulting to clients in terms of the application of the results produced by the computerised analysis. This resulted in him travelling internationally and meeting with clients which included the senior vice presidents of major international banks. He continued to service this organization as a client for a further seven years.

This was followed by four years with an international civil engineering and mining engineering consulting firm. Experience included the use of computers for ore body modelling, mine design, slope stability analysis and processing of laboratory data.

At the same time, Dr Robertson architected and lead a project to migrate the organization from a large mini-computer installation to one of the earliest personal computer networks. This project included the specification, development and implementation of a fully integrated enterprise resource planning system for the firm. This system is still in use over sixteen years later. He also initiated a programme to place a computer on every engineer's desk with incentives to encourage high levels of literacy, including touch typing skills. He also managed a team of technical programmers.

After this Dr Robertson entered private practice consulting on the effective application of computers in business. Early assignments included the evolution and implementation of the enterprise resource planning system developed for his previous employers for other clients. Other projects included strategic marketing planning, systems audits and specifications and the development of a risk management system.

Concurrently with the above activities, for a period of over twelve years Dr Robertson was involved in the part time military with a military engineering regiment. For about six years he served as administrative officer with full responsibility for administration and human resources management, learning much about these fields in the process. Responsibilities included the supervision of the operation of a computerised records system and much was learned about the challenges of maintaining computerized records for large organizations.

Subsequently, he was appointed as officer commanding with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel and served in this capacity for four years. During this period he attended all the necessary training courses which gave an excellent grounding in results orientated, high efficiency tactical and strategic planning up to the Brigade level (approximately 7,000 men plus machines). He gained much useful experience in the leadership and management of large numbers of personnel during this time.

After four years consulting on his own, Dr Robertson merged his firm with two others, a specialist software development firm and a decision support systems firm with a view to establishing a one stop solution shop. Dr Robertson served as chief executive. A diversity of projects in all three fields were undertaken and Dr Robertson spoke widely at international conferences during this period. Projects included a highly sophisticated loss information management system, an information technology strategic plan for a major corporation and a wide diversity of other projects.

After four years Dr Robertson returned to consulting full time for his own account and has been doing this for seven years at the time of writing. Projects have included development of strategic plans for a diversity of clients, implementation of a national crime prevention strategy, architecting and managing the acquisition of a comprehensive enterprise resource planning solution for a large primary healthcare provider network and a wide diversity of other projects.

As a consequence of this diverse experience over so many years, Dr Robertson brings substantial knowledge and experience to the writing of this book. During this period he has systematically sought to bring the disciplines of the engineering industry to the development of effective strategic solutions in business. The great diversity of experience outlined above ensures that this book draws on diverse fields in order to propose solutions that are distinctly out of the box of conventional thinking about information technology and strategy and which offer the potential for solutions that really work.

Dr Robertson has spoken at over fifty conferences internationally and authored many white papers on subjects relating to the subject of this book. This professional background of diverse experience and practical thinking in and around the fields of effective strategic business solution development and effective information technology project development and implementation all underpin the work on which this book is based.

Dr Robertson has been listed in Who's Who in Science and Engineering, Who's Who in the World (four years running), Great Minds of the Twenty First Century, Two Thousand Outstanding Intellectuals of the Twenty First Century and the Contemporary Who's Who.

This book represents a summation of the thinking that has lead to these accolades.

Top of Page

To obtain a new perspective on the effective application of information technology, ORDER NOW

About the Book

This book offers a sobering, challenging and stimulating look at the practical issues of effective strategic business solution investment against the backdrop of the professional achievements of the author.

One of the vital characteristics of engineering is summed up by the statement "engineers do not design bridges to stand up, they design bridges not to fall down". This translates to something the author calls "design for success by engineering against failure".

This principle is one of the threads that runs through this book -- what causes strategic business solution investments to fail and how to design failure out of the solution.

The book includes a comprehensive review of the factors that give rise to failure of strategic business solution and information technology investments.

It addresses subjects such as information technology mythology and lack of executive custody as two factors that contribute substantially to the failure of projects.

Lack of strategic alignment is also identified as a major factor giving rise to investment failure and is discussed at length together with some principles for identifying what strategic alignment is and how it is achieved.

An engineering approach to projects of this nature is presented and forms a thread that runs through the entire book.

Part 3 of the book provides a comprehensive introduction to the principles that the author advocates for developing projects and programmes that are designed not to fail and therefore to succeed.

The book ties together a diversity of established knowledge together with innovative, practical suggestions as to how successful projects and programmes can be achieved drawing on the construction industry metaphor.

A diversity of physical world examples are used to bring practical context to many of the issues facing organizations investing in strategic programmes, strategic information technology or managing existing investments. One of the lessons that is derived from these parallels is that if the parallels were effectively applied a large proportion of projects which fail would never be undertaken since there is frequently no real business case and the real cost of a successful investment far exceeds the expected benefits.

It is hoped that this book will contribute to a swing away from failure and contribute to a situation where the situation will be reversed. A situation where registered professional business solution engineers will deliver outcomes where more than ninety five percent of all strategic business solutions and strategic information system investments meet or exceed the specified requirement. The opposite of the present situation.

Top of Page

To obtain a new perspective on the effective application of information technology, ORDER NOW

Acknowledgements

I would like to acknowledge all the people who through their knowledge and wisdom have played a role in bringing me to the point where I could write this book. I would particularly like to acknowledge:

-- Professor Milton Harr for teaching me to apply lessons in one industry, profession or speciality to solve problems in another.

- Professor Malcolm McDonald for his definitions of strategy and marketing that have profoundly influenced my outlook on these subjects.

- Ettienne du Preez for his friendship and technical excellence that proved that my concepts and ideas could be successfully applied in custom developed business software.

I would also like to acknowledge my numerous clients with whom and through whom I have gained the experience on which this book is based. Also my many business associates and friends who through the years have provided their input, comments and wisdom in diverse ways that have contributed understanding and insight which have made this book possible.

Dr James Robertson PrEng

Top of Page

To obtain a new perspective on the effective application of information technology, ORDER NOW

CHAPTER 1: THE CONTEXT OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY BUSINESS SOLUTIONS: AN INDUSTRY CHARACTERISED BY FAILURE

For nearly a decade I have been aware of statistics which indicate that seventy percent of all business information technology investments fail to deliver anything whatsoever.

These statistics first came to my attention when I was lecturing a master of business administration programme and undertook a poll of the students. These students represented middle to senior management of major corporations and were therefore considered to be a useful indicator of overall performance. The result of the poll indicated that the management of seventy percent of the corporations represented on that course were dissatisfied with their information technology investments and considered that they were not meeting their requirements.

I subsequently encountered a report which indicated that out of an estimated three trillion United States dollars invested in information technology worldwide by 1995, two trillion had failed to produce anything that worked.

As time progressed, I encountered other reports and quoted the statistics in a number of presentations to conferences internationally relating to the theme of this book.

Consistently I found that the figure of seventy percent total failure was supported. The only real surprises came from people who challenged the numbers as being too low and stated that the failure rate was much higher than seventy percent.

Recently I encountered an article which made the statement "it is estimated that as many as 19 out of 20 enterprise resource planning system implementations do not deliver what is promised" (McLeod 2003). Given that enterprise resource planning (E.R.P.) systems are supposedly the flagships of corporate information technology today, this statistic is a damning confirmation of the severity of the problem.

Parallel with these findings I encountered statistics that indicated that seventy percent of all business process re-engineering (B.P.R.) projects fail totally and that ninety percent of all strategic plans fail. Progressively I came to realise that the factors contributing to the failure of these projects were the same as for information technology projects and that, in fact, all three types of projects were simply facets of one family of organizational improvement projects.

While I was acquiring this data I was undertaking my own projects as a consultant and experiencing great success in some cases and disconcerting failure in others.

I also undertook the development of an information technology strategy for a major government agency. This was undertaken using a market focussed approach in terms of which the middle, senior and executive management of the organization were surveyed in a series of workshops.

It was found that the information technology shop of this agency could justly claim to have world class technology and methodology in terms of the equipment in use and the systems development life cycle being employed. However, they only achieved a rating of 42% in terms of what management of that organization considered to be really important with regard to the use of information technology in support of the business of the organization.

As I gained this experience I found myself constantly analysing the causes of failure, developing a catalogue of factors to watch out for. I also developed my own approaches to overcoming the causes of failure. Sometimes I made use of established methodologies from other disciplines but frequently I found that there were no formal methodologies to overcome these factors.

In the process of acquiring information about failure I started to develop an approach to projects which was designed to eliminate failure. Of necessity this meant that I spent a considerable amount of my time investigating causes of failure and potential causes of failure. In doing this, I found that people as a whole were not receptive to this focus on failure - seemingly a positive outlook was a vital requirement for a successful project and looking for causes of failure was not well received.

Initially I wrestled with the approach I was adopting versus the criticism I was receiving. In doing this I reviewed my experience as an engineer, both as an undergraduate and as a practising professional engineer in the field of engineering geotechnics with particular emphasis on mine design and hazard management.

I soon realized that my whole training as an engineer was focussed on understanding the factors that could give rise to failure so that failure could be designed out of the solution.

Engineers are trained from the beginning of their undergraduate careers to design failure out of their solutions. They work with factors of safety against failure and, as they become more advanced, may work with probability of failure. All the time they are seeking to systematically analyse every part of the design against failure in order to make sure that failure does not happen within acceptable parameters.

For example, in the case of a bridge, earthquake forces are investigated and the bridge is designed against design levels of earthquake. Wind forces are investigated and the bridge is designed against design levels of wind force. Boreholes are drilled in the abutments and geologists meticulously examine the rock in the abutments for potential failure planes and zones of weakness, the abutments may well be reinforced as a result.

Engineers investigate overload conditions and design against overload. During construction, actions to prevent failure are ongoing, for example, concrete cylinders or cubes for strength testing and quality control are taken from every batch of concrete, carefully cured and tested. All this is done in conjunction with national and international standards, policy statements, etc which have developed over the years as engineers have experienced failure and sought to prevent recurrence.

In practice, the only way that engineers can cost-effectively design any structure not to fall down, is by designing similar types of structure repetitively. They thus attain a level of knowledge and experience which enables them to design and build whatever structures they specialize in, quickly, efficiently and cost-effectively.

I progressively recognized the extent to which my professional training had prepared me to instinctively seek to understand the causes of failure of information technology projects in order to prevent a recurrence of failure. I also came to understand that the information technology industry as a whole does not think this way. It seems that there are those who are firmly convinced that just because they can describe a system in loose and unstructured business language they can build what they specify and it will work and deliver specified business benefit. In practice many systems only work because one or two individuals who seemingly have an intuitive feel for what is really required work long hours, often on a trial and error basis, to deliver solutions that work. As indicated above, the majority of such systems never deliver.

1.1 The Business Context of Information Technology

The business context of information technology is frequently hands-off. Information technology professionals are not well regarded and frequently business executives do not take information technology seriously or else regard it as a necessary evil. Failures are almost taken for granted and frequently written off casually.

Correspondingly, information technology investment decisions frequently seem to be taken on a basis that does not soundly reflect a business case and decisions are often reversed at short notice if the slightest adversity is experienced.

