SAD 1 - (Assignment 4)

SYSTEMS DEVELOPMENT MODELS

We all have done on knowing how the System Analyst works in developing a certain task or project. This time, we are going to explore what are the aids or tools in developing a system. In developing a system, there are common system development process models that are used to guide the analysis, design, development, and maintenance of information systems. There are many different methods and techniques used to direct the life cycle of a software development project. Most techniques and methods have similarity in goals and share common task while each is designed for a specific purpose or reason. This topic will explore the similarities and differences among these various models and will also discuss how different approaches are chosen and combined to address practical situations.

The Waterfall Model

This model is said to be the earliest method of structured system development in a traditional approach. The simplest possible process model and therefore, the least likely to be correct. The waterfall model is widely used despite of being too inflexible and linear when it comes to meeting its customer’s needs. It models the software development process as a stately and chronological through the previously mentioned phases. As we can see in this model, Waterfall development has distinctive goals for each phase of development where each phase is completed for the next one is started and there is no turning back. Though it is orderly, simple to understand, and represents a process that is easy to manage and measure, the problem is that not even the simplest systems actually get built that way. But of course, in such methods and techniques, there’s always an advantage on it despite of the negative. And the seeming advantage of the waterfall process is that it allows for departmentalization and managerial control. It is because there is a schedule that is typically set with deadlines for each stage of development and a product can proceed through the development process. In theory, this process leads to the project being delivered on time because each phase has been planned in detail.

Each phases…

Requirements Gathering and Analysis – this is the phase where all possible system requirements to be developed are identified. System requirements are those set of functional and non-functional that the end-user expects from the system. There are tools in gathering requirements, either consultation, interviews, surveys, etc. The goal of this phase is to determine how these requirements will be accommodated in the system. There should be broad communication between the customer and the developer. Finally, a Requirement Specification document is created which serves the purpose of guideline for the next phase of the model.

Software & System Design – once all the requirements have been collected and analyzed, this time is to identify on how the system will be constructed to carry out their task. It is very important to understand what we are creating and what it should look like. The system has to be properly designed before any implementation is started. This phase is focused on the data requirements, software construction and the system interfacing. This phase also will defined the hardware and software needed. The aim of this phase is to generate a System Architecture document that serves as an input for the software design phase of the development, but also as an input for hardware design or selection activities.

Implementation – the software and system design is now translated into machine readable computer codes. Once the system design documents are done, the work is said to be divided in modules/units and coding is started. Different high level programming languages like C, C++, Pascal, Java are used for coding. Each modules/units will be integrated after the coding phase will be done. There is now a unit testing to test the system functionality and verify if the modules/units meet the specifications.

Testing – In this phase the system is tested. More often than not programs are written separately by modules/units. The separate modules are brought together and tested as a complete system to check if all modules/units coordinate between each other. There is a test to ensure that interfaces between modules work, the system works on the intended platform, and that the system does what the user requires. After successfully testing the software, it is delivered to the customer.

Maintenance – this phase is said to be never ending because it is believed that problems of the system developed will arise after its practical use starts, therefore, the problems in the system will be solved after its deployment. Software will definitely undergo change once it is delivered to the customer. And since not all the time, these problems will come directly at a time; it needs to be solved whenever it will arise. And this process is so-called maintenance.

The Spiral Model

The Spiral Model is inspired by the Waterfall Model and Prototyping Models. This model is simply designed to include best features that the two models has, and of course to enhance and introduce new features that can be used to design a good system. The term spiral is used to describe the process that is followed as the development of the system takes place. Like the Prototyping Model, primary version of the system is developed, and then repeatedly customized based on input received from customer evaluations. However, unlike the Prototyping Model, the development of each version of the system is carefully designed using the steps involved in the Waterfall Model. That is why this model is said to be a combination of both Prototyping and Waterfall.

Like a spiral, the process begins at the center position in this model. It moves clockwise. And each movement of the spiral usually results in a deliverable. Though it is not clearly defined what this deliverable is, there is changes as it traverse along the development of the system. Like for example, the first traversals may result in a requirement specification. The second will result in a prototype, and the next one will result in another prototype or sample of a product, until the last traversal leads to a product which is now ready to be sold. Thus the related activities and their documentation will also establish towards the outer traversals. And since there is iteration around the spiral, increasingly more complete versions of the system are built.

