The Past, Present, and Future of ‘IS Success’ – Petter et al Flashcards
The Past, Present, and Future of ‘IS Success’ – Petter et al.
Introduction and aim of the paper?
- information technology has developed since mid-1950s & information has become more voluminous, more ubiquitous & more accessible by all complexity
- complexity of measuring IT success due to expanding of usage and users but is in its core still simple
- relevance, timeliness, accuracy of info = still key to IS success even as IS systems and its measures grow
- aim of paper: exploring history of understanding of IT success, then offering suggestions on what it means for future while presenting four themes/ ‘calls for action’
The Past, Present, and Future of ‘IS Success’ – Petter et al.
DATA PROCESSING ERA (1950-1960)
DATA PROCESSING ERA (1950-1960)
* initial days of computing: computers used as calculators & only in finance + military industry
* number of stakeholders impacted by IS relatively small & highly trained in computing
* focus of era: data processing (management practices not affected)
RESEARCH MEASURES OF SUCCESS
* little to none (interest in IS just began)
PRACTICE MEASURES OF SUCCESS
* technical quality: speed and accuracy of systems
The Past, Present, and Future of ‘IS Success’ – Petter et al.
MANAGEMENT REPORTING & DECISION SUPPORT ERA (1960-1980)
MANAGEMENT REPORTING & DECISION SUPPORT ERA (1960-1980)
* managers began to see power of IS + ability of people to use information provided by system important human factors (addition to technical factors) should be evaluated in success of IS
RESEARCH MEASURES OF SUCCESS
* decision-making by managers: additional information in form of systems that helped process
* system use: other measures of success (eg profitability) relate back to system use
* additional benefits: cost reduction, accuracy improvement, management & control enhancement
PRACTICE MEASURES OF SUCCESS
* minimal organisational impact: IS should only support data processing, not create change in orga structure, culture, goals
* cost reduction: headcount, general lower costs
The Past, Present, and Future of ‘IS Success’ – Petter et al.
STRATEGIC & PERSONAL COMPUTING ERA (1980-1990)
STRATEGIC & PERSONAL COMPUTING ERA (1980-1990)
* realisation that strategic goals can be achieved by aligning system with orga
* personal computing more IS systems moved from back to front office = involving more employees
RESEARCH MEASURES OF SUCCESS
* productivity
* strategic alignment
* value of IS: goal-centered approach – examination of IS to see whether it meets objectives
* user needs: system-resource approach – examination whether IS can fulfil needs for multiple users
* technology acceptance: by users
* user information satisfaction
* information quality: quality provided by IS used to make decisions in terms of format, relevance, usefulness (dimensions of quality)
PRACTICE MEASURES OF SUCCESS
* operational performance: system availability, user problem reports, IS operations costs
* development performance: on-time completion, user acceptance, post implementation audits
research measures focused on benefits to individual (sociotechnical perspective/holistic view) while practice measures focused on project management & system itself
The Past, Present, and Future of ‘IS Success’ – Petter et al.
ENTERPRISE SYSTEM AND NETWORKING ERA (1990-2000)
ENTERPRISE SYSTEM AND NETWORKING ERA (1990-2000)
* data was shared among applications & managers number of users of IS increased
* proliferation of enterprise systems: further research in success of eg ERP systems
* outsourcing: important IT and operational functions to improve efficiency connecting orgas with suppliers and partners required internal and external metrics of success
RESEARCH MEASURES OF SUCCESS
* team performance: different measures of success, depending on stakeholder involved in context
* IS service quality: support role important as more individuals within firm use enterprise-wide systems
* net benefits: benefits at multiple levels of analysis – from individuals to society
PRACTICE MEASURES OF SUCCESS
* strategic value: concerns as Carr proposed that IS have become commoditised and were no longer source of competitive advantage in terms of achieving goals
* development performance: more focus on developing the system that on benefits it provides -> cost/benefit analysis before implementing rather than considering social/strategic value
research focused on benefits to orga and stakeholders, while practice focused on project in which success based on project management effort rather than success of system itself
The Past, Present, and Future of ‘IS Success’ – Petter et al.