Many business executives use "I'm not computer literate" as a sort of apology with which they prefix any discussion of information technology and then abdicate responsibility to others who are supposedly "literate" and are therefore in some manner better equipped to take decisions. This despite the fact that these other "better equipped" individuals do not have any knowledge of the corporate strategic view and therefore are handicapped in formulating solutions that have serious potential to work effectively.

In considering the overall business context of information technology in recent decades, it is important to recognize that twenty years ago and even ten years ago the technology was evolving fairly rapidly. Increasingly business was faced with technology options that a few years previously had not be available at all or had not been cost-effectively available.

Today that has changed. All the technology components necessary for effective and efficient solutions for the average business are readily available at costs that put them within the range of most corporations which have a real business case for them. The technology is not cheap and, as you will see later in this book, the real cost of the technology is very substantial relative to the visible costs of direct technical components.

However, there is a legacy mind set to the effect that information technology is changing so rapidly that it is not possible to keep up. This is fed by an information technology industry marketing machine that has generated great wealth out of generating fear of being left behind.

However, as evidenced by the year 2000 (Y2K) situation, the ethics of this marketing machine and the industry that it serves leave much to be desired.

Another aspect of the current business context of information technology is the tendency to seek quick fixes. Most businesses are largely focussed on their quarterly results and investments are made with a short-term focus. This is giving rise to other ailments in the business environment which have nothing to do with information technology.

The reality is that a long-term strategic focus is an essential component of long-term business profitability and this long-term focus is perhaps more necessary in the field of information technology than in any other aspect of business endeavour. The fact is that really effective business information system investments take a long time to develop and implement and even longer to deliver a real payback, IF they deliver any payback at all.

Professor Michael Porter, speaking on the subject of global competitive strategy made the statement that the world is "coming through an era where (there has been) a lot of confusion". He went on to say that "many ideas may prove not to be robust" and that "the more we learn of the last 5 to 10 years - (they were) not nearly as good as it seems" (Porter 2003).

Porter goes on to refer to "the myth of rapid change". He states that the "perception is that things are changing so fast" but that the "reality is that key measures persist for decades". He states that "profitability profiles of major players in the semi-conductor and airline industries have been stable over a decade". He attributes this to competitive advantage held by these major players (Porter 2003).

1.2 The Challenge for Information Technology Today

As I gained understanding of these issues, it became increasingly apparent that the challenge for information technology was to get the right information, to the right people, at the right time and in the right place in order to make the right decision. The last piece, in order to make the right decision, is profoundly important.

Frequently information systems are designed to deliver the available information, not the information that will result in effective strategic decision-making. This is an essential distinction and one that is lost in most information technology projects.

This should be seen in terms of current economic trends which in turn should be assessed relative to historical differentiators.

In the 1960's the big challenge for business in the boom years was whether they could produce enough to satisfy demand.

In the 1970's the challenge became whether they could sell all that they could produce.

In the 1980's issues of finance and costing became critical. Principles like activity based costing, just in time, etc were in favour.

By the 1990's and 2000's business was confronted with excess supply and business conditions which meant that no single division could solve the business challenges. It was essential that the production, sales and financial challenges of prior decades were fully catered for and this remains the case today.

It should be taken as a given that in designing and implementing any major integrated business information system today that it must provide efficient and effective facilities for managing production, sales, costs and all related operational aspects. It should not be necessary to specify this, it should be taken as a given. Yet, frequently, system implementations are sub-optimal in some or all of these aspects and really effective support and functionality relating to some or all of these factors is lacking or absent.

Real support for activity based costing is, in it's own right, a challenge. Very few major system implementations apply technology to effectively manage activity based costing as a routine component of the design and implementation of the financial components of the systems deployed.

In considering these aspects it is important to recognize that a boom similar to that of the 1960's and 1970's is highly unlikely. From this it can be concluded that strategic issues are vital. Further consideration indicates that this requires effective application of information technology and implies a holistic, integrated business approach including effective information technology

Information technology is not an end in itself. It is part of a holistic, integrated view of business which is strategically focussed and ensures that the business organization is effectively optimized and supported by effective information technology in support of strategic and operational objectives.

Further examination of the key differentiators in today indicates that market focussed strategy, effective utilization of the human resource and effective management decision-making are key differentiators in the decades ahead. All of these aspects require the effective application of information technology to fully support the business in achieving it's full potential in terms of differentiation in these areas.

The application of information technology in these areas is not necessarily textbook application of the technology, it is the application of the technology in a strategic manner which makes use of not just hard information but also soft information. Something that very few organizations really address.

This integrated, holistic view of information technology in support of the right business strategies and tactics requires information to make the right decisions at a diversity of levels in the business. This strategic and tactical deployment of information technology to address every facet of business in a holistic, integrated manner represents one of the biggest opportunities facing business today and is addressed in more detail in the chapters that follow.

Porter states "the essence of strategy is integration - the ability to see in a complex holistic way" (Porter 2003)

A comprehensively integrated business information solution is a necessary requirement for a holistic, integrated globally competitive business in other words a world class solution.

The next chapter (not on this web site) explains what I consider to be the attributes of a world class solution.

Top of Page

To obtain a new perspective on the effective application of information technology, ORDER NOW

CHAPTER 36: WRAPPING UP

In formulating an approach to effective strategic business solutions this book has looked at the shocking statistics that ninety percent of information technology projects under deliver and seventy percent fail totally. Ninety percent of strategic plans fail totally and seventy percent of business process re-engineering projects fail.

In other words, despite billions of dollars spent in each of these areas over the past few decades, failure is at epidemic proportions.

36.1 World Class Capability

Chapter 2 discussed at what a world class business information solution would look like and identified that an essential component of this solution was a world class strategic capability which enabled the corporation to achieve sustainable competitive advantage using information.

This began to establish the close correlation between information technology and strategy as two components of business effectiveness rather than as unrelated issues.

Chapter 3 discussed at the benefits of this approach and in chapter 4 examined the alternative scenarios that are available to most organizations with regard to the effective strategic application of information technology.

36.2 Causes of Failure

Part 2 examined in some detail the factors that give rise to the ninety percent information technology underperformance statistic and stressed that these factors were frequently the same factors that give rise to the failure of strategic plans and the failure of business optimization projects.

Issues of information technology mythology, lack of executive custody, policies, lack of strategic alignment, lack of an engineering approach, lack of data engineering, people and soft issues and technology issues are addressed.

Particular emphasis is placed on the need for an engineering approach. This is an approach that is geared to designing for success by engineering against failure. It recognizes that systematic, meticulous disciplines are the essence of the way in which engineering has reached the high standards of success that are taken for granted today.

The importance of a systematic, rigorous approach to data content, referred to as "data engineering" is also stressed and explained.

36.3 Achieving Success

Having established that engineers do not design bridges to stand up, but rather they design them not to fall down this book has presented a case for a robustly different approach to information technology, strategy and business optimization projects.

Part 3 outlines the requirements for such a radically different approach starting with a set of critical principles for success. This is followed by the definition of the critical stages for a project or programme for success, the critical factors for success, the critical technology components and the critical human foundation for success.

This last point, the human foundation, makes visible some of the key factors that give rise to failure and how they should be taken into account in designing for success. The net result of part 3 is a framework against which successful solutions can be designed.

36.4 Programme Design to Achieve Success

Part 4 provides detailed analysis of the components of a large successful strategic information technology programme.

Most of these components happen also to be what is required for a successful strategic programme or a successful business optimization programme. However, it is proposed that none of these in isolation represents a valid programme for any business in the real world.

Significant information technology investment cannot be undertaken without effective business strategic planning and business optimization. Business strategic planning cannot be undertaken without an undergirding of effective information technology and business optimization. Business optimization cannot be undertaken unless effectively undergirded by effective business strategy and strategic information technology.

Ultimately the business must end up in the place that is determined by the strategy, it must be organized and optimized to operate effectively in that future condition and it requires the right information at the right place at the right time in order to make the right business decisions. Effective information systems are an essential part of the solution.

Thus, in looking at effective strategic business solutions, one encounters a requirement for a comprehensive, holistic, integrated approach to developing and implementing solutions which is materially different from many of the approaches applied today.

Part 4 also outlines the basic staff complement required for a typical programme based on a design developed for a real world client.

36.5 Business and Strategic Issues

Part 5 wraps up with a range of specific chapters dealing with issues that require attention in order to complete the picture.

This part includes a detailed discussion of a governance model for managing large strategic business solution programmes such as those discussed in this book, it goes on to discuss a metaphor for systematically developing a business optimization programme.

There is then a diversion into the practical requirements for specifying software in such a way that there will be no surprises and the business will obtain the level of sophistication that is appropriate. The application of this concept is discussed in the following chapter and this is followed by a brief view of business solutions, including information technology, twenty to fifty years from now. It is suggested that the future will bring a situation in which the business improvement industry looks a lot more like the construction engineering industry than it does at present.

An approach to existing systems is outlined.

The book closes with a brief look at a systematic and effective means of strategic analysis and an overview of the overall approach to the development of large-scale strategic programmes in order to complete the picture of effective strategic business solutions which is an essential sub-theme of this book. This is followed by a brief assessment of realistic time and cost provisions.

Taken together, this book provides a framework for any organization that is truly seeking a more effective way of operating and of achieving real, effective strategic solutions involving information technology, to go about achieving the objective.

Top of Page

To obtain a new perspective on the effective application of information technology, ORDER NOW

TABLE OF CONTENTS

DEDICATION vii

ABOUT THE COVER viii

FORWARD xv

PREFACE xvii

About the Author xviii

About the Book xix

Acknowledgements xx

CONTEXT SETTING xxi

PART 1
SETTING THE SCENE: AN INDUSTRY CHARACTERISED BY FAILURE AND WHAT IT SHOULD DELIVER 1

CHAPTER 1: THE CONTEXT OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY BUSINESS SOLUTIONS: AN INDUSTRY CHARACTERISED BY FAILURE 2

1.1 The Business Context of Information Technology 3

1.2 The Challenge for Information Technology Today 4

CHAPTER 2: WORLD CLASS BUSINESS INFORMATION SOLUTION DEFINED 6

2.1 Comprehensive Data Engineering 6

2.2 Appropriate Fully Integrated Systems At Data Level 7

2.3 High System Operational Efficiency And Precision 7

2.4 Strategic Alignment Of All Operational Systems 8

2.5 Integrated, Holistic Business Operations 8

2.6 Comprehensive Management Information With Full Drill Down 8

2.7 Comprehensive Strategic Analysis And Decision Support Capability 9

2.8 Conclusion: World Class Capability 9

CHAPTER 3: BENEFITS OF A WORLD CLASS BUSINESS SYSTEMS SOLUTION IMPLEMENTATION 11

3.1 Improved Corporate Competitiveness (40%) 11

3.2 Improved Corporate Profitability, Bonuses, Stock Options, Share Value, Dividends, etc (30%) 11

3.3 Effective Corporate Operation, Sustainability, Better Decisions (20%) 11

3.4 Improved Personal and Corporate Relationships For Executives, Management And Team Members (4%) 11

3.5 Improved Health, Quality Of Work Life and Family Life For Executives, Management, Team Members and Staff (3%) 11

3.6 Recognition, Differentiation and Promotion For Executives, Management And Team Members (2%) 11

3.7 Empowerment, Improved Remuneration, Job Security and Life Style For Executives, Management and Team Members (1%) 12

CHAPTER 4: SCENARIOS FOR A WORLD CLASS SOLUTION (Case Study) 13

PART 2
CAUSES OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY INVESTMENT FAILURE: CRITICAL MEASURES GENERALLY NEGLECTED 17