Similar to the waterfall model, the spiral model has chronological cycles/stages, with each stage having to be completed before moving on to next. Primary, the difference between the waterfall model and the spiral model is that the project system development cycle moves towards eventual completion in both the models but in the spiral model the cycles go back several times over to earlier stages in a repetitive sequence.

The Rapid Application Development

Above models are helpful and successful, in response to rigid, cascading, one-way steps of Waterfall Models of development, Spiral Model is introduced. Through this model, there is a way of reducing risk. But in order to ensure high responsiveness, projects are designed with fixed timescales. Sometimes leads to sacrificing functionality if necessary. This allows the development team to focus on the pieces of functionality that have the highest business value, and deliver that functionality rapidly. That is where the Rapid Application Development or RAD takes part. The RAD methodology was developed to respond to the need to deliver systems very fast. This method has a task list and a work breakdown structure that is designed for speed. However the major difference in RAD is a set of management techniques that are optimized for speed.

Change is often the reason for delays in application development. In long development processes, changes in functionality requirements or project scope after a lot of time has cause many months to be lost and significant expense to be incurred for redesigning and redevelopment. RAD minimizes scope and requirements creep by limiting the project's exposure to change and shortening the development cycle and limiting the cost of change by incorporating it up-front before large investments are made in development and testing.

However, the RAD approach is not appropriate to all projects. Say large real-time projects on RAD would not instill much confidence. The success of a RAD approach is determined on its project scope, size and circumstances.

The structure of the RAD lifecycle as we noticed is designed to ensure that developers build the systems that the users really need. This lifecycle includes all of the activities and tasks required to scope and define business requirements and design, develop, and implement the application system that supports those requirements. Below are the four stages that RAD has:

Requirements Planning – this stage is also known as the Concept Definition Stage where defines the business functions and data subject areas that the system will support and determines the system’s scope. Like the other models, it has to list all the requirements needed for the system in order to design appropriate concepts. It consists of a review of the areas associated with the proposed system. This review produces a broad definition of the system requirements in terms of the functions the system will support.

User Design – this stage is also known as the Functional Design Stage where uses workshops to model the system’s data and processes and to build a working prototype of critical system components. It consists of a detailed analysis of the business activities related to the proposed system. Following the analysis, the design of the system is outlined. System procedures are designed, and preliminary layouts of screens are developed. The requirements being gather is now being used for designing user’s views and designing the system itself.

Construction – this stage is also known as the Development Stage where completes the construction of the physical application system, builds the conversion system, and develops user aids and implementation work plans. There is now a small team of developers, working directly with users, finalizes the design and builds the system. The construction process consists of a series of design-and-build steps in which the users have the opportunity to modify the requirements and review the resulting software implementation. Construction includes documentation and instructions necessary to operate the new application, and routines and procedures needed to put the system into operation.

Implementation – this is the last stage of the system development and is also known as the Deployment Stage, this stage includes final user testing and training, converting data, and the implementation of the application system. It also involves managing the change from the old system environment to the new one. This may include implementing bridges between existing and new systems. User acceptance is the end point of the implementation stage.

Images Sources:

For waterfall model: Image @ http://www.buzzle.com/showImage.asp?image=1449
For Spiral Model: Image @http://www.instructionaldesign.org/models/spiral_model.html
For RAD: Image @ http://www.casemaker.com/download/products/totem/rad_wp.pdf

SAD 1 - (Assignment 3)

We are done to explore the world of the information system analyst. We already know what their key roles, their traits, characteristics are and we know how these characteristics/traits are very important to be a good System Analyst. We also touched our personal traits/characteristics to justify if we can be good system analysts. We identify some of our strengths so that we can examine ourselves if we are qualified to be a good System Analyst. Having the idea on how we can see our strengths to call ourselves as System Analyst, we easily pin-point different characteristics/traits that can be used in the near future as we, our very own selves will have to join the world of the information system analyst. And to validate those characters/traits that we are able to identify for ourselves, we are tasked to look for a System Analyst on practice and do an interview on what would be the skills and characteristics must a system analyst develop in order to be more effective in any design modeling process. This time, what we have learned during the sharing and presentation was validated as we throw some follow-up questions that will help us to understand more on what a System Analysts really does, I mean his skills to possess and you know characteristics.

Aside from asking his skills and characteristics, we also tackle the role of a system analyst as a project manager since this time, we’ll going to identify the role of system analyst as a project manager.

