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Mike Romeu wrote a new post on the site Systems and Infrastructure Life Cycle Management 6 years, 3 months ago
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Mike Romeu wrote a new post on the site Systems and Infrastructure Life Cycle Management 6 years, 4 months ago
One of the most difficult questions faced by organizations is how to actually deploy the system. Should it a direct cut over deployment be attempted? It is the cheapest and most direct? Should the two systems b […]
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Every system deployment method has its pros and cons. The direct cut over deployment method involves immediately deploying the new system once it operational and cutting off the old system. One of the benefits of this method is that it is the least expensive. The deployment is done within a short period of time. The disadvantage is that you risk losing information and this method does not give the company an opportunity to easily go back to the old system. This works best if there is no way that the new system and the old one can run in parallel. It is also best used if the failure of the new system will not have a catastrophic impact on the running of the business.
Parallel deployment on the other hand, is whereby the two systems (old and new) run together for some time. This deployment results in higher costs as both systems must be maintained at the same time. This might also require the users to use both systems often causing frustration and lower efficiency. The good thing about parallel deployment is that the it is less risky because you must be satisfied with the new system before you cut off the old one. The old system acts as a backup. This method is often used for critical systems.
Phased implementation involves deployment of the system in stages or components. The risk of errors or failures is limited to the implemented module of the system only. It works best if the whole system has not been fully developed and the modules that are ready are deployed for the customers to start using. It can be used when developing complex systems. The project usually takes a long time to be completed and might lead to increased costs.
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Good explanation, Karabo
I agree with you that each method has its pros and cons, so choosing the approach should take many elements into consideration, such as business objective, system requirement and risk acceptance level of the company and etc. -
Well explained, Karabo! Even though parallel deployment sounds appealing (as it is a risk-less approach) it can be hectic in terms of efficiency. Once the errors are identified, when the outputs are compared side by side, the organizations have to pay price and also the efficiency is reduced.
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You made some great points in weighing the pros and cons of each installation. As mentioned while parallel has the crucial benefits in regards to risk aversion, it can be difficult to get user buyin in comparison to those systems they are already familiar with.
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Thanks for your insight! I think its great that you mention the pros and cons of the different systems deployment methods and how an organization should choose when implement based on their needs.
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Nice job, Karabo. You made a good comparison and explanation among these kinds of conventions. Thank you.
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Direct approach refers to changing over from the old system to a new one by turning off the old system when the new system is turned on. Direct installation may be simple and cheap, but it has the highest risk.
Parallel approach refers to running the old information system and the new one at the same time until management decides the old system can be turned off. Users can go back to using the old system if the new one has problems. But this method is safest but it is expensive to handle two systems, can affect overall performance, and requires controls to avoid duplication of effort.
Phased approach refers to changing from the old information system to the new one incrementally, starting with one or a few functional components and then gradually extending the installation to cover the whole new system. This approach usually used for big and complex system and has the advantage of minimizing the risks.
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Hi Jing, the three deployment approaches have their own features. In terms of mitigating the risks, the phased installation may appeal to organization, however, having to deal with several functional components of the old system until the new one is formed can increase complexity.
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Thank you for your sharing. You give a very clear and detailed explanation of those three kinds of the approaches. The problem why the parallel approach cost highly than direct approach because it run both old and new system in the same time.
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I agree with you, because parallel approach is the best way to use in small business. because compare with phased approach, it can reduce risks and save money . Therefore, it is reasonable for small business.
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Good analysis, you catch the key points of three types of the development.
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Good point .The parallel method refers to running the old information system and the new system before the management decides that the old system can be shut down. If the new system has a problem, the user can return to use the old system.
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Nice explanation, Ugo! Organizations understand the need of improving their information system through the customer satisfaction. They always look for ways to retain the existing customers and attract new ones to make their business profitable. One way for organizations to be profitable is by being strategic about system deployment. There a re several to choose from with unique features. The organizations should select the installation that best fit their needs.
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Great explanation, running the systems in parallel offers a dual advantage. It reduces cost and allows the firms to test the new system while operating on the old system. This gives them time to perfect on the new system without disrupting production or the operation of the business.
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You make a great point on the importance of deployment in phases. With a direct installation, users are truly at the mercy of the new system. Any errors resulting from the new system will have a direct impact
on the users and in some cases how the organization performs its business, depending on the
critically of the system to the organization. -
I appreciate your comment and your explanation of the considerations. For all of these approaches it is also important to consider the data conversion process as this is a big risk for organizations and can be expensive.
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Thank you for your sharing, I like what you talk about the short-term and long-term goals. There are lot of things we need to consider about before we decide which approach we should use, we should consider about the time, costs, and difficult level.
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Thank you for your sharing. One thing you mention about is the stakeholders: the end users, the operations staff, and the support staff. The experience and even the benefits the will get must be considered by the developers.
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An enterprise has to think about a variety of factors when they decide to deploy a system. For example, if a company has enough resources available, they should probably run two systems simultaneously. Under this situation, they can probably have enough time to test whether a new system can fully replace the old one. However, if the resources are limited or it is an urgency of new system deployment, they should run the new system immediately. After that, trying to shut down the old system gradually. However, if something goes wrong in the new system, their system may experience a certain period of downtime because the old system has been shut down before.
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Well said Yijiang. the company should balance the needs and resources when they choosing the deployment method.
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Nice point. Organization should consider do things within their capabilities. Deploy a system is not a moment, it has long way to go.
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This is a really good point, Iyana. For some complicated systems with some critical functions inside, an enterprise is not able to implement parallel installation. Since both time and cost will be extremely high even though for a mid-size corporation, and all of their other business will be affected greatly as well. However, if an enterprise implements direct installation, they would probably burden various risks in different aspects of the company’s daily business activities.
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Good explanation, transferring the data from the old system to the new system could be a tough task for the most enterprises. During the transfer period, most of the services would be unavailable. Second, a company would not be able to know whether those data can work smoothly in its new system. Therefore, a company has to make the decision based on what type of business it is operating initially and pick an most appropriate method which takes care of both economics and efficiency.,
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I agree with you. There are three approaches for deploying systems. Business needs to balance the risks and costs to select the approach which is suitable for them. Phased approach is the most expensive one, and direct cut is the cheapest one, but it is risky.
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I agree with you, because it is important for organizations to select the best approach to replace the systems. Business always need new technologies to make them get used to the new market. Therefore, it is important to have the better approach to deploy systems.
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Thank you for your sharing, Xinteng. when weighing the pros and cons between the different deployment approaches, consider what your business needs most and which option will give the most benefit back to the company with the smallest impact on your operations during the transition.
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agree with you Binju. sometimes more cost can reduce the potential risks however it does not mean the more expensive the better. companies have to choose the deployment method to depend on the business needs, requirements, and resources.
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As mentioned in the question, I feel that urgency, experience, complexity, and criticality of the system are all important factors to consider when deciding on how a system should be implemented into an organization. Depending on how the current state of the company is with their system, they have to decide whether or not parallel implementation or completely killing their current system and using their new one is the best option. Each enterprise has a different perspective and needs so they have to decide on what kind of implementation would be best for them.
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There definitely needs to be careful planning with deployment, and it should be communicated through all departments. In the end, every organization will have a different opinion on how to do it.
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Whether or not a direct cut should be done or not is a challenge. Direct cut also comes with its risks. Most businesses need different types of information systems to handle their processes and achieve their long and short-term goals. However system deployment is not always an easy task for organizations. In order to have a successful system deployment the organization needs to have a good organizational structure, a good management style.
System deployment involves installing a new system over the current one. It can be difficult because the organization has to give up on the the current system and to rely on a completely new system to operate business process and functions. There are three types of deployment that the organization can use to make this process less difficult, direct, parallel and phased deployment
Direct deployment is a method that quickly installs a new system, it is simple lowers cost but may come at higher risk.
Parallel deployment operates the old and new systems for a certain period of time. Higher cost, lower risk
Phased deployment installs a new system and makes it operational phases. More complex but less risky-
I think your ideas involving deployment are accurate, noting that they are difficult and choosing which one to use depends heavily on the state of the business. I also like how you addressed the riskiness of each.
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I agree with your comment Binju and thanks for the explanation. It is crucial for organizations to choose the approach to replace their systems. However more expensive does not always mean the better. The choice has to be carefully made according to the business needs.
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You make a really good point, Iyana. Parallel instalation is not always the way to go for some organizations depending on their systems. it could be complex costly and there would be many risks involved.
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I couldn’t agree more with what you said. Nice explanation, Ugo! Organizations always look for ways to keep current customers and bring in new ones to make more profit. One way of doing that is system deployment which there a many types of. The decision should be made based on their needs and requirements.
.Thank you for your sharing, -
I really like how you went into depth on each system and how implementing a deployment method may have certain risks and returns. Using risk as a priority factor is a smart move when deciding what choices a company should make.
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I think looking at cost and time are good factors when assessing which type of deployment a company should pursue. However, it is also important to consider which option will be most beneficial holistically to a company’s health.
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I think you do a good job explaining the cost/benefits of each type of deployment.
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I think one of the biggest issues to deal with is getting employees to accept the new system. If you have a organizational culture that is not used to change, they are likely to resist. For instance if you incorporate a parallel deployment and you have this difficult type of environment then it is likely employees will only use the system when absolutely necessary. They will avoid it in other instances. Company culture should be considered as a big factor in the success of your implementation strategy.
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Thank you for sharing a perspective of taking into account the organization’s culture in system implementation. As you rightfully said it might be really difficult to get people to change if they get to use two systems at the same time. Sometimes parallel deployment involves duplication of duties and this can bring some resistance from the end users.
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I believe one of the most cost effective and application acceptance effective is the pilot implementation system. The pilot system is great for implementation acceptance because it requires an isolated location to fully accept the new system out of necessity. This necessity wall help when bugs need to be identified. Without a backup system to go to or the old way of doing things, everyone is actually motivated to make the system work. On the economic side if there is a bug or misstep in the application that is so badd that a drastically affects business, again they were only affecting an isolated environment. The isolated nature and documentation of the implementation can also act as a great use case and a start for best practices for the rest of the organization in the implementation of the system.
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In terms of two systems be run in parallel, it has pros and cons. The pros are parallel running allows results to be compared to ensure that the new system is working without any errors. If errors are found, user can refer to the old system to resolve the problem and make modifications to the new system thus operation can continue under the old system while the problems are sorted out. This also allows training of staff and help them to gain confidence in the new system. The cons are the cost of implementation is very expensive because of the need to operate the two systems at the same time. It is a great expense in terms of electricity and operation costs. This would be prohibitive with a large and complex system. Parallel running implementation also requires a lot of time and needs frequent maintenance. This will slow production in a firm as workers need to do twice their normal workload for a period of time in order to achieve the same goal for both systems. This involves inputting or changing the same data for both systems to ensure the information are identical in both systems.
Last but not least, education and training for using the system can be carried out at various levels, by considering the size and complexity of the system. Staff and personal need to be informed about the overall information structure and how to operate the system. This will give some overall understanding of system in place and how information is handled throughout the organization.-
I like your point. Parallel implementation also requires a lot of time and requires frequent maintenance. This will slow down the company’s production speed because workers need to complete twice as much work as normal work within a period of time in order to achieve the same goals for both systems. This includes entering or changing the same data for both systems to ensure that the information in both systems is the same.
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I totally agree with you. Cost, urgency, complexity and experience are really importance factors when considering deployment of a system.
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Nice explanation of each deployment methods of system, Organization should consider the values that each methods brings to us based on the variety of factors.
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Great explanation Xinteng, I guess it all comes down to what kind of risk the organization is prepared to deal with and what the criticality of the systems. Parallel looks most viable of all the 3. Even though it is quite expensive to have two systems running at the same time, it presents a lower risk. It allows the organization to go back to the old system if something were to go wrong .
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The general system deployment process consists of several interrelated activities, also system deployment is the critical aspect of SDLC. In the real-world system deployment depends on business requirements and the running system.
Higher level managers usually believe that the Direct cut deployment method has a high risk of business daily practices. Considering all the risks involved with the Direct cut method, parallel systems deployment method is more acceptable among IS managers.
Each of this methods can have a tangible or intangible cost associated with them such as end-user training, licenses, cloud environment fees and time. having a accurate cost feasibility is the recommended decision-making tool for these projects.
Down the road, this is an open-ended question for each organization and there is no standard preferred recommendation. Each business is different and needs to customize base on its requirements an resources.
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Hello Pascal, nice explanation, I really agree with you on “There are many risks associated with direct cut over system deployment.”
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Hi, Binju, good explanations on three kinds of systems and the pros and cons for each.
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Hi Yingyan, nice explanations I do agree with you that the choice should be made accordingly.
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I believe this decision on approach of when/how fully implement is based on the organizations opinion, and preference. If a company were to base their decision on urgency (which is a no. no) I would run the new and old system parallel to ensure that data integrity is still in place.
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Running the systems parallel to each other would be my choice. This allows people to get used to the new system.
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I agree with you. The company needs to determine the level of control that each team has in actual deployment. Running the system in parallel offers the advantage that if the new system encounters problems, the company can easily return to the original system.
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I agree with you. When developers consider system deployment, they should consider the costs, time, and potential problems that they may encounter in the future. The direct method means that the old system is shut down when the new system starts
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good point. The parallel deployment method is to run the old system and the new system at the same time. Its price is higher because the company needs to operate two systems at the same time. However, this method is less risky because the new system needs to be prepared before it can be cut off.
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After an organization acquires or develops a new system, it is important for the organization to deploy the system. In order to ensure that the new system can adapt to the production environment, the organization has three ways to replace the system.The first is the direct cutting method. This means that after immigrating all data to the new system, people will shut down the old system. This is the cheapest way to deploy a system. Because the organization does not need to pay for the operation of the two systems. However, this is the most dangerous way, because when people shut down the old system, if the new system has problems, restarting it will take a long time. This will affect work efficiency.The second method is a parallel method. This means that the organization will run new and old systems simultaneously for a period of time. This approach will ensure that the new system works well before shutting down the old system. This will cost money, but it will reduce the impact of the poor performance of the new system. For small companies, balancing risk and cost is reasonable.The last method is a phased approach. This means that people deploy the system step by step to ensure the performance of the new system. This will require more time throughout the entire process. Although it has the lowest risk, the cost is too high in this process because the organization needs to pay for the operation of these two systems for a long time. This method is suitable for complex projects in large companies.
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Direct cutting method could definitely lead to some problems. Cutting off that old system right away could hurt the efficiency of the users as they need to get used to the new one.
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I think that running the 2 systems simultaneously would yield the best results. This allows everyone to get used to the new system while still having the old one to fall back on. Take Blackboard and Canvas, for example. Canvas is clearly the better of the two, but it takes time to get used to the new interface. By phasing out blackboard slowly, Temple made the transition into a new system easier. Using this method would ensure a smooth transition into something new, and I think people will respond well to it.
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Phases are definitely critical for success. A organization needs to ease the process into a new system, and not go head on and risk a loss in efficiency.
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Parallel seems to be a good method, as it allows to send out the system in phases and you can ease the transition process.
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Mike Romeu wrote a new post on the site Systems and Infrastructure Life Cycle Management 6 years, 4 months ago
In this unit, we spend some time discussing the cloud. In this unit, take some time to learn a bit about the various cloud service providers. Using your answer to the practical assignment in this unit, d […]
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I would use Microsoft Azure cloud services. The company needs to provide web services to clients so that they can request package pickup and delivery. They could use Microsoft Azure’s platform as a service which provides a website hosting service. On the Spot Courier services can not only develop and customize their web applications but they also benefit from the open source applications available. Since drivers need to view the schedules, update the status of packages in real time using portable digital devices they can benefit from Microsoft Azures mobile services which provide push service. The mobile apps can be used to connect to the company’s data center allowing Bill to update, schedule delivers and do billing, at the same time updating the driver’s digital devices. The company could also consider using Amazon web services (AWS) cloud services. Amazon also offers web hosting services and AWS mobile services.
It is important to verify that the cloud service provider complies with data security industry standards. The service level agreement should state how the company data will be protected, what the authentication and authorization procedures will be, whether the provider will allow visits to validate the process and procedures and data wiping at the end of the contract. Even though data might be hosted by a cloud provider is it the responsibility of on the spot courier services to ensure that their data is protected. This includes encrypting the data in transit to the cloud service provider, and controls are in place to protect the data at the cloud provider’s site.
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Nice point. I would recommend the AWS as well, not only from the cost perspective, but also the consideration of security controls.
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Good points. The open source applications may be looked like a cost-efficient option, but it may reduce the competitiveness of the company to some extent, and it may have other hidden costs such as installation, training, support, maintenance which should also take consider.
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Yes, it’s important to verify that the cloud service provider complies with data security industry standards.
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Hi Karabo,
You make a good point about using AWS as well. I agree I recommended it in my post too.
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Nice example, Microsoft Azure is good one. It is true that package pickup and deliver can be down with the help of cloud services. And the mobile devices add more features and create convenience.
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The Providers that I would use are:
1-Amazon Warehouse Services
2-Microsoft Azure cloud servicesI would require to use of Microsoft Azure cloud services for web services such as package pickup and delivery request. They could use Microsoft Azure’s push notification system to update shipping status in real time which would also be connected to the main system back in the warehouse and Bill would update, schedule delivers and do billing. On the Spot Courier services would benefit significantly from the open source applications available. On the Spot Courier services could also use Amazon warehouse services (AWS) which offers a huge variety of services.
As an auditor I would assure the security of the applications in the cloud by meeting regulatory requirments as follow:-Comply with Cybersecurity Framework base on NIST
-Comply with International Organization for Standardization (ISO)
-Control Objectives for Information and Related Technology (COBIT) aligns IT with strategic business goals (ISACA 2015)
-Comply with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS)-
Great explanation, Casid! I like you selected two cloud service providers, Amazon Warehouse Services and Microsoft Azure, to ensure the different services and business processes are met. I agree that security of the applications in the cloud should meet regulatory compliance. The frameworks that you have listed (NIST, ISO, COBIT) offer guidelines to ensure adequate controls to maximize protection of information.
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Thank you for tying the security into existing regulatory requirements. This was very helpful in ensuring security of the applications in the cloud. Especially as this is a key concern of cloud computing solutions, along with reliability and regulation compliance.
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I think you provide a concise yet thorough explanation of the different cloud computing tools available and why they should be used for the delivery company from the practical assignment. I also appreciate that you included the security aspects of the web services.
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Hi. I think your analysis on why AWS would be a good option is very thorough. In other classes, we discuss AWS as a cloud providing service and conclude in the same way, feeling that it is a superior service that is versatile and scalable.
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I would like to recommend the Amazon Web Services (AWS). AWS provides on-demand cloud computing platforms to individuals, companies, and governments. The technology allows subscribers to have at their disposal a full-fledged virtual cluster of computers, available all the time, through the internet. The fees are based on a combination of usage, the hardware/OS/software/networking features chosen by the subscriber, required availability, redundancy, security, and service options, so it is suitable for the small business like Bill’s who does not have too much budget for the cloud services.
AWS comprised more than 90 services, but the services that required for Bill’s business are: storage, networking, computing, database, application services, so and so forth.
In terms of the applications in the cloud, there are cloud security guidance:
Step 1: Ensure effective governance, risk and compliance processes exist
Step 2: Audit operational and business processes
Step 3: Manage people, roles and identities
Step 4: Ensure proper protection of data
Step 5: Enforce privacy policies
Step 6: Assess the security provisions for cloud applications
Step 7: Ensure cloud networks and connections are secure
Step 8: Evaluate security controls on physical infrastructure and facilities
Step 9: Manage security terms in the cloud service agreement
Step 10: Understand the security requirements of the exit process-
Hi xiaomin,
You provide a good introduction on AWS and a good cloud security guidance. I agree that effective governance, strong authentication, physical environment, agreements are all important to ensure the cloud security. Adding your points that having the right to audit clause in the agreement will help the identification of the risks and support the compliance. -
H Xiaomin,
Thank you for let us know the fees of AWS are based on a combination of usage, so that small business could choose the package they want, and not waste their budget.
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Thank you for your sharing. You give many details about the cloud security guidelines. The step 10 Understand the security requirements of the exit process is important because this step is often be ignored by users.
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Good job, Xiaomin. Thank you for your explanation toward the cloud security guidance. And the explanations toward AWS is pretty clear as well.
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I think you have made a great list of qualities that would be useful for database and application service users. I also think its great you mention that the services provided are cost effective, which would make it desirable for all businesses, regardless of size.
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Yes, AWS is good. AWS provides on-demand cloud computing platforms for individuals, companies, and governments. This technology allows users to use a mature virtual computer cluster at any time through the Internet. These costs are based on the combinations used.
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Hi there – thank you for sharing those crucial points to cloud sharing. I took a “Cyberspace and Society’ in Fall of 2018, and we briefly spoke and touched upon cloud services. It was very interesting to see your views as to why they are so important. I’m sure I echo everyone else by stating that your AWS is very clear and well-put, too.
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Great Points! Ensuring effective governance risk and compliance processes will help provide adequate security and privacy of cloud applications and operations.
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Thanks for sharing many cloud sharing providers and good AWS introduction. I would go with AWS as well because its broad services providing, high availability and cost-effective.
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The cloud I use is Windows Azure. It provides different Windows servers Users can install many Windows system on a PC. That can also provide extra storage for a PC by cloud service. The service is important because storage on cloud can be huge and cheap. In addition, if some application cannot be used in other system, Windows Azure can install windows system on the same PC to make the application usable. For example, some application can not be operated on Mac system, so Apple users can use Windows Azure to deal with this problem. Furthermore, security is important. Password should be set based on certain format. That is hard for hackers to guess. The password should not be same as the password on PC. That is good for information security.
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Hi Xinteng,
Thank you for sharing the provider you suggested. The password security is always the topic we would like to talk about. And you mentioned an important thing — the program incompatibility. It is convenience that Windows Azure can open the applications on Mac system. -
It’s important to choose the level of risk tolerance your organization is comfortable with when using services that rely upon a multi-tenancy model.
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Azure is a good cloud service. I think that any team size can use it and it will be effective. Microsoft does a good job of scaling towards size.
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I agree with you, because SLA is important if users use third party providers’ products. It makes sure the service quality of the products. People can also measure the service level based on the standard on SLA.
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Thanks for sharing so many could service providers. Microsoft Azure is the application I used before. It provides good could service to users. Users can select different servers for their PCs. It is good for using different applications and extend storage.
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I agree with you, because it is important to follow these frameworks to ensure cyber security NIST is the one I usually use It provides guidelines and requirements for different security controls. It is also important to understand the relationship between different sections of NIST. It will better understand the good performance of controls.
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The strong cloud services provider are Amazon Warehouse Services(AWS), Oracle, Microsoft, Google, and IBM.
I would like to use Microsoft Windows Azure or Amazon Warehouse Services(AWS).
They can choose Microsoft Windows Azure’s website hosting service and Spot Courier services, it is easy for organization to design their web applications. Also, the Microsoft Windows Azure have a people friendly price for the organization and it has a good compatibility which means mac can also use it easily.
The organization can also try the AWS, AWS uses a pay-as-you-go payment plan which is flexible with high security. And also, AWS has high market share in the market which believed more reliable.
To ensure the security of the web application, we should consider about:
1. privacy policies;
2. security controls on physical controls;
3. networks security;
4. access controls and data protection.-
I agree, Hanqing. With many service providers out there, it is significant to choose the one that provides high security on the information. After looking at the features pf Microsoft Windows Azure or Amazon Warehouse Services(AWS), it can be said that this AWS can prove to be an effective and efficient cloud service for Bill’s business.
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Access control and data protection are essential for security. I think policies are up there two. You made a good list of things to consider when it comes to security.
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Thank you for your sharing. I really like what you mentioned about the two-factor authentication, one-time passwords. These authentication methods are good to protect the data. However, how it can affect the cost and customer’s experiences.
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Thank you for your sharing. After reading about your introduction about the Zymr, I believe Zymr is a good choice for the organization to use. It’s excellent cloud mobility function make much convenience for the organization users.
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I would use Amazon Simple Storage Service. Amongst the AWS suite of cloud-based compute, network and storage solutions is their ‘Simple Storage System’ or ‘S3’. S3 is an object based storage solution and can be thought of as an easily accessed, easily managed and infinitely expandable data warehouse.
There are some ways to secure cloud applications:
Define the requirements align with your cloud application vendors.
Build a threat model for each cloud application you are considering.
Choose the level of risk tolerance your organization is comfortable with when using services that rely upon a multi-tenancy model.-
That’s true, Zhixin. Cloud storage is a developing business for the past 5 years. They can provide the user a relatively huge space for them to store any type of information and data. If a small business owner doesn’t have enough money to build their local storage system, they can just simply store some of them in the cloud storage platform. However, for On The Spot courier company, some information and data related to customer’s PII should not be stored in the cloud storage system.
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Also, you need to define the requirements align with your cloud application vendors.
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There are various cloud service providers. To name a few, there are: Amazon Web Service (AWS), Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud Platform, IDrive, Adobe, VMware, IBM Cloud and so on. To meet the business processes requirements, I would go with IDrive that is said to be affordable for small businesses like Bill’s. IDrive provides services like data backup, file-sharing, remote management, online syncing. These services are needed to operate Bill’s business. The employees can utilize IDrive’s services to store and update information on purchase orders, packages, delivery, payments and so on.
In order to to assure the security of the applications in the cloud, high level controls like encryption, strong authentication, incident response plan, risk management, proper governance should be in place and implemented adequately. Doing so can provide reasonable security to the information.
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encryption, strong authentication are good examples of security control, which can also applied in the employee training as well as the infrastructure design.
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Well said, Yingyan! I agree that cloud servicses must be chosen in terms of needs. Not all available cloud service providers best fit the requirements of any particular business. I like that you chose Amazon Web Services (AWS) among the other providers. Per the size and operations of Bill’s business, it is safe to say that AWS is the appropriate selection given its cost-effective feature. .
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Thank you for your comment. You provided great feedback regarding how the design of Zymr can meet their pick-up and delivery needs especially related to ensuring Internet design consistency, service management issues influencing customer loyalty, and security.
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Thank you for your feedback. Your list of key things to consider for cloud provider selection is very help. Another key consideration that is often overlooked is maintenance and support of the solution(s).
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I like your point about using Amazon Simple Storage Service especially from a cost perspective it’s affordable. Thanks for sharing
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I haven’t thought of that before but I think Zymr is also the right choice for this organization.Also I like that you explained how Zymr can meet their business needs Thank you for sharing
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I like how you detailed the ways the leading frameworks and guidelines to the company needs to meet to comply with regulations and industry mandates. Great post. Thanks for sharing
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I like your post. I agree. You gave a pretty detailed list of cloud computer services providers. Thanks for sharing your post
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there are many cloud service provider in the market, they offer different functions, accessibility, and pricing.
i would suggest both microsoft azure and amazon web service. Try both and then figure out which on works best for the organization. i would require features and services for system customization, integrated storage, virtual network. for the service security, i would suggest a third party cloud service security management service and help with the security management of the system, which can provide throughout and professional security cover-
I agree with you, Xiaozhou. Both cloud computing and cloud-based operating platform are essential for most small business owners, including On The Spot courier company. Amazon Web Service (AWS) will help the courier to calculate the best routine while they are delivering the packages. Also, managing the packages in the courier’s warehouse could also need cloud computing for a better package schedule. Microsoft Azure can provide a cloud platform for companies to customize their own demand for computer configuration based on different type of business.
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you provide many suggestions for security control from managerial level, it is true the organization should have well designed security management plan.
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Hi Lyana, good point, the cloud service do be a solution for budget issues, and it does create more opportunities for small entrepreneurs, and individuals.
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Hi Mahroo, agreed. The amazon have been the top in the industry for decade, they are really pioneers as IBM, which still provide IaaS, SaaS, and PaaS now.
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Hi Yinyan smart and honest like you! There are 1970000 results showing up from google within .48 seconds. And I do believe that would be increasing.
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The concept of cloud is raised by John McCarthy as a “public utility” it was used for military at the beginning. After the population of the internet, the cloud computing become possible. In 2006 Google’s CEO Eric Schmidt introduced the term “cloud computing” Since then, Google and IBM are keeping provide the cloud service until today. The Microsoft and google are famous for their office service, which indeed change our working behaviors and make the long distance working become possible. The key implement of cloud service are real time and multiple ends. I do believe both companies did a good job on this parts. To ensure the security of the applications on the cloud we need to prepare for the shared vulnerabilities, take care of the authentication, identifications and issues; keep the DDoS service in place; backup the important data offline to in case.
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As a courier company, On The Spot may need different types of cloud service. Initially, calculating the fastest routine for a truck driver is always an important job. Under this circumstance, Amazon Web Service (AWS) can provide enough computing resources for On The Spot to achieve an economic and quick delivery service. On the other hand, creating an operating environment in the cloud may help the small business owners to run their business easily. Using Microsoft Azure to build a cloud platform for running some basic applications and software can save On The Spot a certain amount of money in purchasing their own devices. Sometimes, cloud platform can provide a better security to the user since they have enough resources to manage their service.
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I agree with you. I think AWS is the most cost-effective and versatile tool for cloud based computing and would be the best option for the delivery service. It is also secure and has many capabilities that would be desirable and functional for the company.
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I really like the list you complied of things cloud providers should have for customers’ convenience and usability. AWS is definitely a growing competitor in the industry. They have so many features that will help any kind of user develop the appropriate web resource they need.
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there are so many cloud service providers in the market, such as Amazon Web Service (AWS), Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud Platform, and Adobe. The different providers have different pricing and functions, I would recommend the company to try at least two vendors which are Amazon and Google because both of the company offers the best service in the industries for all size of business needs. the company should hire a consultant to evaluate the suitability and the security of the cloud vendor.
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Yes, I agree with you. both amazon and google have high technology and good service. Their production are easy to use and safer.
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Using any of those companies would be a good idea. Amazon, Microsoft, Adobe and Google are all trustworthy platforms that will usually provide good service.
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Depending on cost I would use AWS or Google cloud services for the security aspect of this question. As a large multi billion dollar cloud service provider either of these companies would have invested a great deal of money into security. More importantly I believe these 2 companies would be only some of the handful that are actually engaging and prepared to deal with the next generation of issues security issues with the cloud. I imagine it would be more expensive then going with a smaller security service or in house solutions. In the end I think paying the extra cost for the ease of use and secure nature of their systems it’s worth it.
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Well tuf50240. Amazon web services does indeed have sophisticated applications with increased flexibility, scalability and reliability at lower prices. There have already build a great reputation in the market as a cloud service provider which that can be trusted. Good choice.
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Microsoft Azure cloud services is a reliable cloud service provider. On the Spot Courier needs to provide web services to clients so that they can request package pickup and delivery. They could use Microsoft Azure’s platform as a service which provides a website hosting service. On the Spot Courier services can not only develop and customize their web applications but they also benefit from the open source applications available. Having the digital services supplied by azure would be a great tool for the organization to have to update package details as well.
I would make sure that the information of the security of the information by adhering and complying with the following regulatory standards; Cybersecurity Framework base on NIST, International Organization for Standardization (ISO), Control Objectives for Information and Related Technology (COBIT) aligns IT with strategic business goals (ISACA 2015), and the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS).-
Microsoft Azure is definitely a reliable service, even if it can be slow. Going through a large company like Microsoft can be useful because you know you will get good service.
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The cloud I use is baidu cloud. It provides different Windows servers and users can install many Windows systems on the PC. This can also provide the PC with additional storage space through cloud services. This service is important because cloud storage can be huge and cheap. In addition, if certain applications cannot be used on other systems, Baidu can install Windows on the same PC to make the application available. For example, some applications cannot run on Mac systems, so Apple users can use baidu cloud to solve this problem. In addition, safety is very important. The password should be based on a specific format setting. This is difficult for hackers to guess. The password should not be the same as the password on the PC. This is good for information security.
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Baidu cloud sounds like a pretty good service. Having a large amount of cheap storage can go a long way.
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I like it, too. AWS provides on-demand cloud computing platforms for individuals, companies, and governments. This technology allows users to use a mature virtual computer cluster at any time through the Internet. These costs are based on the combinations used.
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Thank you for sharing , I never use Zymr before. I think it will be good according to your introduction. And I will try to use it in the future.
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I like your posing. you list a lot of choices and you also teach us how choose the suitable one, which is very clear and easy to follow.
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If I were to use cloud services for a company I would probably go with Microsoft Azure. I previously worked with this program a few months ago. It is not the fastest or most efficient service, but it gets the job done. With the service I could use virtual machines to conduct my business and other Microsoft services so that my work would go smoothly. It would also be convenient with multiple other people because files would easily be shared. Using various security frameworks and measures will assure that the system is secure.
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Mike Romeu wrote a new post on the site Systems and Infrastructure Life Cycle Management 6 years, 4 months ago
Throughout the material on human-computer interaction, the concept of usability was emphasized. One area of usability that is often overlooked is accessibility. Research a disability, and describe how it e […]
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I think your description and suggestion of prediction software available for students/children who have learning disabilities is a great idea. These tools would enhance the experience for students and help them with the learning process. I think Temple may have the resources in place already but definitely should consider adding more facilities to help current and future students.
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Thank you for sharing, Hanqing. You mention many useful programs such as speed synthesizers, the word prediction machine which can be used to help disabilities to have better study experience. I agree with you that Fox should have some devices that are designed to be disabilities- friendly. I also recommend that when learning about the design of the system, the course should also take accessibility into considerations.
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A accessibility issue that could be faced with people who are diagnosed with muscular atrophy and distrophy is trying using a traditional keyboard. Muscular atrophy is when the muscles deteriorate and the patient effected cannot move or use their muscles to their full ability. A way user interfaces can accommodate people with this disability are voice recognition softwares that can automate manual functions of a computer/webpage. Though this type disability is not extremely prevalent, about 1 in 6000 individuals are severely effected.
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Computer Aids for the Blind – The University at Buffalo”s Assistive Technology Training Online Project provides this list of keyboard and mouse alternatives for its blind population.
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You bring up a great point, that while this disability may not be extremely prevalent it is important to also consider the severity of the condition for users and how it will effect their interaction with the system.
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You made a pretty great point about considering the severity of the condition for users. I also like your point about voice recognition software. Thanks for sharing your post
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Nice points, Ami. It is sweat to take the patients with muscular atrophy and dystrophy in to considerations; even they may occupy a small amount of the population. I do believe everyone should have equal rights to access the services.
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I think you mention great points regarding some difficulties people would face if they were visually impaired. I feel like the alternative you mention are easy to implement and very practical and useful. I also like how you tied in your example to the case we have been working on in this class. Making sure On the Spot Courier has digital devices that have capabilities to accommodate for the visually impaired are important.
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One disability/disorder that comes to mind where the user interface has made great advances is autism. An individual with autism is challenged with social skills, repetitive behaviors, speech, and non verbal communication. People with autism are often very attentive and technology had made advancements to help with their needs Touch windows have been created to help an individual with autism to interact and navigate with a computer system. Track balls have been made to allow the individual to use a ball to move the mouse around with their fingertip or hand. Many eventually master the trackball and can move onto navigating through the use of a mouse. There is various software available to improve attention skills, problem solving skills, fine motor skills, and academic skills. Alternative keyboards are also available for individuals to easily identify button and press them as needed.
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Enter a webpage into this simulat or to see what it looks like to those who are colorblind. These simulators can also help those designing accessible websites.
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Thank you for your sharing, now I know the autism can be one type of the disability which I didn’t consider before. People with autism are usually very sensitive, especially for the language of others. Thus, technicians need to take this into account when designing tools and interactive interfaces.
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You do a good job in introducing the autism and the software used to help the people with autism. I learned a new disability type. As the development of the technology, I believe more devices or products can be accessible to those people who with disabilities.
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Hi Saruch
You bring up a great example when mentioning autism. I did not think of it myself before. I never really thought of it as real disability before. This is a very good example to illustrate technology that can accommodate people with disabilities. Thank you for sharing -
You are quite right Sarush. I have close relations that have autism and I have seen so many different assistive technologies, its extraordinary. Keeping in mind that Autism is a spectrum, ( from high functioning to low functioning), the assistive technologies in all its varying degrees will greatly help as they are originally designed with user interfaces that are supposed to be easy and friendly.
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Hi Sarush,
Thanks for sharing, because I had no clue about the great enhancements that were created to assist autism. I especially did not know about the touch window as you discussed. My uncle is legally blind, however he has a very small fraction of his site. Nevertheless, the center for the blind assisted me in getting him a special reader which magnifies his tablet, as well as reads to him.
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Thank you Sarush, you raised a nice point, various input devices create convenience to people with disabilities.
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People with mobility impairment may have a challenge using the standard keyboard and mouse. Some of these people have little or no use or their hands or arms.
There are a few techniques that I found that can be used to accommodate people with mobility impairments. To make selections, individuals use switches activated by movement of the head, finger, foot, breath, etc. One of the ways is to use an infrared camera on the monitor and a processing unit that translates eye motion into on screen action. The user chooses a key by looking at it for a longer time. An impulse sensor that sticks to the skin can also be used to sense and transmit the electrical impulses from the brain and can turn certain movements into mouse clicks. Advances in technology systems also allow someone to operate the computer by just using their mouth, cheek, tongue or chin to move the on-screen cursor and can click on an item by blowing into or sucking out of the straw. Voice recognition systems also allow users to control computers just by speaking words and letters.
I think accommodations in the systems for this disability can be made if there is someone in an organization who needs them because they come at a higher price than the standard computer equipment or systems.
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Special needs children can also benefit from computer-based learning.
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Thank you for your sharing, I have the same consider with about the price of the support hardware and software. If Fox wants to set up these support tools, it should consider about the price, the avg number from recently years disable students.
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Mobility impairment is indeed limit person’s interaction with a system. You provide great examples used to accommodate this type of disabilities. Whether to taking accommodations in a system or not, should take the necessity (i.e. target users, numbers of disabilities in the workforce, price) into consideration.
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You provide a great example of how a system can accommodate people with Mobility impairment to help them interact with a system. Like someone else previously mentioned in their comment, whether or not we should do the accommodations in a system will depend on the target users, numbers of disabilities in the workforce, and the cost.
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Hi Karabo,
Thanks for sharing. For the life of me I couldn’t recall the system (wheelchair?) that was used to make the selections as you described.”To make selections, individuals use switches activated by movement of the head, finger, foot, breath, etc.”. I have never seen this used in person. However, I know of at least one person who utilized this feature, which was Christopher Reeve (original Superman). I recall him falling off his horse which left him immobilize. If I recall correctly he used a chair that made selections you describe.
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Impulse sensor is a very cool idea. I never heard of an interface using that, so it would be revolutionary to implement something like that.
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Thank you for sharing your answer. I like how you mentioned ways that can be implemented without incurring a lot of costs. Additional steps that can also be included are using a screen-enlargement utility: a system for zooming in on portions of the screen to make it easier for the visually impaired to view information on computer monitors. The system can also provide the ability to change the foreground and background colors to suit those that are color blind.
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Thank you for your sharing. I really interest in what you mentioned about the color blindness because some of my friends have different levels of color blindness. As far as I know, a good example comes from computer games, more and more games now have color-blind mode options. The same more and more software is also starting to use this model.
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Thanks for giving some insight on the accommodations for the visually impaired. The screen reader is also helpful as it cay display information in Braille, use voice output, or use other audio signals to indicate graphics on the screen. I appreciate how you talked by the customer loyalty program. Since their goal is that “no customer escapes”, they should as you said conduct a research and implement accommodations for their customers to gain a competitive advantage.
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I also found information on visual impairment. You give great examples of systems we interact with daily that would present a challenge. You also bring up a great point that ALL consumers or users should be considered in system accommodation and development. Variations in users (i.e. disabilities like visual impairment) influence the usability of systems.