CHAPTER 5: FACTORS GIVING RISE TO INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY INVESTMENT FAILURE AND UNDER PERFORMANCE 18

CHAPTER 6: INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY MYTHOLOGY 20

6.1 Information Technology Can Destroy A Business 20

6.1.1 Temporary Staffing Company 20

6.1.2 Major Medical Insurance Administrator 21

6.1.3 Conclusion - Information Technology Failure That Impacts Customers Can Destroy An Organization 21

6.2 Abstractness and Complexity 22

6.3 Critical Lessons 24

6.3.1 The Information Technology Industry And Y2K - A Major Credibility Problem 24

6.3.2 The Internet Bubble That Burst 25

6.3.3 The 19 Out of 20 Enterprise Resource Planning System Failure Rate 25

6.3.4 Conclusion: Critical Lessons 26

6.4 Information Technology is Not About Technology 27

6.5 Long-Term Investments 27

6.6 Professional Standards 27

6.7 User Friendly Is Not About Technology 28

6.8 Conclusion: Information Technology Mythology 28

CHAPTER 7: EXECUTIVE CUSTODY AND POLICIES 29

7.1 Role of Executives in Strategic Leadership 29

7.2 Systems Support Decision Making and Do Not Make Decisions 30

7.3 The Issue is Support for Competitive Advantage Not Productivity 31

7.4 The Cost Experience Curve, Utilize Resources Effectively and Efficiently, Recognize True Cost, Where Errors Originate 31

7.5 The Fundamental Components of Information Technology 32

7.6 Cost Versus Quality Versus Speed 33

7.7 Inappropriate Policies 34

7.8 Conclusion: Executive Custody and Policies 34

CHAPTER 8: STRATEGIC ALIGNMENT 35

8.1 Professor Malcolm McDonald 35

8.2 Michel Robert 37

8.3 Professor Michael Porter 38

8.4 The Technology Life Cycle as Represented by McDonald 39

8.5 Strategy: Some Other Considerations 40

8.6 Strategic Alignment 41

8.7 An Example of Strategic Alignment 41

8.8 Conclusion: Strategic Alignment 42

CHAPTER 9: AN ENGINEERING APPROACH DEFINED 43

9.1 Executive Custody, Governance and Strategic Alignment 44

9.2 Programme Design 44

9.3 Design Against Failure 44

9.4 Solution Analysis And Design 44

9.5 Laboratory Testing 44

9.6 Data Engineering 45

9.7 Management Of Change 45

The Second Dimension of An Engineering Approach 45

9.A. Meticulous, Documented Design Detail 45

9.B. Meticulous, Documented Planning Detail and Costing 46

9.C. Multi-disciplinary Teams and Specialists 46

9.D. High Professional Standards and Legal Accountability 46

9.E. Cross Checking And Double Checking Of All Important Details 47

9.F. Physical World Metaphor and Impact Analysis 47

9.G. Engineers Know The Limitations Of Their Expertise And When To Call In Specialists 47

9.H. Conclusion: An Engineering Approach 48

CHAPTER 10: DATA ENGINEERING: WHAT IS REQUIRED TO TURN DATA INTO MEANINGFUL DECISION SUPPORT INFORMATION 49

10.1 Introduction 49

10.2 Some Basic Principles 49

10.3 Personal Experience 50

10.4 The Two Fundamental Components of Information Technology 50

10.5 Basic Concepts 50

10.6 Warehouse Analogy 51

10.7 Cubic Business and Data Models 51

10.8 Critical Components of Data Engineering 54

10.8.1 Data Modelling And Schemas 54

10.8.2 Maximum Validation 54

10.8.3 Top Down Content Analysis 54

10.8.4 List Structure 55

10.8.5 Codes 56

10.8.6 Special Techniques 57

10.8.7 Data Cleansing and Data Quality 60

10.9 Case Histories 61

10.10 Parameterization 61

10.11 Data Based Design 62

10.12 Conclusion: Data Engineering 62

CHAPTER 11: PEOPLE / SOFT ISSUES 63

11.1 Organizational Design Impact of Information Systems 63

11.2 Personality Style / Psychometric Profile 64

11.3 Response to Change 64

11.4 Cognitive Ability 65

11.5 Competence 65

11.6 End User Support Issues 66

11.6.1 Front Line Support 66

11.6.2 Second Line Support 66

11.6.3 Third Line Support 66

11.6.4 Problem Escalation 66

11.6.5 Conclusion: Support 66

11.7 Conclusion: People and Soft Issues 66

CHAPTER 12: TECHNOLOGY ISSUES 67

12.1 Transaction Processing Systems - Industrial Metaphor 67

12.2 Automation Systems - Municipal Metaphor 68

12.3 Decision Support Systems - Custom Building Metaphor 69

12.4 Integrated Systems - Industrial and Office Park Metaphor 69

12.5 Impact of Different Classes of System 69

12.6 Craftsmen Use Well Worn Tools 69

12.7 Maturity of the Airline Industry 70

12.8 There IS Very Old Software Out There 70

12.9 Conclusion: Causes of Failure 71

PART 3
ACHIEVING SUCCESS 73

CHAPTER 13: THE CRITICAL REQUIREMENTS FOR A SUCCESSFUL SOLUTION 74

CHAPTER 14: CRITICAL PRINCIPLES FOR SUCCESS 76

14.1 Create Competitive Advantage (19%) 76

14.2 Engineer Against Failure (18%) 77

14.3 Improve Decision Making (17%) 78

14.4 Measurement Determines Behaviour (16%) 78

14.5 People Are Part of the System (12%) 78

14.6 Computers Are Dumb and Abstract (10%) 79

14.7 Payback Takes Time (8%) 79

14.8 Conclusion: Critical Principles 80

CHAPTER 15: CRITICAL STAGES FOR SUCCESS 81

15.1 Stages For System Development or Customization 81

15.1.1 Concept (19%) 81

15.1.2 Architectural (Business) Analysis and Design (28%) 82

15.1.3 Technical Analysis and Design (9%) 82

15.1.4 Construction - Front End, Database, Application (4%) 83

15.1.5 Data Engineering (23%) 83

15.1.6 Pilot Test and Commission; Implement (11%) 83

15.1.7 Utilize / Operate (6%) 85

15.2 Stages For System Procurement 85

15.2.1 Concept 86

15.2.2 Architectural (Business) Analysis and Design 86

15.2.3 Evaluate and Make Buying Decision 86

15.2.4 Customization 88

15.2.5 Data Engineering 88

15.2.6 Pilot Test and Commission; Implement 88

15.2.7 Utilize / Operate 88

15.3 Stages For Overall Programme With Additional Team 88

15.3.1 Concept 88

15.3.2 Design 88

15.3.3 Establishment 89

15.3.4 Programme Operation (Numerous Projects) 89

15.3.5 Hand-over 89

15.3.6 Wind Down External Team 90

15.3.7 Operation 90

CHAPTER 16: CRITICAL FACTORS FOR SUCCESS 91

16.1 Executive Custody (25%) 91

16.2 Strategic Solution Architect (18%) 91

16.3 Clear Strategic Perspective and Alignment (16%) 92

16.4 Business Integration and Optimization (14%) 92

16.5 Programme Schedule, Budget and Resource Management (12%) 92

16.6 Data Engineering (10%) 92

16.7 Technology Components (5%) 92

16.8 Conclusion: Critical Factors 93

CHAPTER 17: CRITICAL TECHNOLOGY COMPONENTS FOR SUCCESS 94

17.1 Operational and Transaction Processing Systems 94

17.2 Automation Systems Including End User Support Systems, Call Centre Systems, Office Automation, etc 94

17.3 Soft Information Acquisition Systems 94

17.4 Decision Support Systems Including Information Warehouses, Data Mining, Simulations, EIS, OLAP, etc 95

17.5 Hardware, Networks, Operating Systems and Database Systems 96

17.6 Systems Integration Components and Allied Services 96

17.7 Operators. Users, Customers and Decision Makers 96

CHAPTER 18: CRITICAL HUMAN FOUNDATION FOR SUCCESS 97

18.1 Business Competence (Knowledge and Experience) 97

18.2 Technology Competence (Knowledge and Experience) 97

18.3 Personality Profiles and Related Human Traits 98

18.4 Solution Knowledge 98

18.5 Solution Experience 98

18.6 Communication 98

18.7 Other Human Factors 99

18.8 Conclusion: Critical Factors for Success 99

PART 4
PROGRAMME DESIGN TO ACHIEVE SUCCESS (Based on Actual Example) 101

CHAPTER 19: CRITICAL PROGRAMME COMPONENTS FOR SUCCESS 102

CHAPTER 20: EXECUTIVE CUSTODY 104

20.1 Some Key Points On Executive Custody 104

20.2 The Role of The Business Systems Executive 105

20.3 Some Key Points In Programme Initiation 105

20.3.1 Establishment 106

20.3.2 Develop Strategic Context for the Programme 108

20.3.3 Ongoing Executive Involvement 108

CHAPTER 21: STRATEGIC SOLUTION ARCHITECT 110

21.1 Trusted Professional Advisor to Chief Executive Officer 110

21.2 Business Solution Architect 110

21.3 Strategic Architect 110

21.4 Programme Schedule and Budget Architect 111

21.5 Data Engineering Architect 111

21.6 Business Integration and Optimization Architect 111

21.7 Other Architect Functions 111

21.8 Some Key Points On Programme Initiation 111

21.8.1 Establishment 111

21.8.2 Development of Programme and Solution Architecture 113

21.8.3 Detailed Architectural Involvement 113

CHAPTER 22: CLEAR STRATEGIC PERSPECTIVE AND ALIGNMENT 114

22.1 Develop Strategic Context StratSnap^© 114

22.2 Gap Analysis StratGap^© 115

22.3 Framework and Strategic Design StratFrame^© and StratDesign^© 115

22.4 Strategic Action Plan StratAction^© 115

22.5 Strategic Project Plan StratProject^© 115

22.6 Strategic Audit StratAudit^© -- Performance Measurement 115

22.7 Some Key Points On Programme Initiation 115

22.7.1 Develop and Document Strategic Context for the Programme 116

22.7.2 Detailed Management of Strategic Alignment 116

CHAPTER 23: BUSINESS INTEGRATION AND OPTIMIZATION 117

23.1 Organizational Optimization 117

23.2 Management of Change and Communication 118

23.3 Support, Training and Other Integration Activities 118

23.4 Some Key Points On Programme Initiation 118

23.4.1 Establishment 118

23.4.2 Design of Business Systems Department 121

23.4.3 Induct Technical and Business Teams 121

23.4.4 Establish Laboratory 121

23.4.5 Detailed Business Integration and Optimization 121

CHAPTER 24: PROGRAMME SCHEDULE, BUDGET AND RESOURCE MANAGEMENT 122

24.1 Programme Charter 122

24.2 Methodology 122

24.3 Activity Segmentation and Coding 122

24.4 Fine Level of Granularity 123

24.5 Governance 123

24.6 Some Key Points On Programme Initiation 124

24.6.1 Establishment 124

24.6.2 Initial Planning, Standards, etc 124

24.6.3 Ongoing Planning, Schedule and Budget Management 125

CHAPTER 25: DATA ENGINEERING 126

25.1 Some Key Points On Programme Initiation 126

25.1.1 Establishment 126

25.1.2 Ongoing Data Engineering 127

25.1.3 Create Fully Representative Selection of Test Data 127

25.1.4 Conclusion: Data Engineering 128

CHAPTER 26: TECHNOLOGY PROJECT COMPONENTS 129

26.1 Some Key Points On Programme Initiation 129

26.1.1 Operational and Transaction Processing Systems 130

26.1.2 Automation Systems 130

26.1.3 Soft Information Acquisition and Processing Systems 131

26.1.4 Decision Support Systems 131

26.1.5 Hardware, Networks, Operating Systems and Database Systems 132

26.1.6 Systems Integration Components 133

26.1.7 Operators, Users, Customers and Decision Makers 133

26.2 Conclusion: Technology Components 134

PART 5
BUSINESS AND STRATEGIC ISSUES 135

CHAPTER 27: PROGRAMME GOVERNANCE (Based on Actual Example) 136

27.1 Overview of Programme 137

27.2 Overview of Team Leadership Requirement 138

27.3 Specific Considerations in Contracting the Programme Team Leadership Positions -- Critical Factors for Programme Leadership 139