The interviewee stressed out that the role of a System Analyst is really different from a Project Manager. But there’s an exemption, because sometimes or most of the time a System Analyst is at the same time the Project Manager in doing a project.
While we are done to identify the roles/traits/characteristics/skills of a System Analyst, below are the roles of the Project Manager based on our conducted interview.
The Project Manager is the one who do the talking. According to the interviewee, the Project Manager is the one who will talk to the client at the start of doing the project. He is the one to explain it to the client on what are the team agreements in doing the project. In short, at the start of getting a project, Project Manager will be the representative of the team in doing oral or written agreements.

The Project Manager is the one who get the overall specifications/scope of the project. According to the interviewee, Project Manager is responsible for gathering information on the scope and specks of the project. As a Project Manager he is responsible to gather information and specifications from the client and of course from the users.

The Project Manager is the one to identify the people who will be involved in the project. It means that as a Project Manager, he/she is the one to create his own team for the development of the entire project. He/she will be the one to choose the people that he wanted to get involved in doing the project.

The Project Manager is the one to “always give the updates”. According to the interviewee, it is the Project Manager’s responsibility to always give updates on what are the progresses of the projects and it’s not the client who will get updates and follow-ups on what is happening on the current project development. The interviewee also states his opinion on the difference of Pinoy clients and US clients. He said that Pinoy clients doesn’t bring too much pressure it is because our nature is not too on getting updates with regards to the progress of the project and usually any delays are welcome for some extension dates. Say we are given a deadline on April 30, 2010, most Pinoy clients will meet the team on the deadline, and we can never hear those getting updates prior to the deadline while US clients are very strict on the time and deadlines. The interviewee shared his experiences on his US clients where he has to give updates on the project thrice a day. And it should be what you accomplished yesterday, what you are doing today and what you will be doing tomorrow.

The point here is that the Project Manager is the one to impose that a deadline is a deadline and tell the client before the deadline if the project will be extended so that the other party will not expect anything on the date of supposed completion.

The Project Manager is the one to delegate task to the team members. He is the one to set timeline to clients and to his team.

How do you describe yourself as a project manager in your information system department or organization (in general)? The interviewee answered that “once we set a certain goal, there should be completion “.

Can you site related experiences of being a project manager of a team in a certain project? How do you go along with it? The interviewee cites his experience during every general assembly of SAMULCO where he is responsible for the registration process. He did his job on it successfully in three years now. He is the in-charge of the secretariat (hardware, people, etc.). He is the one who oversee the entire event. And he said that in every project “you can learn, And I’m happy this year”.

What do you think are your strengths and weaknesses as a project manager? Strength: “I know what I want and I get what I want”. Weakness: “I do most of a time to think as a programmer”.

Evidence (photo):

SAD 1 - (Assignment 2)

Chapter 1 explores the world of the information System Analysts. And as we go deeper on the discussions, we are able to know what are the roles that a System Analyst does, what are their expected skills, characteristics, traits and qualifications. And thus, we are able to identify important traits and characteristics that we will be having considering ourselves as a System Analyst. Assignment 1 is all about what we have learned based on the discussions that we had on Chapter 1 and identifying some characteristics that we might have to possess as a good System Analyst.

Now in this Assignment 2, we are tasked to interview a System Analyst. It only means that we are going to venture on the outside experiences. After assessing our own selves as a System Analyst, we are going to get outside and look for another System Analyst. Luckily, we find Mr. James of SAMULCO.

Below is based on the two-hour interview with the SAMULCO’s MIS Department Head.

Question: What are the skills and characteristics must a System Analyst develop in order to be more effective in any design modeling process?

The interviewee answers the following skills:

1. Observant/keen to details. The interviewee believes that it is very important for an Analyst that he/she is a keen observer to avoid risk such a waste of time, resources and money. He site an example where there are system requirements that was left unnoticed at the start of the development and later found out that the missed requirements are needed in the system. There is now a need for repetition and therefore a waste of time, resources and of course money. So see how important to be a keen observer specially in identifying details on the system requirements needed.

2. Develop basic programming skills. The interviewee believes that a System Analysts must have basic programming skills. Well a System Analyst is not really expected to be an expert in programming but at least knowledgeable. It is because he/she is working with the developer and of course they should understand each other. Basically, System Analyst should get along with the developer that is why he/she needs to understand what do the developer means if they were talking about programming terms. There is also a technical knowledge so that it would be easy for both of the client and the analyst to assemble information requirements and to communicate when it comes to what the programmers is needed.