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The University at Buffalo”s Assistive Technology Training Online Project is a great tool to help prototype and assess the usability of your system/software. Your comment also brings up a great point that during the process of designing forms and reports, it is important to consider ‘who will use the form or report’ with an open mind when conducting requirements determination, to consider those users with a wide range of disabilities.
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Hi Hanqing,
Thank you for sharing such valuable information about the learning disabilities. However, the cost could be the biggest problem. When searching sources, I realized that learning disabilities have no cure, but early intervention can provide tools and strategies to lessen their effects. People with learning disabilities can be successful in school and work and in their personal lives.
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People with visual and mobility impairment may have a challenge using the computer screen. People with visual impairment have a hard time reading what is on the screen, and people with mobility impairment who cannot move their hands. There are a few tools that can be used to accommodate people who suffer from visual impairment. For instance he can use Windows magnifier, change the text size and the colors etc. In addition people suffering from mobility impairment can just use voice control to easily interact with the system. By just speaking words and letters, people can use the on-screen cursor and control the computer. Those type of system would cost more than the regular computer systems, but I feel that it would appropriate to make these accomodations in a system in the instance that there is someone in an organization who needs them.
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Great point. Like I said in my comment, an employer in the any country should expect to make reasonable accommodation to employ a disabled person, which includes “Making existing facilities used by employees readily accessible to and usable by persons with disabilities; job restructuring, modifying work schedules, reassignment to a vacant position; acquiring or modifying equipment or devices, adjusting or modifying examinations, training materials, or policies, and providing qualified readers or interpreters.”
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People who have visual and mobility impairment are quite common all over the world, therefore, some specific accessibility tools are necessary for these users to operate the system better. As the most popular operating system in the world, Windows has millions of users so some of them could have visual and mobility impairment. Through built-in Windows accessibility features, Windows provides more convenience to these users with a disability to interact with a computer without too much barrier and creates a more friendly environment for them to live in a digital world.
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I agree with you Casid. Having systems with the features you mentioned above would easily accommodate people with disabilities. Even though it can be costly, the manpower and the value it can create should not be disregarded.
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I love the color blindness simulator you have mentioned because my father is color-blind, I really hope he can feel the exactly red and green. He told me red and green are just gray. He also can not figure out pink and green if they are not separated.
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Computer accessibility refers to the accessibility of a computer system to all people, regardless of disability type or severity of impairment. One example of disability causes a barrier to effective computer use is visual impairment, such as low-vision, blindness, and color blindness. Because in the most situation, computer interfaces with visual input and provide visual feedback to the users, the individual who has visual impairment could face a significant challenge when interacting with a computer. Using the larger font, high DPI displays, and high contrast themes and icons could be helpful for people who have low vision. Screen reader software can help people who has the visual disability to interact with a computer system, which provides feedback via text to speech or refreshable braille display.
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I agree with you, because it is important for people to access to the computer no matter they are disabled or not. The people with visual problem need screen reader for them to receive the information. However, it is only public information
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Nice point. There are also a concept called “accessibility features of computer”, which are designed to help people with disabilities use technology more easily. For example, a text-to-speech feature may read text out loud for people with limited vision, while a speech-recognition feature allows users with limited mobility to control the computer with their voice.
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That is true, Dongjie, also I agree with you that ” in the most situation, computer interfaces with visual input and provide visual feedback to the users, the individual who has visual impairment could face a significant challenge when interacting with a computer. “
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I agree with you. With a computer interface with visual input and providing visual feedback to the user, visually impaired people may face major challenges when interacting with the computer.
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I like your post, Yijiang.
People who have the disability could achieve a better life. For example, Stephen Hawking, a great English theoretical physicist. He interacted with his computer using Intel’s system. “Hawking’s computer system uses a rudimentary timed interface. A cursor automatically scans across an on-screen keyboard, and whenever the renowned physicist blinks, he triggers an infrared sensor on his cheek. This stops the moving cursor and selects whatever key or option the cursor was highlighting at the time.”
Reference: https://iq.intel.com/behind-scenes-intel-keeps-stephen-hawking-talking/ -
I think that is a great idea. This would be really helpful for students and allow them to have a great learning experience. I liked your points about the synthesizers, the word prediction machine. Thank you for your detailed explanation of the disabilities.
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I made a points point about some of the difficulties visually impaired people would have. Your solutions seem pretty useful and easy to implement. I also like that you mentioned to implement it without incurring a huge cost. Thank you for your sharing this post.
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You made a great point *
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It is important to improve accessibility for disabled. Computers should be used by anyone regardless he or she is disabled or not. For example, some people lost their arms, so they cannot type the words on the computers. Computers should have application to transfer what they are saying to words. These people can enter the words by saying something. Another example is that, some people have visual problems. They cannot see the screen, so the information cannot be readable. these computer can transfer the words to voice to make these people receive the public information. In addition, their voice can help them lock and unlock their computers. They do not need to use fingerprint or password for security.
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Well said, I totally agree with you. I also think that everything should put more “humanity” or user-friendly when the idea was come up, especially in the technology aspect.
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You bring up really good view about that. For example, Hawking, Even after the loss of his speech, he was still able to communicate through a speech-generating device, initially through use of a hand-held switch, and eventually by using a single cheek muscle.
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Just a question: do you think if people have visual impairment use screen reader software will result in some information security problems? and how to avoid them?
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You are very correct. Two very helpful ways the user interface can accommodate these disabilities are the alternative keypad and the voice prompt options. However, these need to go through proper quality testing. I have seen some voice prompt options that are simply horrible, you ask for a, and its asking- are you talking about “d”, this can be very frustrating and make a potential customer just lose faith in that particular store., and this defeats “no customer escapes”
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Usability issues for disabled people are not only in hardware but also in software. Ideas you mentioned about security setting provide a simple solution. Voice input method is used in many areas today and provide convenience for different type of users.
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You are right, some spcial software programs called screen readers can read computer screens and speech synthesizers speak the text. The availability of earphones for individuals using speech output systems can reduce the distractions for others nearby.
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I agree with you, because these tools can make people improve their working efficiency. It helps people overcome their issues to receive and send information.
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I agree with you, because it is important to help everyone access the computer regardless the type of disabled. People can install different tools to make everything easier. For example, using their voice to enter information. That improves their working efficiency.
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Usability is part of the broader term “user experience” and refers to the ease of access and/or use of a product or website. A design is not usable or unusable per se; its features, together with the context of the user (what the user wants to do with it and the user’s environment), determine its level of usability. The official ISO 9241-11 definition of usability is: “the extent to which a product can be used by specified users to achieve specified goals with effectiveness, efficiency and satisfaction in a specified context of use.”
However, all humans have limitations in their physical capabilities. The definitions of who is considered disabled would be “an individual with a disability is a person who: has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities; has a record of such impairment; or is regarded as having such an impairment.” An employer in the any country should expect to make reasonable accommodation to employ a disabled person, which includes “Making existing facilities used by employees readily accessible to and usable by persons with disabilities; job restructuring, modifying work schedules, reassignment to a vacant position; acquiring or modifying equipment or devices, adjusting or modifying examinations, training materials, or policies, and providing qualified readers or interpreters.”
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Well said, Xiaomin! I agree that all humans have limitations and that employers around the world should accommodate the needs of users that are impaired with any kinds of disabilities. This is especially applicable when interacting with the computer systems. The contents in the web should be made available in a way that is accessible to users with disabilities as well.
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User experience is always a key issue for most of the organization that should keep improvement, no matter for normal users or disabled people. The problem is more severe for disabled people since have problem with this even on many easy functions that normal people won’t have problem with. How to improve the user experience and make most of users comfortable with is always the important question.
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I like your sharing. A person who is considered to be disabled is defined as: “A person with a disability is a person who has physical or mental impairment that severely restricts one or more major life activities; has a record of such damage; or is considered to have such a defect.”
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Usability and human-computer interaction (HCI) are becoming core aspects of the system development
process to improve and enhance system facilities and to satisfy users’ needs and necessities. HCI will assist designers, analysts and users to identify the system needs from text style, fonts, layout, graphics and color, while usability will confirm if the system is efficient, effective, safe, utility, easy to learn, easy to remember, easy
to use and to evaluate, practical visible and provide job satisfaction to the users.-
Wise answer, Linlan. Accessibility tools should not be only beneficial to system users, but also useful to system designers. In today’s digital world, human-computer interaction is playing a critical role. As a core function of HCI, accessibility or usability can help people with visual and mobility impairment to operate the system better through adjusting fonts, color, and display. An outstanding human-computer interaction design can help both normal users and people with a disability improve their work efficiency and effectiveness.
A friendly reminder: Remember to adjust your paragraph layout while you copy and paste things from Word document. Lol.
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Hi Linlan,
It is important that HCI are the core aspects of system development. The below link discusses how we can work together to assist people with disability who wish to use a computer. They talk about people in wheelchairs not being able to sit under a desk, or some with limited mobility of their arms not being able to use a standard keyboard. Unfortunately, some modification are very slow/limited to be implemented. This is definitely true for the color blind gentlemen that I wrote about below.
https://www.washington.edu/doit/working-together-people-disabilities-and-computer-technology
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Thank you for sharing your own experience Mengqiao. In the terms of traffic light, in some countries of China, the traffic light in sidewalk is designed not only by the color (red/green) but also by the pattern. For example, if the pattern is static man in red it means stop, and if the pattern is walking man in green it means move. I think it is a really humanization design for color-blind people.
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True. The Chinese government is making a lot of humanization design for the color-blind people on the road or in the building, but I really hope they make some changes for traffic rules.
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Well said, Human-computer interaction researchers at Microsoft envision a future where technology enhances the human experience for everyone, everywhere. Research results are routinely translated to technological innovations that impact Microsoft customers and products and benefit society at large through open science collaborations.
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I like you post and more understanding about color blindness people’s situation.
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Hi, Mengqiao, thank you for sharing the story.
I agree with you. People who have the colorblind problem can still work and live normally. I think the Chinese Government establishes that rule to avoid the potential traffic accident, but they did not realize people are colorblind have their own way to distinguish the colors. Your father is very lucky because he has drive license. Hope Chinese government can realize the problem and figure out some solutions for this problem, -
These are all great points as you have noted. In the design and analysis phase, you need to consider all class of people that would use the software. A physically disabled person going into the store would have to get a specialized cab (like access-a-ride etc) that can accommodate wheelchairs etc, so taking into consideration that disabled people might be more inclined and comfortable to place orders online instead of having to go into the store, accommodations should be made in the system/software to allow for this.
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Disability exist in all forms and can occur at any time. Thus, it will be prudent to build a system accessible to forms of disability.
Some computer interfaces require hearing most computer uses sound to warn the user of an error, this gives rise to a significant challenge in computer accessibility. Developing computer usable by people with hearing impairments – Auditory Processing Disorders, Conductive, Sensorineural, or Mixed is important.
A computer should be able alert a user with an icon or pictures to enhance accessibility. Example will be SoundSentry where visual alert can light the monitor with picture of instruction, blinking title, or direction.
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Hi Pascal
I agree with your comment about “A computer should be able alert a user with an icon or pictures to enhance accessibility”. Computer and the environment could be adjusted to assist in one’s disability. I located a web page (below) that provides information and tips on accommodating web users with disabilities. According to the link below Mr. Alex was a “reporter for more than 20 years and has developed a repetitive strain injury that makes it painful to use a mouse and to type for extended periods of time.
Though it took considerable research, time, and commitment to learn, he is able to work with less pain using the following modifications to his work environment:
-use of an ergonomic keyboard
-use of keyboard commands without a mouse
-voice recognition software on his computer and mobile phone
-assertive touch on his mobile phone”https://www.w3.org/WAI/intro/people-use-web/stories#reporter
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HI Iyana,
You make an excellent point and I agree with your post. Visual impairment absolutely hinders a user’s ability to read or to interact with a system. Being visually impaired can also hind someone from your a cell phone. We quickly forget that people with impairments can’t always utilize the new thing or the normal thing (cell phone) at this point often. My uncle is legally blind, however he has very little vision in one eye. Nevertheless, he utilizes his cell pone every day( to much if you ask me. LOL!). He overcame his disability by using Google. Google does everything for him with a touch of a button. If it weren’t for Google talk I have no clue as to how he would communicate with me or even keep up with whats happening around him.
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Various disabilities can affect user’s ability to interact with systems.Among many, visual disability is one of them. The ability to interact with web system also depends on the severity of visual disability. Color blindness, low vision and blindness are examples of visual disability. In order to make the interface accessible for users with visual disability, developers should ensure the contents can be customized in a way that meets the need of visually impaired users. Further, listening to the audio embedded presentation can help overcome the barrier for users with visual disabilities.
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Great explanation, Yingyan! The need of computer accessibility is increasing more than ever. I like your example of starbucks. In my previous job, there was cafeteria which only hired people with visual disabilities. They were provided with devices that cash register that had a built in audio feature. The device helped them to deal with payments with voice guidance.
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Hello Lyana,
You pointed to a key issue in system and software designs. The accessibilities for people with disabilities are extremely important. The people with disabilities may have special needs, but sometimes a good design can avoid the extra cost on those kind of systems. For example, more physical buttons and inputting reactions. -
Color blind and general blind as well as deaf are common disabilities faced by many people. and make their life complex in terms of systems’ functionality and usability. Designers now invented different access to certain functions and increase the convenience for people with disability. For example, on pages contains paragraphs of texts, designers add extra accessible function to read the text.
Another special situation is that many users have difficulty with detailed mouse movements and may also have problems holding down multiple keyboard keys simultaneously. Most of these issues should be taken care of by improved browser design and should not concern content designers except for the advice not to design image maps that require extremely precise mouse positioning. Client-side image maps will work even for users who cannot use a mouse at all: the browser should be able to move through the links under keyboard control.
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I agree with you, most individuals who are blind cannot access visual material presented on the computer screen or in printed materials. but designer will designe Braille key labels can assist with keyboard use. Also, speech output systems can be used to read screen text to computer users who are blind.
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Thank you Zhixin, you listed good examples for dyslexia ad other vision impairments face several issues, no matter the blind, color blindness simulations, or motor impairments.
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Thank you, yijiang. You mentioned a good point, windows operating system’s interaction methods. They have found this issue at least from I was a kid, I played with those functions. I didn’t know their real usages at that time. But I think they are necessary. And it is sweat to care their accessibilities.
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People with disabilities meet barriers of all types. However, technology is helping to lower many of these barriers. By using computing technology for tasks such as reading and writing documents, communicating with others, and searching for information on the Internet, students and employees with disabilities are capable of handling a wider range of activities independently. Still, people with disabilities face a variety of barriers to computer use. These barriers can be grouped into three functional categories: barriers to providing computer input, interpreting output, and reading supporting documentation. Hardware and software tools (known as adaptive or assistive technologies) have been developed to provide functional alternatives to these standard operations. Specific products, and approaches to using them, are described below.
1. mobility impairments
2. blindness
3. low vision
4. hearing or speech impairments
5. specific learning disabilities-
I like how you bring up that technology is helping people (students and employees alike) who are not fully capable complete their daily tasks and feel included. I also think it is commendable to society for continuously developing adaptive/assistive technologies to help those in need.
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I agree with you. By using computer technology to accomplish tasks such as reading and writing documents, communicating with others, and searching information on the Internet, students and employees with disabilities can independently handle broader activities.
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I like that you went into detail about the different challenges that could be faced when using an interface. Catering to those with low or no vision could be important.
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I did not know about the services that the University of Buffalo offers, but this is good information to know! I think that because they offer such services, individuals who are not sure if they have an impairment can self-diagnose once interacting with the program. If they find that they in fact have something, they can get the appropriate help.
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An accessibility issue can occur with those who have dementia. It is when a person forgets their history and can affect short term as well as long term memory. This would hinder a person in remembering their login credentials. A recommendation to help with this issue is using a different factor of authorization. This could be something they are, and if two-factor is needed, something they have. Using a fingerprint scanner would take a person’s ability to remember out of the equation and would just require them to take part in a facial recognition scan for fingerprint scan. I believe this would be worthwhile for a system with abnormal levels of people that would benefit from using this system.
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It is important to increase the accessibility of people with disabilities. Regardless of whether he or she is disabled, anyone should use a computer. For example, some people lose their legs, so they cannot type words on a computer. Computers should have applications to pass what they say. These people can input these words by saying something. Another example is that some people have vision problems. They cannot see the screen, so the information is unreadable. These computers can convert text into speech so that these people can obtain public information. In addition, their voice can help them lock and unlock their computer. They do not need fingerprints or passwords for security checks.
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I think that having a text-to-speech system would be a good addition to a website. You can make the entire website accessible by using specific verbal cues to navigate everything.
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I agree with you. The human-computer interaction method of the Windows operating system can help people with disabilities to better operate their computers. Therefore, these accessibility features not only improve the working efficiency of the disabled, but also help them rebuild their confidence in life.
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Good point. Vision-impaired navigation systems will have speech-based assistive or sensory technologies that make people aware of the path to the road and potential obstacles. Many of the bank’s ATM systems are also available today for people with disabilities.
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Having specific interfaces for those with disabilities is super important. It may not be too profitable to do so, but it will definitely be appreciated by the niche audiences with certain disabilities. Dyslexia is a disability/disorder that interested me. An interface can have a mode that is specifically tailored to those with this problem. There are special fonts that can be used for this, such as dyslexie font. There are plenty of other disabilities that you can make accessible to a specific system.
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Gesture language is a great idea. Having more than just a typing input for a website could really make it more accessible.
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I did not know 20% of people have a disability, that’s interesting. It definitely makes sense to try and cater services for people with disabilities, so people of all types can access the content.
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Mike Romeu wrote a new post on the site Systems and Infrastructure Life Cycle Management 6 years, 4 months ago
Who should be in charge of designing the database – team members, who understand the application requirements, or a database design expert, who may not understand the problem domain issues but does understand goo […]
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Designing a database is not a simple matter, it can not doing by only one person. The person knows about the requirements may not familiar with database designing. The design expert knows how to design a good database, but the result may not be matched with the requirements. Thus, as mentioned in the question, both who understand the application requirements, or a database design expert should work together and get brainstorm to come out a good format for the database.
There are several steps can increase the security level of data: 1. Isolate sensitive databases; 2. Eliminate vulnerabilities; 3. Enforce least privileges; 4. Enforce least privileges; 5. Respond to suspicious behavior; 6. design secure passwords; 7. Monitor and audit your database. For the encryption, in general, we can use both symmetric and asymmetric database encryption. Any data relate to PII, company’s core imformation need to be secured.-
I agree with you. The design of a database is a complex work, the corporation between team members would be a better solution than doing by an individual. The design should match the requirements and should be feasible for the company to implement.
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Well said Iyana, just like any project database design should incorporate all the key stakeholders. This includes the people the database is being designed for(users), the process owners, whoever is responsible for ensuring the quality of the database, person responsible for database security. Thank you for proving a real-life experience that shows the importance of the contribution of everyone in the team.
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I agree with you, because it is important to make the database strong. Using the strong password is a good way to protect the access authority on the database. To determine which encryption method we should use, it is important to determine the security level. Using stronger method for high security level data.
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HI Hanqing,
I agree with your advice for team members and database design expert work together and get the brainstorm to get a better idea. I think you can more focus on how to increase the security level of data with the integrity, not just in general.
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I agree. The design of a database can be pretty challenging. Which is why it is important for both data base design expert and staff to cooperate and do it together. The design and the requirements should match and easy to implement.
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I think you are correct with your idea that a database needs multiple people working because it has a lot of moving parts.
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Hanqing, the suggestions you made are practical and specific. Especially the first point “isolate sensitive databases”. I understand why you put it first. An isolated sensitive database makes sure limited accessibilities and prevents catastrophe risk caused by hazard of the destroy of other databases.
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I agree with you. Designing a database requires an understanding of the business functions you want to model. It also requires an understanding of the database concepts and features that you want to use to represent those business functions.
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Database design is a complex, but necessary process. It involves creating a functional database system that is able to manage all of a company’s information in one place. When designing a database, there are a lot of factors to consider in order to ensure it can do what is required of it.
First of all, there is a role called database designer, who is responsible for defining the detailed database design, including tables, indexes, views, constraints, triggers, stored procedures, and other database-specific constructs needed to store, retrieve, and delete persistent objects. They are in charge of database design, who understand the application requirements, a database design expert. Then, there is another role called database developer, who will in addition evaluate and advise on all technology components, such as software, hardware, and networking capabilities, for database management systems and applications. As part of the role they will be responsible for implementing data dashboards to all levels of the organization. They may not understand the problem domain issues but does understand good database design.
For the data encryption, there are nine data encryption methods:
1) Transparent/ External database encryption
2) Column-level encryption
3) Field-level encryption
4) Filesystem-level encryption
5) Full disk encryption
6) Symmetric and asymmetric database encryption
7) Key management
8) Hashing
9) Application-level encryption-
I agree. It is insightful of you to explain the differences between both the database designer and database developer role. It is also important to consider the database administer when designing a database. They will be responsible for performing the day-to-day task of maintaining the database environment to ensure its availability and that it runs smoothly.
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Yes, the database designers and database developers can collaborate effectively to define the details of a database design, examine the requirements, identify constraints ( if any), evaluate and advise on all technological components. They may also work with other stakeholders to enable them to understand the problem domain issues and to develop a good database.
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Thank you for your sharing. You gave the details about the components of the database and different types of the encryption method. I think the Application-level encryption is the most powerful encryption method to encrypt the database.
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Thanks for sharing your thoughts. This is a very detailed comment. I like the level of details put in while talking about the different encryption method. To me the symmetric and asymmetric method are the most appropriate for this case.
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Hello Xiaomin, good analysis. You made a good introduction toward the two critical roles database designers and database developers. And the nine encryption methods are helpful to be mentioned.
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I like you post. Yes, Database design is a complicated but necessary process. It involves creating a functional database system that can manage all the company’s information in one place.
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The design of a database is not an easy task. It involves the creation of a system that manages the entire company’s information. It cannot be left up to neither the business nor the technical people who knows database design. They should both work on it together to make sure that the solution is correct and efficient. It is an entire process that requires and understanding of the business needs and the gathering of requirements. After the analysis phase the requirements should be communicated to the team that will be in charge for the business needs. The database designer, will be responsible for taking care of the details for the database design. Then the database developer will take care of all the technology components (software, hardware, and applications). His understanding of database design will come in handy.
For the encryption, we can use different method.
Column level encryption
Field level encryption
Full disk encryption
Key management
Filesystem level encryption
Symmetric and asymmetric database encryption
Application-level encryption
However in our case for data that need high security level like PII, they should be encrypted usingboth symmetric and asymmetric database encryption. -
Database design is a collaborative team effort. Even though the database designer knows how to design the models of the database using different diagrams they can not design or model what they do know. They need an understanding of the business function or the requirements the database must meet. The database design includes determination of the data to be stored in the database, the relationships between the different data elements and a logical structure drawn from of the relationships. All these can be achieved from an input from other team members.
Both data at rest and in transit should be secured. This can be done in different ways. Transparent/external database encryption helps to protect data at rest. Column-level encryption for is encryption of the individual columns in the database. Symmetric encryption involves the use of a private key being applied to data that is stored and called from a database. Asymmetric database encryption uses private and public key for encryption. Hashing is used to protect sensitive data such as passwords. Application-level encryption, encrypts data before it is written to the database.
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I appreciate your information on the processes included in database design. I agree that the determination of the data, relationships, and logical structure require input from the team members that will be interacting or using the solution. Thinking through these elements are a critical information gathering experience for both the team and database designer.
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Yes, Karabo, I agree with you. Database design is a collaborative team effort. it is more efficient for the team complete the design the database.
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Yes, Karabo,
Good point. Database design is a collaborative team effort and allows for a better efficiency in the deign of the database. And I like your detailed point about how each encryption method works. Thanks for sharing -
I agree with you that designing a database is a collaborative effort. Everyone involved has special skills that can help with database design in the most effective way. You also did a good job explaining the different methods of data encryption and their scalability.
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Your comment was very insightful in explaining all the different roles that should be required in the designing a database. As you mentioned, it starts with gathering requirements which requires a collaborative effort. This can help prevent things like missing essential data in the database. I also agree that the solution should be evaluated on its affect on the business in entirety. It is important to test the solution based on current requirements and the future requirements or the organization to allow for scalability.
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Good point, Xinteng.
I agree with you that the stakeholders and senior management should be involved in a project. It is very important for their involvement to provide a direction and facilitate the process of a project.
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Hi, Lyana.
You provide clear points for how to evaluate the solution’s suitability. The consistency with the business requirement should be the most important consideration when evaluating the solution. System analysis is a good one to identify the improvements needed to better meet business needs.
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Thank you for your sharing. I really like what you talk about the “stakeholders,” you are right, so I think the stakeholders’ goals and benefits is one of the requirements that the team members need to pay attention to. Thus, whatever we missing team members who knows the requirements or the design experts, the result will not match with the stakeholders’ requirements.
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Thank you for your sharing. You gave some great ideas about the evaluation methods. I like you mentioned about the Ability to anticipate future requirements and Ongoing review, both two methods are caring about the future performance of the database to make sure it is strong enough and still meet with the requirements.
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Good Point, The collaboration between database experts and key stakeholders makes the task of designing a database easier. This will enable them to achieve the business requirements and all technical requirements for developing a good database.
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I agree with you, data design experts only deal with the technical problem in database designation. Senior managers may understand the requirements and .needs better than the experts, because they understand the direction of the business. The application should serve the business better by aligning with the direction.
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I agree with you, because designing a database should be a teamwork. People should collect the requirements from stakeholders in an organization. Database design expert can design the database based on the requirements, so it is important to involve many roles in a team to develop a database.
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Designing the database is the complex process, which not only build up the physical function but also need separate the different duty of data. Basically, I prefer that both of senior manager or stakeholders who understand the application requirements and design expert who understand good database design are important during creating database process.
In order to protect our database, also protect data integrity. We should separate the different roles’ duty, some staff can have authorities to access the data, someone can’t. also, we need define the different level of data. Such as the sensitive data we should create strong password policy and the data should be encrypted and monitored. Last, as an auditor should audit the database regular.
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I agree with you, Linlan. Defining different levels of data is indeed a smart way to make the database secure. Not all data needs the same the same kind of security. Understanding what kind of protection is needed based on the sensitivity of the data and applying the relevant encryption within the database will prove to be efficient.
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Binju,
I truly agree with your comment about understanding what kind of protection is needed based on the sensitivity. It is important and would prove to be more efficient to separate the data out into levels of sensitivity and identifying the data that actually needs encryption opposed to possible encrypting something that isn’t necessary.
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I agree with your comment Linlan, to separate the different roles’ duty,
I was reading in an article that the DBAs should be in control of encryption keys, as well as the data itself. The duty of the security group is define policies and procedures and monitor data encryption, while the DBAs should be able to implement these controls with minimal impact on their main role: administering databases,
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Good answer, Linlan. Segregation of duties could be an effective principle to protect our database and data integrity. For instance, Database Administrator should not be able to modify the data, because this belongs to Data Owner’s duty. In contrast, Data Owner cannot perform the installation and configuration responsibilities either. Also, as you mentioned, Least Privilege should be implemented to ensure that any authorized personnel can only operate the system on a basis of minimal time and authority.
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Hi Linlan,
I too agree with you comments about separating the different roles. Segregation of duty is always a great way to protect the integrity of a function. As stated by Xiaomin (above) the differences in roles with regards to a database designer, administrator, developer. each of these roles are defined by their duties (explained above) and would prove to be useful in protecting the integrity of the implementation process.
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I think you bring up a good point suggesting that both senior management and stakeholders should be involved when deciding on database design and the creation process. I think you mention good points regarding security as well. Having password protection, encryption, and regular audit are good ways to make sure there are no gaps in coverage.
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Thank you for sharing your opinion. everybody in the team has their own duty to make contribute.
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Jing, thank you for sharing at length the importance of team effort in the design. I also found this article interesting that details some of the questions the team can evaluate the efficiency of the solution.
• Has the logical model been thoroughly examined to ensure that all of the required business functionality can be achieved based solely upon the model?
• Is the model in (at least) third normal form?
• Have all of the data elements (entities and attributes) required for this application been identified?
• Have the data elements which have been identified been documented accurately?
• Have all of the relationships been defined properly -
I agree with you. To certify the solution is correct or not, there should be user acceptance testing and quality assurance in the end of software development life cycle.
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I believe, both team members and database design expert should be in charge of designing the database. The database design work requires high level understanding of the data and as well as the understanding of the application requirements. If any of the two factors are missing, then a successful database design may not be accomplished. The database design should be treated as a collaborative work where team members and experts contribute their efforts and knowledge for secure and integrated database. Lastly, designing and implementing a database that is reasonably secure is significant to address the CIA triad of the available data. Securing database can be done by encrypting specific columns and tables which is termed as column-level encryption.
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Binju, I agree with your point. Designing a database should be a collaborated work which includes both parties. the collaboration can create a functional and secure database for the organizations.
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Well said, Yingyan. I like how you brought up saving cost and improving efficiency to accomplish successful database design. Both of these aspects cannot be fully utilized if team members and database design expert work separately.
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While you will definitely need a database design expert to design the database, you also need the team members input to design the database, one of the steps in designing a database is information gathering, and you definitely need inputs from direct and indirect users of the database. So I would say these 2 sets of people are not mutually exclusive in the design of the database.
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I absolutely agree with you, Stella. A successful database design is only possible if inputs from all sources (direct and indirect users, like you mentioned) are obtained. Team members and database design expert are equally needed to design the database.
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At the board-room level, data encryption may easily be viewed as a binary matter: data encryption is employed and the company’s assets are secure, or they’re not encrypted and it’s time to panic.
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I definitely agree with you about information gathering and the effort that all the managers need to put into this step of design. Data cleaning is a key procedure in today’s data transfer and database implementation.
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I definitely see the argument of mutual exclusivity. You could choose to use both of these things and have the team members and the database specialist work together,
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Hi Xinteng,
Good point on authorities assigned when combining with database and integrity. If there are no reasonable authorities assigned to the database, different departments or different roles maybe cross-cutting power, which would lead to employee fraud or information leakage.
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And the first step is to get a high-level grasp of the topic and an understanding of the business or functional area. Generally this is referred to as the business domain.
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I also think all team members should be in charge of designing the database. It is a complex processing.
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Designing an efficient database is an outcome of collaboration between the business team and the technical team(software developers)within the organization. a properly designed database provides you with an access to an up-to-date, accurate information. Because a correct design is essential to achieving management goals in working with the database, investigating the time required to learn the principles of good designs make sense. In the end, higher level managers are much more likely to achieve the database more compliant with their need and can easily accommodate change.
The database holds the backbone of an organization, it’s transaction, customers, employee info, financial information for both customers and employees, and much more confidential data within the organization, Database security an integrity are essential aspects of an organization’s security levels. Database security is a key responsibility of the organization’s database admin and the technical team handling it.-
Security is definitely a key responsibility for the database. The admins would take care of this, and make sure the database is run accordingly.
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Nice post, Yingyan. As you mentioned, to ensure whether the database solution is correct or not, we have to perform a series of feasibility tests initially to see if our database design can fulfill our business needs and requirements. Also, we have to test whether our database can work smoothly with our other information systems at a high efficiency. One more thing, laws and regulatory compliance is another important factor which we have to pay attention to because ignorance of it could cause potential reputation and economic loss to our company in the future.
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Zhixin- Eliminate data redundancy is an interesting and important point to consider while maintaining the information in the database. This issue is very common in the database design, and it won’t cross admin’s mind often.
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Who should be in charge of designing the database – team members, who understand the application requirements, or a database design expert, who may not understand the problem domain issues but does understand good database design?
I believe the database expert would be the best choose for designing the database, so they should be in charge. The database design expert must be skilled enough to understanding the end user’s requirements, as well as, the database’s integrity and security. Outside of the data requirements according to our text, systems analysts must also know physical data characteristic, frequency of use of the system interfaces, and the capabilities of database technologies.
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What data needs to be secure? Sensitive data (ex. PII) that is either at rest or in transit should be secured at all times.
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I can definitely see the argument from both sides. Database specialists know how to create an effective database, but team members would actually would need to go into that database.
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I appreciate your explanation of the different types of encryption. The type of encryption needed will definitely vary. That is why it is important to have a firm understanding of not only what kind of data will be within the database but its relation to the organization. This requires input from both team members and the database designer to ensure the best form of encryption is used.
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I agree. The design of a database can be pretty challenging. Which is why it is important for both data base design expert and staff to cooperate and do it together. The design and the requirements should match and easy to implement.
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I agree. The design of a database should be done as a group. And you also made a good point regarding the encryption method that should be used. It will depend on the the security level of the data.
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Hi Iyana
I agree with you point, especially the different ways that the team can evaluate how suitable a solution is. Liek you also mentioned we should also determine the level of access required before determining the encryption method. -
Database design in an essential process and you would want people well versed in the company to create it. Team members with database experience would most likely be the best choice. Team members would actually be using the database, so they could verify how effective it really is. Database security is essential for the organization to run effectively. The ability to internally audit encryption methods would also be a good idea.
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I agree with the point on a binary situation. Security is a very complicated issue, and it could take very many angles to be effective.
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Asymmetric and symmetric encryption is something that could be very effective. I could definitely see a company using this for their database.
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Nice analysis Xinten, a good introduction toward different roles. And I really agreed on your point that important to include different roles in a team.
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To designing the database, I think team members who understand the application requirements and the database design expert who is professional in database structure designing should collaborate. Because during the database design process, understanding the business rules and application requirements is critical. If only team members responsible for designing the database, the database structure and entity might be inefficient. However, if only database design experts responsible for the database designing, the database might not functional because the experts lack understanding of the application requirements.
Organizations could use many controls to ensure the security of the database, such as cryptographic, least privileges, log management, and monitoring. All the data that is not public should be protected. Organizations need to classify the data into different levels based on the sensitivity level to implement controls.-
Well said. Database design is a complex, but necessary process. It involves creating a functional database system that is able to manage all of a company’s information in one place.
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I agree with you Dongjie.Organizations should use some controls to secure the database. Except you list the example of cryptographic, least privileges, log management, and monitoring, there also have used passwords and change that frequency, encryption, segment your database, and using some tools hidden your database.
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I agree with you. If only database design experts are responsible for the design of the database, the database may not work properly because experts lack understanding of the application’s requirements.
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Yingyan, good point, In order to protect the data efficiently, the organization should classify the data based on the sensitive level. Therefore, the organizations could implement control methods more cost-effective and efficient.
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In addition, I think log management and least privileges are also good method to protect the database security,
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Well said. Role-based access control is really important to an organization in regarding the protection of data.
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Nice point. As part of the role they will be responsible for implementing data dashboards to all levels of the organization. They may not understand the problem domain issues but does understand good database design.
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Nice point. I also think data integrity and accuracy is really important during the process of database design. In most companies, there are areas where important business decisions are routinely made based on data.
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Hello Lyana, you made a good point that “the effective database modeling involves understanding both the business requirements and the database features” the solution evaluations you provide are very thoughtful as well.
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Hello Sarush, good analysis. I agree with you on the point that a business should start on the point to fully the business requirements and then built the further frameworks above it.
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You are right, except that the sensitive database like PII should be protected carefully.
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I like how you mentioned that efficiency and understanding requirements are important factors when designing a database. This will, in fact, help with cost reduction. I also think you have a good idea mentioning encryption as a way to keep data secure.
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I agree, database design is a group effort and the more people involved, the more inaccuracies will be managed. I think something you can include to the well-designed database list is user experience.
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I would select a column based encryption method for the database. It can protect key information without effecting the entire record. It would also allow for non confidential information to be accessed with out the slowdown of dealing with encryption. Loss of data due to loss of key is mitigated since different keys are required for different columns.
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Designing a database cannot only be done by one person. It takes a team of people who understand what the business requirements are and how to build a database. These skills may not come from one single person and a good database requires both to be effective in its purpose. Those who understand the application requirements and database design should work together for this result. The steps to increase the security level of data are to; Isolate sensitive databases, eliminate vulnerabilities, enforce least privileges, enforce least privileges, respond to suspicious behavior, design secure passwords, monitor and audit your database. Both symmetric and asymmetric database encryption can be used in order to protect any data relate to PII and private company information.
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Making a database is a complex process that not only builds physical functions but also separates the different responsibilities of the data. Basically, I would like to know more about the senior managers or stakeholders of application requirements, and the design experts who understand good database design are very important in the process of creating a database.In order to protect our database, we must also protect the integrity of the data. We should separate the roles of different roles. Some employees can have access to data and some cannot. In addition, we need to define different levels of data. For sensitive data, we should create a strong password policy. Data should be encrypted and monitored. Finally, auditors should audit database rules;
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I agree with you. People with business and technology can become bright spots between business and IT departments. But in general, business units and day-to-day employees should improve their needs and needs in order to achieve their business goals and efficiencies.
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I agree with you. Encryption can be used for database design and implementation to protect the database from information security issues Encryption can be external encryption (referring to the encryption of the entire database, so that the database is not visible without the database credentials), data encryption (refers to the encryption of certain parts of the database, such as specific columns, tables ).
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Good point. Stakeholders and senior managers understand the requirements because the applications are designed for their use in the business. The software development team has a good understanding of software design.
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Mike Romeu wrote a new post on the site Systems and Infrastructure Life Cycle Management 6 years, 5 months ago
What does it mean to have integrated models? Explain how each of the models relate to the other models – models we have learned are use case diagram, CRUD matrix, class diagram, activity diagram, fully deve […]
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Great Point, cross-checking between models will help the systems designer or analyst to identify potential deficiencies and correct them as early as possible. Lack of cross-checking may lead to development problems in the business process.
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Jing Jiang and tuf50240, great point here.
Now I am of the conviction that cross checking is not an option but a requirement. Failing to cross check is a recipe for delay, increased expenses, loss, etc. Cross check is as important as any other requirement for development process.
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Thanks for the explanation. Depending on an analyst’s needs, use case descriptions are usually written at two separate levels of detail: brief description and fully developed description. A brief description can be used for very simple use cases, especially when the system to be developed is small, with a well-understood application.
The fully developed description is the most formal method of documenting a use case, and it includes the following – use case name, scenario, brief description, triggering event, actors, related use case, stakeholders, precondition, post-condition, flow of activities and exception condition ( exception conditions are any condition that causes the system not to follow the expected flow of activities or that leads to abnormal termination of the use case). -
Perfect!
Cross-checking between models will help the analyst to ensure that all requirements are accurate and/or in-line with the set objectives. Unidentified deficiencies or error might cost the business a lot – in terms of output, financial or material damage(s) and many more.
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There are many well-formedness rules of each UML element in UML specification, but there are not any rules that check the consistency among UML diagrams.The cross checking between models ensure that the requirements are accurate and correct. we propose several checking rules to improve the consistency among UML diagrams, especially between UML static diagram and dynamic diagram. So we make explicit some requirements on consistency of UML diagrams that are buried in the original well-formedness rules of UML specification and derive some checking rules.
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You are right, cross-checking is important as it allows for early detection of discrepancies between the different models and gives the designers a chance to make corrections before the system development stage. Like you said, it also helps to identify any inconsistencies for examples the same entities should appear in the diagrams, showing similar processes and data stores. Cross checking also checks for continuity as the model mature.
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You bring up an important point that while we have many rules for the syntax and design of models it is important to develop this same “attention to detail” in the cross checking rules of various models. I think as auditors, when cross checking diagrams, it is important for us to also evaluate how significant an error found is. For example, is it as simple as the diagram being inconsistent with the UML specification/standards you mentioned. Or more severe where cross checking the models shows that they are self-contradictory to the system’s or software’s key requirements.