27.4 Function and Requirements for Programme Team Leadership 139

27.5 Contractual Considerations for Programme Team Leadership 142

27.6 Functions of the Strategic Solution Architect 142

27.7 Requirements for the Strategic Solution Architect 143

27.8 Functions of the Business Systems Executive 144

27.9 Requirements for the Business Systems Executive 145

27.10 Functions of the Technical Team Leader 145

27.11 Requirements for the Technical Team Leader 146

27.12 Additional Information 146

27.13 Conclusion: Governance 147

CHAPTER 28: BUSINESS OPTIMIZATION: THE TwoCone^© MODEL 148

28.1 Strategic Definition 149

28.2 Strategic (TopCone^©) Optimization 150

28.3 Strategic and Operational Alignment 150

28.4 Operational (BottomCone^©) Optimization 150

28.5 Strategic and Operational Focus 150

28.6 Conclusion: Organizational Optimization 151

CHAPTER 29: SOFTWARE COMPLEXITY CHECKLIST (SoftXList^©) 152

29.1 Supplementary and Consulting Services 152

29.2 General Functionality 153

29.3 Business Driven Application Sophistication 154

29.4 Technology Driven Application Sophistication 156

29.5 Performance and Usage Refinement 156

29.6 Delivery and Post-delivery Services 157

29.7 Contractual Requirements 158

29.8 Conclusion 160

CHAPTER 30: EFFECTIVE SOFTWARE PROCUREMENT 161

30.1 Strategic Issues Are Vital 161

30.2 Track Record and Investment of Developer 161

30.3 Defining Critical Requirements and Critical Success Factors 162

30.4 Software Complexity Checklist 162

30.5 Contract Terms 162

CHAPTER 31: ADVANCED BUSINESS SOLUTIONS IN TWENTY TO FIFTY YEARS TIME 164

CHAPTER 32: CRITICAL DECISIONS WITH REGARD TO EXISTING SYSTEMS 166

CHAPTER 33: AN APPROACH TO STRATEGIC ANALYSIS AND AN OUTLINE OF AN INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY STRATEGY DEVELOPMENT APPROACH 168

33.1 Define Focus Question 168

33.2 Brainstorm Focus Question 169

33.3 Synthesize Critical Factors 169

33.4 Determine Relative Importance of the Factors 169

33.5 Score Relative Performance 169

33.6 Weighted Scores and Gaps 169

33.7 Graphs 169

33.8 Relevance 169

33.9 Information Technology Strategy 170

33.10 Further Analysis 170

CHAPTER 34: AN APPROACH TO DESIGNING A STRATEGIC PROGRAMME 171

34.1 StratSnap^© Strategic SnapShot Analysis 171

34.2 StratGap^© Strategic Gap Analysis 171

34.3 StratFrame^© Strategic Framework 171

34.4 StratDesign^© Strategic Design 172

34.5 StratAction^© Strategic Action Plan 172

34.6 StratProject^© Strategic Project Plan 172

34.7 StratAudit^© Strategic Audit 173

34.8 Conclusion 173

CHAPTER 35: TIME AND COST 174

CHAPTER 36: WRAPPING UP 175

36.1 World Class Capability 175

36.2 Causes of Failure 175

36.3 Achieving Success 175

36.4 Programme Design to Achieve Success 176

36.5 Business and Strategic Issues 176

REFERENCES 177

ABOUT JAMES A ROBERTSON AND ASSOCIATES 179

INDEX 181

Top of Page

To obtain a new perspective on the effective application of information technology, ORDER NOW

INDEX

Abdication, 23, 30, 79

Abstract thinking, 50

Abstractness, 20, 22, 83, 145

- Of programme, 102

Acceptable performance contracted in, 157

Accountability, 123, 136, 164, 171

Activities, 123

- Clearly defined outcome, 123

- Duration of, 123

- Example of creation of a document, 123

- Fine level of detail, 123

- Status of, 123

Activity, 46

Activity based costing, 5, 8, 31, 38, 53

Activity based measurement, 136

Activity level of planning, 111

Add 0's and 1's, 79

Advanced business solutions, the future, 164

Advanced management reporting, 132

Aesthetics not a basis to replace systems, 166

Aircraft, 43

Aircraft carrier about to hit an ice berg, 36

Airline industry, 70

Algorithm specification, 82

Alignment of information systems with the business, 149

Alphanumeric codes not always practical, 56

Analysis and design, technical, 82

Analysis, contribution to errors, 152

Analyst programmer, anomaly of term, 46

Analytical models, 96

Answers, cannot get, 49

Application performance, optimization of, 157

Application sophistication, business driven, 154

- Impact on cost, 154

Application sophistication, technology driven, 156

Architect, 69

- Construction, 22

- Strategic solution architect, 33, 37, 44, 81, 86, 87, 91, 92, 97, 98, 102, 104-108, 110, 112, 114, 118, 121, 124, 129, 131, 136, 139, 142, 145

Architect, data design, 83

Architectural analysis, 86

Architectural analysis and design, 82

Architectural involvement, 113

Architectural requirements, innovative, 82

Assumptions made by many software houses, 153

Assumptions, simplifying that reduce system life, 155

Auditing of strategic plan performance, 173

Automated or intelligent import and export facilities, 156

Automatic-teller machines, 70

Automatically outdated systems, 37

Automation, 30, 67

- Municipal metaphor, 68

Automation systems, 94, 130

Automation technology, 7

Automation, high level in analysis and reporting, 172

B

B.P.C.S., 107

Baan, 107

Back-up capability, built in, 154

Balanced outcome, 34

Balancing of operations, 171

Balancing of strategy, 171

Barriers to strategy, information technology, 39

Barry, Mr Reg, 61

Basic management reporting, 131

Benefit, 131

Benefits, 11, 15, 32, 60, 82, 103, 167

Blame the client, 21

Bleeding edge technology, 39

BMW, 38

Boeing 747, 70

Boom, unlikely, 5

Botany, 50

BottomCone, 150

Brainstorm critical factors, 169

Branch offices, installation of software at, 158

Break the software, 86

Bricklaying, software construction as, 82

Bridges, 3, 33

- Design against failure, 43

- Engineers do not design to stand up, 43

Britain, 27

Budget management, 92

Budget slippage, 84

Budgeting

- Tendency to wishful thinking, 123

Budgeting approach, upper bound, lower bound, 88

Business analysis, 129

Business analysts, 112

Business case, 21, 31, 45, 48, 79, 81, 82, 130-132

Business Competence, 97

Business complexity, 145

Business components, critical that require I.T. support, 114

Business design, specification of picklists, 154

Business disruption, 85

Business disruption, reduction of, 40

Business executives, 81

Business impact starts, 84

Business integration, 92, 102, 117

- Detailed, 121

Business integration and optimization, 140, 143, 145, 146

Business intelligence, 102

Business knowledge, 102

Business model, 151

Business model, cubic, 50

Business optimization, 18, 92, 102, 111, 117, 137, 143, 146, 171, 175

- Alignment, 149

- BottomCone, 149

- Design for changes in environment, 149

- Detailed, 121

- Focus, 149

- Nimble response, 149

- Operational side of the business, 149

- Organization should be robust and solid, 149

- Physical world comparison, 149

- Strategic dimension of the organization, 149

- The TwoCone model, 148

- TopCone, 149

Business process optimization, 45

Business rules, 85

Business rules, obscure, 82

Business solution, 102

Business solutions, the future, 164

Business systems, 137

Business systems department

- Design of, 121

Business systems executive, 44, 88, 89, 91, 97, 107, 108, 111, 112, 115, 117, 120, 121, 123, 124, 129-133, 136, 138, 140, 142, 144, 146

- Able to say no, 145

- Appointed from within the corporation, 138

- Appointment of, 106

- Assisted by technical team, 104

- Attention to individual systems, 138

- Autonomous action, 145

- Basic understanding of information technology, 145

- Business knowledge is vital, 97

- Business team leader, 92

- Business understanding, 145

- Committed, 145

- Credibility within the business, 105

- Day to day management of business information systems, 138

- Decisive, 145

- Detailed role definition, 118

- Detailed role definition of and empowerment of, 119

- Ensure co-operation between business users and technical team, 119

- Ensure comprehensive consultation with business, 138

- Ensure management commitment, 119

- Ensure management use of outputs escalated, 119

- Ensure that all aspects of business requirement fully identified, 138

- Eventually have full responsibility for all aspects, 144

- Function of, 144

- Good relations with the business, 145

- Good understanding of business, 105

- Guided by strategic solution architect, 104

- Handover of management of business information systems, 138

- Include all personnel with different knowledge and experience, 138

- Informed opinions on practical role of information technology, 145

- Key role in detailed design of the programme, 138

- Mandate includes strategy, business optimization and I.T., 104

- Reports directly to chief executive officer, 104

- Requirements for, 145

- Responsible for business integration and optimization, 138

- Responsible for executive liaison, 138

- Responsible for integration with the business, 105

- Role of, 105

- Work at high level of business and technical complexity, 145

- Work in partnership with strategic solution architect, 105, 145

Business team, 96, 115, 127, 129, 143

- Formation of, 133

- Functions, 133

- Secondment of personnel, 133

Business testing, requires competent business specialists, 158

Business understanding, high level of, 157

Buying decision, 86

C

Cabinet making, software construction as, 82

Call centre systems, 94

Capitalization of investment, 41

Career prospects, 11

Catalogue standards, management of, 127

Cataloguing specialist, 127

Catastrophic project failure, 84

Certainty, high with regard to specification, 152

Chains of command, 50

Change

- Different people respond differently, 65

- Discomfort with is natural, 64

- Hand holding, 65

- Management of, 65

- One small step at a time, 65

- People resist, 64

- Prove it works, 65

- Psychology of, 118

Change, management of, 43, 45, 65, 79, 84, 92, 117, 137, 143

- Appoint specialist, 119

- Communication, 66

- Use of specialists, 118

Character-based, 20, 24

Checking and double checking, 47

Checklist, software complexity, 162

Chief executive officer, 44, 64, 92, 102, 106, 108, 115, 119, 123, 124, 133, 136, 145

