Chapter 14: Managing Projects

Question 1

Capital Budgeting

Answer 1

The process of analyzing and selecting various proposals for capital expenditures.

Question 2

Change Agent

Answer 2

In the context of implementation, the individual acting as the catalyst during the change process to ensure successful organizational adaptation to a new system or innovation.

Question 3

Change Management

Answer 3

Managing the impact of organizational change associated with an innovation, such as a new information system.

Question 4

Counterimplementation

Answer 4

A deliberate strategy to thwart the implementation of an information system or an innovation in an organization.

Question 5

Ergonomics

Answer 5

The interaction of people and machines in the work environment, including the design of jobs, health issues, and the end-user interface of information systems.

Question 6

External Integration Tools

Answer 6

Project management technique that links the work of the implementation team to that of users at all organizational levels.

Question 7

Formal Control Tools

Answer 7

Project management technique that helps monitor the progress toward completion of a task and fulfillment of goals.

Question 8

Formal Planning Tools

Answer 8

Project management technique that structures and sequences tasks, budgeting time, money, and technical resources required to complete the tasks.

Question 9

Gantt Chart

Answer 9

Visually represents the timing, duration, and resource requirements of project tasks.

Question 10

Implementation

Answer 10

All the organizational activities surrounding the adoption, management, and routinization of an innovation, such as a new information system.

Question 11

Information Systems Plan

Answer 11

A road map indicating the direction of systems development: the rationale, the current situation, the management strategy, the implementation plan, and the budget.

Question 12

Intangible Benefits

Answer 12

Benefits that are not easily quantified; they include more efficient customer service or enhanced decision making.

Question 13

Internal Integration Tools

Answer 13

Project management technique that ensures that the implementation team operates as a cohesive unit.

Question 14

Organizational Impact Analysis

Answer 14

Study of the way a proposed system will affect organizational structure, attitudes, decision making, and operations.

Question 15

PERT Chart

Answer 15

Network diagram depicting project tasks and their interrelationships.

Question 16

Portfolio Analysis

Answer 16

An analysis of the portfolio of potential applications within a firm to determine the risks and benefits, and to select among alternatives for information systems.

Question 17

Project

Answer 17

Planned series of related activities for achieving a specific business objective.

Question 18

Project Management

Answer 18

Application of knowledge, tools, and techniques to achieve specific targets within a specified budget and time period.

Question 19

Project Portfolio Management Software

Answer 19

Helps organizations evaluate and manage portfolios of projects and dependencies among them.

Question 20

Real Options Pricing Models (ROPMs)

Answer 20

Models for evaluating information technology investments with uncertain return by using techniques for valuing financial options.

Question 21

Scope

Answer 21

Defines what work is and is not included in a project.

Question 22

Scoring Model

Answer 22

A quick model for deciding among alternative systems based on a system of ratings for selected objectives.

Question 23

Sociotechnical Design

Answer 23

Design to produce information systems that blend technical efficiency with sensitivity to organizational and human needs.

Question 24

Tangible Benefits

Answer 24

Benefits that can be quantified and assigned a monetary value; they include lower operational costs and increased cash flows.

Question 25

User-Designer Communications Gap

Answer 25

The difference in backgrounds, interests, and priorities that impede communication and problem solving among end users and information systems specialists.

Question 26

User Interface

Answer 26

The part of the information system through which the end user interacts with the system; type of hardware and the series of on-screen commands and responses required for a user to work with the system.

Question 27

What are the objectives of project management and why is it so essential in developing information systems?

Answer 27

Good project management is essential for ensuring that systems are delivered on time, on budget, and provide genuine business benefits. Project management activities include planning the work, assessing the risk, estimating and acquiring resources required to accomplish the work, organizing the work, directing execution, and analyzing the results. Project management must deal with five major variables: scope, time, cost, quality, and risk.

Question 28

What methods can be used for selecting and evaluating information systems projects and aligning them with the firm’s business goals?

Answer 28

Organizations need an information systems plan that describes how information technology supports the attainment of their business goals and documents all their system applications and IT infrastructure components. Large corporations will have a management structure to ensure the most important systems projects receive priority. Key performance indicators, portfolio analysis, and scoring models can be used to identify and evaluate alternative information systems projects.

Question 29

How can firms assess the business value of information systems projects?

Answer 29

To determine whether an information systems project is a good investment, one must calculate its costs and benefits. Tangible benefits are quantifiable, and intangible benefits that cannot be immediately quantified may provide quantifiable benefits in the future. Benefits that exceed costs should be analyzed using capital budgeting methods to make sure a project represents a good return on the firm’s invested capital. Real options pricing models, which apply the same techniques for valuing financial options to systems investments, can be useful when consideringly highly uncertain IT investments.

Question 30

What are the principal risk factors in information systems projects?

Answer 30

The level of risk in a systems development project is determined by (1) project size, (2) project structure, and (3) experience with technology. IS projects are more likely to fail when there is insufficient or improper user participation in the systems development process, lack of management support, and poor management of the implementation process. There is a very high failure rate among projects involving business process reengineering, enterprise applications, and mergers and acquisitions because they require extensive organizational change.

Question 31

What strategies are useful for managing project risk and system implementation?

Answer 31

Implementation refers to the entire process of organizational change surrounding the introduction of a new information system. User support and involvement and management support and control of the implementation process are essential, as are mechanisms for dealing with the level of risk in each new systems project. Project risk factors can be brought under some control by a contingency approach to project management. The risk level of each project determines the appropriate mix of external integration tools, internal integration tools, formal planning tools, and formal control tools to be applied.