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Oh, Zhixin little sister, like your post the most. They are so cohesive and easy to read. I agree with you on the idea that the cross checking between models ensure the accuracy and the correctness of the requirements.
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I think you bring up a good point about cross checking and how doing so will help with finding discrepancies within UML diagrams. Putting this idea into practice will help solidify the diagrams and make sure all users are on the same page.
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Consistency is key in these diagrams, I agree. You need everything to “talk” to each other and the language needs to be consistent in order to guarantee success.
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The objective of the SSD is to document the actual input data and the output data that flows between the user actor and the system.
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Use case diagrams are used to specify:
(external) requirements, required usages of a system under design or analysis (subject) – to capture what the system is supposed to do; the functionality offered by a subject – what the system can do -
In UML terms, subject is a classifier playing the “subject” role. They did not create a separate special class for subject, as it was done with actor and use case. UML 2.5 states that a subject of a UseCase could be a system or any other element that may have behavior, such as a Component or Class
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When designing a system, requirements are gathered, and these requirements are represented using different models. To have integrated models means these models are used together to show the process, logic and timing, and data of the system components. The use of integrated models enhances the system making it more efficient, reduces gaps ensuring the delivery of a quality system that meets the user requirements.
The use case is used to show the system’s functionality. They are used to develop activity diagrams and system sequence diagrams.
An activity diagram is used to show shows the conditional logic and the flow of system activities.
The class diagrams show the relationships between the different entities in a system. The sequence diagram is used to come up with the different classes.
State machine diagrams show the class methods or behavior.
CRUD matrix shows the different authorizations in the system of creating, reading, updating and deleting, this is based on the use case diagram.Basically, use case diagrams and activity diagrams are functional models showing the use of the system, the CRC cards and class diagrams on the other hand show the structure of the system, lastly the sequence diagrams, CRUD matrix and state machines are behavioral models.
Cross checking ensures efficiency by confirming that nothing has been omitted, and that the models are correct as expressed by the users when giving the requirements. Cross checking also ensures that the structure, behaviors, relationships remain the same throughout the different models.
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You made some great points regarding the benefits of integrated models and the overall purpose of the models. As auditors we need to understand the functional (i.e. use case and activity diagrams), structural (i.e. CRC cards and class diagrams), and behavioral (i.e. CRUD and stat machines) aspects of a system in order to be able to asses the internal controls and risks of an organization’s information technology structure, operations, and/or software programs.
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HI Karabo,
I agree with your CRUD statement. The CRUD matrix is driven by the use case diagram which assist in identifying and driving the user’s authorization.
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I agree with your explanation, Karabo. Integrated models refer to using different models to showcase the processes of the system. Using only one model may not be effective in understanding the logic and timing of the system. A combination of a few models such as use case diagram, activity diagram and so is helpful in interpreting the system. I also agree that cross checking is an important process to maintain consistency between different models.
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I think you do a great job explaining the differences between each UML diagram and how each is connected to one another. Though I agree that creating a “new” diagram can help with the revising of the “old”, I think the “old” can decrease the amount of time it will take to develop the “new” because the actors, attributes, and actions will already be created.
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Ami I definitely agree. It is also important to look at the “old” diagrams to sometimes determine that all of the inputs and outputs of the system are captures. Looking at the “old” can help ensure that our inputs and outputs required by the system are all able to be met. This can make the difference between needed to simply update an existing system or finding an entirely new system altogether.
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Jing Jiang you make an important point that by not cross checking you could potentially decrease the efficiency of the subsequent development process. The goal of UML is to develop models that protected.from variations in the future. Increasing the efficiency during development can help separate those parts of the system that are likely to change from those that are not.
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In a real business world, each business process is different and complicated. Therefore, a single diagram model is not enough to illustrate the complete business case, so we have to apply integrated models. By utilizing cross-checking between models, we can easily realize any missing factor which has been defined by the narrative within a single diagram. If so, we can just apply another type of diagram to fix this issue. Without performing a cross-checking between models, we are not able to figure out a potential error in the design and planning phase unless the real issue actually happens in our business activities. It could greatly affect our operating efficiency and cause a potential economic loss.
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Well said, Yijiang.
Using integrated diagrams is necessary when designing a system. It will help a reader better understand the main concepts, reduce potential inconsistency between diagrams and find potential deficiencies in time. I totally agree with you that finding errors earlier design phase is important to reduce perhaps financial losses and operational inefficiencies.-
Smart as you:)
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I agree with you. Multiple methods should be used to make sure the entire business process is fully described. All your points regarding each model are brief but describes pretty well what each model does and what it’s used for.
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You are so smart!
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You are right cross checking allows designers to check for consistency among the different models and correct if anything was left out. Continual cross-checking, guarantees well designed structure and system models. For example, a use case provides input and methods/behavior of the system and these are represented in a class diagram. That is the reason why we need integrated models.
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Thank you for your sharing, Yijiang. because the components of the integrated models have different functions, so we need to combine all of them to describe the whole business.
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Thank you for you sharing. The cross checking help the designer find the potential issues which can help the organization to reduce cost about also reduce the time cost, which increase the work efficiency. Same with LInlan and Yingyan, you are very smart!
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Hi Yijing,
I am so happy that lots of our classmate agree with you and so do I! So smart you are! -
I agree with you, because people should use multiple methods to make sure fully description of business process. The function is limited on a diagram. Each model or diagram should play specific role in communication and description. Therefore, I like your post. I strongly agree with that you are smart.
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Yijiang,
You are completely right. A business is complex and requires many diagrams in order to fully represent the case and understand if something is missing. It takes someone who is really smart, someone
like you, to understand this. Thank you for sharing with us.-
Thanks, Vito. I was so surprised you also played this naive game with them. Haha.
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Hello Yinjiang, thank you for your sharing. As you stated single diagram model is not enough to illustrate the complete business case. And agree with anyone else, you are so smart!
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I think you make a solid point defining that all business practices are different therefore require multiple diagrams to make sure they are depicted correctly.
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Thanks for the explanation. I learn the difference between UML diagrams more clearly. By cross-checking these different diagrams can ensure the consistency and better meet the design requirements.
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Different models are used to represent the different requirement gathered in a system design. To have Integrated models means the use of models together to cover a process. Using integrated models ensures the system’s effectiveness to that meets requirements, because the models revise each other to deliver a quality system.
The use case diagram is used to show the user interaction and the system’s functionality. They are used to show the relationship between the user and the system.
An activity diagram shows the flow of activities in a system and all conditional logic between cases
The class diagrams comes from the use case and shows the structure of a system using classes, attributes, and the relationships between them in a system.
State machine diagram shows how different parts of the system behave as well as their class method.
CRUD stands for Create, Read, Update, or delete. It shows the different authorizations in the system and is developed from the use case diagram.
A system sequence diagram (SSD) is a diagram that show the effect of external actors for a specific situation of a use case. Allows for an extended view of the use case
The class diagrams show the structure of the system, while the activity diagrams and use case diagrams show the use of the system. The CRUD matrix, state machines and sequence diagrams are more of a behavioral models.
Cross checking between models ensures efficiency by confirming that all the requirements are correct and accurate. It also ensures that the structure, and relationships remain the same throughout the different models. If the models are not cross checked there could be inconsistencies.-
Mahugnon you mention an important point that we must make sure the relationships remain the same throughout the different models. This can be a red flag if we notice differences in how the “actors” and “objects” interact with one another as we move into different models.
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Thank you for your sharing, Mahugnon. One thing you mentioned about is the efficiency. You are right, the cross checking can help designers to find the issues in the early stage which reduce the time cost of the whole project.
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HI Hanqing,
I agree. Cross checking will not only reduce the time and cost but will also ensure that the project is successfully completed and meet all requirements.
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UML, stands for Unified Modeling Language, is a modeling language consisting of an integrated set of diagrams that are used to assist system and application developers for designing, visualizing, and documenting the requirements of software, business process, and systems. UML consists of a set of diagrams and each diagram focus on different aspect of the system, and each of diagram represents different level of detail. For example, a class diagram describes types of objects in the system and various kinds of static relationships between them. An activity diagram is a flowchart that represents the flow from one activity to another activity. There is no single diagram that is capable of representing all aspects and detail of a system, therefore, cross-checking between models ensure that a system development process captures all necessary requirements of the system.
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I agree with you, because each diagram has different functions. It is important for an organization to use multiple types of models and diagrams. It helps the organization describe its business process, and check for mistakes.
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You made a good explanation of United Modeling Language (UML), Haitao. Under the UML, there are a variety of diagrams and each of them serves different business processes. As you mentioned, none of a single diagram can satisfy all the business processes at the same time. Therefore, an enterprise has to utilize cross-checking between models to make sure all facts of the narrative and requirements have been integrated into its diagrams.
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I see that there is no all-encompassing diagram that will absolutely run a system. I agree that cross-checking is key and having multiple diagrams is important.
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Thank you for your sharing, Haitao.
None of a single diagram can represent all the useful information. Therefore, organizations should use cross checking method to ensure the accuracy and completeness. -
I like how you mention that different models exist for different reasons so its important to use all of them as a reference and also to make sure everything you’re doing on other diagrams makes sense.
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Thank you for your sharing. I like what you mentioned about the different functions for the different types of the diagram and you use example to explain the cross checking. Because a simple or we can say the one diagram can not express the whole processes, thus, the cross checking is a method to make sure the steps are match with other diagram.
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Different diagrams have different functions to describe the business processes. If an organization only uses one kind of diagram, it will not fully display the whole process of business activities. For example, data flow diagram is used to describe how the data go though in the business process. ER diagram is used to understand the relationship between different entities. Integrated model means an organization uses enough method for its business process. Lack of integrated model may cause misunderstand and miscommunication, because people could not fully understand the business process, so they may have problems in cooperation. Cross checking is important because it helps people think about a question based on different perspectives. If people only use one model or diagram, the problem on the diagram may not be found.
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Thank you Xinteng! I agree with you lack of integrated model may cause misunderstand and miscommunication because people did not understand the whole business process.
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HI Xinteng,
Great post. Also, when cross checking in not completed it could cause the project to fail because of the continued errors that may occur and the time/money needed to resolve them. If cross checking is preformed it will assist in eliminating these issues.
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I think the point about only having one diagram makes a lot of sense. If you only have one diagram to work off of, there could be some confusion to come out of it.
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Well said. In my opinion, in order to cross checking, simulation is an useful method to explore or identify the concerned behaviors or performances of real systems.
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I agree with you. Different charts have different functions to describe business processes. If an organization uses only one kind of chart, it will not be able to fully show the entire process of business activities
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I agree with you, because cross checking helps people find out problems by using different methods. If people use only one method, it is hard to find the problems.
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Thank you for your explanation of integrated model and other diagrams. Your explanation is very clear.
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Hi Hanqing,
I agree with you for cross-checking can help the designer to figure out the potential issues because they focus on every diagram they design, so they can find out the problem, logical error, or defect easily and quickly than other people who are not envolve in the designing.
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involved*
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Integrated models help corporations, executives, shareholders, employees and clients to understand the structure of the companies deeply and clearly. Each of the models presents one structure in different focuses. Each diagram suitable for the different group. Some of them are suitable for employees to learn, understand and training; some of them are suitable for executives to analyze, adjust and make decisions, and so on. Each diagram has effect with other diagrams, because they may have the same object, class, or attribute, and people put them in different flow charts to present the diagrams they want other people to understand. During the processing of making these diagrams, people can find the relationship between these objects and different diagrams, which double-check the correctness of these models. That is why cross-checking between models ensure the requirements are accurate and correct. If they do not, each diagram may exist defect or logical error.
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Yes, Mengqiao, Also, The CRUD Matrix is an excellent technique to identify the Tables in a Database which are used in any User interaction with a Web Site.
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I definitely agree that without using cross-checking there is a good chance of defects and logical errors. One needs to make sure that everything is working together and working well.
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Well said. With cross checking between models, it can ensure that the requirements are accurate and correct.
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good point. Each figure fits into a different group. Some of them are suitable for employees to learn, understand and train; some of them are suitable for managers to analyze, adjust and make decisions, etc.
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Integrated model is a way to measure the flexibility and time frame of developing new products based on combination of all of the activities that go into such production rather than measuring each activity separately.A CRUD matrix is a table showing the Functions in an application containing SQL statement affecting parts of a database.It is very valuable to combine a CRUD Matrix with the analysis of possible User Scenarios for the Web Site.
Cross training is very helpful for us to check (something, such as data or reports) from various angles or sources to determine validity or accuracy. If we don’t use this between models may cause the potential issues we can’t find.-
Thank you Linlan, I agree with you. Without checking, the organization could omit some mistake in the diagrams.
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I agree with you that it is important to having cross checking. It may find some mistakes that we couldn’t find without cross checking.
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I like your point. The CRUD matrix is a table that shows the functions in an application that contains SQL statements that affect various parts of the database. Combining a CRUD matrix with the analysis of possible user scenarios for a Web site is very valuable.
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Hello Yingyan, I agree with you that missing cross checking between the models may cause some mistakes inside models which result in business processing time wasting and increase the fund
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Thank you Hanqing! I like your comment that CRUD means ‘Create, Read, Update or Delete’, and the CRUD Matrix identifies the Tables involved in any CRUD operation.
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That’s true, Yingyan. A single diagram can only process limited information, however, most business cases are complicated and involved in different type of entities and associations. Utilization of integrated models can easily overcome the difficulties that a single diagram encounters through building a connection among different kinds of the diagrams and extracting the necessary components based on narrative and business requirements.
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How can cross checking between models ensure that the requirements are accurate and correct?
Cross checking ensure consistency and completeness between the diagrams, which will result in a quality product. Cross checking between models guarantees that the stated requirements are correct and the information is valid in different diagrams.
What are the dangers of not cross checking between the models?
If cross checking is not completed the project will be placed in jeopardy of having many errors thereby effecting the product’s outcome. Not cross checking would also drive the cost of the project up because time and effort would be consumed with correcting the system’s issues. Once the main elements of use case and categories of data have been identified it is useful to develop a matrix, cross-referencing these to each other and showing the specific interaction between that this matrix is often referred to as a crud matrix.
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What does it mean to have integrated models?
An integrated model is the assessment of several models which combines their activity into a single agenda opposed to measuring each model separately. Thereby identifying inconsistencies, and controlling the accuracy of the information.
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Hi iyana
Thank you for your comment. I think you gave a pretty detailed explanation of the relationship between each types of diagram. I now have a better understanding than before.
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You made a very good Point. Cross-checking helps identify and fix inconsistencies. Not using cross checking could reduce the efficiency of the development process. Thank you for emphasizing the importance of using it
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Thank you for your post. You made a really good point describing each diagram and their functions. it definitely helped helped me to have a better understanding. Because on diagram may not be enought to express the entire process, we therefore need cross checking to make sure all the diagrams match.
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Hi Pascal
Cross-checking help the analyst to make sure all the requirements are aligned with the business objectives. Also like mentioned in a previous comment earlier, any unidentified error could be highly costly to the business.
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Thank you for your explanations, Lyana. You made a good analysis on each diagrams and models and the relationship between them.
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Hello Jing, good job.
Thank you for your explanations toward the case diagram, CRUD, class diagram, activity diagram and the importance of cross-checking between models. -
Hello Hanqing,
You made a good analysis toward the question why cross model analysis is necessary. I agree with you on your idea that the complexity of the information and the large amount of data volume urgent it to happen.
Thank you for your sharing. -
Cross-checking is definitely an essential part when developing any system. I definitely agree that it helps find errors when there are so many diagrams to follow.
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I believe that have integrated models means combine the multiple models/diagrams together to interpret a system. Each model/diagram have different function. For example, use case diagram is a representation of a user’s interaction with the system that shows the relationship between the user and the different use cases in which the user is involved; a CRUD diagram shows what types of processing is performed on data by a system, indicating them in a matrix format for each function; a class diagram in the Unified Modeling Language (UML) is a type of static structure diagram that describes the structure of a system by showing the system’s classes, their attributes, operations (or methods), and the relationships among objects; activity diagram is another important diagram in UML to describe the dynamic aspects of the system. Activity diagram is basically a flowchart to represent the flow from one activity to another activity. The activity can be described as an operation of the system. The control flow is drawn from one operation to another, so and so forth.
In order to cross checking between models to ensure that the requirements are accurate and correct, we can do the simulation. Simulation is used to explore or identify the concerned behaviors or performances of real systems.-
Thanks for the thorough explanation Xiaomin. You make a very good about simulation it terms of cross checking. I guess cross checking is significant not only to ensure that there are no gaps between the models, but also to run a simulation which can give a very good idea on how the system can be interpreted after completion.
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There are various way to express a process, different type of models have different characters and capability. The detail they can represent can be limited, Using different model to describe the process and cross checking can make sure the details are represented as much as possible. Also, functionality of different models are different and limited, some part of process may be applied to certain types of model, but it doesn’t mean the whole process can be descried decently using one model. It is important to understand the application of different types of model and use them for the concise representation and meet requirements accurately.
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Well said, Xiazhou! Having an integrated model not only means combining different models to interpret a system, but also fully realizing the benefits of cross checking to ensure thorough representation.
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The explanation of each model is well described, So it is clear, they have different functionality, and should be use as combination for better system process representation.
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The example you provided is well described, and gave us a clear view of the benefits of using different model and cross checking.
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An integrated model provides the connection between different diagrams which can help organizations clarify the stakeholders’ needs, development requirements and business rules. Different from a single diagram, an integrated model contains various diagrams which represent diverse information. The use case diagram shows the system boundary, the interaction between key actors and the system, and the main behavior would happen within the system. The Entity Relationship and class diagram notations explain the characteristics and structure of data independent of how the data may be stored in computer memory. CURD matrix analyzes the diagrams and makes sure all the diagrams are consistent. The cross-checking can help the designer to find the inconsistency between different diagrams. The inconsistency could cause system errors, fail the requirements, and incompetent.
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Good Point Yingyan,
The single diagram can only contain limited information, but an integrated model can include different information. The integrated model can ensure the consistency among all the diagrams, which can improve the development quality and speed. -
Nice point. Each model/diagram have different function, integrated models means combine the multiple models/diagrams together to interpret a system.
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I agree with you, a CRUD diagram shows what types of processing is performed on data by a system, indicating them in a matrix format for each function.
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To have an integrated models means to apply a combination of multiple modeling techniques to interpret a system. The models we have learned, each relates to one another. For instance, the elements of use case diagrams are used in developing matrix which are often referred to CRUD matrix. Similarly, the CRUD matrix is developed by listing down the classes from class diagram. When it comes to activity diagram, they can be used in describing the steps in a use case diagram. Overall, these models help in understanding how activities interact with each other to create a system.
Cross checking between models is quite significant as it ensure that the requirements are accurate and correct by finding any existing inconsistencies between the models. Not cross checking can lead to making mistake and not fulfilling the requirements. -
I agree with your statement that integrated models can help when organizing a lot of information that are within the models. I think you also bring up a good point about how cross-checking and help catch a mistake of a model and save time and resources down the line.
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The business needs to have multiple stakeholders is reflected in the use of different models. In both cases there are different perspectives that are considered to understand how to get from point A to point B. Use cases help visualize who uses the process. Some one from marketing or a BU manager may be the one to explain who would be a use case. The dataflow that a user user generates through interaction may be explained by IT. In order to understand the connection on a broader level you can look at an activity diagram. The different models should be looked at as the smaller parts of an integrated visualization of the process
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Business processes can be complex and detailed to the point that a single diagram model will not suffice in illustrating the business case. That is why integrated models are needed. By cross-checking models, it is possible to find missing factors that where been defined by the narrative. Applying another type of diagram can fix this issue. Potential error in the design and planning phase may not be found without cross-checking between models and the real issue may be found during business activities. If this were to happen, it could affect operating efficiency and cause a loss.
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Each map has a different function. For example, the use case diagram is a representation of the user interacting with the system. The system displays the relationship between the user and the different use cases involved by the user; a CRUD diagram shows the type of processing a system performs on the data and represents each function in a matrix format. A class diagram in the Unified Modeling Language (UML) is a static structure diagram that describes the structure of the system by showing the system’s classes, their properties, operations (or methods), and the relationships between the objects; the activity diagram is Another important figure in UML is used to describe the dynamic aspects of the system. The activity diagram is basically a flowchart that represents the flow from one activity to another. This activity can be described as the operation of the system. Control flow is from one operation to another, and so on.
In order to cross-check between models to ensure that the requirements are accurate and correct, we can simulate. Simulations are used to explore or identify the relevant behavior or performance of a real system. -
Thank you for sharing. using case diagrams show system behavior and key roles in interacting with the system In the integrated model.
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good point. The sequence diagram can be used to present a sequence for a specific use case; CRUD is an abbreviation for “create, read, update, and delete”, and the CRUD matrix is a table for displaying the main authority, which relates to the operation of each entity in the system;
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Mike Romeu wrote a new post on the site Systems and Infrastructure Life Cycle Management 6 years, 5 months ago
In this unit, you have created a class diagram for a package delivery system, along with all the other participants in this course. Each of you probably has a different class diagram derived from the same […]
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I believe despite the fact that we would all probably have different class diagrams they can more or less be correct. They don’t all have to look alike as long as the associations make sense. We must make sure the relationships, and the minimum and maximum constraints make sense in the context of the narrative description. I.e. One customer can place one or more order, so we know the multiplicity in this case should not be anything else than that. Even though the class diagrams might differ, they can all be correct as long as certain association, relationship and syntax hold true and make sense
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We cannot make all diagram look the same. people have different preference of the layout for sure. If the classes, multiplicity and relationships together made up a diagram that make sense, this diagram is correct.
And you also mentioned syntax, that’s a good point, the syntax should be proper as well. -
I think your point sums up the idea very concisely and wholly. Different class diagrams can be correct as long as they have certain qualities that are the same.
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I agree with you. The class diagram may be different from person to person, but it is hard to say if the diagram is all correct or wrong. If they make sense for the purpose of the diagram and using proper syntax, I think it can be a good class diagram.
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I agree with you, because it is difficult to determine these class diagram are all correct or not. Everyone has different thoughts in the same narrative description. It is more important to check the relationship and attributions of entities.
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Casid,
Very well written and concise post – I think you hit the nail right on the head. The adherence of the class diagram to the data requirements is the most important aspect of the narrative.
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Thank you for your sharing. I like what you said about the syntax, it is an important part we need to pay attention when we try to draw the diagram.
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Thank you, Mahugnon. I fully agree with your idea that as long as the associations make sense, it is fine. Every one get different view from their perspectives and it makes the diagrams more accurate and diversity instead of being wrong.
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Hi Iyana.
Great comment. I agree with you. To make sure the Class diagram is correct, we must make sure that the types of associations make sense, that the multiplicity for association relationship makes sense, and that the relationships are accurately portrayed. Good points
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Everyone has a different version of understanding so that everyone probably has a different class diagram derived from the narrative descriptions. It is hard to say all of these can be correct, because during the process of creating a class diagram, the logic and the order can be different from everyone, there may exist some logical error or missing information in the class diagram.
When evaluating class diagrams, we can look what they have in the domain class, does the attribute names and associations have a relationship with this class; do the multiplicity between classes make sense. The wrong multiplicity may lead a misunderstanding which still makes sense, this may disturb the entire system.-
Berel,
Great point bringing into perspective the potential of logical errors in the class diagrams. I had not thought about this when making my initial post but I completely agree with you. Kudos!
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Excellent explanation, Mengqiao. Logic errors and missing information can be quite common in a class diagram, we have to test them individually while we are evaluating a diagram. Usually, logic errors can be detected by our common sense and professional knowledge. However, for missing information, we have to go back to read the narrative description. Association between classes (multiplicity) should be another critical element to be evaluated, and people won’t be able to understand this diagram if some obvious mistakes happen right here.
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Thank you for your sharing. You are right. I also comes out a question that is there a situation that both two different diagrams for the same processes will be correct? or there must have one contains frauds.
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Hi Hanqing,
Thank you for your comment and question. I would say, it may contain fraud if the person who is doing both of the two diagrams has something ethics issues or just logic error or the person misunderstand the meaning and misrepresent the diagrams.
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Beryl
I agree with you. You made a great point about the possibility of potential errors. It is also an important part. I did not think of that when writing my comment either but I agree with you. And despite the differences the diagrams should all deliver the same meaning.
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Thank you for your sharing Menqiao. It is true that even everyone has a different version of understanding, but it is still hard to said all of these can be correct. We need to exclude the logical error or missing information.
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I agree with you. as the saying goes, there are a thousand Hamlets in a thousand people’s eyes.
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Some objective factors provided in the narrative can be used to evaluate the diagram. Diagrams can be different based on different understanding of narrative. But objective factors such as classes, relationships and attributes should be identified in the same manner. The order of classes and diagram layout can be different based on personal preferences, the objective factors have to match up the information provided. And they should be identified in correct sense.
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Hana,
You bring another great point in the “correctness” of a diagram. I agree that diagrams will be different as a result of the different understanding of the narrative. However, if the narrative is misinterpreted – does this make the diagram wrong, even if it meets all the necessary data requirements?
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I agree with you, Xiaozhou. Classes, users, and association should be three most essential elements to be tested while we are evaluating a class diagram. Both classes and users should come from the narrative directly without any assumption. Also, association (relationship) should be identical for everybody’s diagram, because we probably apply our common sense and a little bit professional knowledge to judge it. Eventually, for attributes, since every class could have multiple attributes, our diagram could be slightly different.
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Hi Hana
I agree with you. even thought the diagram layout can be different with each person, the objective factors have to match the narrative otherwise The ERD will be describing something completely different. Another narrative
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Thank you Xiaozhou, I agree with you on the idea that there are objective factors exist but objective factor also used.
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I think you bring up a great point about how there is some objectivity is database design. Though there isn’t a “right” way to do something all the time, I think it’s important to remember that there are some relationships in design that are critical and can cause problems later in the life cycle if misunderstandings in the present are not cleared.
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I agree that multiplicity is an important factor that has impact on the diagram. The diagram should make sense with the description of those factors. and yes all diagram can be correct as long as they make sense and fit with narrative.
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Great point. The accuracy of all relationships will help to ensure that high cohesion is achieved.
Also, it is important for us to understand that class diagrams are fundamental to the object modeling process. Class diagrams are the blueprints of a system or subsystem. It can be used to model objects that make up the system. We can use it to display the relationship between the objects, and to describe what each object does or the services it can provide. The class diagram helps us to define relationships between classes & classifiers, illustrate the structure of a model by using attributes, operations, and signals, and to show entities as business object models.-
I agree with you, because class diagram is a blueprint of a system. It describes the relationship of each entity. Tat makes people understand the logic of the system, and how the system works.
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Hi Iyana,
I think you bring up some great points of how we can assess and evaluate class diagrams objectively. Furthermore, as you mentioned, many class diagrams can be correct even if they look different as long as they use correct syntax and display the cases correctly. -
When evaluating class diagrams, we look for the following objectives:
1. Less coupling. Coupling is a quantitative measure of how closely related classes are linked. Two classes are better to be loosely coupled, which means two classes without lots of tightly coupled associations and messages.
2. Cohesion is a quantitative measure of the focus or unity of purpose within a single class. Classes are better to be highly cohesive, which means all of responsibilities of the class are consistent and make sense.
3. Indirection is an intermediate class is placed between two classes to decouple them but still link them. The better class diagram should be the one where indirection reduces coupling or provides greater security.-
I agree with you. You list three requirements for how to create a class diagram. It is important to determine the relationship between entities. That presents how the system works.
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The process described can be anything: a manufacturing process, an administrative or service process, a project plan. This is a generic tool that can be adapted for a wide variety of purposes.
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Hi Jing,
Very short and concise post, I think your comment provides a different perspective on the technical nature of class diagram evaluation and modeling. Thanks for sharing!
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Great points. As you rightfully said it is important not to place too many responsibilities on an object. A class can be subdivided to show the different operations that exist at each subclass and a class can have associative classes and they can be shown by the relationships. Separation can be used to evaluate the designs to check whether objects can do “what they do best” and reduce objects associating with all other objects. If this is the case there might be confusion for other people interpreting the diagram like the programmer.
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You made a different but very good point. you have a different perspective which is a good thing. Your methods of evaluating class diagrams: Less Coupling, Cohesion, and Indirection are good and can be applied t any process, like Hana suggested Above. Thanks for sharing this great comment
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Thank you for your sharing, thank you for your sharing for those there concept, I think they are good standard to evaluation the diagram logics.
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Hi Iyana,
You provide great points. Multiplicity is the important one in the class diagram which I didn’t recognize when I was thinking about the question. It is necessary for understanding the relationship between two classes. -
Different people may have different thoughts under the same scenario. However, it is difficult to determine which is right and which is wrong. To evaluate the correction of these diagrams, it is important to evaluate the relationship between different subsystems, because class diagram describes the structure of systems. It is important to show the logic of the system by creating relationship between subsystems. It helps reader to understand how the system works. In addition, it is important to understand the attributions of each subsystems. People should list the attribution of the subsystems on the diagram. That helps readers to understand the relationship and the subsystems.
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Well said, Xinteng.
I agree with you that different people will have different thoughts based on the same scenario. You mentioned the important factors to build the class diagram including the proper relationships, correct logic, and attributions.
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You bring up an important point of making sure we consider the different subsystems as well. This will help ensure all of the data requirements as considered from not sure a high level.
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I totally agree with you, Xinteng! You have made some great points. The thought process behind comprehending the narrative descriptions is different for everyone. However, ensuring relationship between different subset in the diagram to define the structure will make the evaluation process easier.
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Hi Xinteng,
Good point. Your explanation of the structure of systems is clear and come with good suggestions.
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I agree with you. In order to evaluate the revisions of these figures, it is important to evaluate the relationship between different subsystems because the class diagram describes the structure of the system.
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Also, I think the most important things is to identify the relationships between different entities.
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Both of data flow diagram and use case diagram are used to view the system from different angles. A data flow diagram is a graphic representation of the flow of information or data in a system or portion of system. It consists of data flows, processes, sources, destinations, and stores.
A DFD only shows the sources and destinations of data coming and going from the system and the transformation of data when it passes through some system process. A use case is used to capture the functional requirements of the system. A use case is a high- level piece of functionality that the system will provide to different actors interacting with the system.
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It is possible that each class diagram can be correct. This is because although class diagrams may vary be design as a result of the diversity of thoughts and perspectives – it is possible that all class diagrams will capture the necessary data requirements. These requirements include:
1. Identify and Model Classes – An analysis of the interrelationships, information needs, and actors and prototypes is conducted on the basis of general domain knowledge, discussions with experts, and documents.
2. Identify and Model Associations – A model of the interconnections between the obtained classes and business rules in class diagrams as associations with meaningful names and multiplicities.
3. Define Attributes – The required information about a class has to be identified and modeled in the form of attributes
4. List Required Queries and Inputs – The individual queries and inputs of the IT system have to be identified.
5. Formulate queries and input – Consolidate and finalize class diagram-
Review the flowchart with others involved in the process (workers, supervisors, suppliers, customers) to see if they agree that the process is drawn accurately.
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I agree. You bring up an important consideration that we must also make sure meaningful names related to the attributes. This helps ensure the class diagram is being properly understood because as you mentioned everyone has a diverse perspectives and may interpret a generic attribute name, for instance, incorrectly.
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An initial diagram is a general overview of what the stakeholders think the business process looks like. This is the general diagram that you will be “fleshing out” throughout the diagramming process. Before crafting this diagram, sit down with stakeholders to come up with initial, high-level steps in the business process.
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You mentioned a very important point of stakeholder involvement in the requirements gathering phase of the system development. The information that the stakeholder provides give direction to the model of the class diagram. This narration should be used to identify the objects which act or behave a certain way and group them into classes, then the operation is derived from what the stakeholder gives you as the processes of the different objects. All this information you get from the stakeholder can be used to evaluate whether all the classes, associations and behaviors have been captured and whether they are a true representation of what the user requires. This ensures an efficient and effective system and ensures that the nothing is missed and all the different people involved in the system development have the same understanding and expectations from the system.
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Yes, ZHIXIN, I agree with you talk with stakeholders to come up with initial, high-level steps which is useful way.
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Hi Sarush,
Great idea referencing the class diagram back to the business requirements. It is easy to forget the business requirements of any IT system diagram while trying to meet the necessary data and technical requirements. Great connection!
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When we are evaluating a class diagram, there are usually some basic elements that we have to check. Initially, domain classes (things) are important components in a class diagram, and each of them has to work with a user to be effective. Second, users (people) are another important part of a class diagram, and only people who are in charge of a particular process should appear in this diagram. Finally, association (places) is a critical factor to connect two different classes, and the relationship between them should be identified clearly, such as one to one, one to many, and many to many. Testing these factors should be the priority while we are evaluating any class diagram.
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I agree with you. Domain classes (things) are important components in the class diagram, they must work together with the user to be effective
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The whole idea behind having class diagrams is to have a model that captures the system purpose and to produce a quality system that meet the customer requirements and provides value for the business
Factors to be considered when evaluation the models are:
• The objects should be grouped into classes that share the same features or characteristics, relationships and have the same operations and or behavior.
• Each data store matches a corresponding data class.
• The data flows from and into the data stores must match the data classes and corresponding decisions where need be.
• A study of the decisions to determine the corresponding attributes for the class that links to that decision.-
Thank you for sharing your view! I totally agree with your factors that should be consider when evaluation the models.
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I agree with your point. we should not forget that the whole purpose of having a diagram is to captures the system purpose and meet the customer requirements. You made a short but good comment, especially your point about the object, data store, data flow, and study of the decisions. Thanks for sharing
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Different class diagrams same narrative description is possible, meaning they can all be correct. Though the classes diagram may be different, the must be some similarities or they must meet the same goal. Evaluation can be done ensuring the classes, relationship, association, attributes, multiplicity, etc. are all clearly defined to meet the data requirement of the narrative. The goal of evaluation is to ensure
Less coupling-class linkage;
Cohesion – unity between classes
Reduced Indirection – creating an intermediate class to decouple the classes yet retaining linkage -
Everyone has a different understanding of the same thing, it is also same for drawing diagrams. Because human has different views, orders, and thoughts to the processes, so the results been presented are different.
Thus, it is possible that each class diagram can be correct.
Thus, we should make sure the information we need before drawing the diagrams.
We need to know about the model type we need to use, the model Associations, the relationships between each entities, the attributes, and queries.-
Basically, the diagrams are not the most important. As there can be different diagrams but the information contained in the diagrams and the narrative are crucial.
“Saying or interpreting the same things(narrative) in different ways.”
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I like your point. “Everyone has a different understanding of the same thing, it is also same for drawing diagrams. Because human has different views, orders, and thoughts to the processes, so the results been presented are different.”
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Thank you for your sharing. You have a good example. When define the relationships with each entities, people also have different ideas, so it will have many kinds of results, we could not say whether it is true or not.
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Good Job. On diagram evaluation, one must examine each domain class and determine if it can align with the business requirements. It is also necessary that each domain should have unique identifier and attributes that can be used to create specific instances. We should also understand that data requirements come from what the business wants the system to do.
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When evaluating class diagrams, we should ensure that the diagram captures the necessary data requirements – like the type of relationship – an association between the instances of one or more entities types that is of interest to the organization. We should identify the number of entity types that participate in that relationship – the common relationship in entity relationship are unary, binary, ternary. Attributes – they are the characteristics of an entity that is of interest to the organization. (attributes provide required information about a class). Associations – the interconnection between obtained classes and business rules in a class diagram. Dependency – a semantic connection between dependent and independent model elements; aggregation – this can occur when a class is a collection or a container of other classes. It is also necessary to identify the individual queries & inputs required in the IT system.
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I think something important you mention is that making sure the main data requirements are the same. If secondary activities or attributes are different in a class diagram, it may not be as detrimental if there are some discrepancies.
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The class diagram describes the overall system structure. The system structures are built from classes and relationships, The classes include information, products, documents, or organizations.
Designing and evaluating the class diagram narratives ties strongly with the business analysis (BA) and system analysis (SA) of the project. However, the key components of the chart will be identical and they will be capturing the major entities, attributes, and relationships.
Because class diagrams are used for a variety of purposes – from understanding requirements to describing detailed design – Designers will need to apply a different style in each circumstance.
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You bring a great point that the understanding should go back to the business requirements. However as you mention, the business requirements have the potential to be misunderstood. This reiterates the importance of not only have clearly defined business requirements but also working with all stakeholders during the collection of these to help ensure a holistic understanding.
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We probably has a different class diagram derived from the same narrative descriptions base on different people’s understand is different. It can’t be all of the transaction are correct because there would be something mistake of logic or others. but we can pay more attention on the core activities.
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Very concise and well explained, Linlan. People have different understanding on the narrative descriptions. However, if the core activities are uniform in all the diagrams, then it can be said that the diagrams are error free.
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The core activities are very important. There needs to be a message that is conveyed to everyone involved. If you are getting your point across you are doing something right.
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Well said. Even if we draw a class diagram from the same narrative descriptions, those class diagrams could not be all correct.
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Good explained. Because everyone thinks different, and none can do the all correct.
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I agree that it is possible to have multiple correct answers to a class diagram if all of the information mentioned in a narrative is considered and used correctly. Furthermore, evaluating attributes, logic, and relationships is a good idea for consistency.
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Based on the different understanding, each of us might create different diagrams. I think the diagrams do not have to look same but the structures and requirements need to be in a similar form. To evaluate the class diagrams, we can evaluate the following elements:
–relationship sets
–data consistency
–primary keys and foreign keys setting-
I agree with you, Dongjie! The structure and requirements is important to address the narrative descriptions. Diagrams may differ from one another, but it is significant that elements that are used to evaluate the diagrams should be the same.
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I agree with you Dongjie, people would have different understanding and idea base on their knowledge,
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These elements are definitely important for evaluation, especially data consistency. Being inconsistent will cause confusion for all parties involved. The structures should be similarly constructed.
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Nice point, even if we draw a class diagram from the same narrative descriptions, we may not have different interpretation of it.
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Nice point, even if we draw a class diagram from the same narrative descriptions, we may have different interpretation of it.
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I agree with you Dongjie. The class diagram can be similar, but cannot be the same. Cause everyone has their different thoughts in their brain.
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Hi Dongjie,
Excellent point. The key elements must be in place to assist in evaluating the diagrams. Therefore, it is not needed for the evaluation of the class diagrams to occur.
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I believe it is not entirely necessary for everyone’s diagram to look the same despite the same narrative description. However, the key thing to remember is the relationship that describes the structure of the diagram should not be different. A clearly defined relationship between different elements in the diagram is required to understand the purpose and cohesion.
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Hi Binju,
I agree. I am certain that everyone’s diagram look different. However the relationships between elements should be consistence. ON the other hand if the relationship differed the structure of the diagram would be false and never cohesive.
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Yes, everyone’s diagram will differ because of the difference in interpretation of the reading, as well as some provided details could have been overlooked. However, there should be certain key factors that will not differ too much. The data model reflects the business rule which drives the nature of the organization and the rule outlines the data’s features. I think that as long as everyone understands the rule clearly the data characteristics on the diagrams should have some similarity.
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Data modeling and business rules definitely should be correlated. Without these things working together the model will be useless. People need to be able to understand what is being conveyed and it must be clear.
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Thank you for your sharing Sarush, you mentioned a good idea about the business requirement and data requirement, which should be considered on the evaluations toward the diagram designs.
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It is true that different people can have various views toward same things, which raised different class diagram derived from the same narrative descriptions. I do believe there are no correct or wrong from the perspective, however, at the same time the logical error and factors missing must be brought into considerations, which must be considered subjectively. In business world, the business objective, benefit cost balance, return of revenue should also be considered during the evaluations. We should keep our designs as flexible as possible, but from the other sides we need to keep it under certain standard to make it concise, logical and efficient.