- As owner of scope, budget and deadline, 104

- As ultimate customer, 104

- Business systems executive reports directly to, 104

- Can get all the answers, 49

- Discuss areas of concern, 104

- Discuss areas of concern immediately, 140

- Ensure that all parts of the business pull together for success, 104

- Ensures adherence to principles, 104

- Final responsibility for governance of all business participants, 104

- Heads business as contractor, 104

- Ill informed comment can destroy confidence, 104

- Negative, ill informed or disinterested has capacity to sabotage, 104

- Only person with cross cutting authority, 140

- Only person with holistic cross cutting view of organization, 104

- Role of cannot be understated, 104

- Sit regularly with business systems executive, 104, 140

- Sit regularly with strategic solution architect, 104, 140

- Ultimate customer for investment, 140

Clean slate re-implementation, 14, 42, 61, 62, 68, 85, 127, 130-132

- Effective data engineering may be impossible without, 127

- Existing management reports cease to work, 131

- Much more power and functionality in the event of, 131

- Required for advanced management reporting, 132

Clerical information system, 33, 55

Client as main contractor, 44

Client server technology, sophistication of, 156

Cobol, 70

Code design, 56

Code of conduct, 27

Code structure, development of a, 55

Codes

- Abbreviations in descriptions, 58, 60

- Alphanumeric, 56

- Anatomic site, 56

- Capitalization, indents and trailing periods, 57

- Corporate filing, 60

- Delimiters, 60

- Directory structure, 60

- Effective design of, 57

- Mnemonic, 56, 60

- Not applicable, no information, no code, 58

- Numeric, 56, 60

- Other principles, 60

- Principles of taxonomy, 60

- Special techniques, 57

- Structured and hierarchical, 49

- Trailing periods assist analysis, 57

- Well designed are intuitive, 83

- Well designed easy to remember, 57

- Well designed take time to develop, 57

- Work breakdown structure, 60

Cognitive, 23

Cognitive ability, 65, 85

Cognitive profiles, 98

Cognitive span, 50

Cognitive tasks unlikely to be automated, 79

Commercial exploitation, impact on price, 159

Commercial rights, 159

Commission, 83

Communication, 84, 98, 118, 143

Communication plan, 98

- Detailed specifications and plans, 98

- Diffusion of innovation, 99

- Not about road shows, 98

- Regular communication, 98

Communications specialist

- Appointment of, 119

Compatibility with third parties, 40

Competence, 65, 97

- Business knowledge, 65

- Clashes between superiors and subordinates, 65

- People do not know what they do not know, 65

- System knowledge, 65

Competence models

- Computerized tools to build, 150

Competing systems, evaluation of, 85

Competitive advantage, 10, 29, 31, 39, 76, 81, 97, 142, 167, 173, 174

- An increasingly scarce commodity, 174

- Fundamental components of, 33

- Lies with soft and woolly information, 41

- Using information, 175

- Without ... there will be no profits, 167

Competitive environment, 15

Competitive position, 15

Competitiveness, 11, 23

Compilers, 70

Complex questions, 9

Complexity of software, 152

Compliance testing, 46

Comprehend the full potential of the technology, 31

Comprehensive documentation, 82

Computer based training, 45, 65, 84, 85, 98, 118, 137

- Appointment of service provider, 120

- Learning performance measurement, 118

Computer games, 23

Computer literacy, not an issue, 23

Computers are dumb and abstract, 76, 79

Computers are not human, 79

Computers can only add 0's and 1's, 49

Concept

- Business, 86

- High level plan, 88

- Of programme, 88

Conceptual business understanding, 83

Concorde, 70

Conditions when system replacement is cost effective, 167

Clear world class objective, 167

- Truly badly designed or maintained, 167

Confidentiallity, 106

Configuration, 87

Configuration management, 112

Conflict of interest, declared, 139

Congruent framework for budgeting, financial and performance, 172

Construction, 83

- Must be absolutely defect free, 83

Construction industry

- I.T. industry will look more like the ..., 176

Construction industry metaphor, 22, 47, 153, 164

- Numerous different registered professions, 47

Construction, contribution to errors, 152

Consultative approach, 139

Contract, 87

- Support, 158

Contract terms, 162

Contract with employer of programme team member, 142

Contracting, 44

Contractor, the organization as prime ..., 31

Contractors who are experts, 46

Contractual requirements, 158

Copyright, terms of, 159

Core team, 132

Corporate competitive advantage

- Real support for, 132

Corporate cost of information technology, 32

Corporate impatience, 84

Cosmetic aspects, not covered by retention, 159

Cost benefit profile, 40

Cost experience curve, 29, 31, 32

Cost vs quality vs speed, 29, 33

Costing, 130

Costs, 10, 20, 22, 31, 40, 81, 133, 154, 156, 159, 167

- Amortization of, 80

- Custom development versus package, 87

- Full cost of replacing existing system, 166

- Hidden, 32

- Impact of software sophistication on, 154

- Legal, 107

- Lower bound, upper bound estimating, 105

- Much higher than salesman indicates, 47

- New system often not justified, 79

- Of programme, 174

- Orders of magnitude more to design failure out, 48

- Ratios, 32

- Real cost of business disruption, 68

- Realistic estimates, 78

- Substantially greater than direct cost of technology components, 80

Craftsmen, 69

Cranfield School of Management, 35

Critical attributes of strategy, 149

Critical business components, 149

Critical business deliverables, 170

Critical chain programming, 46

Critical concerns, 168, 170

Critical concerns with regard to information technology, 13, 114

Critical differentiators, 108

Critical factors

- As critical programme components, 102

- As logical framework for programme, 93

- For success, 18, 91, 102, 175

- For successful implementation, 170

- Framework for programme design, 102

Critical human foundation for success, 97, 175

Critical issues analysis, 95

Critical issues approach, 41, 168

Critical issues process, 86, 149, 150, 162

Critical operational business components, 150

Critical principles for success, 76, 175

Critical programme components for success, 102

Critical requirements, 162, 168

Critical requirements for success, 74

Critical stages for success, 81, 175

Critical strategic information systems, 108

Critical system requirements, 170

Critical technology components, 94

- Different procurement approaches, 94

- Different technical teams, 94

- For success, 175

Cubic business model, 50, 51, 59, 61, 89, 151, 172

Culture of continuous strategic improvement and adaptation, 138

- Access to and application of highly structured information, 138

- Dynamic and proactive response to changes in market conditions, 138

- Fully scalable within context of core business, 138

- Generate substantial competitive advantage, 138

- Structured information of highest quality, 138

Current status rating, 169

Custom software development, 107, 152, 153

- Activities required, 153

- Widely differing prices, 152

Customer relationship management team, 133

Customer relationships, damage to, 20, 21

Customer retention, 95

Customer satisfaction, 30, 41, 78, 131

Customer service, 39

Customer sign-off procedures, 158

Customers, 85, 96, 133

Customization, 15, 27, 34, 39, 45, 62, 81, 86, 88, 98, 129, 137

- Example of inappropriate policy, 42

Cutting corners, 32

D

Dashboards, 9, 11, 96

Data analysis, 131

Data based design, 62

- Versus process based design, 45, 62

Data cataloguing, 137

Data cleansing, 60, 127

- Appointment of service provider, 127

- Software, 127

Data driven menu's, 155

Data engineering, 6, 9, 14, 15, 33, 43, 45, 49, 83, 85, 92, 96, 102, 126, 137, 138, 140, 143, 145, 146, 154, 158, 175

- A major opportunity, 62

- Basic concepts, 50

- Benefits of, 60

- Case history, 61

- Complex and not documented, 50

- Dysfunctional, 130

- Dysfunctional, major factor in problems experienced by many, 62

- Excellence in decision support, 45

- High level of professional expertise required, 158

- In support of competitive advantage, 45

- Information management qualification, 60

- Large team required, 55

- Leverage investment in analysis tools, 62

- One of biggest reasons for sub-optimal information performance, 49

- One of largest untapped opportunities, 49

- Overlooked in most implementations, 62

- People think they understand, 49

- Potential for enormous impact on outcome, 128

- Single biggest opportunity to create competitive advantage, 126

- Well designed is very intuitive, 60

Data engineering team, 127

Data entities, 49

Data entity relationship modelling, 82

Data level integration, 7

Data maintenance, 155

Data mining, 95

Data mismatching, 155

Data model, 83

Data modelling, 54

Data models, 45

Data modification history, 156

Data pump, 96

Data quality, 131

Data, conversion of existing, 157

Database, 25, 45, 49, 96, 153, 156

Database design, 82

Database design, optimization of, 157

Database systems, 96, 132

Date effective, 156

Decision makers, 96, 133

Decision making, 78, 172

- Improve, 76

- Is essential, 31

- Real support for, 132

Decision process, informed, 30

Decision support, 37, 49, 50, 67, 81, 83, 96

- Custom building metaphor, 69

Decision support capability, 6, 9, 10, 15, 31

Decision support systems, 95, 131, 155

- Advanced management reporting, 132

- Basic management reporting, 131

- Intermediate management reporting, 132

Decision, the right, 4

Delete function, intelligent, 155

Delivery services, 157

Delivery, measurement of, 46

Dell, 38, 40

Demonstration by technical people not sales people, 86

Demonstration installation, 86

Design against failure, 18, 43, 74

Design detail, meticulous, 43, 45

Design for success by engineering against failure, 3, 18, 44, 74, 77, 80, 84, 86, 87, 146, 175

Design for the future, 37

Design, contribution to errors, 152

Design, of programme, 88

Detail, high level of, 23

Development, 98

Development language, 23

Development platform

- Rather use older version with greater experience, 162

Dictate business operation, 34

Differentiate, opportunity for organizations to, 167

Disaggregation, 31

Disaster recovery, 133

Disciplinary action, 119

Discrete business decisions, 45

Dispute resolution, 142

- Constructive approach to, 139

Disruptive technologies, very few, 38

- Internet not disruptive, 38

Documentation, 46

- Copious, 23

- Level of, 158

Doing things differently, 10

Drawings, 22

Drill down, 8, 51, 52, 96

Driving force, 35, 37

Dynamically responsive, inherently stable entity, 173

Dysfunctional data engineering, 130

E

Economics, real world, 33

Effective change takes time, 173

Effective operation, 11

Elegant solution, 156

Employee satisfaction, 41

Empowerment, 12, 123, 136

Encryption, 153

End in itself

- Technology is not an ..., 34

End user support, 66, 130

- Front line support, 66

- Problem escalation, 66

- Second line support, 66

- Third line support, 66

- End user support systems, 94

End user tools, possibly purchase several, 87

Engineer against failure, 76, 77, 84, 86

Engineer, registered professional, 92

Engineering, 18

Engineering approach, 18, 22, 26, 28, 33, 43, 67, 74, 77, 80, 137, 144, 153, 164, 175

- Attitude to, 43

- Definition of, 43

- Governance matrix, 43

- Physical components of, 43

- Recognize small mistakes cause failure, 77

- Two dimensions of, 43

Engineering metaphor, 164

Engineering principles, 25

Engineering process advisor, 112, 124

Engineers design bridges not to fall down, 43, 175

Enterprise resource planning system, 7, 14, 25, 32, 33, 39, 42, 53, 57, 59, 61, 64, 67, 70, 85, 87, 88, 94, 107, 130, 137