CUSTOMER-FOCUSED ERA (2000 AND BEYOND)
CUSTOMER-FOCUSED ERA (2000 AND BEYOND)
* individuals have potential to receive customised experiences based on interests, preferences, roles
* power is shifting from orga to consumer: customer interact with IS directly rather than through employees of orga
* prior methods of evaluating IT are still relevant but not purely: systems have enjoyment for user as their purpose
RESEARCH MEASURES OF SUCCESS
* customer impact: perceptions of individuals about IS may vary among groups and individuals (one perceives it as success, other as failure)
* social impact: considering larger work system in which IS is embedded see whether it is the cause of positive/negative impacts to individuals or orga
PRACTICE MEASURES OF SUCCESS
* balanced score card: first ‘real’ method but still challenge as there are many factors involved
The Past, Present, and Future of ‘IS Success’ – Petter et al.
CUSTOMER-FOCUSED ERA (2000 AND BEYOND)
THE STATE OF IS MEASUREMENT IN PRACTICE ?
- apparent differences between research & practice in all eras
focus of measurements in practice: inputs and processes NOT OUTCOMES + project-based NOT asset-based
* primary practice measures: 1) cost-benefit assessments before system is built 2) project quality during building of system 3) post-implementation audits after the system is implemented to determine whether it works from technical perspective
more care on whether it should be funded rather than whether it provides intended benefits
* stakeholders perceive evaluation of IS success as costly & difficult + true value comes months after implementation only 20% created during system development process, 80% during its use
* downside of cost/benefit approaches measuring success: difficult to prove relationship between information technology investments and quantifiable organisational benefits
* important for Customer-Focused Era: most important class of user is customer IS measurement must be from customer perspective as well, not only orga success perspective
The Past, Present, and Future of ‘IS Success’ – Petter et al.
IS SUCCESS RESEARCH: WHERE TO GO/CALLS FOR ACTION
-> RECOGNISING THE IMPORTANCE OF ‘INFORMATION’ IN IS
- need to develop success metrics for information need of stakeholders beyond orga: such as customers, suppliers partners value creation rather than just systems efficiency
- IS should support & influence business strategy: with commoditised products, value can be created product incorporates info to offer better customer experience
- in future, IS must be increasingly organic, real time, predictive not just technical quality but also info quality produced by system is important
The Past, Present, and Future of ‘IS Success’ – Petter et al.
IS SUCCESS RESEARCH: WHERE TO GO/CALLS FOR ACTION
-> DEVELOPING ADAPTIVE RESEARCH PROCESSES AND MODELS TO MEASURE IS SUCCESS
- IS have potential to solve complex social challenges: challenges imply large-scale systems that require masses of location-based data with flexible real-time processing
- future IS success measurement must be based on being both simple and flexible
The Past, Present, and Future of ‘IS Success’ – Petter et al.
IS SUCCESS RESEARCH: WHERE TO GO/CALLS FOR ACTION
-> DISSEMINATING PRACTICAL APPROACHES TO MEASURE IS SUCCESS
4.3 DISSEMINATING PRACTICAL APPROACHES TO MEASURE IS SUCCESS
* orgas must decide what measures should be used to evaluate IS from each perspective (financial, customer, internal process, innovation)
* IS will never be recognised as primary cause of profit growth: most often able human talent, processes to perform more profitably but not provide traditional accounting success measurements of these benefits (return on investment etc)
* using IS success models & processes: practice will be easier to measure success for this: research findings must be disseminated globally
The Past, Present, and Future of ‘IS Success’ – Petter et al.
IS SUCCESS RESEARCH: WHERE TO GO/CALLS FOR ACTION
->PREVENTING SILOS IN IS SUCCESS RESEARCH
- several groups of researchers are doing related work that must be integrated: to increase complementation
- orgas need toolbox of measure that can be used: to measure success once IS is implemented
The Past, Present, and Future of ‘IS Success’ – Petter et al.
Conclusion?
- evaluating IS success has changed: from originally focusing on speed & accuracy (quantitative + objective evaluation) to considering social and strategic implications (qualitative + subjective evaluation)
- current era: must expand focus to other key stakeholders (customers, employees, vendors, governments, suppliers) developing frameworks that reflect current reality of ubiquitous impact of IS from personal to global level