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Flexibility is agree, I absolutely agree with that. If we are not able to edit our projects we may not be able to have an effective outcome. When things need to change for betterment of everyone, it should happen.
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Diagrams will almost never be perfectly alike. People have different ways of viewing and interpreting, and it is our own unique experiences and quirks that affect these things. It is possible for all of these diagrams, but they all cannot be too different. There should be a set amount of requirements in order for the diagram to be effective. I liken this to a baseball swing. All have different flavors to them, but when look at the swing at impact with the baseball you will notice that all swings are very similar. This needs to hold true for the diagram.
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I totally agree with you, everyone sees the things from different ways, and they can’t think out the same diagrams in their mind.
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Owning the same information is definitely important for all the diagrams to be correct. I think that it can look a bit different as long as the same points are being communicated.
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As the saying goes, there are a thousand Hamlets in a thousand people’s eyes. Even if we draw a class diagram from the same narrative descriptions, those class diagrams could not be all correct. When we evaluating class diagrams, we can look for the cohesion and coupling. For the coupling, we can see how closely related classes are linked from a quantitative measure; if two classes are tightly coupled, there are lots of associations and messages with another class. It is best to have classes that are loosely coupled. For the cohesion, we can focus or unity of the purpose within a single class from a quantitative measure. One class has high cohesiveness if all of its responsibilities are consistent and make sense for purpose of the class; one class has low cohesiveness if its responsibilities are broad or makeshift. It is best to have classes that are highly cohesive.
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HI Xiaomin,
I like that statement. I never heard that before…
I can say for sure that I misused some of the narratives when I completed my diagram. This is not to say that my diagram is incorrect it just means my interpretation of the information differed. As stated by Dongjie above the diagram should have a few evaluate elements (i.e relationship sets, data consistency, primary keys and foreign keys setting) which would support cohesion
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I agree with you. For coupling, we can see how close the correlation between related classes and quantitative measures is; if two classes are tightly coupled, then there will be many associations and messages with another class. It is best to have loosely coupled classes.
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Nice point. In my opinion, we could also evaluating class diagrams by look at the cohesion and coupling in the diagrams. It is best to have classes that are loosely coupled and highly cohesion.
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There can be many different ways of thinking in this situation as well as different beliefs in what is right and wrong. It is important to evaluate the relationship between different subsystems to evaluate if the diagram is correct because class diagram describes the structure of systems. Showing the logic of the system by creating relationship between subsystems is a top priority because the goal is to help the reader understand how the system works. I believe it is done right if you are successful in delivering the system as clearly and concisely as possible.
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Do to the variations in use cases and the opinions on how to classify entity’s, attributes and relationships it should be expected to have variations in diagrams. I think in order to realize if the diagram is fundamentally right or wrong comes and the question of does it objectively meet its goal of showing how a process can be completed with the rules of a diagram.
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When evaluating class diagrams, we reduced coupling. Coupling is a quantitative measure of the close relationship between related classes. The two classes are preferably loosely coupled, which means that the two classes do not have a large number of tightly coupled associations and messages. Cohesion is a quantitative measure of the focus or unity of a single category of goals. The class is more suitable for having a high degree of cohesion, which means that all responsibilities of the class are consistent and meaningful. Indirectly, you place an intermediate class between two classes to decouple them, but still link them. Better class diagrams should be class diagrams that indirectly reduce coupling or provide greater security.
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Good post.Even though all participants read the same narrative description, each participant tends to have a different understanding of business units, services, roles, responsibilities, and functions.
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Mike Romeu wrote a new post on the site Systems and Infrastructure Life Cycle Management 6 years, 5 months ago
Many developers begin their data modeling by thinking about the physical database, and structuring their data by building tables and fields, and assigning data types and keys. In other terms, they tend to start […]
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I feel that moving straight to design once hearing the general requirements and viewing the data is not the most efficient way to handle this scenario. Doing this would be moving to finding/building a solution even before the problem has been fully established. This could waste time because if components from the data were missed during the design phase, time would be spend re-designing. Instead of this, if the data had been fully analyzed before any design had begun, more components would have been identified and considered so re-design would not be necessary.
Some risks of bypassing formal analyses include loss of productivity and potentially missing requirements.-
Thank you for your sharing. Like you said, if the organization does not analyze the data before making the database, it will cost their time due to the low work efficiency. In the same time, it will also cost their money to re-do the whole processes.
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You are quite right Ami, In the end it might result in a waste of time and resources if components were found missing during the design phase and they had to redesign. i’m sure there might be circumstances where there are no glitches with moving straight to the design phase, but why take the risk ?
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I totally agree with your point that to directly design the database without an analysis would be ineffective. It will result in more errors, such as you mentioned missing components and potentially result in higher costs to deal with these errors.
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Hi Ami,
Great idea identifying the risk of not meeting the requirements. I think this is very viable since prior analysis will easily mitigate this risk. Thanks!
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I agree with your point of view, the first analysis will save time and reduce the probability of errors, and reduce costs.
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Hi Ami,
I agree and I believe that moving straight to design prior to analyzing the system is irresponsible and will waist time and increase cost. Not to mention it’s a true recipe for failure.
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For an organization, it is important to analyze the needs of data before designing a physical database. The data should be in the right format. When the data is transformed to the new database, it is important to match the format, semantic, and. arithmetic. The data integrity should be ensured when the organization change a new database system.
The risks of moving data directly to a new database are that if the format is not match between both old and new database, the data integrity will be impacted. The organization will lose the data, such as customer and order information. In addition, the relationship of data will be affected. It causes low efficiency of working.
However, there is a scenario that people do not care about the format of data which is big data. Big data is mix different formats of complicated data, such as video and voice. This is the data people cannot use traditional software to analyze.
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Thank you for your sharing. I agree with your idea about the scenario about the mix data. Yes, like you said, we can easily analyze the words and numbers, but it is hard for us to analyze the video and voice.
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Hello Xinteng,
Thank you for your sharing you mentioned an important technology Big Data, which included tons of different information, some can even be real-times. And new analysis technology must be conducted as well. -
Ensure data in the right format is one of important elements before analyzing and designing physical database. The way will protect the integrity of the data and consistence of information transferred. By adding your point, the data analysis will increase work efficiency of the designing phase by providing correct direction.
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A new database will definitely require data integrity. It would be in the company’s best interest to put in time to actually establish this database instead of going straight into a solution.
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I like how you mentioned the big data example for a time where data may not need analysis before database design. This is something I had not considered but is logical. I also agree, when moving to a new system, integrity may be lost if data is lost.
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You bring up a great point that people do not care about the format with big data. While you have the ability to put data of any type into a NoSQL repository, I think the process of making sense of those complicated mixes of information and producing something useful from it counts as a form of formal data analysis as well.
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Hello, Xinteng, Thank you for sharing your view. I agree with you if the company directly transfer the data to database, it will cost the company lose the data. because during this process. it may have many risk we can not control.
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Thank you Xinteng, you brought up a fresh idea of the scenario to me. I did some research online and tried to figure out what scenario doesn’t require the data modeling techniques, but I didn’t find one. Thank you for you sharing,
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Hi Xinteng,
You raise an excellent point and I agree. Not analyzing the needs of the data before designing the physical database will directly impact the integrity of the data and can be risky. In turn causing loss of data and efficiency as well as a possible loss in revenue.
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Data modeling not only creates the structure for how data will locate but also defines labels and relationships between tables and forms, which determines how your data can be used and accessed. Bypasses the formal data analysis and moves directly to the design can lead some risks, such as losing data integrity and leading errors in data and applications. These risks will impact on cost and work efficiency during the database development.
There are some benefits that finish the data modeling before designing the physical database:
— Fewer errors
—Clearer scope
—Improve development quality
—Better help to mitigate risks
—Reduce the costs-
Hi Dongjie,
Thank you for sharing your thought on data. I agree you mentioned the risks and benefits of processes in the data modeling.
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I agree with you, because risks are always the first things people consider. People should evaluate the risks before designing the database. It is good for people to allocate resources in controlling the risks. It lower the costs and mitigate the risks.
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Hi Dongjie,
Great job listing out the benefits of formal analysis. It is clear and very easy to follow. Kudos!
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Hello Dongjie,
I really agree with you on the idea that critical point that the data faces risks during the passes and transits. The integrates of the data in storage and transit are equally important.
Thank you -
Well said, Dongjie
I agree with you that bypassing the formal data analysis will lead to data integrity issues, increase the chance of errors, and result in higher costs and inefficient work process. -
Great Job Wang, understanding the data modeling first before the design will lead to clearer scope, fewer errors, improved performance and many more.
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Hello Dongjie, you bring up some interesting point that if the company move the data directly to database would cause some risks, such as losing data integrity and leading errors in data and applications. These risks will impact on cost and work efficiency during the database development.
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Hi Dongie,
I agree with your statement about data modeling not only creating the structure of the data but also with the data will be located. Skipping the data modeling process and going straight to production is risky and can lead to system failures.
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I agree with you. Bypassing formal data analysis and moving directly into the design can lead to risks such as loss of data integrity and errors in data and applications. These risks will affect the cost and work efficiency during database development.
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Analyzing the data needs before designing the physical database is important. A formal data analysis will deepen the understanding of business objectives and direction. Based on the understanding, the database can be designed to better fit business needs. The way will also increase the effectiveness of the designing. The insight gained through the data analysis may help in decision-making processes during the designing phase, such as data type choosing, normalization and denormalization process.
If bypassing the formal analysis may result in a wrong design direction, ineffective design processes, higher chance of errors and inconsistencies (potential higher costs).
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I agree with you,because pay attention to the formal analysis will give a direction to database design. The direction based on different format, semantic, and. arithmetic. It protects the integrity of data when transform the data from old database.
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Hi Jing,
I agree with you. Analyzing let people understand things well and deeper. Moreover, data is not a simple thing, the database needs to be understood over and over again, No analyzing, no result. -
Thank you for your sharing. I really like what your mentioned about the business objectives and direction. You are right, the goal for the organization to design the database is to support business, so we should make it has the same direction with the business goal.
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Hi Jing
That’s very true, Your point about how the database can be designed to better fit business needs when it is well understood is a good point. You also talked about it helping in decision making process which is an Interesting point. -
Hello Jing,
Nice opinion, you made a good explanation on the importance of data needs analysis conducted before the physical database designing.
Thank you -
I agree with your point of view. Doing a good job of data analysis can better meet the needs of the business. It can also avoid mistakes and save costs.
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Great point. In my opinion, the way that the developers start designing immediately based on their assumption about the objects that must be tracked in persistent storage is not appropriate and efficient.
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I agree with you. Formal data analysis will deepen understanding of business goals and direction. Based on this understanding, databases can be designed to better meet business needs.
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I believe formal data analysis is always needed. Just like pieces of a puzzle the system development needs to put all the little pieces together to have a functional system that meets the needs of the organization. There is a need to collect the system requirements, what problem is the system addressing, what are the critical tasks that the system must do. It would not make sense to do the design without an understanding of the business processes. You need to understand the data dependencies and relationships between data, the process flows, how data is stored, and the rules for data processing. The design is just a model what was identified at the data analysis stage.
Not following a formal data analysis poses a risk of the programmer making a poor design of the system resulting in an inefficient system that does not function correctly, resulting in user frustration and more resources might have to be deployed to try and fix the system.
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Understanding a business need is quite essential for any enterprise before operating its business. With an appropriate developing path, everybody in this company can work toward the same target, so it would improve the work efficiency greatly. This principle should be applied to the data modeling either. With a formal data analysis, software developers and programmers can have a comprehensive understanding of the use and purpose of this database, and it can save time and money for the company on planning and design phase greatly.
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Well said, Karabo.
The development of the system must address the business needs. No formal analysis of the data, no correct understanding of the business, and no effective design.
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Formal data analysis will definitely reduce resource needs. I can definitely see frustrated user who ask for fixes due to bad planning. Going straight into the solution can prove costly.
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I agree as the data model represents certain types of business rules that govern how the system will meets the needs of the organization. These business rules will ideally be enforced through the database and database management system for the system or application being designed.
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Hello Karabo, I agree with you that we should understand the data dependencies and relationships between data, the process flows, how data is stored, and the rules for data processing.
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It is true that the lack of data analysis will lead to inefficient operation and there is no way to achieve the most efficient operation system. This has a great impact on the development of the system.
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Great explanation, Karabo! You do a great job making point by using an example of a puzzle. The entire of puzzle is not possible without having all the pieces together. Hence, it is important to first to conduct a formal data analysis.
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Data is always flexible. Regardless the detailed analysis of data before the database design will result in ineffective work.
Data is the main actor, while database is assistance for it. If designers start modeling physical database and then arrange the data based on physical structure, the original identity and feature of data may be adjusted. Also, if the data can not be assigned to designed database properly, another database may need to fulfill the requirement, which is extra work that can be avoid if formal analysis of data is conduct before the design.
The design of the database supposed to rely on the data it will store and make adjustments of the structure based on type of data, so that the accuracy and effectiveness of data can be guaranteed.
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Hi Xiaozhou,
You explained very well on data and database. The database is “a structured set of data held in a computer, especially one that is accessible in various ways”. People create the database after the data, so the first step is to understand what the data from, and what people want to show from the data.
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Good explanation, xiaozhou. As you mention, if the data cannot be assigned to the appropriate database at the very beginning of building a database, there will be extra work for another database to handle that. Also, comparing with adjusting the data in the future, I believe most enterprises would like to assign an appropriate identity and feature to the data at the beginning. Therefore, performing a formal data analysis can not only improve the work efficiency but also save different kinds of resources for an organization.
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Hello Xiaozhou,
Can’t agree more on your support points toward the importance of finding the correct directions of data need analysis before database designing. Nice job.
Thank you -
Well said Hana,
I love the points you mentioned data is the main actor and the database is assistance for data. The reason that database existing is for helping organizations to better use and secure their data. The structure of database should be compliance with the detail of data. -
Your point of referring to data as the main actor is very well put. When using data in that context, and describing the database as the assistant, it really puts in perspective the natural flow of process between the two. Like you, it seems only natural to me that data is primary and the build of database is secondary.
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I think to analyze the data needs is necessary to be put in the first step than designing the physical database. Once you think about the macro frame of the data modeling, you may think about the risks, the logic of tasks, the control activities and so on. If you begin the data modeling by the physical database directly, you may also find out these risks, the logic of tasks, but you cannot find them all at the beginning of the time. You need to fix the modeling again and again once you find out the deficiency, which wastes your time to finish the modeling. When you want to edit or add something new in one step, the other steps may need to be fixed at the same time. Overall, the data needs like a blueprint for the data modeling.
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I agree with you, because it is important to focus on risks and controls on database. Before designing a database, the risks should be evaluated. Controls should be figured out by allocating resources reasonably.
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The macro frame involving risks is key in this. One needs to be able to identify what is the most effective means of carrying out this project. When you can understand what you are doing you will be successful.
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You bring up a good point that any issue found will need to be corrected anyway. However, the later you find these steps, the more effort it will require to fix them. The definition, structure, and relationships
within the data are some of the most complex aspects of many modern information systems so additional time should be taken upfront to understand them. -
Well said. the risks that a project bypasses the formal analysis maybe a data leaks, deployment failures, the abuse of database features, hopscotch, broken databases, so and so forth.
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It is important for an organization to analyze the key data before designing a physical database. In order to get the result we want, we need to match the format, semantic, and. arithmetic with the database when transferred data.
If we do not analyze data before designing a new database, it will affect the data integrity which will make the low efficiency of working. If we analyze data before designing a new database, it will help organization to reduce errors, reduce costs, increase integrity.
The only situation we do not need to analyze the data before designing the database is the database contains many kinds of data, which we can not use our traditional method to analyze it.-
Hanqing,
Great thoughts in regards to the impact of non-analysis on data integrity. As auditors, we know how important the integrity of data is so it is quite imperative to always make that connection. Thanks!
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I can definitely see that data integrity is a factor that is affected by skipping to design. The solution may be difficult to use as there isn’t a full plan out there.
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I agree with you. Organizations should definitely analyze data before database design to reduce costs and errors. How do you think it will increase integrity? Can you explain this further?
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Yes, I definitely agree with Hanqing’s view that it will affect the data integrity if we create a new database before analyzing data, which may cause low efficiency of working. but If we analyze data before designing a new database, it will help organization to reduce errors, reduce costs, increase integrity.
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Nice point. The data integrity is really important. In most companies, there are areas where important business decisions are routinely made based on data.
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I agree with you. If we do not analyze the data before designing a new database, it will affect data integrity and reduce work efficiency. If we analyze the data before designing a new database, it will help the organization to reduce errors, reduce costs, and improve integrity.
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This is a great breakdown of why data needs to be analyzed. You are very correct that you need to understand what data is gathered on customers and how it is used in order to build a customer database, and analyzing this data provides the foundation required to develop the business processes. so going directly to the design phase without first understanding how this data works is like putting the cart before the horse.
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The importance of data analysis and befits of analyzing data before physical design are well explained.
The idea of integration is fairly important for information system management , in terms of financial cost and time allocation. It is a great way to avoid redundancy and extra cost. -
Business objectives are definitely the first to consider, the value perspective of data is essential factor of achieving those objectives. The design failure will resulting useless data analysis and inefficient business process. It is true that designers use their experience in database design that ignore the diversity interaction of data and important business process.
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I agree with you; formal data analysis ensures a well-designed data model and provides value to the organization. The value is minimized redundancy, maximized data integrity, increased stability, better data sharing, increased consistency, more timely access to data, and better usability. A data model, in and of itself is inadequate you need to do data analysis to gather requirements for the designs.
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For most scenarios, performing a formal data analysis is necessary before designing and constructing a physical database. The most important thing is that by conducting a formal data analysis, an organization would be able to define the importance of these data and determine an appropriate level of security measures to protect them based on their importance. In other words, we will not spend too much money and resources to protect some particular databases that do not store any important data and information. Therefore, if we would like to understand the importance of data, conducting a formal data analysis is quite critical.
Some risks to a project that bypasses a formal data analysis could include a waste of both time and money on design and planning phase of data modeling. Also, it may affect the efficiency and effectiveness of the company’s daily operation without an appropriate data analysis process.
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Yijiang,
I agree with your point the effectiveness and efficiency of the project deteriorating as a result of no formal analysis. However, this also leaves me to wonder – what if the scope of the project does not require an analysis?
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Derrick
To me I feel like that would be only if all the requirements are already clearly defined and therefore would require none to a minimum analysis. But despite that I feel like the Use of the formal data analysis method would still be better to use, just to be cautious.
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Yijiang,
Great point. I like the comment about the efficiency of the work decreasing due to the use of non formal analysis. Like Derrick said that was a great point.
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Hi Yijiang,
You are right, not following a formal data analysis could lead to waste of resources, time, low productivity, and a misalignment with the entire business goals and objectives.
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Good post. Most importantly, by conducting formal data analysis, the organization will be able to define the importance of these data and determine the appropriate level of security measures based on their importance.
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Thank you for explaining at length the need for data analysis. As you rightly said data analysis helps collect the requirements. Before you can even think about designing the system you need to know the purpose the system will serve. You also need to identify the entities that will interact with this system. You mentioned data repositories, there is a need to know the data stores. Identify sources of the data and will and where it will be stored. During the data analysis stage, you can determine under which conditions should the different sets of data be processed. As the data is analyzed it is also checked for duplicates and errors resulting in an efficient system that brings value to the business.
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Ugo,
I like how listed and explained the importance of data analysis in the designing of a project. I think this is well-defined and a great contribution to the posed question. Thank you.
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To me the data design approach is not the most effective way to handle data. Instead doing so would be like trying to find a solution without first knowing that the problem is which would completely waste time. The project needs to be fully analyzed before the design starts which will lower the chances of risks. In the instance of any risk appearing during the project despite the throughout analysis, they can still be easily mitigated. In other words if the data is not analysed before moving to the design phase the integrity of the data could be affected reducing efficiency. If the data is analysed before the designing of a new database, it will mitigate risks, reduce errors and costs.
We would not need to use the formal method only in the case the database contains multiple types of data that cannot be handled using the traditional method. -
I have learned in previous MIS classes that it is not advantageous to begin with designing the solution. There needs to be brainstorming and planning when carrying out a project. One needs to understand the problem at hand and create a plan in order to carry out the solution. I really think that it should be used all the time, unless there is some kind of model that has already established this step. When one goes straight into design, it is hard to know the boundaries of what you are doing (scope creep). It is very helpful to have a guideline for the project.
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Great point. Data modeling enhance the clear project scope and defining the project path through the design phase.
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I totally agree with you! When it comes to a project, it can be detrimental to go straight to solution without fully understanding and analyzing the problem. Doing the correct steps early on can save the company money, resources, time, and heartache.
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I agree on the idea of to design physical data base according to its data needs. We need to set the goals and directions correctly to make sure our walk into the right directions. I think analyzing the data needs first is a better strategy. I think all database designs must follow this rule to make the project more efficient and function well. For projects bypasses this formal analysis, they may ignore the critical functions needs, but adding unnecessary functions or having un-human-friendly interfaces and complicate the working processes.
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I agree with your point to design the database according to the data needs and requirements at the beginning. Just not to omit the fact that the database modeling is an iterative process and some requirements can come to play after starting the physical design.
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Several interesting points here. I agree, as stated, that data analyses is most important up front. I also agree that there are things that can be added and also be of value – that may be incorporated after the build has begun or even as an update to a first draft of the project.
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Derrick
I agree with your point too. Formal data analysis brings value to the organisation. It minimizes risks of errors and increase the data integrity, as well as a better data management in general. Data analysis is required in the data handling process -
Faruqi,
Thanks for the explanation – Even if the developers are able to build the physical design of the database through experience, the workings of how data interacts with other processes can only be done through a thorough analysis of what data is available and needed to add value to a specific process. Working on assumptions will have its negative consequences.
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Rework is definitely something to consider. People will start to get ahead of themselves and miss some things when everything is not planned out. It is best to actually understand what you are getting into.
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Hi Faruqi
I read your entire comment and it seems right well thought of. Like Ugo highlighted the working of how data interacts with other processes can only be done throught a throughout analysis, no matter the amount of experience ones may have in the field. Assuming how the data works will surely increase the risks of errors. Thanks for sharing -
I like your points on why analyzing data is important and how it benefits the physical design. I have the same opinion as you that analyzing will deepen the understanding of the business which will be an important consideration in effectively designing a database.
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Hello Yingyan,
Good summary, you made good explanations toward the definitions about logical database model and physical database design. I can’t agree more on your idea and the support points toward the necessary of analyzing data first in all cases.
Thank you -
Main phases of database design are data requirements collection and analysis, functional analyst, logical design (data model mapping), application program design, physical design, and operation implementation. Moving along with this path can clearly be noticed that the database design is connected with application design.
Data modeling is an iterative effort, not a workflow. Those integrations can be sprints or have longer intervals. Sometimes the iteration exists just between efforts to complete the data models, prior to generating a database. But it’s highly iterative just like software development.
Data modeling prior to the database design can have several benefits listed as follows.
– Higher database quality
– Reduce project cost
– Quicker time to design the database
– Clear scope
– Faster performance
– Better documentation
– Fewer application errors
– Fewer data errors
– Managed risks
– A good start for data mining-
Hi Mahroo,
I like how you explained the idea that data modeling is not a workflow but rather an iterative process. Furthermore, the benefits you mentioned are some I had not thought of before but can see as being beneficial to companies.
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I think pointing out the cost was very smart. The ultimate goal of the database/software design is to design an efficient piece of a programme with least errors and cost-efficient.
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I agree that it is hard to define a cost-benefit without performing this process first. It is nearly impossible to do a thorough evaluation of how things will pan out from a cost or benefit perspective if you are not confident you know what you’re working with. As you mentioned, this often leads to ignorance or overestimation which are even more costly to organizations.
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You did a great job pinpointing examples of the different forms of consideration that must be taken into account during the analysis phase. Things like structural information about data are just as essential. Data analysis helps to map the conceptual data requirements for a particular system.
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It is important for individual or organization to analyzed data then creating the physical database. as the question said ” they tend to start designing immediately based on their assumptions about the objects that must be tracked in persistent storage.” every creating physical database base on their assumption. if the assumption was wrong? therefor, before creating this, we should analyze data first.
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Data modeling provides a coherent framework for designing a system as opposed to some ad hoc construction of various parts with no regards to overall functionality/integrability within a larger system.
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All great points here. There really are very few case examples I can think of where a build of project would be the appropriate go-to first step. And yes, its an excellent point that proper analyses provides a ‘coherent framework’ for design, rather than guessing at what the appropriate design might be. Great discussion.
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I agree with you, the purpose of building a physical design of the database is to optimize performance while ensuring data integrity by avoiding unnecessary data redundancies.
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Data modeling to the best of my knowledge is generally the generation of a conceptual model that describes how different types of data presented will interact within a larger model/architecture. In this sense, data modeling is very important as it provides a coherent framework for designing a system as opposed to some ad hoc construction of various parts with no regards to overall functionality/integrability within a larger system.
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Data modeling creates the structure your data will live in. It defines how things are labeled and organized, which determines how your data can and will be used and ultimately what story that information will tell.
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Data modeling is an essential step in the process of creating any complex software. It helps developers understand the domain and organize their work accordingly.
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– Poor performance
– Longer Duration
– Lower Efficiency
– Higher CostsThis is a good point! Thank you for sharing your opinion. Appreciate!
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In my mind, data must always be analyzed first, prior to building a physical database. In much of our discussion in this course we focus on processes and the flow of those processes, etc. I feel that there is a strong chance of error in the database if data is not properly analyzed on the front end. Hypothetically, if you could build a database first – the question I would ask is: Why would you want to? What I mean by this is – why take the chance that something as important as a database could be flawed based on incorrect analyses. If data is analyzed first, it stands to reason that the chances would be lessened for errors later in the IS/IT process.
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Hi Arron,
Excellent point. I would think that if a project had a financial asset tied to it that getting it right the first time would be at the top of the list. The risk of data not being analyzed first is too great and could be very costly. I couldn’t imagine completing a project without first analyzing the process in its entirety.
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Well said, Aaron! I agree with you. Likelihood of errors and inconsistencies are extremely high without the formal data analysis.
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Iyana,
Increased cost and data anomolies are both excellent examples of possible causes to build out a project prior to proper data analyses. Just another two excellent reasons why for most organizations, it really makes no sense to opt for a build of project as a first step. If data is inconsistent in any way as compared to expectations in that example, increased cost is almost a certainty. Great points.
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I like you post Yingyan. In addition, begin the data modeling before design physical database can be helpful for designing the security infrastructure for the organization because the date modeling process will provide the details and security needs for sensitive data.
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Excellent points Derrick. Poor performance and low efficiency are two points that are very interesting to consider. I think both are reminders of the fundamental importance of making proper analyses a first step rather than a step to be conducted after a project is being moved through the building stage.
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I truly can not think of any scenario where formal data analysis is not needed. However, I am certain that there are cases out there where data analysis was not completed because someone believed that it was not needed. Needless to say, I’m sure the implementation process must have been awful. Data analysis assist in allowing a team to make an informed decision about the project in its entirety. It moves the project forward and improve efficiency, and ensures that the team will achieve the organization’s goals.
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Great Lezlie, I like this “informed decision.” Without the analysis, decision will be made based on guesses which is risky. If the assumption is wrong, it would leave to inefficiency. To correct the wrong, adjustment will be required which could cost time and other other resources.
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Hi pascal,
Correct. Can’t help but ask myself why would any organization/project move forward without conducting a data analysis. Preforming adjustments is tedious and time consuming, and I rather take the time spent possibly completing an analysis to insure data integrity.
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I completely agree with you, Lezlie! The implementation process will certainly be challenging if a formal data analysis id not conducted. And just like Pascal mentioned, without formal data analysis, the assumption would lead to inefficiency.
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Assuming is no problem with starting a data modeling by thining about the physical database and structuring their data by building tables and fields and assigning data types and keys. As we know assumption is not based on factual knowledge or observable evidence; since assuming is a chance, there is high possibility for failure. If there is an assumption with data modeling, think about these questions:
What are you working to achieve?
Is there a problem that needs resolution or is the modeling for enhancement only?
Who are the participant/beneficiaries (entity) and how do the data affect the participants/beneficiaries and vice versa?
These questions can be easily answer with the data been analyzed.
Data modeling without an analysis is a recipe for failure or lost. It is a risky.
For efficiency and effectiveness reason, there should not be any scenario where formal data analysis is not required. You just cannot cross a bridge before you reach it. -
I believe that analyzing the data should be the first priority. Structuring the database based on their customer needs after analyzing will certainly create more meaningful and useful platform for the prospective users. On the other hand, if developers simply structure their database based on their personal assumption, the final product might not be beneficial for the user. In such case, the product will not be able to create high impact for the customer, and would only be serving the developers. However, in some exceptional scenarios such formal analysis might not needed. For instance, if developers were creating a database solely for their private use, they would not require any formal analysis.
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The purpose of building a physical design of the database is to optimize performance while ensuring data integrity by avoiding unnecessary data redundancies. During physical design, people transform the entities into tables, the instances into rows, and the attributes into columns. In my opinion, the way that the developers start designing immediately based on their assumption about the objects that must be tracked in persistent storage is not appropriate and efficient. The risks that a project bypasses the formal analysis maybe a data leaks, deployment failures, the abuse of database features, hopscotch, broken databases, so and so forth.
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Good point. The purpose of the physical design of the database is to optimize performance by avoiding unnecessary data redundancy while ensuring data integrity. In the physical design process, people convert entities into tables, convert instances into rows, and convert properties into columns.
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Well said. during physical design, people transform the entities into tables, the instances into rows, and the attributes into columns.
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I think that formal data analysis should be a standardized practice in an organization. A functional system requires the collection of system requirements and implementation of these requirements to serve business functions and needs. An organization needs to know what the critical processes are and what the system is intended to do. Without understanding the business process, the project would be doomed just as writing a paper is when a thesis is not premeditated and defined. Not following a formal data analysis could result in programmers making coding mistakes and poorly designing the system. These mistakes could result in a vulnerable an ineffective system.
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There is a saying that doing the same thing twice and expecting a different result is the mark of madness. I think the business equivalent is assuming that 1 solution can solve every problem that comes after it Is analytical madness. Anytime you are going to the trouble of or crusting a change to AIS system for the purposes of a business process then you’re saying that what you have cannot be easily changed over. Going forward until building a 5th them runs the risk of encountering some more issues to the ones you already have.
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For an organization, When the data is converted to a new database, it is important to match the format, semantics and. arithmetic. When an organization changes a new database system, it should ensure data integrity. The risk of moving the data directly to the new database is that if the format does not match between the old database and the new database, data integrity will be affected. The organization will lose data, such as customer and order information. In addition, the relationship between data will also be affected. It will lead to inefficient work. However, there is a situation where people do not care about the format of the data. This is big data. Big data mixes complex data in different formats, such as video and voice. This is data that people cannot analyze using traditional software.
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Mike Romeu wrote a new post on the site Systems and Infrastructure Life Cycle Management 6 years, 5 months ago
In this unit, we begin looking at formal modeling diagram syntax for information systems. However, you may find that many organizations do not use these formal modeling techniques, and instead use rough drawing […]
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Formal modeling techniques are important for an organization to use and recognize because using them would ease communication within a firm. If a firm is using informal methods, there is an increased chance of miscommunication between team members. Having a formal technique is like having a designated language to complete the tasks.
If I was working with an organization that did not use formal modeling techniques, I would use downtime and lack of productivity to justify why a formal technique needs to be implemented. Breaking these down further into costs would also help with justification.
If an organization uses standard modeling techniques it will help with understanding and communication to/with others. Some challenges would be teaching and implementing the system as well as making sure that there is uniformity within the organization.
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Ami I agree that having a formal technique is like having a designated language to complete the task. We have to assume that no technical knowledge is required to understand the diagram as these documents are presented to stakeholders as well. Formal techniques give guidelines as there a lot of room for misinterpretation otherwise. Having this “designated language” can benefit a wide audience including stakeholders, business analyst, data analysts and developers.
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Hi Ami
You made a good point about risk of miscommunication between team members, and I like what I think it’s an interesting remark you made about using formal data modelling being like a designated language to complete the tasks. Good approach for justifying why a formal approach needs to be implemented. -
Hi Ami,
Thank you for sharing your opinion on formal modeling diagram. It seems like everybody thinks it helps communicate in the organizations. Nowadays, organizations need more professional analysis in IT environment, it helps employees easy to communicate and analyze tasks. -
Thank you for your sharing. I agree with what you said about the “making sure that there is uniformity within the organization.” It really important for organization to keep not only the concept and goal on the same page, but also the technique and same idea about understanding one thing.
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Good answer, Ami. Downtime and lack of productivity are actually two justified reasons to persuade companies to turn to a formal modeling diagram. For instance, without a standard technique, employees in one department would not be able to understand the diagram which is created by employees in another department. Also, the communication is quite important while two companies are working together. However, without a formal modeling diagram, different companies are difficult to understand each other’s workflow and precedures so it might decrease efficiency greatly and cause even economic loss in future.
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Formal modeling techniques used to model data in a standard, consistent, predictable manner in order to manage it as a resource.
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Formal data modeling techniques are important because they make ease communication and the work of business analysts and auditors. Using an informal method increases the risks of miscommunication due to a misunderstanding of the data.
If I was working with an organization that did not use the formal modeling technique, I would present a cost analysis to compare the risks of not using the formal modeling technique and the monetary losses that could result from it, to the benefits of the formal modeling techniques.
If an organization uses the standard modeling technique it will help with data analysis and communication with others. Some challenges to overcome would be the lack of uniformity of the data. Which could lead to misinterpretation and misunderstanding of the data.-
I agree with you. Formal techniques can make communication significantly easier and more effective. I like how you mentioned that uniform modeling techniques may also help with data analysis. I did not think about this before, but it does seem plausible.
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Mahugnon, good point – the challenge of data uniformity.
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Mahugnon you are right formal data modeling techniques make the work of auditors more efficient and effective. Rather than just boxes and lines they show which processes are performed and what information is relevant to them, who performs those processes and the origin of information that is produced or analyzed They help in the risk management process. The model can be used to identify process flaws. Once the flaws are identified the auditor can make recommendations and the organization can use this feedback to optimize their processes.
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I agree, as presenting the monetary losses to an organization is always an effective way of getting everyone’s attention. Uniformity in data can also prove to be invaluable to not only an organization but the auditor. It allows auditors to benefit from the insights uniform data provides in order to focus the audit objectives. Uniform data also allows the auditor to make recommendations with greater assurance and confidence. As an internal auditor this presents an opportunity for someone to provide greater value and business insight to their organization.
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I agree with you, Using rough drawing techniques may increase the rate of miscommunication, if the inside communication is not good which may due to the whole project or system or some else failed.
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Thank you for your sharing. You can also analyze the time costs will happen if the organization use the informal diagram. First, it will take time for people to understand and communicate; Second, it will take time for employees to receive training classes; Finally, if one person misunderstand it, may be the issues will happen and make the whole project delay.
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I agree with your point of view that data modeling technology can save time, costs, and enable technicians to communicate and run programs more easily and efficiently.
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Mahugnon you are right, formal data modeling techniques make the work of auditors more efficient and effective. Rather than just boxes and lines they show which processes are performed and what information is relevant to them, who performs those processes and the origin of information that is produced or analyzed They help in the risk management process. The model can be used to identify process flaws. Once the flaws are identified the auditor can make recommendations and the organization can use this feedback to optimize their processes.
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Pascal you bring up an important point with the mention of stakeholders. Formal model techniques help ensure understanding of the models among stakeholders and less time can be spent clarifying the models presented. What do you personally believe to be some of the potential cost associated with using informal model techniques?
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I think you bring up some important points on the benefits of implementing a uniform, formal modeling tool within an organization. It would definitely save time and increase level of understanding. Furthermore, as you mentioned, using formal methods would help with moving along the business process.
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I think what you mention in your post is very true–the more effective a model, the more effective solution can be delivered. I also feel that training new members with the new formal modeling techniques is a great idea. If new employees are taught these practices right off the bat, they will be able to implement them into their work more effectively than teaching them later.
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Hi Pascal
You make a good point regarding the informal model saving time and easing understanding, especially that about stakeholders. And as Iyana Lester pointed out, how do you think a firm using the informal data modeling technique would lose money compared to using the formal data modeling technique? -
Iyana and Mahugnon,
I think when the the benefits (ease of communication, data analysis, saving time, etc ) of a formal model are taken away, that would affect productivity, One thing is communication, informal model could delayed communication or cause misinterpretation which could affect a process immensely.
When productivity is affected, the cause of low production or inefficient production has to be addressed.That come with cost.
So it is either a gain is not realized or resources are spent unnecessarily.
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Data Models are used as a communication tool and just like everyday communication the only way people can communicate with each other is use a language they can all understand. Formal models ensure consistency of the structure of the business processes. They help improve understanding of the business process.
An organization that uses a formal standard for process modelling makes the work of the auditor more efficient and effective as the auditor can understand the organization processes and easily identify errors and make recommendations. People understand data differently. If there is no formal model it is difficult to expect people in the organization to conform and follow the laid-out process as everyone has their own interpretation.
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I think your point regarding how different people interpret data is an important one. Having uniformity for this reason alone should be enough to make any organization want to use formal modeling processes. Furthermore, your reasoning explaining how formal processes can make the job of an auditor easier and more effective is a good one.
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You mention a key point that the use of a formal standard for process modelling makes the work of the auditor more efficient and effective. Audits need to look at the bigger picture and focus on higher business objectives. This cannot be efficiently done if the auditor must spend a lot of time simply trying to understand the organization’s documents. Formal standards help ensure timely investigation of issues by the auditor.
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Hi Karabo
You’re right on. I think your point summarizes pretty much everything said so far, from how the Formal data modeling technique helps improve understanding of the business processes to how an organization makes the work of its auditors more effective and efficient. -
You are absolutely spot-on by saying that people understand data differently. The purpose of language is to communicate ideas in our own heads. Of course, people cannot perfectly understand my thoughts any more than I can understand theirs, and so language bridges this seemingly impossible gap. The same is true for process modeling techniques such as ERD or DFD. Standardization enables different people, business units or entire industries to understand each other and plan in a coordinated manner.
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Hello Karabo, I agree with you using modeling technique can improve the work effective and decrease the rate of miscommunication.
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Hi Karabo,
You made a good point, I like you said that “People understand data differently”. The formal standard for process modeling is very helpful for people to transfer their understanding to the same way in communicating the data. -
Thank your for your sharing. As you said, everyone has their own understanding of the chart, an informal diagram will extend the gap of the different understanding, which will let more issues happen.
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Well said, Karabo.
Formal models will indeed help to maintain consistency of transferred information, and help to better communicate with team members using unified language, improving the understanding and increase work efficiency. -
Also, a data model provides a focus for determining scope. It provides something tangible to help business sponsors and developers agree over precisely what is included with the software and what is omitted.
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Hello Karabo,
Nice explanation, I can’t agree with you more on the ideas that data models are “a communication tool” and “the only way people can communicate with each other is use a language they can all understand”. Basically, the formal modeling is a critical part of efficient communications. Thank you. -
Well said. Effective and efficient information sharing and exchange among computer systems have been critical issues.
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Well said Iyana, standard models provide clear, regularly used conventions, such as elements, naming, methodology in the organization so that there is additional consistency for stakeholders. They do ensure consistent processes, eliminate guesswork with business rules making it easier to check compliance to regulations. You mentioned an important point about training new users, as you rightfully said, standard process models can help clarify who does what, how processes are performed, and by what standard they are judged.