- 80:20 strategic benefit, 94

- Assembly of custom developed components, 107

- B.P.C.S., 107

- Baan, 107

- In-house capability, 107

- J.D. Edwards, 107

- None may be a really good fit, 87

- Peoplesoft, 107

- Procurement or development of new, 107

- Re-implementation of, 137

- S.A.P., 107

- Satellite systems, 130

- Several likely to appear to be good fit, 87

Enthusiasts, young, 27

Entity relationship, 155

Entity relationship diagrams, 45, 54

Entity relationship modelling specialist, 126

Equipping, 123, 136

Errors

- In analysis, 32

- In construction and implementation, 32

- In design, 32

Escape hatch for unscrupulous contractors, 32

Escrow, 107

Establishment of programme, 89, 106, 124, 126

Ethics, 4, 27

Evaluation team, 87

Evaluation, at operational sites, 86

Excellent fit of solution to business, 145

Excellent people, 28

Excellent products, 28

Executive custody, 18, 29, 32, 33, 43, 47, 78, 91, 104

- Appoint business systems executive, 91

- CEO overarching responsibility, 91

Exco responsibility for success, 91

Executive decision support, 96

Executive information systems (EIS), 31, 95, 155

Executive input, 57

Executive interviews, 136

Executive involvement

- Ongoing, 108

Executive level business requirements, 149

Executive liaison, 142, 144, 146

Executive management, 15, 20, 22, 27, 29, 31, 34, 37, 50, 68, 79, 102, 107, 108, 150, 166

