Info 3234 Ch4

Identification and selection

* project identification and selection identifies potential development projects, classifies and ranks these projects, and then selects projects for development
* organizations vary as to how they identify project and all methods of identification have strength and weakness

Value chain analysis

used in analyzing an organization’s activities to determine where value is added to products and/or services and the costs incurred for doing so; it usually also includes a comparison w/ the activities, added value, and costs of other organizations for the ==purpose of making improvements in the organization’s operations and performance==

Top management

Wide scope

Functional area

narrow scope

Evaluation criteria when classifying and ranking projects

* value chain analysis
* strategic alignment
* potential benefits
* resource availability
* project size/duration
* technical difficulty/risks

Value chain analysis

extent to which activities add value and costs when developing products/services (ex. UPS)

Strategic alignment

extent to which the project is viewed as helping the organization achieve its strategic objectives and long-term goals (ex. Blockbuster)

potential benefits

extent to which the project is viewed as improving profits, customer service, and so forth, and the duration of these benefits

resource availability

amount and type of resources the project requires and their availability

project size/duration

number of individuals and the length of time needed to complete the project

technical difficulty/risks

level of technical difficulty to successfully complete the project w/in given time and resource constraints

Competitive strategy

method by which an organization attempts to achieve its mission and objectives

3 strategies for competitive strategy

* low-cost producer (an expensive soap vs a simple cheap soap)
* product differentiation (ex. high quality vs low quality)
* product focus of niche (ex. convertible sports car market)

Information systems planning (ISP)

orderly means of assessing the information needs of an organization and defining new systems, databases, and technologies that will best satisfy those needs

* only a portion of corporate strategic planning

Top-down planning

generic methodology that attempts to gain a broad understanding of the information systems needs of the entire organization

Advantages to top-down planning

* broader perspective
* improved integration
* improved management support
* better understanding

bottom-up planning

generic information systems planning methodology that identifies and defines IS development projects based upon solving operational business problems or taking advantage of some business opportunities.

ex. business unit manager identifies opportunity for efficiency in an updated IS system

Internet

large, worldwide network of networks that use a common protocol to communicate w/ each other

Internet of Things (IoT)

broad class of physical objects that feature an Internet address and connectivity that communicate b/t these objects and other Internet enabled devices and systems

Electronic commerce (EC)

Internet-based communication to support day-to-day government, business, and consumer activities

Unknowns that must be dealt w/ when designing and building internet apps

User, connection speed, access method