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The concept of a data dictionary is a great one. It would provide the business a clear language to communicate the needs for the process or the underlying data, thus saving everyone the trouble of miscommunication and miscategorization. It would act as a foundational tool to avoid unnecessary pitfalls as the process planning begins.
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Formal modeling diagram syntax is important for organization because it can help stakeholder better understand and analyze data. also it is easier for them to communicate. in IT environment. Formal modeling diagram is like a language to talk with each other.
If I work for a company who did not use formal modeling diagram syntax or did not pay attention on it. I will do a analysis report to compare them. try to list the benefit when we use this diagram and the risk when we use rough drawing techniques. The important one I will figure out we must spent more cost on rough drawing techniques. Maybe this way can persuade stakeholder try to use modeling technique.
As the IT auditor, if the company already used the modeling technique, I think it is a good news for us because in other ways, it can improve work efficiency. The challenge maybe IT auditor should be training the modeling technique in advance.
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Hi Linlan
You make a good point. Formal data modeling is like a language in the IT environment. And you’re also right about the challenge. It auditors will have to be training for the Formal modeling technique in advance. -
Hi Linlan,
Thank you for sharing your opinion on formal modeling diagram. I totally agree with you that formal modeling diagram just like a language to talk with each other in IT environment. Nowadays, organizations need more professional analysis in IT environment, that is why formal modeling diagram is important for us to learn. -
I agree with you, because it is a kind of language to talk to stakeholders to make them understand the business process or the data flow. If the clients do not use it. It is important to emphasize the importance to them, because as an IT auditor, we should provide good suggestions to clients.
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It is interesting to hear from someone who has actually be in this situation before. Providing risks of using informal diagrams and benefits of switching is definitely key in inciting change.
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Iyana, I agree with you that “The more effectively we can model, the better the system we can design and build.” the efficiency modeling technique can help company save time and cost.
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I like your opinion on the benefit of using modeling technique. like you mentioned “it helps with the business process. It helps with expression, analysis, design, structuring, relationship, and communication. Formal modeling are important because they save time, they have unique symbols or features that represent the physical and logical information system. They help with the understandability of the functional requirement of the system.”
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Hello Mengqiao, Thank your for sharing your opinion on the benefit or challenge when the company used modeling technique. I also agree with you that using modeling technique can help IT auditors save time and better communicate with each other. It also improve the work efficiency.
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Hi Folake
I read your article “Getting started with data modeling. It is quite interesting. Also you made an interesting point about the data modeling acting like a data dictionary. The idea of data map to show how to move data between systems is also a great concept. Well thought -
I definitely agree with you in regards to managing complexity. As auditors documentation of these sort of consequences of chances becomes a vital part of our job. The inability to do so effectively, due to inefficient drawings, presents a challenge in our audit. DFDs should be complete and consistent across all levels. If we misinterpret a system or process it becomes impossible to be able to support business process re-engineering for an organization or make viable recommendations.
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Hi Pascal,
Thank you for sharing your opinion on the view of shareholders. I agree with you that formal modeling diagram helps shareholders to understand the situation in the organization. Nowadays, organizations need more professional analysis in IT environment, it helps employees easy to communicate and analyze tasks. -
Hi Iyana,
Thank you for sharing your understanding between formal modeling techniques and rough drawing techniques. The analysis of the benefits of formal modeling diagram is also very clear. -
Formal modeling diagram function for explaining the processes and systems structure. On my opinions, it can be regarded as a kind of symbolic language for transmitting information. Can you imagine a person can only speak English can make complex conversation with a person can only speak Chinese or Germany? Even for English speakers, the Australian English and British English can still have difference, which can lead to misunderstand. Without a uniform language, the misunderstanding is hard to be avoided. For an IT organization, the misunderstanding of communication can leader to serious problem. So, to make sure everyone in the same page and understand contents in the same ways. One formal modeling techniques should be conducted, the relative training should be provided.
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Rouying,
Great analogy relating the use of formal modeling techniques to the use of languages. I think this hits the nail right on the head in much simpler terms. Thanks!
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Thank you for your replying.
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It seems like it is easy for people to draw the diagram without the syntax and structure, which can help them save much time, but it contains many risks.
First, for the person who knows it and has knowledge about it, he can read the rough diagram and understand it. However, for the for those who do not familiar with the diagram, it hard for them to understand it clearly.
Second, the unclear diagram will affect organization’s communication and efficiency.
If I will work with an IT organization that has not adopted a formal standard for process modeling, I will tell them the risks they will face to and the benefit they will get if they change the diagram to the formal one.
The benefit the organization will get if it use the formal diagram,: 1) save money and time to train the employees; 2) during the work, a clear diagram will make the project/work efficiently.-
Thank you for pointing out saving money and time training employees. Much of my contribution to the discussion happened to center around communication. While I certainly stand by that point, I hadn’t considered your point of training employees in a systematic fashion and the savings that could entail. No doubt, many organizations who have not adopted formal methods are missing out on these benefits.
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Diagrams can be confusing for people other than those who created it. I definitely agree that having a rough diagram can prove to be detrimental and should call for a formal process.
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Thank you for sharing. I agree with you. Unclear charts can affect the communication and efficiency of the organization.
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Thank you for your sharing. It is true that the rough diagram contains potential cost. It shows in two ways:
1. cost for the employees training classes;
2. time costs for person to understand the diagram and communicate with others. -
Thank you for your sharing. I really like what you mentioned about the modeling validity. Like what your said, a good diagram needs a clear structure to show the relationship with each actor, use, use case and so on.
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I believe formal techniques are important for organization to enhance communication. Data modeling helps in comprehending the complex data by organizing and managing in a simpler way. If I am working with an IT organization that has not adopted a formal standard for process modeling, I would emphasize the importance of structured business process that is achieved through formal techniques.
As an IT auditor, I think the main benefits to organizations that use standard techniques to model their processes and systems is that they will be able to conduct effective trainings, increase accuracy as standard techniques will likely prevent errors. The biggest challenge for organizations that do not use standard techniques is that there will be a lack of uniformity in representation of data.
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I agree with you, because it is important to have format modeling diagram in an organization. It describes the business process to auditors and staff. It is also important to have a training program to educate staff to use the diagram. They can learn about how to design and understand the diagram.
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One of your points refers to enhancing communication. I think that is a primary benefit that many are recognizing here on the board. I, myself, have recognized it as well. Simply put – if there is a standardized “language” for communicating data flows and processes, those things are going to be communicated in a more thorough and easily understood manner to the stakeholders involved.
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Hello Pascal,
Good job, you state the importance of formal modeling function in details and provide necessary reactions when people face that situation. Very practical and thinkable. Thank you. -
I agree with you, Pascal.
Data modeling present a relational schema used in software engineering which helps define the problem quicker, reduce cost, and gain insight into the level of development effort and project risk. If without it, may result in hither costs and risks. -
Good resources provided, Folake.
According to the articles you provided, I found some content that may useful here, the three reasons to data model:
1. Data models are easier to change than databases.
2. Data models are easier to review than database designs.
3. Data models will help you succeed on more projects. -
Hi Sarush,
You point out an important point that standard modeling techniques would help to manage complexity. It enables people to understand the system and process through a visual way. If not using the standardized process would result in misunderstanding and miscommunication issues. -
Good point, Mengqiao.
By adding your point, the organizations that do not use formal modeling techniques may because they do not realize the importance and values of the formal modeling techniques. To apply a new method in working would be difficult because people need to change their routine work behaviors and adapt the new ones. It will need time, but all the time spent would be deserved with lower costs and higher productivity. -
It is important to have formal modeling diagram, because it describes the data and flows for business process. It makes others easy to understand the flow no matter insiders or outsiders. Different activities or entities should use different figure to present. That makes people easily understand which role does what.
If I am an IT auditor, when the clients do not use format modeling diagram. I will let the managers know the importance of the diagram. In addition I will suggest them to have training programs to educate people for this, make sure they follow the suggestion.
As an IT auditor, I can get benefits from the diagram, because I can understand the business process to evaluate the risks of each phase. Based on the risks I can decide the important area for auditing. If there is no format modeling diagram. IT auditors could not fully understand the flow of the business, so they cannot conduct risk-based auditing.
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I appreciate your point “…easy to understand the flow, no matter insiders or outsiders.”
As I’ve commented, I believe there is great value in having a universal data flow language to document processes and flows, compared to each IT staff member / individual having their own.
To your point of performing in an IT audit role, I agree that Management of any organization needs to be made aware of the benefit of formal data modeling if not currently implemented. I feel that this would be a recommendation that could benefit any organization in many ways.
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And the formal modeling helps define the problem, enabling you to consider different approaches and choose the best one.
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I agree with you. If I am working with an IT organization that has not adopted a formal standard for process modeling, the following might be my advice to entice them to do so.
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I agree with you. Having a formal model diagram is important because it describes the data and processes of the business process. Whether insiders or outsiders, this makes it easy for others to understand this process. Different activities or entities should use different graphics.
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I agree with you, because if the IT organization does not use the technology, it is hard for people to understand the flow. As a result, it may impact to risk evaluation for business. It is important for us to conduct risk-based auditing for the organization, so risk evaluation is important.
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The formal techniques of data modeling are important for a variety of reasons. The primary reason of importance that I see when referring to organizational processes is streamlined communication. Imagine an organization with an IT staff of 5. Now imagine if each of those staff members had their own individual system of communicating to others within the organization. The result would be a greatly diminished communication process internally and could affect many stakeholders.
Instead, by use of formal data modeling, communication across all channels is streamlined. I can attest to this, because until recently, my organization did not necessarily subscribe to formal methods. However, at an examiner’s request, a formal method of diagram in some areas of IT/IS was implemented and has benefitted me as an IT Auditor, but also others within the organization who are now able to understand some parts of internal processes that they were not able to before implementation. Also, as IT Auditor, using a formal method enables me to continue to work thoroughly, but at a faster pace, since it saves me major portions of audit work (interviews, etc.) since documentation exists and is board approved regularly and in most cases, able to be depended upon.
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Aaron,
Great idea in discussing the streamlining of communication within organizations by employing standard modeling techniques. However, this also leaves me to think, what if as an IT auditor, each organization we audited had its own internal standard modeling technique?
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Hi Derek,
I agree with your comment about streamlining communication within the organization by instituting standard molding techniques. As an IT auditor I would rather that an organization have a modeling standard opposed to not having one at all. Reviewing different standards throughout different organizations would be much more appreciated than them having no standard at all which would possibly increasing the time spent on the audit review.
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I notice that you have listed communication and work efficiency as numbers 2 and 3, respectively, on your list. I think it is worth noting that by enhancing communication with team members and stakeholders, work efficiency is improved almost by default. When communication improves, so do understanding, analytics, speed of work, speed of implementation, etc.
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I agree with you, Michelangelo. If an organization choose not to adopt standard techniques, they might save money on training currently. However, based on a long-term strategic perspective, the company may lost some potential cooperation opportunities with other companies who have already adopted these formal modeling diagrams for a long period of time. Second, it would decrease the work efficiency and effectiveness of their own employees, especially for internal auditors, because these employees are not able to understand each other since no standard methods exists.
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I agree with you both. Not adopting the standardized method will reduce the training fee, but the employee needs to spend more time and money in the data relationship than the company with the modeling technology. This is counterproductive.
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Hello Iyana,
Nice explanation, you hit the points of the importance of the effective modeling the systems. I like your definition to the goal of conceptual data flow modeling. Thank you. -
Data modeling techniques and methodologies are used to model data in a standard, consistent, predictable manner in order to manage it as a resource. It assists business analysts, programmers, testers, manual writers, IT package selectors, engineers, managers. Also, it use for the integration of information systems.
Benefit:
1. High quality. A data model helps define the problem, enabling you to consider different approaches and choose the best one.
2. Clearer scope. A data model provides a focus for determining scope. It provides something tangible to help business sponsors and developers agree over precisely what is included with the software and what is omitted.
3. A data model also promotes agreement on vocabulary and jargon. The model highlights the chosen terms so that they can be driven forward into software artifacts.If the organization doesn’t have the standard techniques, it may fail to define the significance of business, relational tables, primary and foreign keys.
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Zhixin,
Thanks for sharing. I agree with your benefit of formal modeling techniques allowing for high-quality modeling of processes and systems. It is always important to have something standard and formal rather than rough drawings of techniques.
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I agree with you, Zhixin! Several complexities can be solved with the help of data modeling. Formal techniques when compared to random drawing techniques will lead to accuracy and effective relay of information among applicable parties.
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Yes. if the organization doesn’t have the standard techniques, it may fail to define the significance of business, relational tables, primary and foreign keys.
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Using standard techniques makes the communication easier. Communication is an important way to improve your ideas.
When you communicate your idea of diagram with others, formal techniques will be clear and straightforward. The other person can understand your idea clearly and provide suggestion effectively.Not only within the origination, you may need to exchange your ideas with the third party. If there is no such standard, everyone just use their preferred way of expression, when you show your diagram to others they may misunderstand unless you explained in detail, this definitely decrease the efficiency and accuracy of communication, when the listener want to add their point to help you they have to understand how you create the diagram and using the same way.
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I definitely agree that communication is key when is comes to diagrams, People need to understand what is being conveyed, and creating some sort of consistency will be beneficial.
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besides this, I think data modeling techniques are important when project team communicates with a party that does hot have a strong background. The clear data modeling can help the party to better understand their requirements and the deliverables.
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Well said, Xiaozhou! Standard techniques make communication easy as everyone will be able to comprehend the information in the same way. Having a set of standards to deliver a diagram or any outcome certainly helps in efficiency as well.
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I love the idea of easy training. It is essential to get new comers understand the standard of communication, so that they can get into the work efficiently.
And definitely, it is essential for the communication with different organizations, both side can understated and exchange their ideas effectively, makes the corporation easier to process. -
Hello Folake,
You made real good explanations on the importance of formal modeling and provide practical advices for establish formal modeling systems in company. I agree with you on the method of data dictionary. A establishment of muti-platforms encyclopedia can really help. -
Your idea for organization that does not have standard is really good. Using existing industry standard is much easier than develop their own, also i like the idea of data dictionary, good way to store and retrieve information needed efficiently. The recourse you mentioned also inspired me。
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Hello Menqiao,
Nice directions. Finding out why the company not adopt formal modeling is critical for solving the problems or providing practical advices. The statement of importance of adopting any project should base on its unique situations. Thank you. -
Thank you for your replying.
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Formal modeling techniques are important in various ways including:
1. Uniformity:
2. Ease of Communication
3. More Informative Models
If I was working with an IT organization that has not adopted a formal standard for process modeling, I will explain the importance and monetary benefits to them to entice them to adopt one.
As an IT auditor, it is extremely beneficial if organization¬¬ use standard techniques to model their processes and systems. This is because it makes it easier to understand the organization’s systems and allows for easier and time-saving audits. On the other hand, when an organization does not employ standard techniques in modeling its processes and systems, it makes auditing very challenging and time-consuming. This is because a lot of time and focus is placed on trying to understand the organization’s rough drawing “techniques”.
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I like your reply, Derrick!
I think the data modeling techniques can help the organizations to better secure their information assets as well. Data modeling can give the stakeholder an easier understanding way to know how the date will be transported and stored. The organizations can apply stronger controls in the processes that contain sensitive information to avoid the data breach.
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Formal data modeling techniques can be crucial for an organization. When you are unorganized and are throwing out ideas without a set way of conveying these ideas you risk losing important information. Using a consistent system throughout a company can be beneficial because everyone who is employed there will be able to interpret the data. Having everyone taught in this system is key. I would recommend this to the company be creating some sort of mock-up of the technique so there would be some visual representation. I would also research and convey the benefits to the higher-ups of the company.
Using standard techniques to convey processes is essential for an IT auditor. People want solutions and to know how these solutions are being made. Having formality to reports will make it easier for all parties involved. Without this, there can be confusion. You do not want your systems and processes to be accurately represented, so using standards is the best option. -
Yijiang,
I think it is great that you identified the ease of identifying vulnerabilities in the organization’s systems during IT audits. I think this can also be used as a method to entice an organization to adopt these techniques. Thanks for sharing.
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I do think that pointing out the inefficiencies in the company is key. People usually think that their way is the best, but if you show the facts that there are improvements that can be made it could actually causes a change.
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Iyana,
Thanks for sharing your ideas about the timeliness of things. I also think this will be great in enticing an organization to adopt a standard modeling technique. This is because if an organization understands that their lack-of is inhibiting them from making the necessary forward steps towards their said strategic mission, vision, and goals – I am almost convinced they will make a change. Great note!
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Misinterpretation and miscommunication are both accurate words for what is going on with a formal process. When these things are present it is difficult for an auditor to provide value. That is something that stuck out to me.
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Formal data modeling techniques are critical for organizations in software development. Some benefits include better understand business, improve communication, better understand the requirements of clients, reduce misunderstanding and costs, and improve work efficiency. Using data modeling technique can organize the requirements and ideas into a visual form, which allow the project team members, management, and clients find the problems and issues easily. In addition, data modeling technique provides a clear data flow process of the system, which better describes how data was processed and what is the output data in each step.
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Dongjie, I agree with your explanation. Formal data modeling not only helps in the business processes within the organization, but also helps in facilitating the interaction with parties outside the organization such as clients. The standard technique lays out a clear foundation to understand, analyze and comprehend data.
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IT organization should adopt a standard for process modeling because the standards support achieving clarity. If everyone is following the same standard then the output will look relatively similar. This helps in several instances including employee turnover and documentation updates. The files will be less subject to modifications based on personal style when there is a clear guideline to follow.
As an IT auditor, if an organization uses standard techniques then you only need to understand the technique being utilized to create the documentation. If standards techniques are not used, then the auditor must be familiar with variety of techniques. In addition, the more variation that exists will require to ask more questions where things are not clear. In the reverse scenario, if standards are adopted, then it will be easier for the auditor to understand the material and could potentially reduce inefficiency by trying to address a learning curve.
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Hi Tamika,
I agree. Modeling standards will allow an organization to remain consistent as it relates to documentation updates, and keeping them relatively similar.
As you pointed out data modeling standards assist uses, Developer data analyst as well as you pointed out auditer. Data modeling will assist in the audit review by reducing the time spent needing to audit non-uniformed models.
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Yingyan, I agree with your point. I believe the data modeling techniques could help organizations to improve efficiency and reduce cost.
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I agree with all the benefits you have mentioned, Jing. Standard techniques assist in several ways to facilitate business processes. Organizations that do not use formal techniques can experience increasing difficulties in efficiency, accuracy and communication.
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Pascal mentioned that formal modeling is very important because it allows us to follow the process at the first sight of the modeling process, and its process and purpose are clear at a glance. It not only saves time, but also helps the user to understand clearly the system in which modeling is performed.
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Today’s manufacturing industry greatly relies on computer technology to support activities throughout a product’s life cycle. Effective and efficient information sharing and exchange among computer systems have been critical issues. Formal information modeling languages that describe information requirements unambiguously is an enabling technology that facilitates the development of a large scale, networked, computer environment that behaves consistently and correctly.
If I am working with an IT organization that has not adopted a formal standard for process modeling, the following might be my advice to entice them to do so. Emphasis is placed on the need for the implementation of “quality” information models to facilitate an integrated manufacturing environment. How information models are used to define data requirements and how, in a practical application, information models enable information sharing and exchange are described. Several information modeling methodologies, modeling languages, and implementation methods are reviewed. In addition, recommendations on building practical information models are presented.
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Yes, good point. The formal information modeling language that describes information requirements is a supporting technology that can promote the development of large-scale, networked, and computer environments. The behavior of such environments is consistent and correct.
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Nice point. Emphasis is placed on the need for the implementation of “quality” information models to facilitate an integrated manufacturing environment. How information models are used to define data requirements and how, in a practical application, information models enable information sharing and exchange are described.
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Pascal,
You raise a great point!! Data modeling is important to save an organization time as well as reduce cost. Data modeling asset with provide the organization with a better understanding of the functional system requirements. Organizations that don’t use data modeling risk miscommunication with regards to designing, and structing the systems correctly. Thereby, potentially costing the organization more due needed to correction or re-dos.
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A formal technique for modeling is critical for an organization because it helps with communication among team members. If there is not a formal model, there is a higher chance for miscommunication to occur or communication could lack efficiency.
If I was working in an origination that did not have a formal modeling technique, I would prepare a cost analysis to compare the risks of not using the formal modeling technique and the losses that could result from it, to the possible benefits of having a formal model. Challenges that would have to be overcome could be a lack in uniformity of data and human error of training on this formal method were to occur.-
Hi Vittorio,
I agree with your statement about uniformity and possible human error. Data modeling will assist with keeping data systems uniform and ensure that the lines of communication are clear.
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Formal frameworks and diagram techniques are needed for the same reason that understanding one language amongst a team is h helpful. It creates an common understanding that can be used around the organization, not just one team. As with language, it is not necessary that 1 specific language be used. The lack of a unifying language creates one more layer of obstacles to completing the project.
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I of course would recommend that any organization that is not using former diagram rules implement them immediately. I would imagine with most that not deviating from what is believed to have used to work will be an issue to come up against. To that I would simply try to educate the senior management on the amount of money that can be saved if allowing the stop was completed. I would also try to tie in regulatory requirements in order to help motivate people.
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I like the comment about formality saving time period often we think of formality we assume the process will take longer then if it was wax and more casual. But into matter of doing it right the 1st time means you’re not back to do it again.
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Having a formal model diagram is important because it describes the data and processes of the business process. Whether insiders or outsiders, this makes it easy for others to understand this process. Different activities or entities should use different graphics. This makes it easy for people to understand what the character did. If I am an IT auditor, when the client does not use the format modeling diagram. I will let managers know the importance of the chart. In addition, I also recommend that they conduct training to educate them and ensure that they follow this recommendation. As an IT auditor, I can benefit from the chart because I can understand the business process to assess the risk at each stage. Based on the risks, I can decide the important areas of audit. If there is no format modeling diagram. IT auditors cannot fully understand business processes, so they cannot conduct risk-based audits.
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yes, Formal modeling techniques are good for internal communication and cooperation within the organization. Employees communicate more easily on specific tasks, which reduces errors, saves time, and increases efficiency.
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Yes, I agree with you. Applying these technologies will help companies better communicate with other companies, such as suppliers, suppliers, and contractors. Within the company, using formal modelling diagrams will help different departments coordinate in a more efficient manner.
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Mike Romeu wrote a new post on the site Systems and Infrastructure Life Cycle Management 6 years, 6 months ago
TBD
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Mike Romeu wrote a new post on the site Systems and Infrastructure Life Cycle Management 6 years, 6 months ago
Abraham Maslow – the American psychologist better known for creating Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs – once stated: “I suppose it is tempting, if the only tool you have is a hammer, to treat everything as if it were a […]
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If you were a member of the IT Strategic Development Team for the company, I would take the following steps toto align the objects of IT and company.
1. Administrative integration- that indicates that there is a little or no effort from the IT to support the business objectives.
2.Sequential integration- which means that the business plan has one-way relationship when providing general direction for the IT plan.
3. Reciprocal integration- which means that there is a two-way relationship between Business and IT plan.
4. Full integration-. Means that IT and Business plan developed at the same time.Reference: https://www.infotech.com/optimizeit/business-it-strategic-alignment
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Egos and company politics can derail alignment efforts. An outside expert brings objectivity to the table, and he or she can help the organization identify the areas to work on.A third party consultant would be able to show executive leadership precisely how much this costs year to year –right down to the added electricity costs.
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One additional point mentioned in your resource I think is important: IT Alignment should be revisited periodically, at least annually, or when there is a significant change in corporate direction.
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Good point Jing. IT is developing rapidly, it is necessary to be revisited periodically.
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Thats a really great point. and also the IT strategy and policies.
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These are good points you made. Like I mentioned before an it takes a fresh eye, someone with an outside perspective to help the organization faces the challenges of misalignment. I also took a look at your infotech link about Business – IT Strategic Alignment. Great article. Thanks for sharing
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I think the methods of integration you mentioned above for different ways IT and the business can be woven are great. I think going with reciprocal integration would be the best idea for this type of scenario.
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Thanks for your point on reciprocal integration. As I’ve mentioned in other posts, in my professional experience, I’ve seen this approach – which includes, in my opinion, enhanced communication between parties – work very well. If planning is taking place to include IT and business objectives, I feel that alignment can truly begin to take place under those circumstances.
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Most time IT decisions are made with little understanding of business goal while business executives view IT as a cost center. This misunderstanding or disconnect brings about misalignment of strategies and goals which is detrimental to the success of a business.
If I was a member of the IT Strategic Development Team for the company, I will encourage a review of the current business strategy plan, inquire from other stakeholders (business or department managers) of the strategy, and assess how the business intend to achieve its goal.
Once IT understands the business strategy and intend to achieve its goal, an IT strategy will be designed to suit(support) the business strategy. IT will set its priority to support the business plan and IT should be included in designing business strategies and implementing the plan.
This alignment is not an event, but a process – a continuous process.-
The key success factor for aligning IT strategy with business needs is mutual leadership and accountability. Business leaders need to lead IT and CIOs in the same direction.
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That is true, but the are situations where business leaders do not know the effect or importance of IT assets. they focus on return(profit).
Can they ably lead the IT development and CIO or there should always be room or allowance for expert to use their expertise for the good of the company?-
Business leaders? CEO? honestly they do not care anything about the IT department. Like what you said, the most important for them is ROI. Unless IT department make big problem and make them to pay responsibility.
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Pascal you mentioned a very crucial point of stakeholder involvement in IT strategy planning. Business and senior management should be involved in the alignment of IT strategy with the current and future needs of the business. As you said IT is viewed as a cost, its high time that organization’s view IT not only as an enabler of the business strategy but as an integral part of business strategy. IT should not be learning about the business strategy after its in place, it’s important that are also involved when the business is developing its strategy.
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Good point Karabo,
That way IT is not a stranger to the business strategy. Even before the strategy kicks off, IT understands where the department stands. Then based on the business strategy for its goal, IT strategy is developed to support the business achieve its goals.
Great point.
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Pascal,
I agree. IT strategy is about alignment with the business and making sure we understand what the business is looking to achieve and ensure that IT will be ready to provide those needs. IT should understand the direction of the company, and have defined target IT capabilities. As you stated this is an ongoing process, and I believe continued communication is necessary.
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Everyone,
During an event where the company needs a software, the IT department recommends a vendor and a software, but key business executives are interested in acquiring a software which is not as duration and sufficient as the company needs. Basically, the IT department and business executive disagree on the software and vendor.
Should the business executive decide or the IT department? If there is steering committee that comprises more of business executives, majority vote will be in favor of the business executive. Can the board of director step in or is it just okay to allow the decision of the business executive as the IT department should be supporting business goal?-
The key success factor for aligning IT strategy with business needs is mutual leadership and accountability. Business leaders need to lead IT and CIOs in the same direction.
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I feel that both IT and Business professionals need to come to a consensus before the project even begins. In a book I am reading a quote that I found interesting is “consensus does not mean everyone agrees, it means everyone can support the solution.” This is important for both business and IT professionals to remember especially during initial phases of a project but even during the duration until completion whenever a decision needs to be made.
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I think that mutual leadership also plays a great role in terms of IT and business objectives in the same direction. Like Ami said, both of them should come together to an agreement even before the project starts.
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True, there should be an agreement or consensus before the project starts.
If the situation exist where there is not a consensus, or some business executive will not except the CIO or IT department recommendation, meanwhile IT should be supporting business goal, should the IT department decline participation in the project or just go with the flow knowing that the project will fail?It might be a rare scenario, but if it ever happens what will be the resolution. Like the CIO know the project will surely fail and some business executive are pushing implementation because of personal reason.
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I think in a case like this it is important to develop criteria and the true organizational requirements of the software to evaluate it. Otherwise it will be hard to come to any type of consensus between IT and the business executives. While everyone’s evaluations will differ, these differences may bring up some important points that one side had not previously thought off. I have often worked with company’s where internally they could not agree on a vendor to supply a certain solution. We would develop an RFP and then create scorecards to evaluate these vendors. While the client would sometimes not choose the “top scoring” vendor, it helped to bring a lot of valuable discussion into the project.
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Hi Pascal,
Great scenario! This happens often and it is important to keep in mind that IT must align with the business’s objectives. Therefore, if the C-level executives insist on implementing a system that may fail in the near future then we as IT professional must allow them to make the best choice for the organization. However, it is vital that the CIO point the pro and cons of the implementation.
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Thank you for your sharing. Yes, you are right, and I did not mention in my part is knowing about the business objectives and strategy. Actually, it is important step to make the IT strategy aligns with the company’s strategy. We can simplify the this step into four questions: What is our business strategy? What we need? What we have? and How we adjust?
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IT and business professionals unable to bridge the gap between themselves because of differences in objectives, culture, and incentives and a mutual ignorance for the other group’s body of knowledge. This rift generally results in expensive IT systems that do not provide adequate return on investment. Therefore, if I were a member of the IT Strategic Development Team for this company, I would try to align the IT organization’s strategy with that of the company’s by achieving the following characteristics:
1. View information technology as an instrument to transform the business: this includes exploring other revenue streams and integrating other facets of their business into each other. For example, using one central data warehouse to combine two separate, but partnering businesses.
2. Hold customer service, both externally and internally, at the utmost importance: communication between the organization and their customers must not be lost.
3. Rotate both IT and business professionals across different departments and job functions: they must have the knowledge and experience of both sides of the business so that understanding and communication is achieved. Once those three characteristics are achieved,
4. Provide clear and specific goals to both the IT and business employees: this will create the integration of both entities to achieve a common goal.
5. Ensure that IT and business employees understand how the company makes or loses money: this is important so that money is not carelessly poured into the IT department and there is no return on that investment.
6. Create a vibrant and inclusive company culture: there must not only be informational unity, but a company as whole.-
good points. what’s more, how to find Alignment is important. To dig a little deeper, a Business Value Analysis can be extremely useful when it comes to assessing business strategy and IT strategy alignment. This is an involved process, but the steps include:
1.Determining whether or not IT leaders have a firm understanding of the organization’s strategy and goals for revenue, growth, etc.
2.Identifying the business functions that drive those goals.
3.Cataloging the technology services and determine how they align to the business functions identified in step two.
4.Classifying the services into standard and value-added services. Standard services are necessary but do not directly support organizational goals. Depending on the nature of the business, they may include things like email, voice communications, etc. Value-added services do support the organizational goals. -
Well said, Xiaomin,
As the resource you provided, there were many alignment models. The EA Frameworks are usually used to achieve business-IT alignment such as TOGAF. But EA development may be too expensive and time-consuming even inapplicable when implementing.
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Hi Xiaomin,
You made some good points. Customers’ rating is really important so that the communication is necessary. As the story for our written assignment, may the IT team can develop a project to analyze and ingratiate their customers.
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Hello Xiaomin, you made lots of information about the skills to align IT organization’s strategy with characteristics. I appreciate for your explanations for the purposes each characteristic.
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Thank you for your sharing. You got same idea with me that we need to adjust the IT strategy timely. Like you said, IT is tool to help company achieve their strategy and goal. How strong and how efficient tool we have, how easily for the company to achieve this goal. You also mention about the changing condition, it also affects how we decide to adjust the IT strategy.
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In most organizations when IT and business strategy are misaligned, it’s a result of one of two common scenarios: first, the organization has never included IT as part of strategic planning; or, a once thoughtfully aligned relationship has gradually become disconnected as the organization’s needs and priorities have changed.Moving out of misalignment poses challenges difficult for a company to work through internally. Egos and company politics can derail alignment efforts. An outside expert brings objectivity to the table, and he or she can help the organization identify the areas to work on.
For example, a company may have chosen to manage email through its own data center. To do that, they purchased servers and hired engineers to install the software and keep everything running. A third party consultant would be able to show executive leadership precisely how much this costs year to year –right down to the added electricity costs. Furthermore, they can demonstrate how a solution like Microsoft Office 365 would reduce those costs and free up IT talent to focus on strategic initiatives, rather than managing utilities.
http://5qpartners.com/strategic-alignment/are-your-it-strategy-and-business-strategy-aligned/
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Well said Qiyu. Business – IT Alignment should be revisited periodically, at least annually, or when there is a significant course correction in corporate direction.
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I agree with you. Cost is an important factor to be considered in IT strategy. People should figure out a cost-effective method to make the IT investment satisfied to the business objectives. IT portfolio can be used in adjusting IT investment. That makes the strategy comply with the business plan.
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Hi Qiyu Chen
I agree with you. When It was never part of a strategic planning, or when the relationship between IT and business goals are disconnected due to change of priorities. And it takes an outside and fresh look to fix it. Great point-
When It was never part of a strategic planning, or when the relationship between IT and business goals are disconnected due to change of priorities, IT and business strategy would be misaligned*
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Hi Qiyu,
You made a good point. Since IT is more and more important nowadays, the corporations should utilize it to make them developing and becoming strong. To keep up with the pace of the times to win the game!
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Thank you for your sharing. I really like what you mention about knowing of the IT strategy and business strategy. I agree with you idea. It is important for not only managers and company owner to know about these two strategy, but also the employees need to know about it which can help both two strategy can be carried out easily.
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I agree with you. In most organizations when IT and business strategy are misaligned, it’s a result of one of two common scenarios: first, the organization has never included IT as part of strategic planning; or, a once thoughtfully aligned relationship has gradually become disconnected as the organization’s needs and priorities have changed.
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As these changes occur, business leaders update their strategies accordingly.Likewise, technology evolves at a breakneck pace.After a while, the organizational friction and pain points become obvious, but company executives might not immediately pinpoint the heart of the issue: the business strategy has evolved, but the IT strategy has stagnated, or worse yet, diverged.
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Great point Sarush. I agree with you that it is important to understand the business objectives and strategy. At the business level, writing objectives is a process that requires an owner and employees to set organizational priorities. At the level of employees, writing objectives forces the business to outline more concretely how priorities will be met.
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good points. let’s talk about CIO. Today, however, technology has officially crept into every corner of business. As a result, every department has its own technology demands and the potential for IT budgets to grow unchecked has skyrocketed. These changes have led business leaders to require more and more technology related leadership and advice to help drive the strategic decision-making process.
In many cases, despite a company’s dependence upon technology, the CIO continues to be excluded from strategy sessions. He or she does not have adequate visibility into what’s happening in the marketing department, the shipping department, or customer service, even though the CIO oversees IT operations supporting those departments. Despite the importance of technology in daily operations, CIOs without a seat at the planning table have little of the necessary insight to make technology decisions that support organizational initiatives.
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Well said Hanqing, it is really clear and concise to understand. It is essential that we keep track of the changing business world – both internal and external – and make sure our solutions are in line. If they are not, then senior leadership has the responsibility to ensure that we do not continue those initiatives that are not. Putting good money after bad is never a good idea. CIOs are paid to make these tough decisions.
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I agree with you, because it is important for employees in the organization to understand to business objectives. They will have right actions if they are aware of the importance of business objective.
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Well said Xinteng. Glad to see you mentioned IT governance. IT governance provides a structure for aligning IT strategy with business strategy. By following a formal framework, organizations can produce measurable results toward achieving their strategies and goals. A formal program also takes stakeholders’ interests into account, as well as the needs of staff and the processes they follow. In the big picture, IT governance is an integral part of overall enterprise governance.
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I agree with you, because it is important to understand what we exactly need on IT perspective. All the IT investment for a organization should be included on enterprise architecture. it is used to make sure what we need, It is an important step to allocate IT resources.
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I agree with you. Finally, Adjust IT Strategy is important. It is essential that we keep track of the changing business world – both internal and external – and make sure our solutions are in line. If they are not, then senior leadership has the responsibility to ensure that we do not continue those initiatives that are not. Putting good money after bad is never a good idea. CIOs are paid to make these tough decisions.
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Nice point Lyana. I like you said that “IT is not an “afterthought” .” I agree with you that an organization’s strategy is constantly changing, Therefore, we need to frequently review and adjust the IT strategy to avoid the operational inefficiency.
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Most of the IT decisions are made without really understanding the business goals. IT should look at each acquisition more like a project, other wise it will simply be viewed as an expense.
As a member of the IT strategic development team, I would make sure IT is a part of the organization’s strategic and project planning. I would review the current business strategy plan. I will then identify the goals, objectives and expectations and how the business is going to achieve them. I would also do a risk analysis to identify issues that may arise as well as a cost analysis to help the decision makers decide on whether or not to undertake the acquisition. Then an IT strategy that supports the business strategy can be designed.
There should also be policies to enforce proper handling of the acquisition IT infrastructure until its complete integration.-
Alignment means that the appropriate and timely application of IT, in harmony with business objective, strategies, and requirements. It’s necessary to feed strategy discussions with data-driven insights. Also, IT strategic plans should support the business goals.
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I think you make some good points about IT and Business alignment. I also think risk and cost/benefit analyses are a good approach to coming to an agreement when deciding if a project is feasible.
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Hello Mahugnon, I can’t agree you more on the importance of understanding the business goals. And I really like what you said “T should look at each acquisition more like a project, otherwise it will simply be viewed as an expense.” It is really thoughtful idea.
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you are right Mahugnon, IT and Business have to work hand in hand. IT cannot make business decisions without full involvement by business. There is no project undertaken by IT that is independent of the business as a whole.
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Good points, Sarush.
I agree with you. The understanding of the business is the basic to achieve the IT strategic alignment. Without knowing the business, there is no way to conduct the alignment. It should be the primary consideration when implementing the alignment processes.
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Hanqing, you provide a great and detailed information on the alignment of business and IT. Actually, the goal of perfect alignment is very complex and hard to achieve because the continuous changing environment (e.g. information technology, finances, competitiveness). However, the alignment may add incredible value into the organization and help to achieve the business goal more effectively. The value should be communicated throughout the organization to facilitate the alignment processes.
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Good points, Xinteng.
IT governance is a good way to ensure the IT investments support business objectives and achieve the alignment between IT strategy and business strategy. Many organizations implement a formal IT governance to provide a framework of best practices and controls and to meet the internal and external requirements, such as legal requirement, stakeholders requirement. -
I agree with your point. IT strategy have to align with business plan otherwise this is the recipe for failure. Making sure people understand the business objectives, as well as a good IT governance to make sure that the IT strategy complies with the business plan. I haven’t thought deeply about this aspect in my own post. Thank you for sharing
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Hi Jason,
I think your point about doing a risk analysis to understand the affects that will occur in the integration stages is a good observation. Doing a risk analysis really helps the organization understand if the project they are considering is worth undertaking.
Security is also a good point. Protecting against exterior penetration can happen if the foundation within a company is soled.
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Hi
I agree with you. When It was never part of a strategic planning, or when the relationship between IT and business goals are disconnected due to change of priorities. And it takes an outside and fresh look to fix it. Great point -
Hi Iyana
I like your point about IT being seen as an expense rather than a tool to help the organization. Like Xiaomin Dong said, IT shouldn’t be an afterthought, but rather a consistent alignment with the business strategy throughout the changes an organization goes through.
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Hi JIng,
I think your points are fantastic and really capture some necessary steps that will need to be taken by the development team to make sure both IT professionals and business professionals have an understanding. Understanding corporate culture and using it to align business and IT goals is a great suggestion because most of the time this is overlooked or forgotten. Corporate culture is the roots of an organization and not understanding the roots will make you unable to nurture the project in the appropriate way.
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If I were a member of the IT Strategic Development Team for the company, I would align the IT organization’s strategy with this company by first gaining an understanding of what the organization is trying to achieve. IT strategy is about aligning with the business and having a deep understanding of the business, thereby being prepared to fulfill their needs, define target IT capabilities, and perform a gap analyst. The purpose of IT within an organization is to be effective, efficient while providing confidentiality, integrity, availability, be compliant, and reliable.