- Responsible for the final outcome, 102

Executive progress reporting, 173

Executive sponsorship, 140

Executive understanding, 32, 33

Executive workshops, 45, 136

Executives must understand, 23

Existing systems, a mixture of technologies, 166

Existing systems, critical decisions with regard to, 166

Existing systems, remain with, 21

Exmar, 35

Expansion, plan for, 45

Experience with business solutions more important, 161

Explicit definition of functions is essential, 153

F

Facilitation, 168

Factory process automation, 131

Failure, 43, 92, 164, 175

- Analysis of causes, 3

- Business Process Re-engineering, 2, 18

- Can destroy a business, 20

- Design against, 43, 77

- Engineering approach, 3

- Engineering design against, 22

- Enterprise Resource Planning Systems, 2, 18, 25

- Errors of detail cause failure, 77

- Information Technology Investments, 2, 15, 17, 18, 21, 26

- More expensive than doing right first time, 77

- Of strategic projects, 172

- Results from the actions of people, 67

- Strategic Plans, 2, 18

- Willingness to risk, 48

Failure rate in fifty years time at most a few percent, 165

Fashion in office automation updates, 68

- No return on investment, 68

Fashion versus functionality, 40

Fax processing software, 95

Features excluded from purchase price, 87

Features warranted in software, 87

Fees, fixed ... preferred, 159

Field attributes, 45

Field, data, 23, 45, 82

File and document conversion, 68

Filing catalogue standards, 124

Finished, not ... until it is finished, 84

First principles approach, 54

Fit, goodness of, 25, 86

Fixed price, 159

Fixes, short-term

- Damage the business, 79

Flexibility of software, 155

Focus, 149, 150

- As distance between cones in two cone model, 150

- Narrow, 22

Focus question

- Define, 168

Forecast status rating, 169

Frames of contact, 52, 172

- Strategic and operational, 172

Frustration with poor outcomes increasing, 164

Functional dimension of corporate data, 51

Functionality, prioritization of, 162

Functionality, substantial lists of, 162

Fundamental building blocks of information, 83

Fundamental components of information technology, 50, 96

Fundamental dimensions of corporate data, 52

Fundamental drivers of strategy, 172

Fundamental first principles, 31

Fundamental first principles analysis, 45

Fundamental first principles business model, 151

Future, of advanced business solutions, 164

G

Gap analysis, 171

- Allocation of resources, 171

- Systematic weighted ..., 171

- Gap, indications of appropriate system decision, 169

- Gaussian distribution, 88, 105

- General functionality of software, 153

- General ledger, 14, 52, 53, 58, 61, 121

- Assets, 56

- Depreciation, 56

- None may be a really good fit, 87

- Sample list structure, 55

Geographic dimension of corporate data, 51

Go live date, 118

Golden Gate bridge, 43

Governance, 26, 52, 53, 93, 118

- Balance between equipping, empowerment and accountability, 123, 136

- Business systems executive, 123, 136

- Chief executive officer, 123, 136

- Develop of ... model, 125

- Distinct flows on a major programme, 136

- Distribution of emphasis, 141

- Example based on actual specification, 136

- Leadership, 136

- Models, 171

- Of finances, 136

- Of large strategic business solution programmes, 176

- Of programme, 123, 136

- Of schedule, 136

- Of vision, 136

- Programme executive, 123

- Requirement for correct information, 151

- Strategic solution architect, 123, 136

- Structure designed for balance, 136

- Technical, 92

- Technical team leader, 123, 136

Granularity of plans

- Enables end users to understand the programme, 123

- Fine level of, 123

- Immediate identification of loss of control, 123

Graphic designers, 95

Greed, 24

Guided missile, organization likened to, 149

Guidelines, 116

Gyroscope as metaphor for nimble business, 149

H

Hand over, 89

Hardware, 96, 132

Hardware and environment, minimum requirement, 156

Health, 11

Healthcare provider, 95

Help desk, 84, 118, 158

- Knowledge base, 118

- Support personnel, 118

Help, on-line, 154

- Different levels of, 154

- Substantial professional time cost for effective ..., 154

Hierarchy

- Development of optimum model, 151

High level evaluation, 136

Historic status rating, 169

Historical challenges

- Demand, 4

- Excess supply, 4

- Finance and costing, 4

- Production, 4

Holistic integrated approach, 176

Holistic integrated business solution, 102

Holistic integrated strategic solution, 137

Holistic, integrated view of business, 5, 8, 10, 18, 92, 117, 143

Hot-line support, 158

How well the organization is expected to do, 169

Human factors, other, 99

Human like characteristics, invalid, 25

Human resource

- Consultants, 121

- Measures for change, 30

Human resource executive, 118

Human resource management, 65, 99, 147

- Dismissal, 99

Human resource measures, 63

Human resource recruitment, 164

Human resources department, 120, 121, 124, 143, 146

Hype, 24-27, 34

I

Ignorance, 24

Impact assessment of policies, 34

Implementation, 21, 63, 83, 98, 137

- Appointment of team, 120

- Effective essential to success, 84

- Of sophisticated software security systems, 153

Implementation and deployment team, 118

In-house capability

- Expansion of, 107

- Upgrading of, 166

In-house information technology function, comprehensive, 157

In-house maintenance capability, 25

In-house support, 137

Incentive schemes, 53

Incentives, 63

Incompetence, 24

Individual systems and solutions, 143, 145, 146

Industrial process specialist, 120

Information cataloguing, 50

Information management specialist, 127

Information opportunity, 30

Information requirements, future, 37

Information system operations outside programme, 119

Information systems, 137

- Organizational design impact, 63

Information technology

- As a barrier to strategy, 39

- As a strategic resource, 30

- As the enemy of competitive advantage, 39

- Effective integrated solutions, 63

- Exists to support people, 63

- Fundamental components of, 29, 32

- Paradoxes, 20

- Practical application of, 145

- Reality check, 20

- Simply a tool, 34

- Utilization future focussed, 37

Information technology industry geared to selling products, 164

Information technology industry, track record, 24

Information technology investment, strategic, 139

Information technology strategy, approach, 168, 170

Information warehouse, 9, 25, 31, 33, 45, 54, 82, 85, 95, 119, 131, 137, 173

- Fundamental components of, 33

- Hardware, 132

- Schema design specialist, 126

- Specification, 131

Innovation, diffusion of, 99

Installation, 158

Insurance of hardware and commercial software, 160

Integrated hierarchical strategic design, 172

Integrated systems, 10

- Each is unique, 69

- Mechanical and technical integration, 69

- Soft issue and business integration, 69

Integration, 96

Integration activities, 118

Integration of information systems with the business, 149

Integration of systems, 67

- Evolutionary growth, 69

Industrial park metaphor, 69

Intel, 68

Intellectual capital, 10

Intellectual property rights, 106, 142, 159

Interface facilities, 156

Intermediate management reporting, 132

Internal use, impact on price, 159

Internet, 25, 27

- Bubble that burst, 25

- Is not strategy, 39

- Not disruptive, 38

Interviews, confidential with stakeholder representatives, 171

Investment, requires long-term strategic view, 174

Investment, return on, 41

Islands of information, 33

Iterations of planning detail, 46

Iterative design process, 45

J

J.D. Edwards, 107

Job analysis and competence evaluation software, 151

Job content change, 30

Job functions change, 63

K

Key differentiators

- Effective management decision making, 5

- Effective utilization of human resource, 5

- Market focussed strategy, 5

Key performance indicators, 119

Knowledge and experience, 97

- Of programme team members, 142

L

Laboratory, 44, 84, 86, 96, 98, 118, 137

- Conducive to practical simulation, 121

- Creation of test data, 127

- Establishment of, 121, 132

- Example of simulation, order processing, 121

- Simulate live operation, 85

Labour law, 99

Latest technology, not a basis to replace systems, 166

Leadership

- Strategic, 29

- Strong, decisive, 139

Leading edge technology, 39

Learning curve, reduction of, 40

Leave, 142

Legacy components, 70

Legal accountability, 44, 46

Legal documents, 106

- Confidentiallity, 106

- Contracts, 106

- Intellectual property rights, 106

Legally valid contract documents, 147

Librarianship, 50, 60

Licence to modify software, 159

Licence, withdrawal of, 22

Limitations of expertise, 47

Limitations, know, 44

List structure

- Hierarchical, 55

- Highly structured, 55

Literacy, 30

Litigation, 27

- Expected to increase in the I.T. industry, 164

Logical non-conformities, 33

Long investment life, 23, 27

Long life, 68-70, 139

- Solutions, 62, 99

Long term solution, 107

Long term system investment, 167

Long-term strategic focus, 4

Low maintenance solution, 99

M

Made to work, assurances not good enough, 87

Magnetic media do deteriorate, 160

Maintain and evolve, 27

Maintenance, 121

Malpractice, 27

Management analysis, exceptional levels of, 172

Management approval, 131, 132

Management approval of projects, 130

Management commitment, 119

Management decision support, 96

Management information, wealth of, 61

Management of change, 118

Management of testing, 158

Management reporting, 137

- Advanced, 132

- Basic, 131

- Intermediate, 132

Management vision, 37

Managers have unique and absolute jurisdiction, 151

Managers receive reports with all required information, 151

Manual

- Authoring requires professional staff, 158

- Software technicians can seldom produce effective ..., 158

Market attractiveness factors, 171

Market critical success factors, 76, 171

Market research, 96

Market research specialist, 95

Marketeers, information technology, 24

McDonald, Professor Malcolm, 35, 39, 76, 168

- Technology life cycle, 39

McLeod, Mr Duncan, 2, 25

Measurement action generator, 30

Measurement determines behaviour, 76, 78

Mechanical engineering, 112

Medical insurance, 21

Menu, 155

Menu of complexity , 152

Milestone payments, 158

Military, 35

Minimum project duration likely to be eighteen months, 174

Mirror server, 133

Mission, converting into actionable plans that work, 172

Mock-up of screen design, 82

Mouse, 49

- Sometimes inefficient, 24

MS DOS, 24, 68

Multi-dimensional data model, 8

Multi-dimensionality and complexity of global strategic market, 172

Multi-disciplinary team required, 153

Multi-user enablement, 154

Multiple environment support, 156

Multiple language support, 156

MulTisTage picklists, 154

Mythology, 18, 20, 21, 24, 28, 34, 68, 69, 144, 175

N

Networks, 96, 132

Nice to have features, 157

Nimble organizational response to changes in environment, 149

Non-fatal software defects, 159

Non-performance, final say with regard to, 143

Non-technology issues, 70

O

Objective status rating, 169

Obviously right solutions, 82

Off the shelf packages, 27, 39

Office automation, 32

Office automation software, retaining older versions, 68

Office automation systems, 94

On the job learning not advisable, 47

On-line analytical processing (OLAP), 31, 95

One size fits all, 33, 39

One version of the truth, 96

Operating systems, 96, 132

Operation, 90

Operational dashboard, 96

Operational employee, lowest level of, 150

Operational optimization, 117, 150

Operational systems, 94, 130

Operator productivity, 32

Operators, 96, 133

Opportunities, 168, 170

Opportunities that require I.T. support to exploit, 114

Optimization

- Of application performance, 157

- Of database design, 157

Optimize existing systems, 26

Organization, the ... must change itself, 173

Organizational design, 118

Organizational design, changes disrupt information technology, 151

Organizational hierarchy, 150

Considerations in design, 150

Optimum competence gap, 150

Optimum number of direct reports, 150

- Requirement for information at each position, 151

Organizational improvement, 139

Organizational inefficiency

- Hidden, 32

Organizational optimization, 88, 139, 172

- Appointment of team, 120

- Projects, 96

Organizational trauma, 84

Organizational uniqueness, 27

Organizations exist to serve people, 63

Other resources, 120

Outsource, 31

Outstrip competitors, 173

Overall outcome, accountability for, 143

Overall solution architecture, 143, 144, 146

Ownership of critical activities is vital, 172

P

Paper bag with a pinhole, 23

Paradigm chasm, 64, 85

Parameterization, 45, 61, 87, 155

- Of everything that may change, 61

Pareto (80:20) approach, 41

- In identifying software policy, 41

Path to competitive advantage, 36

Paton, Mr George, 61

Payback, 4

Payback takes time, 76, 79

People, 96, 97

Projects that involve ... not technology, 134

People / soft issues, 63

People are part of the system, 31, 76, 78

People issues, 99

People issues, can wreck a project, 66

People most adversely affected frequently critical team members, 63

People only understand plain language, 49

People, about, 12, 27

Peoplesoft, 107

Performance and usage refinement, 156

Performance bonus, 47

Performance measurement, 172

Period end processing, 155

Personality profile, 98, 142

- Of people good at creating new realities not same as maintenance, 121

Personality style, 64, 139

- Bureaucrats, 64

- Innovators, 64

- Relationship orientated, 64

- Results orientated, 64

Personnel

- Balancing retention requirements, 106

- Contractors gain expertise and leave at client expense, 106

- Guarantees, 107

- Retention of contracted ..., 106

Photographic metaphor, 168

Physical metaphor, 44

Physical world, 20, 23, 28, 34, 47, 52, 79

- Demolition, 33

Physical world parallels, 67

Picklist content represents knowledge of the business, 55

Picklist data, badly defined can compromise solution, 154

Picklists, 50, 154

- MultTisTage, 57

- Population of, 157

Pie chart, optimum number of slices, 50

Pilot test, 83, 98

Planning

- Initial, 124

- Meticulous, detailed, 43, 102

Planning, schedule and budget management, ongoing, 125

Platform, hardware and operating system, 156

Policies, 18, 29, 34

Polishing, general, 157

Populating picklists and tables, 157

Porter, Professor Michael, 4, 29, 35, 38, 39

- An era of a lot of confusion, 4

- Basic economics never change, 38

- Disruptive technologies, 38

- Disruptive technologies are rare, 38

- Information technology as a barrier to strategy, 39

- Internet not disruptive, 38

- Invalidation of value chain, 38

- Run the same race faster, 38

- Strategy is a unique and valuable position, 39

- Strategy is making trade off's, 39

- Strategy requires continuity and consistency, 38

- Technology is not strategy, 39

- The essence of strategy is integration, 5

- The myth of rapid change, 4

- Unique value proposition, 38

- Value proposition that is robust, 38

- What is not strategy?, 39

Post-delivery services, 157

Practical application of information technology, 145

Practical considerations, 23

Practical staff members, 82

Prejudice, many organizations ... themselves, 166

Pretense, that information technology is strategic, 30

Prioritization, 115

Probability of failure, 26

Process automation, 94

Procurement, 39, 41, 129, 137, 161

- Decision with regard to new ..., 166

- Effective software ..., 161

- Of custom software or packages, 160

- Of hardware and commercial products by contractors, 160

- Of workstations, 68

- Strategic issues vital, 161

- Track record of developer, 161

Procurement of software

- Requires a systematic strategically focussed approach, 162

Procurement of systems, stages of, 85

Productivity, not, 31

Professional accountability, 44

Professional disciplinary review, 22

Professional Engineer, 43

Professional registration, 139

Professional scrutiny in event of failure, 164

Professional service environment, 61

Professional standards, 20, 21, 26, 27, 44, 46

Professional team, 87

Profit, 38

Profitability, 11

Programme

- Detailed analysis and design, 106

- Establishment, 111

- Initiation, 111

- Management of, 105

- Overview of, 137

- Structure, 105

Programme architecture, 122

Programme architecture, development of, 113

Programme charter, 122, 124

- Intellectual property rights fee, 124

- Template, 124

Programme design, 43

Programme design to achieve success, 176

Programme executive, 44, 123

Programme executive management team, 90

Programme initiation, 118, 124, 129

- Data engineering, 126

- Establishment, 118

- Some key points, 105

Programme leadership, 138, 142

- Accept approach and strategic solution architect leadership, 139

- Accountability, 139

- Allegiance to the corporation, 139

- Competence, 139

- Contracting, basis of, 147

- Critical factors for programme leadership, 139

- Function and requirements of, 139

- Leadership and management, 139

Practical long-term outlook, 139

- Team player, 139

Programme management methodology, 122

Programme office, 124

Programme office administrator, 124

Programme operation, 89

Programme plan

- Activities, 123

- Activity segmentation and coding, 122

- Tasks, 123

Programme schedule, budget and resource management, 102, 122, 140

- Appointment of manager, 122

Programme schedule, budget and resource management specialist, 124

- Appointment of, 124

Programme stages, 88

Programme team leadership

- Contractual considerations, 142

Programme, large scope one in a long while, 90

Programming language, 7

- As bricklaying system, 46

- Stick with it and make it work, 46

Project management, 122

Project management (see programme management), 89

Project management and coordination of third parties, 160

Project milestones, 81

Projects

- That cost more than planned, 123

- That take longer than planned, 123

Projects, of a non-technology nature, 102

Proprietary source code, 159

Psychometric profiles, 64, 98

Public relations program, 95

Punch card systems, 50

Q

Quality is not free, it is cheaper than failure, 77

Query and analysis, 137

Quick fixes, 4

R

Rapid change of information technology, 4

Redefine, the I.T. industry will ... itself, 164

Refurbishment, 15

Refurbishment of systems, 68

Registration of practitioners, 27

Relationships, 11

Relative importance, 169

Relative performance, 169

Relative strategic priorities, 169

Relative strength, 76

Relative weight, 162

Remediation, 77, 167

Remediation of systems, 33, 42

Remuneration, 12

Remuneration and incentives of programme team, 142

Repetitive production, 3

Replacing systems is arduous, time consuming, costly, disruptive, 166

Replication, 33

Reporting to screen and hard copy, 155

Reports, effective ... take time to design, test and refine, 155

Reproducible software defects, 159

Resource management, 92

Resources, key in contract, 87

Retainer to existing developer justified, 167

Retention, 47, 158

- As a guarantee of final compliance, 158

- Deduction from milestone payments, 158

- Guarantee against substantive non-performance, 158

- Payment terms, 158

Return on investment

- Takes several years, 79

Reusable components, 159

Right decision, 78

Right information at the right place at the right time, 176

Right things, 168

Rights

- Commercial, 159

- Intellectual property, 159

Risk assessment

- Of policies, 34

Robert, Michel, 35, 37, 39

Robertson, Dr James, 7, 52, 53, 59, 61, 176

Robust organization, 149

Roles and responsibilities, 142

Roll-up of data, 155

Royalty, 159

S

S.A.P., 107

Sanctions for non-performance, 142

Satellite systems, 130

Scale drawings of screens, 82

Scale representation of screen layout, 46

Schedule, budget and resource management, 46, 92, 143, 145, 146

Scheduling

- Tendency to wishful thinking, 123

Scope, change in, 159

Score, 169

Scrapping existing information technology investments, caution, 70

Screen design, to individual field level, 156

Screen designs, polishing of, 156

Screen layouts, 23

Screen reports, 155

Secret ballot, 169

Security of software access, 153

Security system failure, 153

Security system not cost effective to retrofit, 153

Services, supplementary and consulting, 152

Short sighted management, 167

Sign-off procedures, 158

Simple, apparently ... are internally complex, 28

Simulations, 95

Slash and burn, 27

Slice and dice, 96

SnapShot, 13, 81, 82, 114, 162, 168

Soft data, 30, 41, 95

- Example of, 95

Soft information acquisition systems, 94, 131

- Frequently strategic, 94

Soft issues, 18, 92, 175

Software

- Remain on current version for a long time, 107

Software complexity checklist, 152, 162

Software construction as cabinet making, 46

Software defects

- Fifteen percent from poor construction, 152

- Fifty five percent from poor analysis, 152

- Thirty percent from poor design, 152

Software defects, reproducible, 159

Software suppliers forced to look for new income, 166

SoftXList, 152

Solution architecture, development of, 113

Solution analysis and design, 43

Solution architects, 112, 115

Solution design, 92

- Responsive to and can accommodate change, 137

Solution engineering environment, 129

Solution experience (distinct from solution knowledge), 98

Solution knowledge, 98

Solutions, stable and durable, 139

Source code, 25, 39, 107, 159

- Access to, 87

- Implications of negligence in safe guarding, 159

- Modification seldom required, 155

Safeguarding of, 159

South West Airlines, 38

Specialists, 24, 47

Specialization, 22

Specification, 22

Specification in detail, 82

Specification, development, procurement and implementation, 140

Speer, Ms Kirsten, 7

Staff satisfaction, 30, 78

Stages for customization, 81

Standards, 28, 34, 116, 124

Statutory regulation of professional standards, 164

Strategic action plans, 172

Strategic alignment, 6, 8, 10, 18, 28, 35, 41, 89, 92, 102, 114, 115, 137, 138, 171, 175