The interviewee also stressed out that the System Analyst must see the problem instead of solutions. Because in most cases, analysts see the solution first and forget what is really the problem. It is not good in a way that the analyst will sometimes imagine more being a programmer rather than being an analyst. He/she sees how the project will be look like and how it will going to functions and overlook on what do really the system needs to do. He said that a good analyst must see the problem alone to come up into a good solution.

3. System Analyst must be a global thinker. According to the interviewee, a good analyst is a global thinker. It is because he/she looks at the over-all system of the project. He’s making an example of the two men working on the empty lot, digging soil…while another man happens to stop by and asked what they were doing. The first man answered that they were digging the soil and the second man answered that they were going to build a house. See? The first man is the developer; he only sees the current situation, on what he’s currently working, very literal. While the second man is the system analyst, he sees the entire system and not only what is currently going on. The developer is very systematic while the analyst is a global thinker.

4. Communicate well both with the Project Manager and developer. Communication is very critical for a System Analyst because it is the only way to get along with the Project Manager, developer as well as the clients and users. It is important in dealing with your clients while you are going to review the necessary information that the desired system needs. The analyst must be a good communicator in both oral and written and one thing not to forget must be a good listener. He/she can listen and may able to react what might people have to say, in a careful and nice way. The interviewee believes that communication among the Project Manager and developer is very important because it is the only way to discuss what will be the project and how will it being develop. He said that good communication is very useful since in doing a project where the analyst will going to identify the requirements, it is the responsibility of the System Analyst to discuss the requirements needed for the project instead that the client will be the one to discuss what is needed. At first, I find it confusing since what I have understand is that it is the client who knows what they want the system would do but the interviewee adds that it is because the analyst is the one who knows more on what will be the project is going to be like and how it functions. Some add-ons might be given by the client after examining the list of functionalities that the analyst identified.

Question: Which specific skill/character do you need to develop most? The interviewee said that he has to develop more on being a global thinker.

Question: When and how can you apply these skills/traits/characters in relation to your job specification (in the organization/company)? Everyday, No not really everyday but when the opportunity calls he said. He also said that he will be talking to the HR, they will identify problems that need to be addressed and that’s the time that he will be talking to his buddy.

Evidence (photo):

SAD 1 - (Assignment 1)

Based on your learnings of chapter 1, identify and discuss some charateristics you have as a good Systems Analyst.

Chapter 1 is all about “The World of the Information System Analysts”. This topic tries to explore the possibilities of a System Analyst. As an IT student, there are many possible jobs in the near future that wait. One of them is being a System Analyst, a business professional who uses analysis and design techniques to solve business problems using information technology. He/she is the person who views the analysis of problems as a challenge and who enjoys devising workable solutions.

As what I have understood on the discussions, a System Analysts can be of different role like as problem solvers that usually solve business problems using information technology, as consultants, as agent for change and as supporting expert. He/she plays many roles and sometimes balancing several at the same time. Therefore, an analyst must possess various skills to effectively carry out this job. System Analysts must have broad knowledge and variety of skills, including technical, business, and people skills. It is because a Systems analyst works on strategic plans and then system development projects so it should be an obligation that analysts must know what are those in the technical, business and the people. Technical knowledge is important in project planning, system analysis, system design, database design and even network design, implementation and systems support. The people knowledge will help the analysts to understand the people that he/she will get along with. He/she needs to understand how the people will think, learn, react to change and communicate to make the tandem easier and avoid conflicts. Interpersonal skills deal with relationships and the interface of the analyst with people in business that is why it can be very crucial because it evoke commitment from the client.

From the sharing and discussions, I was able to identify important traits and character that a System Analysts must posses to be able to meet respective goals and objectives. Below are some of most important traits, qualities and characters that I have to develop to be a good system analyst.

I must be a good communicator and have a strong personality to convey people. A System Analysts must be able to communicate both in oral and written. It is important in dealing with your clients while you are going to review the necessary information that the desired system needs. Also I have learned that an analyst must not only a good communicator but also a good listener and must be able to react what might people have to say. I must be capable of relating meaningfully to other people over extended periods of time. There should be a mutual understanding between the analyst and his/her client. It is very important in building trust and cooperation during the entire development and implementation process. The analyst must easily get along with people that he/she had to work in for.