According to our textbook, ISP is an organized process of evaluating the organization’s need for information and outlining a system that will address those needs. ISP must look at information systems that will help the business accomplish the goals that were defined during the corporate strategic planning.
Valacich, J. S., & George, J. F. (2017). Modern systems analysis and design (8th ed.). Boston: Pearson.
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I totally agree with you, Lezlie. Having a deep understanding of the overall business strategy is a essential job as a member of the IT Strategy Development Team. Figuring out what our business need is and what capabilities we have is much more important while we are developing the appropriate IT Strategy. Second, efficiency and effectiveness are core values which the IT strategy must help the overall business strategy to achieve. Without a good implementation, a good business strategy won’ be able to play its critical role.
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Effectiveness is at the core of a successful business, as well as efficiency. I agree that a deep understanding of the business and its processes is essential for it to prosper. Being able to provide privacy and exude integrity is also important. When the business strategies throughout the organization are aligned, these things have a higher chance of happening.
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I absolutely agree with you, Lezlie! The first step should be understanding the goals and objectives of the organization. Achieving the first step will allow the business to move forward with the process and procedures for the alignment of IT and company’s strategy effectively and efficiently.
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Governance of enterprise (GEIT) is often times used to ensure alignment of IT strategy to business strategy. GEIT ensures that the IT resources of an organization are used in an effective way in order to fulfill stakeholder needs.The 3 processes of GEIT are:
• IT resource management- IT spending should be aligned with the current and future needs of the organization. This is usually achieved using project portfolio management. IT must purpose to acquire “mission critical” applications, systems, and any other assets. The focus should be on reducing costs, increasing benefits and creating value for the business.
• Performance management- Performance indicators, metrics and targets can be used to check if IT is delivering value to the business.
• Compliance Management- Policies support the achievement of the of the organization’s values. Standards like ISO 27000 and frameworks like COBIT can also be also used to ensure alignment of IT strategy with the organizational strategy.-
Karabo,
I agree with the points you make. In particular, performance management jumps out at me as being critically important in the alignment process. When IT understands what the company is striving for, in terms of business objectives or goals – both qualitative and quantitative – at that point IT can truly begin to deliver value. Like you, I feel that review of metrics and targets will tell how effectively the value from IT is being added to the overall corporate mission.
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you are right Karabo, The importance of the Governance of enterprise (GEIT) cannot be over emphasized. organizations Boards and executive management expect IT to deliver business value. ISACA has a certification exam named CGEIT – Certified in the Governance of IT, and I was shocked to find out that the exam was introduced in 2007, because it wasn’t until recent years that organizations started putting it into practice.
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I found your information on GEIT very helpful and agree that it a helpful framework for overall better strategic alignment and risk management. While GEIT provides a structured approach, I think it is important to remember that it is not a one-time initiative, but an ongoing activity that needs to be monitored an adjusted over time, as does an organization’s strategy.
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I agree with your explanation, Karabo! The three process of Governance of enterprise (GEIT), resource, performance and compliance management provides a comprehensive approach to ensure the alignment of IT and business strategy alignment.
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To align the IT strategy with the company’s strategy, I feel that a fundamental understanding of the company from overall culture through overall goals, by IT, is necessary to then go further in seeing what alignment looks like. I’ll break this approach down over three specific areas for IT to review in seeking more complete alignment:
– Culture (including core values, mission statement, and overall corporate strategic planning).
This area may give IT a better feel for the company’s “fit” in the marketplace, as far as, how they want to be viewed by competitors and the marketplace as a whole in conducting business. Employee view and consumer view of the company may be included here as well. If IT has a strong understanding here, it would be a solid first step for alignment.– Goals (including objective statements and competitive strategy)
After gaining an understanding of the corporate culture, IT can begin to assess both the qualitative and quantitative goals the company has for reaching their desired place within their industry. Also the overall method by which the company wants to compete. For ex. Do they want to be defined as “innovators”, the “high quality” brand as compared to lower priced brand, or niched down to an ultra-specific customer base that they serve to enhance brand loyalty? These are important points that will further ensure alignment once understood by IT.– Value chain analysis
Finally, in my opinion, this last set of info to be analyzed will help IT see what IS project development initiatives could need to take place in the future. By understanding the specific activities a company takes part in and determining where value is being added to its products and/or services, IT can be aligned with the company in a way that will give further clarity in using IT resources to enhance overall business processes and outcomes.-
Hello Aaron, you raised three critical areas to focus toward how to align the IT strategy with the company’s strategy. I like goals the most. The objective statements and competitive strategy must be on the considerations.
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I really like this post, Aaron. You just simply organized how to achieve the alignment between IT strategy and the overall business strategy into three specific words, but they were good enough to illustrate the approach. For instance, culture is broad word in the business world. However, it you connect it to the core values, mission statement, and overall corporate strategic planning, it would have a clear relationship with IT strategy. Also, goals is sometimes difficult to conclude, but it will make sense when it is associated with objective statements and competitive strategy.
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Iyana,
I see your point that many organizations still view IT as a necessary suite of tools, rather than a division of the business equipped with great minds and resources that can help in meeting business objectives. I also happen to feel that your view on regular follow ups between IT and management to ensure alignment is especially wise. In my personal experience, stronger communication internally can conquer most divides and usually bring about an enhanced result on the other side.
Thanks for sharing.
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Thanks for sharing your points, especially your point on understanding objectives and strategy. In my opinion, this basic understanding helps to ensure that IT can begin to be aligned with the company. Until that understanding is in place, its hard to imagine what IS projects can be rolled out to truly add value to the company.
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Good evening, Jing. I think you hit the key points well. The business and corporate culture should be considered. Aligning IT and business are also important for any application development and the performance metrics setting should have been achieved.
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Hi Derrick,
You made some good points. I totally agree with the police part you have mentioned. The core business should not be compromised in the acquisition of new business.
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Hi Jing,
I agree with your points. Communication is a good tool for a project or the team.
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Hi Xinteng,
I agree with your point on making sure everyone in the organization understands the business’ objectives and goals. It will be detrimental to the overall vision of a business if its IT component did not buy into its strategy. Great point!
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Hi Hanqing,
These are well-written steps to aligning an IT strategy to a business strategy. I think one of the most important ones (if not the most important) is to create an IT vision. This is because without understanding the vision of the department it will very difficult to understand how to govern and have policies that are in line with it. This poses a risk to the operations of the company. -
Good evening, Xinteng. You made good explanations toward the method of how to achieve the alignment of IT strategy and business plan. I agree with you on the importance of IT governance and policies.
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Hi Jason,
I am in support of your idea of having the IT department strengthen its policies and controls with its primary system. As mentioned in my post, I would strongly suggest it will be in the best interest the IT managers and directors to ensure all that the IT infrastructure of all potential acquisitions are examined by an external auditor prior to finalizing the acquisition. In this case, the systems of the company can be assessed and the level of if integration needed can be incorporated in a cost-benefit analysis. -
Great analysis Jason. Most probably the reason why IT did not do a good job was they misunderstood the business strategy of being able to absorb newly-purchased organizations as quickly as possible. As you rightly said, acquisitions should be treated like a project. IT in this case just decided to use an existing ERP platform to configure a number of “new” modules for product analytics. They failed to do a proper research on the future expectations of the business. Agility is a very important factor that needs to be taken into consideration when doing major system changes like that or acquiring new IT architecture. If they could just get the strategy right at the word ‘go’, it will make the integration of new purchased organizations a smooth process that will deliver value to the business.
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If I were a member of the IT strategy team, I would do the following to make the IT organization’s strategy consistent with the company’s strategy:
Team coordination process Assessment team coordination is the first step in developing a coherent organization. All systems and structures must support the company’s vision.
Second, the entire team must understand how their personal goals relate to the goals set by the management team. Now is the time for everyone to move in the same direction.
Finally, validate the strategy that has been developed and make sure it is the team’s strategy. This can easily be done by using competitive strategies that provide incentives, such as the chance to win something for a particular sales goal, or it may be a growth strategy that moves team members to the next level.-
Using competitive strategies is something that will create a faster-paced and more productive environment. I think when people are going up against each other in a fun way it will really help the company and projects move forward and evolve.
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I like the idea of having a team understand have a personal goals aligned with the team/project goals. While it is great and talk about the perfect world where everyone looks out for everyone else and does the right thing for the sake of the right thing it is necessary to understand the more primitive motivator of human beings. We do things that Help us to achieve what we want.
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Hi Sarush,
Great response! I think it is important for quantitative metrics to be set for IT projects. However, the nature of this company’s business strategy makes me wonder how metrics will be set in the IT environment for the acquisition, expanding, and reselling of IT infrastructure. Moreover, will this metric tracking come at a cost to the business? -
Mengqiao, I very much agree with your three points, the team’s cooperation and goals are related to the company’s strategy and background, which can make the team move in one direction. In addition, based on customer requirements as the basis for the development of products that customers are interested in the company’s products can be welcomed.
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If I am a member of the IT Strategic Development Team for the company, to align the IT organization’s strategy with that of the company’s. I will consider as followed areas:
First, we need to have a good understand of company’s strategy. we must have a good understanding toward company’s business goals, strategies, metrics and policies. We need to figure out each procedure across the services provided by companies. In additions, to build a good IT governance is also critical. Then we can get an overall view about what functions are needed can be support by IT department.
After the benefit cost analysis and break-even analysis. Projects can be set. A periodic audit should be conducted to make sure the current IT processes are still meeting the company’s goals, strategies, metrics and policies. If not, a maintenance should be conducted. Either upgraded or replacement or abandon of the old projects should be considered. -
Hi Iyana,
I like your point on ensuring that the relationship between the IT strategy and the business strategy is continuously and consistently maintained. I think this feature is often overlooked although it is important as the planning and implementation of the strategy.
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I agree with all of your points, and especially the metric for performance. When people are given a review of their work it promotes effort and keeps people on their toes.
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Jing, I agree with you. Corporate culture equates to understanding the company’s background, which provides the common goal of keeping the IT team aligned with the company’s strategy. It is also important to reconcile and understand the true value of each member so that each member can play their part.
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I definitely agree with the fact that some companies view IT as an expense, but it definitely a necessary one. If I were in a company like that, I would definitely go to the right lengths to convince the higher-ups that IT could be a very useful asset and can promote company growth.
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Hi James,
I agree. I think when an organization follows a top down planning approach it becomes much easier to convince higher ups that IT is useful for the organization overall. Planning initiatives are viewed from the “top” and there is generally increased management acceptance of the role of information systems in helping them achieve business objectives.
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I like the point on the structure of the company. In order to completely understand the positives and negatives of a company’s background and history one must delve into their history and understand how and why it is the way it is. Only then can you start to properly tweak it for the better.
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I definitely agree with you that using an existing system for a new project may not be a bad thing however that it is important to understand the objectives and assess the viability of using such systems for such project just as you would for implementation of a new system. For example, the inclusion of top management may help identify when it is more optimal to evolve existing systems rather than implementing totally new ones. This would also help avoid initiating projects where systems are redundant in functionality to an organization’s existing system(s) or unnecessary.
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If I were a member of the IT strategic development team, the first thing I need to do is getting to know the company’s IT strategy, background, and culture. Also try to understand the competitors’ background and culture. Then try to understand how the company’s strategic could be better to get competitive.
The second I should know is what my role would be. I should relate my personal goal to the company and the team. Make sure to know how I can help the team and company to get the strategy operating smoothly, and then we can move and get the goal. Both on my personal and the company’s.
The third I should do is more detailed. I should make sure that every detail work are done such as setting performance metrics, processing frameworks, and making supporting policies.-
Ping, you made a very good point on understanding the competitors. By knowing the competitors, we can make a better or more competitive decisions on the projects.
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Great point. If employees do not understand their company’s cultures and strategies. The work they are doing would become non sense and off-tracked.
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Thank you for your sharing. You really gave us a lot of detailed information. You break the information into 8 steps and it really helpful for us to understand it. I like what you said about the last step. Because the IT environment keep changing, people should always improve their strategies and polices in order to fit the world.
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Great point. If employees do not understand their company’s cultures and strategies. The work they are doing would become non sense and off-tracked.
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If you were a member of the IT Strategic Development Team for the company, how would you align the IT organization’s strategy with that of the company’s?
If I was a member of the IT strategic development team for the company, I will:
—understand the organization’s business strategies and background
—identify the organization’s both long-term and short-term goal and requirements on IT
—Develop a systematic approach to prioritizing IT projects
—Align projects to the strategic goals for business strategy-
I agree with your points, Dongjie! Alignment of business and IT strategy is only possible when the short term and long term goals are met and prioritized accordingly. Often the tendency is to give less importance to long term golas and only prioritize the short term goals. However, this may not be the best approach in the process of IT and organization strategy alignment.
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James you bring up a great point about departments not being placed in silos. The connection of departments will allow for better communication within the organization overall. This will also improve the company culture as departments will be more in unison after realizing they are working towards one common goals. Organizations who establish this mindset can developed cross trained employees, yielding numerous benefits for the organization in return.
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In today’s business IT plays a significant role in the business performance. Hence, it is important that the organizations and IT’s strategy align with each other. If I were a member of the IT Strategic Development Team for the company, I would consider a few steps to align the IT organization’s strategy with that of the company’s. The first one would be to evaluate existing systems and infrastructure of the IT and provide possible recommendations to improve execution and create competitive advantage. Secondly, I would also evaluate the existing plans and procedure and assure that the policies clearly define the objectives and regulatory requirements. Lastly, I would look into balancing the cost of IT maintenance against new technologies to support business strategies in order to obtain overall common goals.
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I agree with you Binju, In order to make sure the deliverable satisfy the requirements of the organization, the team members must understand what is the real needs of the organization, which include the long-term and short-term plans.
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Hi Mengqiao,
I agree. Understanding the company’s strategy, so IT processes could run based on the company’s business processes IT Strategy is about alignment with the business, understanding what the business is all about and will we be ready to fulfill those needs. As well as, understanding the enterprise direction, defining the targeted IT capabilities, conduct a gap analyst, assess the current environment capabilities and performance, and define the strategic plan and roadmap. This is then taken to an IT staring committee and share/get approval from them.
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Good explanation Yingyan, besides all of your points, I think periodic review and reports are also necessary for align the project objectives to company’s.
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Hi James,
I definitely agree with your statement. Alignment of IT and the organization’s strategy is critical, and in order to achieve success communication is key.
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Each acquisition should be approached like a project. A plan needs to define what the expectations are of how much and how fast the acquired company will integrate into the existing one. They also must complete a risk analysis to understand what problems could occur and how severely business could be impacted in the future. The risk analysis also serves to help the company understand what the net gain is to be had. There could also be a loss if they are not prepared to integrate two systems together. Although it may seem like a great idea to expand and purchase competition, the work that follows may not be favorable if you are not prepared
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The 1st up to dealing with this issue of realignment is to do and analysis’s on the IT infrastructure and the business processes and goals of business units. The sooming all that is done then I would skip ahead and say that is cost effective, IT should Savage would could be solid from the RP and look for a less complicated program to fulfill the jobs that are murderous did nestle I wanted to do in the 1st place.
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Setting the metrics are a great idea. I didn’t notice that many people saying it ever skim through including myself. But metrics create real world goals that are obtainable and allows people to set up rally points around. Great call.
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Mike Romeu wrote a new post on the site Systems and Infrastructure Life Cycle Management 6 years, 6 months ago
In this unit, we discuss the importance of stakeholder buy-in when initiating a project. If you have been involved with a project, reflect on the level of stockholder interest in the project, and their […]
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My family lives in Bucks County, PA and for the past few years there had been talks of extending Woodhaven Rd. (which is a way to get to 1-95) so that traffic can be decreased on the current road that is used to get onto I-95. The project seemed ready to go but after some questioning from stakeholders (primarily community members) the project was put on hold. Members of Bucks county did not want this project to continue because it would increase the traffic on some quieter streets in the county, causing disruption and inconvenience to local citizens. Because so many stakeholders were against the project happening even though it could potentially bring economic benefits to the county, it did not go through. The stakeholders made an impact on the outcome of the project–in this case causing it to end before it even started.
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Hi Ami,
Your experience shows a great example of how stakeholder needs drives benefit realization. While the project had its clear economic benefits, these set of stakeholders (the community members) had a different outlook of the value it would create for the community. This goes to show t is important to consider the needs of all stakeholders involved. when undertaking a project.
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Thank you for sharing your experience. You are right, when the project related to traffic, civil Engineering, and other large-scale construction. The communication with the stakeholders (residents) becomes one of the decisive factor of the project.
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Thank you for your sharing. Although in many times the project related to traffic, especially about the road laying, the project can bring a lot of benefits to the local stakeholders. However, the project also influences these stakeholders’ normal living environment or brings them extra to do. Many local stakeholders are disagree with the project. Thus, the communication with the local stakeholders become very significant.
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Thank you for sharing a good example to us. Your stakeholders matter, and managing stakeholders effectively can make all the difference to the success of your project.
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You provide a good example about how stakeholders play significant impact the processes of the project and determine whether the project to continue. Making sure proper stakeholders involvement would be important for a successful project.
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Thanks for your good example. It is important to put stakeholders’ requirements as priority in a project. The local residents are important stakeholders in this project. They did not want the traffic to be impacted by the project. The project managers sould consider this as a factor to design the project process.
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Hi Ami,
I lived in Bucks County for 3-years, I can truly understand what you were saying. The York Rd (263) had been fixed for almost 3 years, I was told by my aunt because this area is in the middle of two governments, they both didn’t want to responsible for the road construction funds. It was a two-lane road in both directions, and the limit speed was 55 mph. The road was decreased to one-way in both directions and the limit speed was 35 or 40 mpg I couldn’t remember. -
Hi Ami
This is really a great example. Usually stakeholders are all see the projects from their own sides. A project could be reasonable for one stakeholder, but totally does not make sense for another one. This is why sometimes people feel like it could be a good thing to do it but why the other people do not like it and make it failed.
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Ami,
This is a great example of how stakeholders can drive the progress and outcome of a project without buy-in. In my post today, I shared an example that was similar in some regards. After considering both of our sets of experiences, it also brings to mind that if communication could be enhanced in situations such as these – in your example, possibly through holding a public forum – in my example, possibly having a round-table discussion – projects may have different results in many cases due to the ability to consider multiple perspectives. It seems that it is never an ideal situation when a project closes down prematurely based on situations such as the ones we’ve highlighted respectively.
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Thank you for your story. I think government projects are much more sensitive to the mood of stakeholders. As such, they are far more interesting to analyze how to go about winning over stakeholders. Identifying the often conflicting interest of the stakeholders and find possible solutions can make it much easier to do so in a business setting.
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Hi Ami,
This is a great example of the stockholder interest in the project, and how their involvement affects the project. I use to live at Red Lion and the Blvd. so I am very familiar with the location you described. They have been going back and forth for years about the reconstruction of Woodhaven Rd. and I never understood why. I can’t remember if that is Byberry Rd or not, but that street is always congested. They started re-configuring the Blvd, but you can see where the progress just stopped. SMH. Nevertheless, this is a great example of how stakeholders buy-in can benefit a project or make it fail.
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This is a good example similar to the one I gave, showing that what is good for the stakeholders would never be assumed, but should be based on data collected from these stakeholders. Jut because a project will apparently benefit the greater good, or be positive in term of bigger picture, does not mean that it is necessarily what the people want. Moat project s will also involve some negative aspects that are worth taking into consideration, and what better way to do that that to collect information directly from the people affected by this project, the direct stakeholders. Great example. Thank you for sharing
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Hi, Ami, thank you for sharing this great example demonstrating the importance of stakeholders buy-in for a project. A project would not succeed If it failed to thoroughly consider relevant stakeholders and maximizing interests for them.
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The overall good of the county, but a hand of individuals decides against the county.
Good example Ami, clear manifestation of how stakeholders influence, interest, and action can impact a project.
They have seen the economic analysis, ease of traffic on the overall, yet disagree for implementation.
How important is stakeholders buy-in.
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It is important to consider about the stakeholders’ requirements and thoughts. Any disagreement with the stakeholders’ ideas can give the project a lot of unnecessary troubles. My dad and his colleagues contracted a project that will build a large supermarket. Because of many issues like underground parking and setting pipelines, so workers need to dig down. However, the project is close to the residential area. As stakeholders, the community residents come forward to stop the project because of the noise and dust. Under the project principal’s communication, the project continued, but the project organizer need to give residents a certain amount of compensation. From this event, we can see that the stakeholders’ requirements and thoughts can make huge affect to the project. It not only delayed the progress of the project, but also may cause unnecessary losses.
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I agree with you, it is important to consider stakeholders’ requirements. Like you said, the supermarket impacts stakeholders, so the project sponsors should figure out another method to make the project keep going.
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Hanqing, thank you for sharing a good example
Consensus building among stakeholders is hard part in a project. All stakeholders’ interests should be take into account and making all the stakeholders come to a unanimous agreement is important. Additionally, conflicts should be solved in time to reduce adverse impact on the process of the project.
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Thank you for your example. This is a good point. Sometimes some stakeholders are standing in different angles to see a project, and this absolutely would make “unnecessary losses.”
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yes, good example. Communication is perhaps the most visible manifestation of culture. Project managers encounter cultural differences in communication in language, context, and candor. Language is clearly the greatest barrier to communication. When project stakeholders do not share the same language, communication slows down and is often filtered to share only information that is deemed critical. The barrier to communication can influence project execution where quick and accurate exchange of ideas and information is critical.
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This is a great example. I feel that in cases such as these, where an entire community can be considered direct stakeholders, the outcome would be much smoother if the project manager could consider setting expectations of the larger group of shareholders prior to the project breaking ground. This way, if community members had been advised that dust and noise would last an approximate amount of time, the majority may have decided that they could endure any inconvenience in exchange for the community-wide benefits of the final result of the project.
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HI,
I think this is a great example of why stakeholders need to be on board and communicating with them is key to having a successful project. If they are not kept in the picture, problems like this will arise and cause delays and losses to the project.
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Great example. Your example explained the importance of communication with stakeholders. Therefore, the use of effective communication skills, project managers will be more likely to reconcile stakeholder conflicts earlier in the process so as to minimize the chance of project failure.
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Hangqing, I can’t agree with you more on the importance of the stakeholders’ requirements and thoughts. And the conflicts among stakeholders is indeed an issue causing lots of troubles.
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Well said, Hanqing! It is important that stakeholders are on board with the project’s ideas and mission. Their disagreement will result many challenges in the project. Also, great example to support your argument.
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Thank you for sharing your own experience. Based on your words, can I said that that companies need to include an estimate of the engagement of local stakeholders when designing a project plan. And we should balance the engagement of both local stakeholders and stakeholders from companies.
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Thank your for your example. From your example, we can know that in many times, there are many groups of stakeholders, their different ideas and value concept or the points they put attention are all different. I go through the article, I found that senior financial executives are constantly seeking to re-allocate the funds that have been justified by a project manager for his or her program. However, functional managers are project stakeholders who are solicitous of protecting their vested interests.
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Thank you for your example, Karabo. Many people tend to be mildly hostile to new things, thus, let customers accept new things become a very crucial part of the project. This bank’s project manager is smart that make a show to the users about how security level of the new tech have and make a rewards programs to the users.
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Thank your for your sharing. In many case, when the company what to start a new project, the project manager is usually only consider about the outside stakeholders’ thoughts and feedback, and ignore the inside stakeholders’ voice. Usually, the disagreement comes inside which shows the fundamental defects of the project.
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It is important for a project to meet requirement of stockholders, because stockholders direct or indirect affect operations. The primary objective for stockholders is making profit. It is important to buy-in a project which is profitable. Stockholders are responsible for voting senior management in an organization. It affects operation in a business. In addition, they are responsible for financing and governance. Therefore it important for a project to meet the requirement of stockholders, because they do the best to play an important role in the project they can get benefit.
For example, the real estate company in my hometown usually starts to sell apartments while they are building. If they sales is good, they get ore money to make the building better. If the sales is not good. It is slower or them to build the building. T he project is related to stockholders’ benefits, so they can decide the process of building the houses based on the profits.
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Thank you for your sharing and I agree with your point. I just have one question. What about if the requirements of stakeholders are not match? Like some stakeholders want something but the others really hate it?
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Good question Ping.
In this situation, I think it is project manager’s responsibility to find out a balance point that agreed by all parties.
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good experience. but you talk about stockholders instead of stakeholders. A project is successful when it achieves its objectives and meets or exceeds the expectations of the stakeholders. But who are the stakeholders? Stakeholders are individuals who either care about or have a vested interest in your project. They are the people who are actively involved with the work of the project or have something to either gain or lose as a result of the project.
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Great example. Your example is a perfect explanation of the saying of “rob peter to pay paul.” I agree with you that the only thing that stakeholders care about from a project is profit.
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Good analysis, Xinteng. It is true that the requirements marching is a critical part for stockholders making chooses on the projects. And the example you provided are pretty common but typical. Thank you for your sharing.
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Great points, Chen! I agree with you. Stakeholders have an important role to play in the execution of the project. They govern the project committee by providing their input and resources (finance).
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Thank you for sharing a good example to us. For your example, I learn that identify the roles of the stakeholders in the project is important. All stakeholders are involved in the development of projects and not just direct beneficiaries of an initiative.
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Thanks for your explanation. Stakeholders play important roles in a project. They affect the process internal and external. They are related to the return of the stockholders. Therefore, it is important to consider stakeholders’ needs.
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Good example. How to balance stakeholders’ requirements and strengthen their confidence in the project would be important courses for a project manager.
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Hi Folake,
You make a great point that buy-in is necessary from both the business owners and senior management. Your example reminds me of the importance of stakeholder management and ensuring that the relevant stakeholders are engaged in all project decisions/activities. These business units could have possibly been more involved with building the application requirements to ensure it did meet the criteria they needed.
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Good example, Karabo. From your example, providing good communication, user training and proper incentives would be good ways to attract interests from stakeholders and strengthen relationships with them.
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Thanks for your example. Project manager should consider all stakeholders as important roles in his or her project. Stockholders’ profits should be priority in their perspective. However, it is impossible to maximize the profit by ignoring other stakeholders’ needs.
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Thanks for your good explanation and example. Stakeholders are important for a project. As you mentioned. They affect the timeline of the project. To make the process more efficient, people should make the project meet the requirements of the stakeholders.
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You make a great point that identifying the stakeholders should be primary task to conduct a successful project. This would be helpful for managing stakeholders expectations and making better communications.
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I agree that it is important to acknowledge that different types of stakeholders have different objectives and relate to different kinds of values within a project. Having these potential objectives and values identified upfront can help you prepare for future roadblocks these stakeholders may cause as the project goes on. I have found a related articles that identifies 8 different value perspectives for project stakeholders in megaprojects.
https://www.pmi.org/learning/library/stakeholder-value-constructs-megaprojects-10989
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Thank you for your sharing. You really gave us a very detailed explanation about what and how to make a project succeed. The first and very important one would be Identifying the stakeholders. It is more like to know who are they and what they actually want.
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Good example. This is really good for me to understand how to make stakeholders to understand why they need a project and what the project would bring to them. If an organization can match their needs to the stakeholders’ needs, then the project would be succeeded easily.
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Good example, jing jiang . Stakeholders are the people who need to provide key input to the critical decisions made in the project. Failure to engage stakeholders effectively is the fast-path to disaster.
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yes , I agree with you. It’s important to identify all the stakeholders in people’s project upfront. Leaving out important stakeholders or their department’s function and not discovering the error until well into the project could be a project killer.
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yes, good example from your experience. Things surface that may impact stakeholders, but the PM may fail to make the stakeholders aware of the situation. As projects progress, the PM should continually ask the project team, “who is potentially impacted?” Engage stakeholders in the conversation as needed.
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Thank you for sharing your experience that clearly show the importance of stakeholder involvement in a project. You did well by communication the vision and the mission of the project at every stage to your parents. Communicating with the project sponsors, getting their buy in, showing them the benefits of the project is very vital to every project. You also got customer feedback, which is important in every project. This drove you to start thinking about meeting the needs of the customers by proving “milk corn cup”. There is a need to always seek and incorporate feedback from the stakeholders for the project to be a success.
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I’ve worked in a project for one of my MIS major course during undergraduate, as a business analyst. Our client is called BeHeardPhilly, a Temple University based research and survey platform covers Philadelphia area. Our key stakeholders involved the executives and key employees at BeHeardPhilly. Our project is to develop a client facing interface and data delivery system.
The important way to make stakeholder interest in our project is to show them our comprehensive project plan. The point is make them understand what we can bring them to meet their requirements. The productivity will sure to be enhanced ,also the final deliverable will be the right thing they want.
When you get support from stakeholders, it will be a lot easier to communicate with them as the project progress and get more details to support our work
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I’m glad to hear you have support from the stakeholders of your project. My friend who just graduated from the Computer Information Systems program. He had a similar capstone project for his last 2 semesters. Their primary stakeholder was the Temple Student Government and the Student Programming Office. They lost the interest of the SPO and the project was cancelled in the second semester. It was disappointing to him that because of one primary stakeholder the project was gone in a flash. It sounds like your team’s relationship with your stakeholders is strong. Good luck!
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Well said Xiaozhou, thank you for sharing your experience. The support from the stakeholders is critical to a successful project management; nevertheless, stakeholders only care about what value they can get from this project. Therefore, like you said, a comprehensive project plan to make them understand what you can bring to them would be vital.
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Hi,
It’s really interesting reading about your experiences as a Business Analyst in your class because I am taking that same class this semester. It’s really interesting getting to know a client and understanding their wants and needs. I think establishing trust with the stakeholders is extremely important when working in these types of projects and that is what will make the outcome successful in the end. -
Hi Xiaozhou,
I agree with your insight on discussing your comprehensive plan with stakeholders. I think sometimes it is even necessary to go the extra mile and give stakeholders the opportunity full comprehend their role in a project and how it will impact their lives. Thanks for sharing this experience.
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I agree with you, Xiaozhou! The stakeholders invest in the project and, hence, they deserve to know the progress of an ongoing project. One way to ensure that stakeholders are in the loop is through effective communication. The project manager should clearly communicate the comprehensive plan of the project effectively.
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Good example Xiaozhou. I think gaining trust from the main stakeholders is a very important step, which helps to reduce the confliction and improve the quality of the deliverables.
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I really appreciate the detailed information from your own personal experience. Its interesting to me to consider investors as a class of stakeholder due to their importance in so many cases. On one hand, if a business wants to grow and develop a certain way and investors are not in agreement it can be very frustrating for Management – in whatever form it takes on. However, at times, investors are a type of stakeholder that can be a unique check and balance in business if Management needs them to access capital to steer in a desired direction. Sometimes that desired direction might be best avoided. Others it could be a missed opportunity. However, in either case, it seems that the value of investors as a type of stakeholder is evident in many ways. Thanks for sharing about your coffee shop. Its been a dream of mine to see my small town have a successful coffee shop!
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In reference to your first paragraph – I completely agree with your assessment. In another reply, I noted that expectations being set up front, and appropriately, can lead to enhanced buy-in across the board. As you said, if Majority stakeholders are able to communicate effectively to all other stakeholders, the fate of a project may be different than if that communication is not carried out effectively.
As I view this week’s discussions, I’m actually reminded of the importance of sales skills to a certain extent amongst majority stakeholders and project managers. An old cliche says “nothing happens in life until a sale is made.” If this is true, communicating vision, purpose, business objective, and overall benefits to all stakeholders is truly important.
Thanks for sharing.
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That was a great idea Carabo, like Hanqing said, people are hostile to new things, I know a lot of people-especially the middle aged and the elderly – that would still rather go into the bank to withdraw money than use ATM’s (or even worse-do internet banking transactions).
It was smart he bank the gave phones and credit cards that had contactless chips and installed payment chips in retail stores as a pilot of the project, as opposed to selling the phones – even at a reduced price. communication and continuous training provided to the stakeholders was also an added advantage as well -
This is a great example! I think whenever a new technology is being introduced it is scary for comsumers and businesses alike to trust it. That being said, in this situation it was important that both of these stakeholders remained on board so that the project can be executed to its full potential.
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Mengqiao, thanks for sharing you experience. I think it is also important that in getting stakeholder involvement they are given all the information about the proposed project. Thorough research should be done about the project. This includes making projections on the costs that will be involved. Signing in for tables on campus should not have come as a surprise but should have been a cost that was expected. Probably even a survey of how many people were interested in the investor program would have provided valuable information on whether the company should undertake the project. You mentioned some important points about the project being beneficial to college students finding jobs. Investors usually would want the project to start making a return on their investment and if that does not happen they pull the plug.
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This is a problem that I saw often when I was active duty (full time) army. There was either low/no engagement or too many parties trying to have their say so. It’s interesting that the 3rd largest army in the world would not embrace project management best practices. It’s not even stressed at the middle management level.
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Jason,
I totally agree with what you’re saying in regards to stakeholder involvement and relationships. I made the point in another thread that some degree of sales skills could be necessary to communicate vision, purpose, etc. to stakeholders. Along with that, I believe the interpersonal skills for relationship management may very well go hand-in-hand. In my opinion, you were very wise to point out that stakeholder involvement can be easier to lose than gain. I believe that in possessing those two skills and using them to communicate and interact, those long-term beneficial relationships you mention are able to be developed to a much stronger extent.
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This is a great example. It sounds like if there was an expanded analysis of stakeholders then the project sponsor would have seen that stakeholder engagement was key to implementation. Even if the same software was picked having the support of the different business units by giving them respect and a chance to have their voice heard could have achieved better outcome
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Reading about your experiences in this post is fascinating! Owning and operating your own business is so challenging and rewarding and it is an instance where you yourself are the stakeholder. I feel that this gives you a first hand perspective and really forces you to choose what you believe will benefit the firm in the most positive way.
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Great example. An effective project sponsor who believes that the project is both viable and necessary is essential to the success of any organizational project. This sponsor must also be willing to use the authority vested in him or her to build a coalition of support among the various project stakeholders. Adequate project sponsorship is important in relatively simple projects, so it is even more of a necessity in complex projects, such as defense acquisition projects.
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Nice example. The analysis of your example provides us with a golden opportunity to identify valuable project management lessons. The lessons learned from your example can be used to help project managers enhance their likelihood of successfully managing a project. Effective communication skills are indispensable skills for a project manager to possess.
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This sounds like a textbook case of IT projects in the healthcare industry. I hope you share your experience in class in the future and how you plan to incorporate lessons we learn to real-world problem-solving.
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Well down, Dongjie. You made a good analysis on the US DOD projects. As you stated, lack of the leadership and decision makers among the stakeholders can be a big issues and lead to the conflicts and reduce the efficiency.
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Hi Yingyan,
Great response! I really like how well you related the project and stakeholder aspect of things to your graduate school application process. I think when it comes down to it a lot of things we do in our daily lives are actually scaled down projects and its great to see that correlation. Thanks!
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Interesting example, Rouying. On the surface, the failure of this nuclear reactor is because the federal government couldn’t coordinate the conflict between economics and environment. Essentially, the root casue of this failure is that federal government didn’t think about every relevant stakeholder’s benefits in this project. For instance, as local residents, they worried about the safety factor of this nuclear recator especially after the Chernobyl incident.
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Dongjie,
Per your researched article, I think conflicts between projects and stakeholders can be detrimental to the collective success of the project. Not only should this encourage a project manager to actively get stakeholders’ input on subject matters regarding the project, he or she should make it a point facilitate an open environment and reudce conflicts in all matters relating to the project. Thanks for sharing.
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Based on my understanding, you are talking about that project couldn’t create enough return to its shareholders. As the CEO of your organization, he is responsible to the Board of Directors so he must take fully responsibility of his every decision. Other stakeholders including potential customers and students who are looking for an intership are not the reason to affect the CEO’s decision, casue the CEO has to think about a long-term development plan for his company.
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Good explanation, Yinyan. I can’t agree with you more toward the idea about the importance of supports from stakeholders. Without the support of stakeholders, the project would never be succeed.
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Hi Ping,
Thanks for sharing your experience operating your coffee shop. I liked how you correlated the corn example to a project and your parents being key stakeholders or better yet investors of the project. With that said, your project will not be successful without their role. This also leaves me to wonder the extent of which stakeholders should be prioritized and on what basis.
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Thank you for your sharing Yijiang. The influences of shareholders are not always positive. As the publisher of Metal Gear Solid, Hideo Kojima had the deepest understanding toward the projects. The chooses of the topic can significant effect publisher’s designs. As you said the shareholders should tolerate certain levels of freedom, especial on cultural industry.
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Karabo,
This is a great example of stakeholder buy-in and the impact they have on the system. New technology is always hard to gain buy-in on. The fact the financial institution was able to demonstrate their product this way was allowed them to gain the stakeholder’s (user) approval. Stakeholders sometimes have more of an interest something then the project coordinators.
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Hi Karabo,
Thanks for sharing this article on banking. From your post, I noticed that although it is crucial to get stakeholders involved in all projects, the level of importance varies in various projects. In your case, since the stakeholders are also the customers if their needs and wants are not taken into consideration in implementing the project the failure of the project will be inevitable. However, this might not be the case for a project for a project that is set to improve building infrastructure. Great post!
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During my First Internship at PwC where I was put in the marketing department, I have had the opportunity to work on a office space management project with other co workers. Each cubicle had a trash can underneath it to help employees keep the office space clean as well as big recycle bins in the conference rooms. However there were talks about a better way to manage the office space and the whole janitorial cleaning process in order to help the company go green and also save on electricity. Therefore the idea of this office management project was given to us intern, as an assignment (side project) by one of our supervisors. My coworkers and I were in charge of completing it. By replacing the regular cubicle trash cans by plastic net trash cans that can only take dry trash (papers, plactics etc….) instead of perishable trash the company would encourage its employees to recycle helping the companies Going green initiative. The regular trash cans would only be kept inthe big conference rooms. The project also included a new proposal for the janitorial staff. Instead of waiting until 5 or 6pm after everyone leave to cleanup, they could clean during the day while everyone is working, and it would be much faster and easier for them since employees would only have dry trash at their desks. All the heavy trash would be in the trash cans in the conference room. This initiative would also help the company save on unnecessary electricity used when the Janitorial staff would come in to clean up at night. This was a really good initiative that would help the company save money and would also move it forward in its going green initiative. The project seemed ready to go but after some questioning from stakeholders (primarily another supervisor who was also involved in the project) the project was put on hold. Some employees did not wanna have Janitorial staff walking around and cleaning while they were doing work. It was believe that this project would increase traffic in the office, it could also be to distractive and there was also data security due to the staff seeing what some employees are working on on their computers, or what client engagement they are working on. Because that was an issue with so many other stakeholders the project ended up not happening even though it could potentially bring economic benefits to the company, and give it a better public image.
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Hi Yingyan,
This is a great example of how stakeholders make a difference in completing or not completing a project. I like how you tied in your application process and the success of it relying on the reference letters. Stakeholders can be the driving force behind a project moves forward, so it is important to have stakeholders buy-in early on.
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Hi
That is a really interesting example. Thanks you for sharing this article. I took a look at it. However like derrick I also believe that although it is important to get stakeholders involved in a project, the importance depends on the project. In your case, this was something that customers wanted and so they contributed greatly to the project. In the example I gave in my post, even though the project outcome would benefit the firm, the needs of the employees who are the stakeholders were not taken into consideration, resulting in the project being shut down.
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That was a good example. Your example shows that there are different types of stakeholders who have different interests. I read the article and It strengthens my understanding of the role a stakeholders has in the project, and their profits should be kept in mind while completing this project. Their input is critical for the success of the project.