- An example, 41

- An integral part of, 173

- Business and systems arrive at the same point at the same time, 114

- If don't know where you are going any road will get you there, 114

- Penalties of lack of, 42

Strategic analysis, 10, 15, 31, 129, 133, 137, 149

- An approach, 168

- In-depth ..., 170

Strategic and operational alignment, 117, 150

Strategic and operational focus, 117, 150

Strategic benefit, 10, 83

Strategic change is a process of organic design and development, 173

Strategic context, 115, 116

- Accommodate change in, 137

Strategic context, development of, 108

Strategic dashboard, 96

Strategic decision making, 9

Strategic decision support, 32, 62, 96, 137

Strategic definition, 149

Strategic design, 54

Strategic direction and alignment, 145, 146

Strategic direction and alignment of programme, 143

Strategic driver, 8, 45, 82, 86, 102, 108, 111, 114, 117, 118, 149, 171

- Existing system likely to be a reasonably good fit, 166

Strategic driving force, 35, 42

Strategic environment, 171

- Accommodate change in, 137

Strategic evaluation, 130, 131

Strategic framework, development of, 143

Strategic frameworks and governance matrices, 171

Strategic gap analysis, 171

Strategic information management facility, 9

Strategic management, 50, 117

Strategic marketing planning, 35

Strategic objectives, 171

Strategic optimization, 117, 150

Strategic parameters, 111, 115

Strategic perspective, 114

Strategic perspective and alignment, 140

Strategic picture, 29

Strategic plan

- Effective ... ... is the most abstract and complex planning, 172

Strategic planning, 88

Strategic plans, enduring, 172

Strategic prioritization, 108

Strategic programme design, 171

Strategic project plans, 172

Strategic project team, 171

Strategic projects, 96

Strategic SnapShot, 13, 115, 168

Strategic solution architect, 37, 44, 81, 86, 87, 91, 97, 102, 107, 108, 110, 115, 117, 119-124, 126, 127, 129-132, 136, 138, 140

- Accept factors for programme leadership, 144

- Appointment of, 112

- As business integration architect, 111

- As business solution architect, 110

- As data engineering architect, 111

- As programme schedule and budget architect, 111

- As strategic architect, 110

- As trusted advisor to CEO, 104

- Balance between business and technology competence, 98

- Business users need facilitation by a ..., 97

- Define relationship with, 106

- Effect of CEO constantly doubting, 110

- Executive level business understanding, 144

- External specialist with at least twenty years experience, 138

- Functions of, 142

- Gives overall direction, 92

- Hand over to business systems executive, 138

- Information technology experience, 144

- Leadership ability, 144

- Mature individual, 91

- Not bow to pressure that will result in technical compromise, 144

- Not easy to find, 112

- On peer level with executives, 110

- Other functions, 111

- Own methodologies, 144

- Peer with business executives, 91

- Personality profile, 144

- Premium rate, 112

- Provides overall guidance for entire programme, 138

- Required experience, 112

- Requirements for, 143

- Responsibility for architecture of entire solution, 142

- Responsible for strategic direction and alignment, 138

- Responsible for data engineering, 138

- Should NOT report to the business systems executive, 92

- Strategic ability at executive level, 144

- Trusted professional advisor to CEO, 110

- Willing to mentor and hand over, 144

Strategic thinking, 91

Strategic understanding, 33

Strategic view, 82

Strategically effective corporate operation, 9

Strategically robust and responsive organization, 172

Strategy, 102

- Barriers to self imposed, 29

- Cost benefit profile, 40

- Die fast, 36

- Die slowly, 36

- Doing the right things, 35, 41

- Implementation, 139

- Looking to the future with vision, 41

- New activity configurations, 29

- Not forecasting, 36

- Not goal setting, 36

- Objective is not strategy, 36

- Segmentation, 29

- Small number of high impact issues, 41

- Survive, 36

- The big picture, 41

- Thrive, 36

- Trade offs, 29

- Trajectory of change, 36

StratGap, 171

StratProc, 114, 171

- StratAction strategic action plan, 115, 172

- StratAudit monitoring of plan execution, 115, 173

- StratDesign strategic design, 115, 172

- StratFrame strategic framework, 115, 171

- StratGap gap analysis, 115, 171

- StratProject strategic project plan, 115, 172

- StratSnap strategic snapshots, 114, 171

- StratTeam, 171

StratSnap, 13, 14, 81, 150, 168, 169, 171

- Cut through large volumes of information to critical factors, 169

- Graphs, 169

- Relevance, 169

Strengths, 168, 170

Strengths that require I.T. support to maximize, 114

Structured technical representation of the organization, 172

Sub-optimal data quality, 84

Sub-optimal decision support capability, 84

Sub-optimal outcome, 42

Sub-optimal system operation, 84

Subject matter experts, 83

Substantive delivery, 159

Substantive non-performance, 158

Super users, 68, 70

Support, 118

Support contract, 158

Support problems, reduction of, 40

Support staff, 84

Support, informal, 32

Sustainable competitive advantage, 6, 29, 33, 62

Synthesize critical factors, 169

Systems engineering capability, 121

Systems integration (see Integration), 96

Systems integration components, 133

Systems. old, 23

T

Tables, population of, 157

Tactics

- Doing things right, 35

- The forces to bring about change, 37

Tasks, 46, 123

Taxonomy, 60, 137

Team

- Composition likely to be similar, 105

- Core professional ... established, 106

- Customer relationship management ..., 133

- Implementation and deployment, 118

- Induction, 121

- Multiple roles will not work, 105

- Part time members, 105

- Permanent staff, 105

Team leadership

- Critical factors for programme leadership, 139

- Overview of requirements, 138

Teams, multi-disciplinary, 26, 43

Technical assistant to strategic solution architect, 113

Technical complexity, 145

Technical team, 97, 104, 113, 121, 127, 129, 132, 143

- Deep knowledge of technology, 97

Technical team leader, 44, 92, 98, 119-121, 123, 124, 136, 138, 142, 143

- Accept factors for programme leadership, 146

- Appointment of, 107

- Considerable information technology experience, 146

- Consultation with human resource executive, 108

- Functions of, 145

- Hand over responsibility to business systems executive, 139

- Lead programme schedule and budget and technical projects, 146

- Outside contractor, 139

- Personality profile, 146

- Proven leadership ability, 146

- Requirements for, 146

- Responsible for leadership and management of technical projects, 139

- Responsible for management of schedule, budget and resources, 139

- Willing to mentor and hand over, 146

Technological component of solution, 117

Technology, 18

- As a commodity, 39

- Competence, 97

- Components, 92

- Has no personality, 27

- Has Outdated, 23

- Integration, 82

- Is not strategy, 39

- Issues, 67

- Leading edge, 39

- Life cycle, 39

- Not about, 10, 12, 18, 27

- Not fast moving, 40

- Not moving so fast, 47

- Not the issue, 115

- Older is suitable, 40

- Reliability, 39

Technology projects

- Basic design by core team, 130

- Components of, 129

- Leadership by core team, 130

- Only commence when overall programme establishment is complete, 129

Technology solution architecture, 111

Temporary staff, 45, 84, 85

Trained on old system, 85

Temporary staffing company, 20

Ten-point scale for ratings, 169

Term of service, 142

Test data, 119, 131, 133

- Creation of, 127, 157

- Defining, 157

Testing, 21, 43, 98

Testing and management of testing, 158

Testing of systems, 133

Threats, 168, 170

Threats that require I.T. support to counter, 114

Time, 20

Time for programme, 174

Tools, 69

- Collection of, 31

- Craftsmen use well worn ..., 69

- Nuances of functionality, 69

- Outstanding use of, 47

Top down strategic perspective of organization, 172

TopCone, 149

Trade secrets, 142

Trade shows, 86

Training, 78, 84, 118, 137, 143, 153

- Appointment of team, 120

- Budget realistically, 47

- Hands on, 118

- Level of ... to be given, 158

- Staff released for, 119

Training material, 119

- Comprehensive, 45

Training, rigorous, 22

Trajectory of change, 36

Transaction processing, 50, 67

- Comparable to factories or production lines, 67

- Fundamental components of, 33

- Ratios, 32

Transaction processing systems, 93, 94, 130

Transition from one system to another, 84

- Falling off a cliff, 84

- Scenarios, 84

Trauma, 85

Trend analysis, 61

Trial and error under pressure, 85

Truth, one version of, 96, 119

TwoCone organizational optimization model, 117, 171

U

Undo capability, 155

United States of America, 27

Unix, 20

Upgrade, 34

- Automatic application ... procedures, 158

- Automatic data ... procedures, 158

- Example of inappropriate policy, 42

- Limit frequency, 40

- Not required, 107

Upgrades

- Frequently not warranted, 70

User effectiveness, 34

User friendly, 20, 24, 28

Users, 96, 133

Utilize system, 85

V

Validated data, 49, 102

Validated fields, 62

- Maximum use of, 45

Validation, 54, 154

Value, 10, 45, 78

- High value adding solution, 99

Vendor claims, validity of, 87

Very old software, 70

Vision, 172

Vision is soft and woolly, 41

Vision, converting into actionable plans that work, 172

Visionary staff members, 82

W

Warehouse analogy, 51

Warranty, 159

Wave, next information technology, 26, 27

Weakest link design, 77

Weaknesses, 168, 170

Weaknesses that require I.T. support to overcome, 114

Weighted gap, 169

Weighted score, 169

Welfare of personnel, concern about, 64

Well regulated industry in fifty years time, 165

Wind down external team, 90

Windows, 21, 24, 25, 27, 34, 40, 57, 68

Wish list, easy to compile, 162

Workflow, 45

Workshops, 130

Workshops, executive

- At group level, 108

- Operating company workshops, 108

World class capability, 83, 105, 118, 132, 175

World class operation, 141

World class solution, 5, 6, 10, 13, 14, 31, 42, 74, 96

World class standing, 137

World class status, 93, 102

World class strategic business systems capability, 138

World class strategic capability, 167

X, Y, Z

Y2K, 4, 24

- Not possibly as serious as predicted, 24

Year end accelerated, 61

Zoology, 50, 60

Top of Page

To obtain a new perspective on the effective application of information technology, ORDER NOW

PRICING AND ORDERING

The critical factors in information technology investment success contains over three hundred pages of text and diagrams and is available ex-stock.

Electronic Edition:
Email delivery in Adobe Acrobat pdf format (2.6 MB email)

List price R170.00 including VAT, US$29.95

Paperback Edition:
ISBN 0-620-31633-0

List price R290.00 including VAT, US$49.95

Hard Cover Edition;
ISBN 0-620-31648-9

List price R380.00 including VAT, US$64.95

Postage and packing, insured parcel post in South Africa for paperback or hard cover editions R40.00 including VAT. Internationally US$25.00.

ORDERING

Copies of the book can be ordered:

by email from Ingrid

In general we will reply to your email within 24 hours, if you do not receive a reply within 48 hours please email James Robertson

by post to:

James A Robertson and Associates

P O Box 898

Randpark Ridge

2156

Johannesburg

Republic of South Africa

Attention: Ingrid

Please be aware that the South African postal service is not always reliable. We recommend the use of email.

by telephone to
++27-11-791-2327, ask for Ingrid

PAYMENT

Payment can be made directly to our bank account at:

Account Name : James A Robertson and Associates
Account Number: 221 034 641
Bank : Standard Bank of South Africa
Branch : Randburg
Branch Code: 01-80-05-90
International Swift Interbank code SBZAZAJJ

or a bank draft or cheque can be sent with the order.

or we can make an arrangement for credit card payment via a third party, contact us for details.

Orders will only be shipped once payment has been received and cleared.

Top of Page