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Hi
This the perfect example of how stakeholders should always be involved in projects. In the case of the localisation of this geological disposal facility for radioactive waste, I was crucial to be accessible to the people. to let them know about their plans, and to build trust just as they did. Haven’t they had done that, The project would have been a complete failure for sure, because the local people who live nearby would have heavily protested this project because they would have seen it as a threat. In their views it would be just another giant capitalist big corporate trying to quick people out of the area. -
Hi
I partly disagree with your statement. As you said creator Hideo of the metal gear solid series created a game that had a huge influence on gamers. there fore there is a special connection with the metal gear solid community. Konami should have dismissed Hideo Kojima’s team and changed the theme of this game, just because there is a rising thrend in Zombie apocalypse games. I believe that what caused the gamers to have this special connection with the metal gear solid games was because it was a metal gear solid game, had its own genre, and not another game trying to copy off from other genres. I belive the best course of action is always to get he stakeholders input, and in this case it would have helped to release surveys or demos or beta versions of the game to players to see what their opinion would be about the new game, before going forward with releasing a zombie themed game. My point is Konami who is in charge of releasing the game should has made sure at first that this is something that the fans of the series want. It is always important to leave enough room for the stakeholders desire to be satisfied. Not taking them into consideration will mostly make this game fail like many others today.-
Yes, I agree with you that the theme of the game should be what the fans want, not just the technical team and the stakeholders, which will lack the participation of players.
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You made a very good point, Jason. I think in this case, the best solution is not ignoring the shareholder’s advice. Instead, the designer should find a way persuade the shareholders and let them believe that another stakeholder, which is gamer, will love the theme.
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Dongjie, I totally agree with you. If a project failed to consider needs and interests, the outcomes of the project would not be able to meet requirements and expectations of stakeholder even if the project was successfully implemented.
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I also agree with Dongjie, if the stakeholder’s advice is different with the designed, we should find way to persuade the stakeholder and get theirs support.
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From your example, it can be seen that Qantas did not take stakeholders into consideration when replacing the system. As a result, the project was rejected by stakeholders and the result failed. This shows that stakeholders take an important part in the decision-making power of the project.
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My previous (undergraduate) institution is a small yet diversified college. It represents students from countries all over the world. After the retirement of the 20th president, a new president took over. With visions to increase the number of students and raise money, the new president devised project addressed both of his vision. The project that the president wanted to execute involved a significant change in the admission decision process. Basically, the new project suggested that the institution should no longer accept international students as they did not help in raising money (according to the new president). However, this idea (accepting only domestic students and not taking internal students) did not seem appealing to the stakeholders (board of directors, alumni and parents association). Hence, this created in conflict of ideas and the new president soon stepped down from his role.
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This is an interesting situation that occurred at your school. It was clear that your president was more concerned with being profitable, while the other stakeholders valued diversity. This is an example of two parties with conflicting views and them subsequently changing a project.
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As an internal auditor in Community Banking, I was involved with a project approximately 18 months ago, to analyze the potential benefit of launching an in-house Wealth Management Dept. This was a case whereI was able to experience first-hand the importance of stakeholder buy-in with respect to a project. My role, due to my background as a financial advisor, was to work with a Vice President at the research level, and then provide scenarios on the topic of bank net income similar to the approach we discussed in working with Gannt charts: optimistic, realistic, and pessimistic. Following several weeks of regular meetings and discussion, I was informed that the Executive Management team had been advised that by an unnamed stakeholder that the bank’s primary market was not appropriate for the launch and the project would be closed down immediately. This occurred based on the feedback of only one stakeholder that I can only assume was at a level as high as Board of Directors, due to being unnamed.
Upon inquiring as to why the project was closed down prior to formal presentation of my findings, the only feedback I was given to justify the advise of Executive Management received and accepted was that the stakeholder believed certain trends to be emerging in the financial services industry that would work against the project long-term. I felt the assumptions of the anonymous stakeholder to be incorrect based on experience, research, and generational retirement statistics. However, without a chance to present such information formally to all stakeholders, there was no way to keep the project in motion. The project was closed down as advised. This taught me that stakeholder buy-in to a project is of the utmost importance, at all levels, in many organizations.
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As an Internal Auditor in Community Banking, I was involved with a project approximately 18 months ago, to analyze the potential benefit of launching an in-house Wealth Management Dept. This was a case where I was able to experience first-hand the importance of stakeholder buy-in with respect to a project. My role, due to my background as a Financial Advisor, was to work with a Vice President at the research level, and then provide scenarios on the topic of bank net income similar to the approach we discussed in working with Gantt charts: optimistic, realistic, and pessimistic.
Following several weeks of regular meetings and discussion, I was advised that the Executive Management team had been advised by an unnamed stakeholder that the bank’s primary market was not appropriate for the launch and the project would be closed down immediately. This occurred based on the feedback of only one stakeholder that I can only assume was at a level as high as the Board of Directors, due to being unnamed.
Upon inquiring as to why the project was closed down prior to formal presentation of my findings, the only feedback I was given to justify the advice Executive Management received and accepted was that the stakeholder believed certain trends to be emerging in the financial services industry that would work against the project long-term. I felt the assumptions of the anonymous stakeholder to be incorrect based on experience, research, and generational retirement statistics. However, without a chance to present such information formally to all stakeholders, there was no way to keep the project in motion. The project was closed down as advised. This taught me that stakeholder buy-in to a project is of the utmost importance, at all levels, in many organizations.
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In my current role as an Internal Auditor in Community Banking, I was involved with a project approximately 18 months ago, to analyze the potential benefit of launching an in-house Wealth Management Dept. This was a case where I was able to experience first-hand the importance of stakeholder buy-in with respect to a project. My role, due to my background as a Financial Advisor, was to work with a Vice President at the research level, and then provide scenarios on the topic of bank net income similar to the approach we discussed in working with Gantt charts: optimistic, realistic, and pessimistic.
After approximately eight weeks of regular meetings and discussion, I was advised that the Executive Management team had been advised by an unnamed stakeholder that the bank’s primary market was not appropriate for the launch and the project would be closed down immediately. This occurred based on the feedback of only one stakeholder that I can only assume was at a level as high as the Board of Directors, due to being unnamed.
When inquiring as to why the project was closed down prior to formal presentation of my findings, the only feedback I was given to justify the advice Executive Management received and accepted was that the stakeholder believed certain trends to be emerging in the financial services industry that would work against the project long-term. I felt the assumptions of the anonymous stakeholder to be incorrect based on experience, research, and generational retirement statistics. However, without a chance to present such information formally to all stakeholders, there was no way to keep the project in motion. The project was closed down as advised. This taught me that stakeholder buy-in to a project is of the utmost importance, at all levels, in many organizations.
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Mengqiao, thank you for your sharing. In your example, Besides the stakeholders’ interests, we can see how important the feasibility analyses are. In this project, the project manager should analyze the cost and benefit before they implementing the project.
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I agree with you Yingyan. The stakeholder’s support plays a critical role in the project management process. In order to gain their support, the project manager should show a positive attitude and reliability.
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I was involved in creating a gamification program to incentivize students to be more engaged in an undergrad program. The stakeholders included departmental leadership, other staff involved in system design and building/maintenance, departmental faculty, students in the program, and prospective students who would use the program. The involvement was about as intense as I myself wished it to be, though some faculty were engaged via physical meetings and email for status updates. I quickly realized that I needed to be proactive in communication management with the stakeholders, as they were all very busy and couldn’t be relied upon to handle their own comm mgmt on the project.
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Stakeholder management is very complex for such a large project. One possible method of reducing potential communication issues and bureaucratic chaos would be to address specific project aspects. This would mean certain stakeholders are notified, consulted, etc. based on how they fit into the overall project. This would hopefully also help avoid stakeholder detachment – there is a negative impact if stakeholders are not actively engaged and concerned with the project.
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You described a very real risk in projects, as inadequate buy-in or engagement can ruin things. If a project will benefit the organization (based on economic feasibility or business case), then this outcome is negative for the organization. In such a scenario, staff may be punished and productivity may suffer, so efforts should be made to avoid it.
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Interesting example, and I’d wonder how the security was handled. Whether security is indeed sufficient, customers need to be reassured and provided evidence to prove the safety of the system. It sounds like that happened here through their training on the new system, so we might safely assume they created a module with simple explanations to address security concerns for the widest segment of their customer base.
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Project is definitely a necessity in most projects, so it’s not outrageous to pull the plug if this doesn’t occur. However, intangible benefits might make it worthwhile despite the costs. This includes possible increased recruiting power at certain colleges, long-term relationships with particular schools for a powerful partnerships, good PR for the firm at various schools, etc. These could make something worthwhile, but that determination is of course up to the steering committee.
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Congratulations on your entrepreneurial mindset! This is a smaller version of a project, but the rules still apply. You made a sound business case for the new product, and the investors liked it enough to approve it. True to your assessment, the product was popular and lucrative, so it was a successful project. Well done!
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Hi Iyana,
Thanks for sharing your field experience.
A key take away from the report is that lack of interest in a project delays timeline and slows the development of the “to be” state. So, IT Project Managers should always work to have their project proposal(s) accepted at the local level and supported by stakeholders. -
Hi Folake,
Thanks for sharing with us your field experience.
Yes, for projects to succeed, the IT/Project management team, should always involve key stakeholders like Business Owner(s), Senior Management, and the various departmental heads or business units. Involving the managers of various business units, from the initiation stage, will give them a sense of belonging and ownership of the project, and that will position them as the project ambassadors – increasing awareness and spreading the benefits of the project to members of their team. -
Hi,
It is important for IT Project Managers to always categorize or classify stakeholders involved in a project and develop appropriate communication technique suitable for each group. Effective communication and integrity of information is key to the success of a project. IT Project managers should always provide adequate information about a project to the stakeholders to gain their confidence and support for the project.
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It is great to hear about your personal experience in running a business first hand. It goes to show how the “steering committee” in all projects must work together to make decisions. This also shows a great example of how listening to the key users (i.e. your customers) can be critical in ensuring a successful roll out of a new product. You were able to develop a new product based on their feedback which was successful.
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Derrick you make a great point on the importance of transparency in a project. Considering the level of transparency necessary for each stakeholder is an important thing to consider in the communication plan. In your example, being open about the plans and meetings helped to develop trust and ultimately worked in SKB’s favor. This helped to gain stakeholder buy in and ensure project success.
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Stakeholders can be very useful when attempting a project. They are directly affected by the decisions that a team makes, but this does not mean that they know best. People who are not involved with the project but are affected by it will usually pull for decisions that keeps things the same way, unless there is a glaring problem. Listening to these people too closely can cause projects to stagnate, because the team is trying to appease everyone. Stakeholders should be used in a project to a point. When your decisions are greatly influenced by stakeholder input, it could lead to project failure.
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Thank you James, I agree with you that when you decisions are greatly influenced by stakeholder input, it could lead to project failure. sometimes, stakeholder is the key important in projects but not every decision which stakeholder made is correct. we should analysis every situation before we do.
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I definitely see the conflict of interest arising when dealing with multiple stakeholders. There can be a lot of stakeholders and all of them could have varying opinions. It can be difficult to manage all of these opinions while doing what is best for the project.
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Not using stakeholders in a project is something that usually proves costly, and this is an example. I think that stakeholders should be used to a point, but not where they are heavily impacting the project. But, it would have been helpful to get some help in this case.
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Stakeholder managements seems like a useful way to improve a project. It is important to manage these people in a way that will not hurt the project or slow it down while still taking their thoughts into account. It is a difficult thing to do, but it is vital in a project.
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Stakeholders are vital to a project’s existence, as evidenced in your post. If the stakeholders are very happy with the project, it could actually survive with bad circumstances. Also, the lack of communication with the vendor seems like it could hurt the project in the long run, but the stakeholder backing is clearly important.
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Hi James,
I couldn’t agree more. To date the project I referenced in my post has not been approved, and I believe this is a direct result the project not being supported by our stakeholders.
A funny thing… Over the years I have been privy to several projects, and what I realized is if the stakeholder’s buy-in is not there the projects will not succeed. However, if the stakeholder’s buy-in is there the projects are completed successfully in no time.
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Well, we discuss the importance of stakeholder buy-in when staring a project. For example, I have worked for a real estate company a few years ago. Before the company start to build up, they will do the market survey. Such as how many people interested in this real estate and estimate what percentage people would buy it after the building complete. If the survey showed the market over the demand, the stakeholder would invest more finance to the building. This is an example showed a project failure or success can be attributed to stakeholder involvement
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An example of the importance of stakeholder buy in is the beach extension project that is has occurred on the Jersey shore. Following the disaster that Hurricane Sandy left behind, it was suggested a project be completed that extended the dunes and the beach. This left the stakeholders of the beachfront properties upset because it would devalue their property because they would lose their view of the ocean. They fought back and held the project up from moving forward, but ultimately Governor Christie pushed the project to be started.
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While the ‘No Employee Escapes’ project has not been approved (refer to the written assignment for Week 2), there are a number of project risks that Jim will have to manage. List 3 potential risks you see so far […]
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Some risks I see so far in this project are:
1) The SME chosen for this project, Juanita Lopez, is the manager of one of the company’s busiest stores. I feel that having only Juanita be a part of the team is a risk because the rest of the project team does not get a diverse sample of other types of stores and their customer relations. Having store managers from the busiest, a medium busy, and a quiet store would be a better sample and help the project team better asses the needs of the company holistically.
2) The employees chosen to be a part of this project all have other commitments. Although the employees chosen to be a part of this project are excited to be a part of it, the narrative mentions that they are all very busy with their normal responsibilities meaning that they may not be able to dedicate a bulk of their time to the project.
3) Another risk Jim will have to manage is making sure the end goal of the project is clear in the executive’s eyes. This project is for customer relations but the marketing director referred to it as being the “no employee escapes” rather than “no customer escapes”. This is a common risk in projects where different key people are not caught up and have a different view on what the end goal is.
I think the most significant risk for Jim is making sure that enough time is dedicated to this project from all team members. It is a very important project for the life of the company so it is important that everyone involved give it their all so the desired end result is achieved.
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Hi Ami,
You bring up a some great points especially in regards to the risk of the SME chosen. In addition to Juanita Lopez’s store representing an anomaly, the team will need SME(s) who are readily available for questions and to review proposed ideas during the project. With Juanita’s limited availability and biased sample representation they may want to consider additional or a more diverse set of SMEs, as you mentioned.
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Hi Ami,
You did a great analysis about the employees may not be able to dedicate a lot of their time to the project, which is Jim needed to worry about. Also Jim as a new employee in this company, he would face lots pressure as a team leader.
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Good point Mengqiao, Jim been new employee is a possible risk. Though Jim comes with his new ideal and thought process, there are lot of things he needs to learn and understand (policy, team members, stakeholders, environment, etc.). This will help with communication, scheduling, and other relationship.
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Hi Ami. Thank you for your thoughtful analysis. I completely agree with you. Juanita Lopez definitely has an extremely busy schedule as a manage in one of the busiest store in the company. Besides, different stores might manage customer relationship in different ways, therefore, it is better to make the project team more diverse to general a more comprehensive project plan.
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Hi Ami.
I agree with all of your points. Reasonable time management would be one of the biggest risks among his team members that may hinder the process of Jim’s project. Jim can establish a work timeline for every member to enforce each member to engage in the project with enough efforts and time. Providing rewards or incentives would also be good ways if the budget permit.-
Yeah I agree with you Jing. However, even if Jim makes timeline for the team members. It still hard for them to put the project over their own tasks and roles. It still would be a huge risk.
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I agree with you! Jim want Juanita Lopez do the manger on the team but Juanita is very busy because he work in the Irvine, which is the one of their top stores. that indicate Juanita must be very busy which is not suit for the team.
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Hi everyone,
I understand the risk of overloading team members on the project which is a high risk.
What if the team is selected based on key stakeholders interest? If you remove any team member, you lose one stakeholder support. Meanwhile, team members are always not available due to other engagement.
Looking at the importance of the project, could it be okay to find an able lieutenant to proxy for those in question and allow them time for the project if the project is rally important?“Prioritizing the priority”
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Hi Pascal,
This is an interesting point. The key team members are usually selected specifically based on stakeholder interest. In terms of dealing with the hands that are dealt, this will turkey be a test of Jim’s stakeholder management skills. He will have to identify the relevant information for each persons role and their expectations upfront to tailor his communication approach. He will also want to focus on the project governance structure to decide how often and in depth to communicate with each stakeholder.
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Hi Ami,
I definitely agree with your statement and good catch on the “No Employee Escapes”. However, I do believe it was just a typo. Or at least I hope it was because the first reading stated “Customer”.
Nevertheless, I liked your idea of pulling managers from different stores with ranging customer base. However, I think that for this project they are trying to retain and attract customers so it may be best to use the store that services the most customers. This will allow the project team to understand why this location is so popular.
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Good point lezlie,
I actually thought about that for a while, why would Jim want Juanita Lopez who is about 84 miles away, when Petrie Electronics has lots of stores in the same geographic location, why Juanita Lopez ? and now it makes some sense, Juanita Lopez is the store manager at one of the top stores, and can provide insight into issues that might arise with retaining customers.
Looks like Jim had been doing some research on this
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Hi Ami,
I really see your point about the level of other various commitments that the Team Members seem to have. This was one of the risks that jumped out to me as well. It occurred to me that with a project being stated as so critical to Petrie’s survival, lack of focus or energy around that type of project could have dire consequences. This seems to me as one of those instances where the team has to get it right, and Jim, being the Project Manager has a steep learning curve based on his tenure with Petrie and his experience in this role.
Thanks for your points!
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Hi Amy
You bring up a some great point, the risk of the SME chosen. Juanita Lopez’s manages one of the busiest store , and relying on just her for customer service perspective could mislead, therefore they indeed need the input of a medium busy, and a less busy store to make it more diverse as you mentioned.
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Great Point, Time management, may be a challenge to the project if not effectively handled. Since the team members have full-time responsibilities, they may devote more time to it. However, with proper planning, they can still participate effectively in the project.
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Hi Binju,
I agree with your points on the potential risks that the company is facing regarding this project. I also agree that time management is extremely important in this project because a project of this magnitude requires commitment from all of its members even though they may have other responsibilities.
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Hi Binju,
I agree with your points on the potential risks that the company is facing regarding this project. I also agree that time management is extremely important in this project because a project of this magnitude requires commitment from all of its members even though they may have other responsibilities.
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Hi Binju,
I agree your first opinion about time management risk. Every team member had their own role in this company, they had their duty and responsibility for their departments. Time management for Jim is really a big concern.
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Hi Iyana,
You did a great job of analyzing the risk of Executive & Functional Managers disengagement. I agree with you. The supporting and commitment from these people is really important to the success of this project.
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Unequal Participation-It causes resentment in the workplace, if you as a team leader recognize the efforts of one team member and not all of the team.
Conflict among Team Members-ineffective communication causes conflicts . Besides, if someone no longer feels happy about working as a team, it will affect parties will be unable to focus on the project.
Low Working Efficiency-When people with different backgrounds and personalities work collaboratively, there is increased potential for strife, conflict and low morale. It will increase the cost of time to deal with those conflicts.
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It could be low working efficiency to work with different persons with different background. However, there should be different tasks fulfill the role he each person plays. The project needs different background person to engage, so if Jim can deal with the relationship between the teammates, it is good for the project.
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Hi Zhixin,
You make clear points about the risks that may occur during a project. Low work efficiency can result from different reasons. In the case, it can be the busy work schedule among team members; the project manager is new to the company, without fully understanding of the company’s culture and each team member’s background; the ineffective communication among team members as you mentioned. -
You not only consider about the communication issues, you think more deeply to consider about what will happen if communication issues happen. Yes, you are right. A bad communication will make the teammates get conflicts and make the work becomes inefficiency.
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I agree with you that people have different background, and they present different people, if they don’t communicate well, it may cause lower working Efficiency.
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Like you, I also sense a real possibility for team conflict as this project moves on. When Ella assigns someone to update her on Jim’s progress he expressed that he felt additional pressure. A display of leadership in that way, seems that it would cause friction (even if under the surface for the time being) for a Project Manager who is most likely experiencing a high degree of pressure already.
Thanks for your contribution!
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Well down, Zhixin, you made a good analysis on each of risks and I totally agree with you on the idea of unequal participations the unfair efforts recognition raise more issues in the future.
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I think the unequal participation point is something that is important. I think we all have been a victim of not being appreciated properly for our contributions to something. It is especially important to encourage and reward team members for their hard work. There is often a risk of lowered effort if somebody feels that what they are doing does not matter in the grand scheme of things.
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I think these are all important risks to consider and showcase the potential effects of not conducting stakeholder analysis and a communication plan. An important technique for dealing these risk will be effective delegation. Jim will have to work with the team to really understand their key strengths and assign tasks accordingly.
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Yes. Ineffective communication causes conflicts also. If none of those having disagreements will try to work out the problem, any group work will not result in anything at all. That lower the productivity.
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Scope Management techniques enable project managers and supervisors to allocate just the right amount of work necessary to successfully complete a project—concerned primarily with controlling what is and what is not part of the project’s scope.
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I think the most significant of the risk would be Competing Priorities / Schedule of Project Members, and this is also directly proportional to the risk of Poor Communication/ Project Member Disengagement.
Like I said earlier, Jim as the Project manager has to provide direction at every step of the project, so each team member knows what’s expected, but how can this be done effectively if the other team members are too busy with their other full-time job to be productive/effective?
The Project management team will have to be able to frequently meet at some set intervals of the project, Juanita Lopez who is the store manager in Irvine is 84 miles away (1 hour 19 minutes) from the rest of the team in San Diego, what is the probability that she will be able to meet in person with the rest of the team?
What is the probability that these very busy people will have time/be free at the same time to all sit together/WebEx/have a phone conference on this project ?
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Thank you for your idea. I really like the way you use the question to show the risk. The issues relate to Juanita Lopez involved many other issues like human resource management, schedule planning, team communication, and so on.
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Right, outside of the busy workloads, those relatively lighter workloads may only be available to busy people, and Ella attend meetings on the phone, with John and the busiest stores One of the store managers Juanita is also unlikely to have time to help Jim to complete the project. Experienced executive hands-off project is very dangerous for this project.
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You’re right, range is one of the potential risks. Some of the client’s resources are lost before the scope and goals of the project have been identified, and the extent of the loss will increase over time.
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There are three main potential risks that Jim’s team may face to.
First of all, Jim lacks of experience to work as a team leader (project manager). Although Jim works as assistant director of information technology in Petrie Electronics. However, he enters into a new company, the position and colleagues are new. He needs more time to get familiar with all of the things here.
Second, the communication problem. Marketing Director John said the project is “No employee escape”, but the COO Ella said that the project is “customerless escape” which shows that there are communication problems between teammates.
Finally, the scheduling risk. There are two parts in this risk: 1. Juanita is the store manager of one of the busiest stores; 2. The project had not been approved by Petrie IS steering committee, which may causes unexpected problems that extends the expected time.
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To add into the comment, for me, I think the communication issue is the most risky one that Jim’s team needs to pay more attention. For the experience, Jim can take some time to know about the new situation and colleagues. For scheduling risk, it is based on the communication, if Jim wants to deal with this problem, he needs to communicate with Juanita. Furthermore, communication problems can be a long-term risk that can directly makes damage to the project.
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I agree with you, because it is hard for Jim o communicate with his new teammates. He is new here, and does not have enough experience in the organization. His new colleagues may be more familiar with this organization.
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Hi Hanqing,
I agree with all of your points. Something you brought up that I did not think about at first is Jim’s lack of experience. Because he is new to the job, it may be difficult for him to be thrown into a new project right off the bat. I think him getting some more time to adjust would be a good idea.
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Hanqing, thank you for your sharing. I didn’t think about lacking experience could be a risk in this project before, but I agree with you. Jim came to the company in a very short time, he is not familiar with the company operations and the employees. As a good project manager, Jim should understand the business, and why they need this project.
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I honestly think that the biggest risk presented in the reading is the involvement of Juanita Lopez. As you said she manages one of the largest and most successful stores. Management may momentarily see the positives of having Juanita involved. If the store’s revenue suffers then she may get pulled off the team. It seems like a risky move to depend on her as a full-fledged team member.
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Thank you for your sharing Xinteng. I agree with your idea about the “lack of the experience.” It is right that if a person is not familiar with the new position, and new situation, it is hard for him to start his works. He needs to take a brunch of time to know everything he should know.
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I agree with you Binju. Everyone is busy in that tem. It is important for Jim to have flexibility of time to make everyone work together. Jim is a new employee in the organization, so he has a lot of things to learn to get moe experience.
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Yeah good point. It is impossible for a new team leader to lead a team that he does not know and the project he does not familiar. Moreover, the team members are all from different departments and they do not want to put the project over their own tasks. It could hurt the project and be a huge risk.
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I agree with you, because every group member plays important role in their own department, and they also need to join the project team. It is difficult for Jim to deal with the schedule conflicts. Jim needs strong communication methods to lead the team.
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I agree with you, because Jim lacks of experience in project manager role, so it is hard for him to design the working process of this project. In addition, he should allocate resources based on the important of each task.
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I agree with you, because Jim is new staff here. The first thing he needs to do is to know the new colleagues better. Each teammate should have different way to get alone with.
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Hi Binju, Thank you for your thoughtful analysis. I totally agree with you. The project has been approved by the company, the team member from different departments may not be willing to devote time and energy to the project since they all have different objectives and priorities at their departments. The biggest challenge for Jim is to help team members understand the importance of the project and make a schedule that works for the majority.
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Hi binju,
You mentioned a good point of the coordination. Coordination with the work procedures, goals and objectives would be very important in a group work, which should be clearly defined in the initial meetings, record properly in the minutes, and project workbook to ensure subsequent activities work effectively. -
Well said, Xinteng.
I agree with you that as a new stuff in the company, to be a project manager need to take more efforts to persuade team members to coordinate under his lead. It is a challenge which can lead to the failure of projects if Jim can not gain enough support from his team.
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Good analysis, Folake.
Busy work schedule, the lack of related project experience, and ineffective communication are all important points which would impact the result of the project. For the busy schedule, I think Jim should to know and understand each member’s job, and require each team member to establish weekly work schedule, then allocate tasks based on the schedule may work to deal with the time conflicts in a small team. -
Hi Yingyan,
You bring up some great points on some risks that Jim may face as he undertakes this project. I too feel that having Juanita be the only person being consulted about the stores is not a good idea because she is busy with handling her responsibilities at the store and may not be able to dedicate much time to this project. Furthermore, getting different perspectives from other store managers who have different customer volumes may give the team a more holistic view.
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Hi Linlan,
I think communication is a great point that you brought up. Because the team is so complex, it is very important to make sure everyone is on the same page but this will be difficult because of the chain of people the information has to be relayed to. Definitely a huge risk Jim will face.
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yeah I agree with you. Because the team members are all from different department and they all have their own tasks. It is hard for them to put down their own roles and precipitate on this project.
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Thank you for your sharing, Chenhui. In the other word, I think we can also decides the second risk as the human resource risk. For that, Jim need to hire more employees with the experience or professional knowledge to help him finish the project.
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Thank you for your sharing. It is very important that you mentioned about the time if Juanita Lopez wants to meet with Jim and his teammates. It needs to take one hour and nineteen to meet with other, it is hard for Juanita to do again and again. If the emergency event happen, the team can not wait her so long.
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I agree with you Haitao. I think the schedule conflict could be a potential risk in this project. the team is formed by different departments, and each of the department has its own schedule. in addition, the store manager is from the busiest store, therefore, finding suitable meeting times will be challenging for Jim
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Mengqiao, I also think the scope changing could be a potential risk in this project. there are at least four different departments involved in this project, and each of them has their own expectation. If they keep giving recommendations, the project scope will be changed.
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yes your point is great. If too much departments involved in this project. There would be too much ideas and it will hurt the project and make it failed.
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Linlan, you brought up a very good point, which is the complex relationship in the team communication. I think all the team members should report to the project managers, and the project manager should make the progress update meeting with the executive management.
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Yingyan, I like your last points which said the sample is too small. I agree with you. The store manager is from their busiest store and the manager’s insights could be helpful for the project. however, not all the stores are “busiest”. They need to focus more on the stores that are not very busy to improve the business.
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There are lots of risks associated with the project: Three of those risks are:
Scheduling: with team member having busy schedules, problem resolution could be an issue which could cause rescheduling and delay.
Support: Not every stakeholder have confidence in the ability of Jim as a new employee. Some
questions that might propagate this issue will be:• Does Jim know my role?
• Does Jim understand my interest?
• Will Jim deliver?With all these questions, stakeholders might not support the project at all or could lose interest, stakeholders support might not come in full, or support could be delayed to test some of Jim ability.
Communication: stakeholders are busy, scheduling meeting is a challenge.
• How soon can they reply to an email?
• Will they receive the memorandum on time?
• Do they have the time to review status report?If communication is an issue, the project will be delayed or failed.
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The issue of support is interesting. I took the involvement of Bob Petroski and Sally Fukuyama to be positive proof of stakeholder support. It is very plausible that their involvement is to keep an eye on Jim. If that were the case then the very dynamics of the team could turn toxic.
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Very true Jason, you know there is a saying “I will keep my eyes where my money is.” Stakeholders will monitor project as closed as they can. If the interest is company oriented, great; if it is personal, sad. Either orientation, Jim need to look up gain the requisite support.
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Great observation Jing. The first meeting the project was to be called “No customer escapes, now it has changed to “no employee escapes” . This makes us wonder what the project objectives are. Like you rightfully said, probably the best idea will be for everyone to seat down and decide exactly what they hope to achieve from the project before a decision of who can be called on board can be made.
As you said engaging people who are already too busy is also a bomb waiting to explode. Not only will it be difficult to get them to allocate time to the project but it might cause delays in the project as they do not do the assigned tasks on time. -
Karabo, I like the fact that you pointed out that nothing is said about Jim’s experience with project management which is very important-experience. I believe that is an acceptable risk. Looking at his experience in general, there is likelihood that he could perform. Notwithstanding, his performance is kind of questionable (iffy) from the experience standpoint, they need to have a contingency plan, just in case.
Experience is key to project management, cannot be overlooked.
Great point Karabo.
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Good thoughts Chenhui. I agree with you, the key risk that needs attention is communication. Communication in a project is used to express the project objectives. The need to be clear and easily understood by everyone. Communication lines also need to be clearly defined. Ella is already saying Bob will keep her updated, is this something that will continue throughout the project? does this mean Jim will have to go through Bob? This are some questions that come to mind.
Great communication also helps alleviate any misunderstanding on deliverables, ensuring that everyone contributes and delivers on time and within budget. -
Dongjie, key point mentioned (conflict of interest) which always exist among stakeholders. I think the most worrisome thing about conflict of interest is Jim understanding the role of each stakeholder.
Jim had talked to one stakeholder who mentioned her interest in the project, and it sounds like there is a connection or commitment. The issue of other team members been busy could be a sabotage on grounds that Jim is new and there were other employees capable of managing the project or other stakeholders are concern about their interest,
Jim needs to understand the importance of the project, each stakeholder interest in the project, and relate to them accordingly.
Conflict of interest seem to be a real problem (risk) if Jim is not careful. -
The main risk of these I believe would be the scheduling risk. If the team leader cannot have enough time to meet with his team members and the team members do not have time to work with each others. This would be a big problem and even could make the project fail.
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In my opinion, the main risk would be communication risk. In other words, If Jim can communicate with each other well, The scheduling risk may be got good control.
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Great points Dongjie, I even did not notice that the financial conflict is also an important risk. If Jim does not plan the budget and get enough money. The project should not be put on the schedule.
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Hello Binju,
I agree with you ! Jim is new to this project and team leader and may not have fully immersed into the company culture.
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Hello Mengqiao,
Thank you for sharing your idea! I agree with you that Scope risk. When the project grows in complexity as the resource of customer relationship was getting bigger and customer loyalty might develop from many aspects. With the in-depth investigation, the proposal might have to be changed again and again.
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Hi Jing. Thank you for bring great point to us. I totally agree with you. Jim does not familiar with his team members would be a big risk because if he does not know the guys he work with, it would be impossible for him to lead the project. He is the leader, and he cannot lead “strangers”.
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Great point Binju, Jim might spend most of his time learning the company culture and others things then managing the project.
He might be able to get rid of the risk of favoritism or preferential treatment of stakeholders, but then again that is a recipe for disaster. If Jim does not relate to stakeholder according, the project will suffer. Jim needs to know all stakeholders, learn the company policy, and understand the company culture. -
More than a few students bring up Jim’s undetermined leadership experience. Assuming both had project management experience, I’m curious if our class would suggest Bob Petroski or Sally Fukuyama be named project manager instead?
I think that if we assume Jim does not have the experience, but Bob Petroski or Sally Fukuyama di then the C-suite made a business decision that the objectivity was more valuable than project management experience.
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The point of the budget is a great obstacle to bring up. I almost made it my third point instead of communication management. Depending on the needs of the project it could become a cost centre instead. It may have a cost associated with additional advertisements. They may want an application or system that is not readily compatible with the other company systems.
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I didn’t catch the difference in plan names. Great job! I have a feeling later on in this project we will see scope creep due to a lack of defined goals. It seems that John Smith and Ella Whinston have some ideas of what they want out of this project. This mindset could lead to them suggesting or recommending changes to the project based on their particular vision. If that does occur then Jim is in trouble.
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Hi Binju,
Great catch on the No Employee/Customer Escapes differences. I believed that this was just a typo, but in reading your comment I can see how it may not be a typo. The difference is employee and customer is a huge red flag for project failure. In my opinion, there was no clear plan (scope) identified, and without it, a project can fail. This type of slipup is a clear indication that even upper management is not clear on the business’ objectives as it relates to this project.
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There are 3 potential risks that I see so far:
1. Leadership Risk: Jim is new to this company, and other team members didn’t know what kind of capabilities that Jim possess; likewise, Jim didn’t know much about his teammates. Although it has some benefits that a systems analyst new to a company would not have the preconceived attitude to company’s information system, it might have dissatisfaction with leader.
2. Time management: It is really difficult to meet with all of the team members. Such as Juanita Lopez, she is the manager of the store in Irvine, which is one of the top stores; therefore, she is too busy to free up some time. And, Sally also said she still have her regular job to worry about.
3. Steering committee conflicts: There are different departments involved in this project, who should the team reported to?
As far as I am concerned, the most significant risk among these three is the time management. Since the purpose of this project is to increase the retention of customer, it must waste no time because every minute they spend there has possibility that customer defecting to other competitors.-
Hi Xiaomin,
Yes, I agree. Time management is a huge risk and the simple fact that both Juanita and Sally are knowingly busy from the beginning it would be in the best interest of the project if they chose other members that weren’t so busy. In Ami’s post above she mentions pulling other store managers from different customer frequency. I believe this idea could also help with your time management comment.
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Xiaomin,
With regard to your question about who the team should report to, I believe with Jim being the appointed project manager, he is the designated go-to person for the project. However, this also leads me to consider the various types of projects we discussed in class last week; I wonder where this project will fall. Great question!
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well said. However, I think the most significant risk is the leadership risk. The reason is that If Jim have the enough leadership ability. He can also solve the problem of time management risk. By that I mean, Leadership risk make the time management risk became more serious.
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Hi Iyana,
Great point with your comment about managers disengagement. I noticed that as well No one from the management team is participating directly in this project. There is no real true buy-in and in reading both scenarios there are issues that have set this project up for failure and I believe this is also one of them.
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Nice point about the budget. Even thought the IS steer committees approved this project, how about the financial department? If this project came out too costly, then who will pay for it?
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The first came into my mind is scope creep.
Jim’s team has experts from different background, they all have good ideas as those team member indicated, their might be uncontrolled changes and continuous growth scope that make the project scope harder to manage.The other one could be stakeholder conflict, with such a great scale project that will impact the whole organization. Leaders from different department are involved. organization stakeholders will be influenced to different extent, Negative impacts on stakeholders will result in poor support, even turnover. So it is important to mange the relationship with stakeholders and make sure they can have accurate expectation over the project.
Another one risk that will have great impact on the project is change management. “change” is always a hard topic in any types of project. Change requests will keep coming up during the project, which will raise the complexity of the project and distracts key resources. This is also a source of stakeholder conflicts. Moreover, project team should be aware of change priorities. Inaccurate priorities will impact the critical scheduling.
Of course, their many other risks involved, such as communication and time management, our classmates provide many insightful analysis on those risks and inspired me to think the problem from different perspective.
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I agreew with you, Xiaozhou. People in this team have different culture and profession background, coordinating everybody to work toward a same goal is quite difficult. A person from IT and another person from Marketing could have adverse ideas on this project’s direction of development. Also, without enough knowledge and experience in leadership, Jim might encounter different kind of challenge while he is managing this team with huge diversity.
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Nice idea, Xiaozhou. I absolutely agree with the issue you mentioned about the scope creep. The scope should be limited to make sure the schedule and plans in the future can be flexible enough and the management can be accessible and executable.
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Well said about the risk of lack of experience in project manager. Jim is new to this company, and other team members didn’t know what kind of capabilities that Jim possess; likewise, Jim didn’t know much about his teammates. It is hard to allocate the tasks to someone you didn’t know about.
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I agree that schedule is a noticeable risk in this project. The team consist leaders and experts from different department, they have regular job of course, and some of them are even in different location. It is hard to manage the teamwork time efficiently and ensure the productivity to make sure the project can be processed on time.
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Well said about the risk of coordination. There is one point that I figure out is related to this risk, When there are different departments involved in this project, who should this team reported to?
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Well said Haitao! I think you have a great point about Jim being new to the company. When you think about it, I think this might come back to hurt the company since he hasn’t fully merged into the company mission, vision, and values.
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Communication is always an issue for project management, especially Jim’s team have people from different department and background, they all familiar with business in their field, how to make them communicate effectively and efficiently becomes a challenge for Jim. Poor communication will lead to failed project management and of course the completion of project.
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Well said Jing. Since the purpose of this project is to increase the retention of customer, it must waste no time because every minute they spend there has possibility that customer defecting to other competitors. If their team has problem with schedule a meeting, the time for this project to be finished would be extended.
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Jim is not only new to the company, but also new to project management. He definitely need time to be familiar with the different departments in the company since his team have employees from different background. Also, he need to improve his project management skills both soft and hard skills to ensure that he can manage the large scale project and his team.
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Great point about the leadership risk. I agree with you that Jim might not be aware of many things or people that would engage in this project. Although it has some benefits that a systems analyst new to a company would not have the preconceived attitude to company’s information system, it might have dissatisfaction with leader.
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Hello Dongjie,
I agree with you that the schedule should the one of the risk jim will face. because people are come from different department, such as IT, marketing, operation, and customer relationship, as you said, it is challenging to find suitable meeting times for all the group members! -
I agree with you. it is the first time jim know his team member, he need more time to fit his new situation and also introduce them to each other. it is challenging for him to adapt to new environment and project.
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Hi Iyana,
In regards to your point about “Scope Creep”, I didn’t originally consider the door opening later for sweeping changes and project adjustments. However, I believe you make a terrific point. I continue coming back to the “critical” nature of the project. This is definitely a project where the team needs to get it right from the very beginning of the planning stages, to the deepest extent possible. Although, I didn’t notice the possible opening for changes, I did have a feeling that if I were in Jim’s position I might feel that Management was pressing in on me a bit to much by assigning a Team Member to update on my progress. I can also see where Management may continue to get involved in this same manner as the project moves on through various stages.
Thanks for making these points.
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Hi Jing,
To your point about Jim – I agree he is at a real disadvantage in this situation. Due to his short tenure at Petrie, it will be very difficult for him to come up to speed on his Team Members and their strengths, weaknesses, and personalities in the short-term. Also, being in a new role seems that it would compound that challenge.
Thanks for your input.
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You make such an excellent point about financial conflict/budgeting! It seems at this point in the narrative it would have been more of a focus. Also, as I consider your point, it seems imperative that marketing dollars allocated are spent very wisely, based on the fact that the company is considering the project key to survival and also an opening to compete in the industry at a higher level. Budgeting is important across the board, but I’m curious to see how marketing handles that part of the project if we are given that information at a later time.
Great point!
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Fair enough, Lezlie. According to this reading, project scope has not been defined so far, so all relevant factors including project goals, features, and deliverables are unknown. Therefore, working together for everybody in this team is going to be tough due to a guideline and framework missing. I believe IS steering committee would play a significant role in future to direct this project and coordinating different departments.
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I love your point on CRM. Given that this project is all about retaining customers, increasing revenue from customer relationships, etc., handling those customer relationships properly and delivering what they want to see most from a loyalty program is so crucial to the outcome. I’m waiting to see what, if any, relationship IT and Marketing develop in this project and if they can work together to find out what customers are looking for from Petrie.
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I completely agree with your take on the potential risks Jim will face. I think you hit the nail right on head mentioning coordination aspect of the project. I think it will be difficult to keep an assistant director of information technology, an assistant director of marketing, and a store manager engaged in a project they are not directly responsible for while performing the daily duties required for their specific roles.
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Hello Haitao, you got a good advice for the coordination risk. I absolutely agree on your idea that a feasible plan should be settled for all departments according to the time line for each of them.
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Great attention to detail there Folake! I think communication will be a pivotal part of this project. This is because although the different expertise of each team member may help the team, this can also hurt the team as well. For example, without proper communication mechanisms, it might be difficult for the IT knowledgeable team members to communicate technical issues to the less knowledgeable team members.
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Good job, Jing, you stated a critical issues Jim is totally lacking of the understanding to this company without even knowing the leader of each department, how could you expect such a person to know the details about other departments.
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Lezlie,
I agree that the undefined project scope is the most significant risk of this project. The tendency of Ella to put together a team with laying out the project objectives, roles, goals, and deliverables of the project makes me wonder her reasoning behind appoint Jim as project manager. Despite this, I think this can also be a positive for the project. The assembling of a team from various backgrounds might make it easier to lay down a foundation for the project and set goals and objectives with a variety of technical knowledge from different backgrounds.
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Totally on point Iyana,
Ella and John, the COO and head of marketing, are bringing in “their representatives” While Sally will definitely be able to contribute to the project team, I wonder what Bob ill be bringing to the table, because nowhere does it mention even his position/title/anything within the company.
Management has to be on board every step of the way to make projects successful. -
Interesting points, Chen! Time conflict will indeed be an issue for the implementation of the project. Each and every team member of the projects have important responsibilities in the company which may create time conflicts for the project.
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Thinkable idea, Karabo. You have clearly stated each risk. And I highly reward the idea about the lack of team management would be a potential issue. As you said everyone has a supervisor they must report to and with their day to day functions. The project may even hard to pass by team commit.
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Great reasoning on financial conflict, Dongjie! The company’s competitors are BestBuy, Target and Walmart. All these competitors already have a strong customer loyalty program and in order to thrive and prosper, Petrie Electronics may have to spend a large sum to attract new customers and retain the existing customers.
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which risk you listed you think should be the most important ? as far as I am concerned, Experience risk would be the most important risk, because if Jim has enough experience, he would how to arrange the time and how to lead the every one in the team.
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Yes, I agree with you. Communication should be used frequently in team work. As a leader, he should arrange work, make a meeting, discuss the problems and so on. This is the first big project for Jim to manage at Petrie, so that he may be lack of communication skills.
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I agree with you.Jim have never been a leader before, so he may not have the experience to be leader, which means that it is difficult for him to make everyone in the team have a good cooperation.
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Data risk is something I had not thought of. Having people like Ms. Lopez work on the project will definitely cause problems in areas such as communication. The Manager from a top store is going to still care about keeping that store at the top and Ms. Lopez is also busy. This could really slow down the time of the project, and it is something that needs to be addressed.
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The new staff and no experience risk is something that stands out. Jim may not have what it takes to be the guy that leads the project. He is not happy with the added pressure from Ella, and this is something that will show if he is truly a leader or not. If he can handle it, they will probably do well. His experience may come back to bite him, though.
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Sample size is a risk that I did not think of. Applying a method that may have worked for you will not always create success for somebody else. This is true for all aspects of life, and not just business. Juanita may end up being an asset to the project, but there is still a risk that her experience with her own store proves useless.
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The unclear and inconsistent goal is a risk I definitely agree with. There needs to be a clear scope for a project to run effectively. Without it people would be completing tasks without understanding what they are doing. I think that somebody like Jim or another higher-up needs to create clear goals for the project, and this should eventually lead to success.
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You bring up some interesting risks that I had not originally thought off. IT and Marketing projects are typically run very differently. Ideally the two groups will use their varying experiences to come up with a unique approach to the solution. The marketing goals will definitely align with the organization’s goal of growth.
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I agree with you, Lezlie! Determining scope is very important for the project but Ella or anyone involved in the project do not talk about the scope and resources required.
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Three potential risks :
The first risk I identified is change management. During the project’s life cycle there will be Change requests that will make the project more and more complicated. The business analysts working on the project should know how to prioritize the changes, other wise this could impact the duration of the project.
Risks of scheduling conflict – Jim will have to face at some point a scheduling conflict because some people in the team, like Juanita, the store manager are very busy. She is quite experienced when it comes to customers,, but she has a really tight schedule and might not be always available resulting in scheduling conflict.
Risk of cope Creep: even though changes are a common thing in projects, there are high chances of multiple change requests from top management with this project. Jim is new to project management the gathering of all the requirements might be a bit challenging to him leading to the need to adjust the scope as the project is ongoing.
I think the most important thing is change management, because during the project there will be changes and it takes the right skills and ight experience to know how to navigate those changes. Unless this is taken care of it does not matter the amount of resource poored in, it will not help.
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Hi
I agree with your point regarding Jim not being qualified to handle such a big project. He is new to this management role and may still need more time to fully experience the culture. And so you are right, it is too risky to assign the company’s number priority project to Jim. This may be a little overwhelming to him. It is also a point that I brought up in my own comment. I think this is the first thing that people think of in term of risk to the project. -
Hi
because this is such a big project there are high chances that there might be many uncontrolled and continuous recommendations from management because this is such a high priority project. I also raised a similar issue in my post earlier. Good point. I totally agree. -
Hi Jiang
You mentioned the fact that Jim does not know his teammates on the project as a risk. I believe this in itself would not be too big of an issue even tho he just met Bob and Sally who represent the COO and the head of the marketing respectively. However I do believe that Bob representing the COO and being present in the project will represent a major pressure for Jim just as he said it and the fact that they did not know each other prior to this project will not help. -
Hi Mahroo
I believe Communication Risk is an interesting one. However instead of this risk being a result of not having a clear project scope, It is a result of some of the team members being so busy. which will eventually cause some miss communication between the project managers as you mentioned.
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I believe the potential risks are;
Time management: This can be an issue because of the team having job roles in the company besides taking on this new project. The team may not be able to make deadlines because they cannot acquire information that the need when they need it. For example, Juanita Lopez made it clear that she would not have much time available so in order to get value out of her time has to be managed particualry well with her
Communication: Getting information across to one another is difficult when the team is not in one location and is especially difficult when the team members have other obligations such as a full time job. The job will not allow
Scope Creep; I believe this could become a problem because it is in just about every project. It takes clearly defined rules to ensure that a project will remain within its scope and even with that, the project could expand.
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Mike Romeu wrote a new post on the site Systems and Infrastructure Life Cycle Management 6 years, 7 months ago
In this unit, we discuss the many sources of software, among those developing our own systems either through our own internal resources, or through outsourcing. Outsourcing has become a common choice, and over the […]
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A risk associated with outsourcing systems development is lack in quality/detailed requirements. When describing your companies needs to an outside developer, specific requirements that your company needs may be overlooked because the outsource may not fully understand the purpose of your system requirements. Some aspects that a company is looking for in a system may be lost in translation when describing the needs to the outside developer due to language barriers, not fully understanding the product (not being an SME), or simply not being at the same place at the same time.
Another risk associated with outsourcing is security risk. For applications developed for users that will have to enter secure information, the business that is outsourcing the application development offshore will have to make sure that the security is top-notch at the outsourcing facility so the business does not put themselves or their clients in jeopardy.
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Thank you for your sharing, I agree with you idea. If the company choose the outsourcing company, it may lose the control of their production. The outsourcing company may not pay much attention to the production. They even give the quality test to the products. However, the quality can directly affect users experience.
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Hi Ami,
I definitely agree with your statement, and I also believe that some of these risks/issues could be worked through via the outsourcing contract or the SOW. The outsourcing contract provides the agreed upon level of service, the excepted timeframe in which the services are to be completed, and the penalties if the agreement is not upheld, etc. Whereas, as SOW lays out the specific activities and standards (regulation) the vendor has to complete the work. I believe the SOW would best address the issues you described. because the outsourcing contract provides the timeframe and level of services, whereas the SOW would identify if the work is being completed correctly and complying with any standards. As well as, if I were the client company I would definitely have a clause in the contract for a bi-annual or annual audit be conducted on all outsourced functions by a third party
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You said some aspects that a company is looking for in a system may be lost in translation when describing the needs to the outside developer due to language barriers, not fully understanding the product, or simply not being at the same place at the same time. I totally agree that. The effective communication between a company and outside developer is very important.
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Risk of employee turnover and loss of knowledge within company – when deciding to outsource, you are supplementing your own employee with the employees of another company. If these employees leave, your organization can suffer because key individuals with lots of knowledge are no longer around. In addition, if the outsourcing company was to go out of business, then your organization would need another way to continue without the outsourcer.
Increased risk of data breach – when choosing to do outsourcing. Particularly where the outsourcing requires company data to be sent to a third party. There are more opportunities for data to be breached either in transmission or additional employees gaining access.
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I agree with your idea. There is one point that worth to be discussed. I agree with what you said employees turnover, but for outsourcing, if the company faces to employees turnover, most of the employees will be replaced (lost) is low-level manufacturing workers. In this situation, it also makes data breach happen, the workers may disclose the parameters of the products.
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Tamekia I definitely agree with your comment about the outsourcing going out of business. My department outsourced the “how to video” process to a third-party vendor a few years ago. We provided the procedural process and information and the vendor created and owned the videos. The videos were wonderful. They assisted a student with obtaining information quickly without having to be bogged down with contacting the office directly. The idea of outsourcing for this particular function was wonderful, and then out of nowhere the company goes out of business. Leaving us with no instructional video, and a small void to fill. Although it was a very small outsourced function the loss of the material was felt when the company went out of business because it caused additional inquiries because the videos were no longer available.
So yes, I agree your organization can suffer if key individuals are lost or the outsourcing company goes out of business.
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I agree. Loss of knowledge and risk of data breach are two very high risks of outsourcing. In fact when you think outsourcing risks these are the first two you someone would normally think about because they are the most logical and most common. I actually developed the same point in my blog post. the lack of knowledge can lead to a in quality of the work performed by the employees of the company outsourcing.
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The benefits of outsourcing cannot be overemphasized, but they come with some risks.
Example:
Loss of control – functions given to outsiders could reduce controls. Activities that a company has no direct control of can affect quality and production time. When the contractual agreement does not clearly spell out all parties functionalities, the vendor company could perform at their will and pleasure (pricing, subleasing, communication, security, etc).
Transaction Cost- most outsourcing decisions are made on financial basis (benefits), but there are other aspect that are to be taken into consideration. Some things to consider will be competitors (outsourcing ), political, currency and cost, reputation, security, governance, geographical location, local law, etc.
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Thank you for your sharing. I just want to add some information to your second idea. Actually, most of the outsource related to pollution, environmental governance, and reputation. When the outsourcing company produces the production, it will also produces waste and pollution, which will affect the local environment. If the news report that event, the original should take part of responsibility of the pollution, and pay money to release the influence. At the same time, it also hurt company’s reputation.
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Hanqing, that is a fine point and most organizations are cognizant of environmental obligation but if the local laws do not require the outsourcee to help clean up, the outsourcer sees that as a way of saving cost. At that point the issue of legality and ethicality come alive.
If the local laws require the outsourcee to help clean the environment, and that cost is extended to the outsourcer, it increases the cost of outsourcing. The decision of outsourcing should not only be base on the financial figures.
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I agree with you, because companies cannot control the system provided from other organization. They can just configure the system in a certain range. Some system providers maintain the system by remote accessing. It may also causes unauthorized access.
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I agree with you.
Outsourcing will result in the loss of controls. The outsourcing providers can from a different state even a different country. The far distance increases the difficulty of providing a strong outsourcing governance, so it is important for the company and its outsourcing partners to seek cultural and objectives synergy, establish clear responsibilities and accountabilities, and ensure to achieve the same goal based on both parties’ will. -
Thank your for sharing your opinion. I totally agree with you. Loss of control – functions given to outsiders could reduce controls. As xinteng said the company cannot control all system properly from other organization.
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No doubt business managers will lose some control over the processes outsourced by the IT provider, as all the outsourcing staff is managed on IT provider’s side. Lack of communication and visibility may result in the increase of time needed to complete the project.
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I think so. The functions given to outsiders could reduce controls. And the contractual agreement should deliver clear ideas about what are responsibilities and functionalities for all parties.
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Some risks associated with outsourcing could involve
Loss of control over the work and data: The organization could easily lose control over their work. For some employees it feels like they just toss their work over a wall and don’t know what happens to it, hoping that it comes back well done. Especially when the organization does not have a way to be updated for each task. If the outsourcing company sends the work out to a third party this could lead to data breach, because there is no way to ensure that the work stays withing the outsourcing company.
The Loss of competence is also a risk
If most of a certain type of work is being outsourced, the internal competence required to perform this work would disappear over time, making the organization too dependent on the outsourcing company.-
I really interest the idea you said about the loss of competence. I did not realize before that will be one of the risk to the company. Of course, it will make the company over dependent on the outsourcing company, but we can also regard it as company structure integration, which help company raise work efficiency.
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I think the loss of competence is an interesting point as well. However, when a company decides to outsource the IT service to a vendor, it means the company realized outsourcing can bring more values to the company, such as cost saving, resource optimization, and risk reduction.
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Risk reduction, I think the issue of risk reduction will depend on other factors and might not be realistic or easily achieved. Example, Social Security Numbers are not treated the same in all environment, hiring processes (background check) are not the same in all environment, violations are not treated the same everywhere, etc. Thus, the contractual agreement must cover some issues extensively and the outsourcer must either transfer the risk (insurance) or accept the risk and have a contingency plan. Yet, should the risk exist, reputation is at stalk.
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The loss of competence is the one I didn’t realize when I answered the question either. Even though the outsourcing may lead to the loss of competence of the outsourcing work in the company, the company may save much time and effort to focus on other works. Usually, a company will not outsource its primary services but the services that the company is not competitive in the markets. So from my point of view, the loss of competence is one of the potential risks but may not impact much if the company know its competitiveness and weakness.
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The risk of losing power is not easily noticeable, but it is real. Some global companies will set up their own IT service centers overseas to reduce costs or acquire skills. This actually reduces the loss of talent but will shift the focus of work to overseas regions.
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Great point. The loss of competence is related to business continuity, What are your IT service providers’ business continuity plans? Can they continue their operations in the event that their core infrastructure or business is impacted by a natural disaster, threat to the electrical grid, geo-political upheaval, or other crisis? You can’t depend on your providers’ verbal assurances to these questions. Therefore, it is important to evaluate your provider’s business continuity plans.
http://deloitte.wsj.com/cio/2012/07/10/it-outsourcing-4-serious-risks-and-ways-to-mitigate-them/
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Outsourcing creates unique risk as it often causes organizations to relinquish control of their central processes. Two risks specific to outsourcing include:
The risk of security breaches. While this is an existing risk present even with in house operations, the opportunity for security breaches is augmented as organizations lose some control over the processes outsourced by the third party IT provider.
Differences or clashing between the company’s’ corporate cultures. It is important to identify compatibility with the outsourced company from the beginning to ensure uniformity or compatibility in the goals, strategies, structure, and approaches to situations. During the knowledge sharing process these topics should also be addressed. This is an area that can also be included during the RFP process and site visits to validate “compatibility”.
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The possibility of of a data breach is a big one and really important to keep in mind. I thought you mentioning the differences a corporation can face in its company culture was really interesting. I feel that choosing an outsourced company that has a similar vision to yours and one that is able to adapt to your own changing circumstances is a good one to work with, otherwise it may cause hostility.
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You are right outsourcing does expose a company to attacks as they lose control over the provider’s defensive practices. The important thing will be for the organization to continue prioritizing security in the IT function regardless of where it resides that means ensuring that your information is secure even if it is with your provider. There must be continuous reviews or audits on the provider’s current security strategies such as reviewing and assessing how educates are trained on security and ways of dealing with confidential data.
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I agree with you. System selection should be based on business objectives and strategy. System is an important part in IT plan. IT plan should also compliance with overall business business plan. If the cultures are different between these companies. It is hard to achieve the business objective by implement of business strategy.
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In the event of corporate culture differences or conflicts should be timely communication and remedial measures before the start of cooperation to find consistency and compatibility.
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You are right. The difference of culture can be a risk when outsourcing when both companies have non compatible goals and structures. It can be a problem in the long run because this non compatibility can slow down certain processes due to the time it would take to coordinate things with the company abroad. Which time could be shortened if the companies had matching goals and structure. It is kind of the same as the one who posted about how time difference between both companies can also be a risk.
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Unidentified authority is one of the risks in outsourcing. Companies should have lawful contract when they outsource the systems to other providers. There should be responsibilities list on the contracts to prevent data breach. If the contracts are not good enough for the outsourcing, unauthorized access may occur on the system. The system provider should have authority to remote access to the system for maintenance. However, they should not have authority to get information or data from the system. Therefore, the first risk for outsourcing is unidentified authority.
The second risk is that it is difficult to change system providers in outsourcing. When an organization uses certain system for a long time, it is hard for them to change system. Because employee in the organization get used to the system. Training them to use other systems effects work efficiency, Therefore, if the system provider terminates the service, it brings affects to their clients.
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Yes, it is hard to change the outsourcing company. If the company choose outsource, the ability for company to produce the production will lost quickly. In this situation, company will over depend on the outsourcing company. If they want to change the outsourcing company, like you said, it will take long time for employees to learn the new knowledge, and it affects work efficiency. However, the company should also consider about the cost, if the price benefit can get from changing the company is bigger than the damage it takes, the company should change.
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I agree with you that unidentified authority is the one of the risk of outsourcing. Imaging a company faces a data breach, and it is hard to detect where the attack comes from. When company come to such a situation and especially when they have outsourcing, the responsibilities list on the contracts play a decisive role.
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Hi.
I total agree with your points. Unidentified authority or Non authorized access to certain systems is a big threat as the company could loss control over its data. there fore there should be a clear list of who has access to what, and their level of access. The second point about the change in provider is very true. I have experienced it first hand during my internship in one of the big four accounting firms. During my internship I was informed that the company was switching from a old system to a new one and almost everyone in the firm had a hard time trying to learn and get used this new IT technology for email management, communications and daily work and calendar management and others.
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The first risk of outsource is the quality of the products. It is sure that the outsource is good for company to save money. However, it also means that you will lose control to your production quality. The outsourcing company may not pay enough attention to the product quality, they may not do the quality test. But the product quality is directly affecting the users’ experience, it decides how many production you will sell and how large of market you will take.
The second risk of outsource is data breach. When you outsource the production to other company. When they start to producing the product, the specific parameters and data of the product will be find by the outsourcing company. The outsourcing can sell these data to your competitors, it can produce the production by itself, or they may change the parameters without your agreement.
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I agree with you, because system providers may have authority to access in the system. If the authority cannot be identified properly, Data breach could occur on the system. That is one of he risks for outsourcing.
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I agree with you Hanqing. To manage the outside vendor could not be as efficient as managing in-house IT service. The outside vendor may need to support many companies’ operation, therefore the response could be delayed when problems happen.
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I agree with you. CIOs should first identify the service providers that either store or transmit confidential information. Next, CIOs should consider the volume and type of data those third parties handle, along with the frequency with which they handle it. The higher the volume of sensitive data a third party manages and the more frequently they handle it, the greater the risk that the confidentiality of that data will be compromised.
Source from: http://deloitte.wsj.com/cio/2012/07/10/it-outsourcing-4-serious-risks-and-ways-to-mitigate-them/
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Good post, Hanqing. For your second point of risk, I would like to understand it as information/data leak. For outsourcing enterprise, they always have to share some sensitive information/data with outsourcing service providers. Therefore, if outsourcing service providers could not handle those information/data properly, it would cause serious information/data leak incident.
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The two kinds of risks you mentioned are the most common, but they are also the most important. Outsourcing to third parties may result in quality problems due to non-strict control, thus affecting market share. And some third-party vendors may resell the company’s usage data to competitors because of the temptation of money is likely to occur because no one can guarantee that they will be emptied of the data without disclosure.
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I agree with you. For the quality,The implications of a quality failure from an international source are much more severe than a quality failure from a domestic source. With the lead times involved with transporting goods from international sources, serious disruptions can occur and it can take several months to rectify the problem. To help minimize this risk, many companies prepare detailed product specifications for suppliers and insist on independent quality control inspections.
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I agree with the point of the standard of production but I think that is controllable to some extend-quality check. I think it more difficulty to safeguard the blueprint from duplication which could increase competition. Again, it goes down to the contractual agreement and the commitment of all parties. Copyright is not a violation everywhere or is not punishable equally in all environment
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The first risk would be the risks to the confidentiality of information. When companies want to outsource their IT project to other companies, whether the outsource companies doing good job or not, our companies need to give the data and every details to the outsource companies. and after the IT project was done. The risk for data breach is always higher than doing it by ourselves.
The second risk would be loss of control. The business managers will lose some control over the processes outsourced by the IT provider because all the outsourcing staff is managed on IT provider’s side. Lack of communication and visibility may result in the increase of time needed to complete the project.
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Good point Ping. when a company outsourced its IT service, it could lose the confidentiality of information. For example, I read a news last semester. A recruiting company stored the applicants’ personal information on an Amazon server without any protection measurement. All the personal information stored on the server are under the risk of exposure. In this case, Amazon as a service vendor did not perform enough security control for the recruiting company. To avoid similar problem happen in the future, companies like the recruiting company should perform auditing and monitoring on the vendor periodically.
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Well said, Ping.
The confidentiality issue you mentioned reminds companies of the importance of selecting a trusted outsourcing provider. Whether the partner has a strong internal control, a safe information system, or sound company policies established can be part of the considerations when choosing outsourcing provider. -
Great point. In my opinion, the confidentiality of information is the most important of the information security among the CIA triad (confidentiality, integrity, and availability). Hiring experienced and reliable company is crucial for the protection of provided information. The security issue is especially significant when the outsourced project involves highly sensitive data.
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I agree with you. When an outsourcing company is hired by an organization, it is crucial to protect the organization’s important data and intellectual property.
There are three important questions should be considered:Is the outsourcing company open for signing up NDA?
Does the company have previous experience in working with the sensitive data?
Successfully completed projects in financial, medical or government industries would be a huge plus
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Risks associated with outsourcing software development could be:
Communication risk-communication is important in any collaboration. The outsourcing service provider can have a quite different enterprise culture, working languages, and time zone from your company. If there is a lack of a good communication during corporation, it would result in poor work effectiveness, unclear objectives, and become time-consuming to achieve company’s objectives.
Geopolitical risk-geopolitical climate should be take into account when deciding which country to outsource from. Usually, outsourcing providers in troubled areas (e.g. political turmoil) would be much less expensive. Without knowing the geopolitical climate would bring troubles result in unreasonable price or other bad decision making.
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I agree with you, if the service provider is in different location, it is bad for communication between both parties. It will bring affects to work efficiency if there is any problem on the system. In addition, different countries have different policies on system. It also bring risks between both parties because of the differences of policies.
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Well said. There are more viable offshore outsourcing destinations than ever before — a great boon for IT leaders seeking new sources of talent, language capabilities, nearshore support, and risk diversification. But IT organizations can no longer afford to take traditional view of outsourcing location assessment. The classic criteria for assessing geographic risk in an outsourcing location have been geopolitical stability, the general business environment, the quality of human capital, the legislative and regulatory environment, and the broader IT landscape.
Source from: https://www.cio.com/article/2384840/outsourcing/how-to-evaluate-the-risk-of-outsourcing-locations.html
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I agree with you. Pay attention to the:
Time zones and the way outsourcing company overcomes those
Distance and the accessibility. How easy would it be to make on-site visits? Are there any traveling issues?
Payment options available
Place of company registration
Place where company holds their accounts. In some cases the location is important due to financial monitoring
Increase awareness of the region laws and regulations to better plan for incompatibilities and allowable tradeoffs.
Language barrier
Stability of the political situation in the country that won’t affect the long-term functionality of the company
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Risks that may be augmented by outsourcing include:
The risk that the outsourcing company may go under or be taken over and the mother company may not have access to the source code for their software. (which is where the contracts in the outsourcing documents should have allowances for situations like this)
There is also the risk that the outsourcing company may not have strong security controls and they are breached, company data may be compromised, and the system may not be available. This breaches the principle of Confidentiality and Availability.
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I totally agree with you regarding data breaches that may happen to an outsourcing company. Though an outsourcing company would be vetted before chosen, their security would always be questionable compared to your own. I thought that bringing up how an outsourcing company may go under/taken over is an interesting viewpoint. It is not one that I had thought of. I feel that having that aspect straightened out would probably take some time and delay any projects the firm had outsourced.
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Good point, Folake. Strong security control is always important for any outsourcing service provider since they have to deal with a lot sensitive information/data everyday. One of the security control could be least privilige principle, so it only provides necessary access to authorized personnel at a limited time period. Also, physical control measure could be applied as well, such as security camera.
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I agree with you, Folake. Security controls is indeed one of the biggest challenge when outsourcing different functions of business. It is important to have strong security controls in place to protect the confidentiality, integrity and availability of the information.
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Yes, and still on the issue of hidden cost, with outsourcing a business might end up spending more resources than is needed or expected.
If the software service received is not quality or has errors as might happen with softwares, a business might end up paying as much or more debugging and fixing the errors. To avoid this, project requirements should be very clear to decrease the time needed to complete tasks and minimize the chance of redo process.
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Some risks that may associate with outsourcing information system service could be:
First, if companies outsource the IT system to outside of the United States, communication could be a challenge. The service provider might in a different time zone, which means there might be time differences. For example, there is a 12 hours’ time difference between Indian and United States, which could make the real-time communication more difficult.
Second, when companies outsource the IT system aboard, it is harder to control the confidentiality of information. They might have different confidential levels and definitions of information between the two parties.
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Hi,
I agree with your opinions on how outsourcing can cause difficulties when communicating with people who are halfway around the globe! It can definitely become challenging and make communication very difficult. Security is also an issue, like you mentioned. Because there is blind trust involved when going with an overseas option, you do not really know who you are working with and how they may manipulate the information you give them.
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Hi Ami, thank you for your response. Besides the geographic problems, I think culture is another challenge for communication, such as languages. Misunderstanding could happen when people speak different languages.
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I agree with you, if a company outsources its system to other company in different countries, it is difficult to communicate with service provider. Because the time may be different. It has bad affects to working efficiency. In addition, service provider has authority to access to the system. Employees may obtain information and disclose for personal purposes. Therefore, it is bad for confidentiality.
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Well said. With the onrush of technology and Internet has changed the world tremendously and turned it into the global marketplace, time zone difference is the main problem of global outsourcing. Just imagine that you have an urgent issue, but all members of your remote team are offline.
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I agree with you. I understand how difficult the outsourcing is outside of the United States. Especially in some countries that using small languages.
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Great points, Dongjie! When multiple business functions are outsourced, it is important that companies synchronize well enough to produce better results. However, time difference can prove to be challenge leading to difficulties in communication and inefficiencies
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One of the risk of outsourcing is compliance with legal and regulatory requirements. Every country has its own legal regulatory issues. When outsourcing your function to a company in another country the expectation is to adhere to certain industry standards which much not be the case. This can now bring an issue of how do you measure performance if you do not use the same standards. You might also face the risk of having to comply to different cross border data flow legislative requirements.
Social implication of outsourcing include increase in unemployment, loss of income and competitive advantage for the country outsourcing its services. Then there is a challenge of different cultures, life styles and time zones that also have an impact on the business.
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Hi Karabo, I really like your post. Outsourcing can increase in unemployment, but it can bring more job positions at the same time, One example is Foxconn. Apple outsources the assembling job to Foxconn in China which reduced the labor costs. It created a lot of job positions for Chinese society.
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Hi Karabo,
Yes, I agree with your entire statement. Compliance with legal and regulatory requirements between different countries and cultures is a huge risk with outsourcing. Organizations found not complying have found themselves in a world of trouble and hefty fines to pay. You also mention time zones, which was an issue for my department a few years ago. Long story short, our main operating system was outsourced to a third party company who was based in a different time-zone. Needless to say when we experienced system issues it was a catastrophe to have the issues resolved in a “timely” manner. Someone or several employees from the outsourcing company were required to work during strange hours within there time zone just to resolve issues. And, in some cases early on we were stalled because there was no one available.
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Hidden costs are a really interesting point! It’s important to think about how a decision may affect you in the long run. Like many consumer products, these tech solutions may also include hidden costs that a firm does not notice initially. I think on top of this, something to consider is that is it beneficial to pay an outsourcing firm a little less money and risk not getting your desired deliverable or is it better to stay within and have a stronger guarantee that what you ask for is what is delivered.
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Outsourcing can bring big benefits to your business, but there are significant risks and challenges when negotiating and managing outsourcing relationships.
At the heart of the problem is the inherent conflict of interest in any outsourcing arrangement. The client seeks better service, often at lower costs, than it would get doing the work itself. The vendor, however, wants to make a profit. That tension must be managed closely to ensure a successful outcome for both client and vendor.
Another cause of outsourcing failure is the rush to outsource in the absence of a good business case. Outsourcing pursued as a “quick fix” cost-cutting maneuver rather than an investment designed to enhance capabilities, expand globally, increase agility and profitability, or bolster competitive advantage is more likely to disappoint.
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Yes, I agree with your points. There exist the inherent conflict of interest in any outsourcing arrangement. And some outsource in the absence of a good business case cause the outsourcing failure.
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I agree with your first point. It is really important to know what is the market situation, the competitors’ advantages, and what the society needs.
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I agree with you for your nice point. It is indeed about “the inherent conflict of interest in any outsourcing arrangement”.
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I agree with you,
The quality of the product can be one of the risks that company may hard to control. It is important for companies to have SLA to ensure proper services and functions be provided by the outsourcing providers. -
Well said, Xiaozhou.
Outsourcing could result in several risks, which requires companies to deal with different enterprise culture, even country cultures, languages, compliance issues, and as you mentioned, limited domain knowledge and geopolitical situation. So the outsourcing needs to take many elements into account and balance the benefits and the risks well. -
1. Viability of Service Providers
The worst thing is the prospect that the provider will fail and leave customers in the lurch without access to critical services and systems. There have been a number of immediate and dramatic instances of failure of managed security service providers are threatened the ability of customers to stay in business.
2. Loss of Organizational Trust
A significant nonquantifiable risk occurs because outsourcing, especially of services, can be perceived as a breach in the employer-employee relationship. Employees may wonder which group or what function will be the next to be outsourced. Workers displaced into an outsourced organization often feel conflicted as to who their “real” boss is. -
Risks associated with outsourcing could be the loss of control over service quality and increasing threats to information system security.
The control over a business process could be potentially compromised when the process is outsourced. If an outsourcer and an outsourcee didn’t explicitly agree on the levels of services would be delivered and develop a service level agreement, the outsourcee might deliver services to outsourcer with minimum efforts.
When a company considers outsourcing IT functions and share information with service provider who has weak internal controls or security standards, the service provider might leak critical information of the outsourcer either intentionally or accidentally. Besides, people with malicious purposes might utilize the service provider as a gateway to break into the information systems of the outsourcer.
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I agree with you of these two risks. The purpose of outsourcing is saving the cost for the company. If the outsourcer cannot achieve the goal and expectation of what the company wants, saving the cost is meaningless.
Also, if the company outsourcing IT functions and share the important internal information, the company might lose heavily.
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Well down, Xiaozhou. One point you mentioned is absolutely a problem which is time zone. A company in US outsource their service to India which provide cheap but high qualities services with fewer language obstructs. However, the issues raised by time zone significantly increase the payroll fees for working overtimes to meet Eastern time and the reactions time for contingency issues happen in US.
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Agree with your point in global differences. The rules and regulations are so different among the countries all over the world. Outsourcing in globalization is hard to make.
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I totally agree with you the analysis of travel cost. If the company want to reduce the travel cost, the employees may be asked to have the business meeting online, but face-to-face communication cannot be replaced.
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Outsourcing related risks include lack of control and lack of business or domain knowledge.
Lack of control – we know that outsourcing is the business contract to a third party to complete, sometimes because of the cost of the relationship will usually choose to practice in some low-cost countries, this time because of distance or time difference and other factors may cause Unforeseen circumstances cannot be controlled in time, resulting in losses.
Lack of knowledge of the business or domain – When the business is handed over to a third party, there may be a lack of knowledge of the domain, resulting in a very different result from what is expected and eventually increasing the cost of output. -
Hiding cost risks is beyond my expectation. After all, the total amount of outsourcing contracts does not accurately reflect the company’s cost of providing IT services to third parties.
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Well said, Lezlie. Call center and some basic IT functions are always the priority choice which an enterprise decides to outsourcing business. For example, customer service is closely related to our daily life. Outsourcing customer service can usually keep it run 24/7, however, sometimes the quality of service cannot be guaranteed due to culture conflict.
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One thing you mentioned that I consider interesting is reputation loss. Usually, when an organization determines to outsource its business to outsourcing service provider, it has to bear the risk of reputation loss. When an incident or information leak event happens, people or customer would look back to the outsourcing enterprise itself rather than outsourcing service provider since there is only a single brand demonstrated.
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I agree with you. When cost reduction is the objective of outsourcing, there is typically a promise of early cash flow benefits and long-term cost savings. Certainly, a company can compare vendor costs with current costs and build technology and learning curves into future cost schedules. Conversely, it may not know about future possible cost savings or foresee technological discontinuities. These issues are probably matters of judgment.
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Outsourcing can be an effective tool for an organization, but it is not without its flaws.
Outsourcing vendors are not actual employees of the company, and they are subject to separate expectations and culture compared to your own. This could lead to misuse of company assets. The vendor could be exposed to information or data that could endanger the company. To mitigate this issue, monitoring is a must. Companies should not put any trust in these people and reveal as little information as possible.
Another risk of outsourcing builds on the difference in company culture, and is related to a company’s brand appeal to consumers. Communication with a vendor can prove difficult due to time differences, and this can affect transportation/shipping as well. The location can also create a disconnect in culture. The differences in expectations and common courtesy can create issues and can affect reputation. It is important to know exactly what you are getting into when outsourcing.
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Well down, You raise an Interesting ideal, Scheuren. The key conflicts between the vendors and us is different objects and business goals we have. What we need is not just a product which is the final goal for our vendors. What we want is actually an product could support our business goals.
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You get into the concern of governance or oversight in an outsourcing situation, and this is indeed tough. How do you ensure adherence to company policy or culture if you’re not there or directly involved? Who can you trust to report back on the compliance? If disaster strikes – such as in the FoxConn factory story with Apple – who gets the blame, and – more importantly – who will consumers and regulators look at first? These are all difficult questions with no one answer. Given that massive cost-savings in outsourcing however, such calculations must be made by firms large and small.
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Hidden cost is not easy to avoid. However, the potential costs could be controlled. Such as, rent and labor costs could be reduced by a effective cost estimation.
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Well down, Yinyan. Geopolitical is indeed a key risk toward the outsourcing. like the companies in China that worked for the projects happened on the US. And in some countries like America the time zone is even different even within the countries, like Western Middle, and Eastern time.
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Outsourcing has been a common trend as it has benefitted a lot of business organizations in more than one way. Companies choose to outsource different business functions in order to operate effectively an efficiently. Some companies outsource payroll function, and others outsource IT functions. The one I am familiar with is foreign companies outsourcing IT functions to companies in India. While there are multiple advantages to outsourcing, there are disadvantages or risks as well that cannot be overlooked. The two main risks can be:
shared sensitive information and time difference issues. When a company outsources, it has to share confidential information to the outsourcing company. This can impose a lot of risks to the information. Similarly, the different time zone can be problematic outsourcing business functions. It can be difficult for two companies to coordinate at all times. This can lead to loss of productivity and increase inefficiencies.-
I agree the idea of potential data breach.
Definitely, when a company is negotiating outsourcing with other organizations, they need to share information and data to make sure the production process works well. However, it is always a question that to which extent should they do. If they don’t exchange enough information, the quality may not meet the requirement. Also the information security is under risk as well, they have to make sure other organizations won’t be able to get access to their information without notice. -
You’re making a good point. It can be difficult for some companies to coordinate due to timezone. However during my internship in a big four accounting firm, I noticed that some of their IT function was outsource to companies in India and India has a huge time zone difference with us. Thinking back to it I did not really notice any particular issues regarding coordination with the workers in india that was due to time zone. So I feel like most big firms have that side of outsourcing issue figured out and they have ways to deal with it so that it doesn’t create any coordination issues.
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Great points, Xiaomin! Loss of control is indeed one of the risks of outscoring, Also, I believe it will be a great challenge to mother company to ensure that security awareness training programs are conducted by outsourced company in a periodic manner to have overall internal controls in place.
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It is true that not all components can be outsourced, even their might be organizations producing similar products, companies always want to keep their core technology or products confidential, they want to assure the quality as well.
Also, it is always a complicated process to negotiate the outsourcing with other organizations, it requires a various back-and-forth discussion to reach a final agreement. -
Culture is certainly important, and a failure to adapt to or blend into a client’s corporate culture would certainly be a problem. This is something that is often forgotten in the rush to handle the technical and legal considerations, but it is just as easily a deal-breaker.
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This gets into concerns with legacy systems. If a firm outsources a given process, this should address the concern, but what about outsourcing enterprise architecture management? I know last semester we were told that this should never happen, but I bet it does, particularly if a firm doesn’t want to deal with the chaos of replacing some in-house solution with a new streamlined and integrated system.
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You make some great points. I would want to know what exactly my firm considers too valuable to outsource, including business strategy, KPI’s, and whatever sensitive data. Ironclad SLA’s should address this, but a SOC 2 report should also factor in somewhere. If the vendor can’t provide such documentation, it should be considered an unacceptable risk to the firm.
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I think the point on government interference is something that I had not thought of. Being compromised by outside governments like Russia or other high-risk countries is something that is plausible, like we saw with the election.
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That is an interesting point you made about the Nationalization of assets. That was something I did not think of and I think it is something that many firms neglect as well. The hardest part is the uncertainty you have to deal with because you cannot always predict the political climate in a country or when a war can break out. Which is why you need to be prepared at all time for anything.
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Mike Romeu's profile was updated 6 years, 7 months ago
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Mike Romeu wrote a new post on the site MIS 5201-IT Audit Process 7 years, 3 months ago
Study Guide: MIS 5201 Final Study Guide 2017
The final exam will be available from May 1 (evening) through May 8.
Best of luck with your finals and have a great summer. You all deserve it.
Sincerely, Prof. Mike Romeu
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Mike Romeu wrote a new post on the site MIS 5201-IT Audit Process 7 years, 4 months ago
I am including an audit report from 2012 where the auditor is presenting the results of his assessment on IT’s system development life cycle (SDLC) ant the project management framework designed by the Project […]
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Mike Romeu wrote a new post on the site MIS 5201-IT Audit Process 7 years, 4 months ago
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