I must be knowledgeable of the technology trends. The analyst is not necessarily have to posses’ extreme programming skills and not expected to know the intricacies of programming, but a decent general knowledge of concepts and terms is essential especially in dealing with the systems design. There should be also a technical knowledge so that it is easy for the analysts to deal with technicalities to glean information requirements from users and to communicate what is needed for programmers.

I must be knowledgeable of business functions. Though it is not expected that the analysts is an expert in business but a decent understanding of the client's world is required especially that the analyst will going to review business related issues. He/she is expected to review the business function performed by the organization during the information gathering.

I should be familiar with the concepts for the appropriate design of the particular development environment. It is not just doing the project because it is what the client wants. The analyst must know the appropriate design concepts. He/she must have the ability to conceptualize and think creatively. Also, the analysts should have the skills to use the tools to facilitate his/her work like using design software tools.

I must be flexible to adapt changes and twists during the development of the project and must be able to alter unexpected situations. It is very important for an analyst to have a strong heart to face whatever problems that the project will encounter during development. The systems analyst must be a self-disciplined, self motivated individual who is able to manage and coordinate innumerable project resources, including other people. There should be an effective time management and personal organization skills. A good analyst must be able to identify and suggest requirements that are more useful than what are the clients has been able to identify. Most importantly, analysts must have high standard of ethics and integrity in all dealings. It is very important especially that analysts will be given the chance to get involve in private information.

Finally, to be a good system analyst is to live with integrity. It is very much important to gain trust from expected clients and to build cooperation and camaraderie. For me it is better to enjoy the whole development process and make it easier for both parties. Though some organizations would like to build gap among outsiders, a good analyst must know how to break the gap. That is why it is also important to share and exchange ideas to better things. The aforementioned are just some of the important characteristic that a good system analyst must have. Otherwise, there is no good dealing between clients.

MIS 2(Assignment 8)

In building a Corporate Strategy, there should be processes that need to be done to come up in much more strategic planning. There should be a gathering of information from the industry, checking the capabilities of the company and also the consideration of reaching the desired objectives in a much broader way. It is also important to analyze the gap between the current state and the future desired state of the company and of course the systems. While I tried to look for the most critical parameters to be considered in developing a strategic IS planning, I find the best areas to get more focused during analyzing. These are plan, people, operation and implementation and technology.

Here are the questions I tried to develop out of those areas in making a Strategic Planning:

1. What are the issues outside your organization? And how it affects your organization?

Explanation: Before getting on what is inside, let’s try to look on what is outside the organization. Having an environmental scan can help us analyze on the issues that we are going to address.

2. Is your organization ready for Strategic Planning?

Explanation: This question will assess the level of readiness of the organization to conduct a strategic planning while there are number of issues that must be addressed. This will determine whether the top management down to the lowest level is willing to participate and committed to do the effort until the results will be known. In order to have an organized process, readiness should be determined by answering these issues below:

a. Specific issues must be identified/ choices that the planning process should address
b. Organizational profile should be developed
c. There should be a creation of Planning committee
d. Individual roles should be clarified (like who does what during the process)
e. Information that must be collected to help make sound decisions must be identified

3. What business is in your company?

Explanation: In developing a strategic planning, it is very much important to define the business clearly. There should be a clear definition of the business in terms of their responsibility in their customers, on what they really do in their customers or in their company. Try to see the things that the company needs to reduce, stop or avoid based on the current state of the organization.

4. What are the basic Plans of the company?

Explanation: It is important to realize that a basic plan is basically required in line with the budget and the organization’s strategic objectives. The said plan should summarize the details of a coordinated approach within the organization to reaching the envisioned state. It is like setting a goal and objectives for the organization and asking the question “What do you want to achieve?” and “What are your specific, measurable targets?”

5. What are the Strength, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats inside your organization?

Explanation: After wide look on external issues, let’s take a hard look on the internal issues. Having the S.W.O.T analysis will help you find and create much more strategic plans.

6. Assuming that things will be the same they are today, what business will be in?

Explanation: It is important to look at the possibility of changes. Will you like to continue the line of business that you have now or you would like to change it? Based on the performance that your organization had during the past years, is it an intelligent decision to pursue on the same strategy or it is better to change the way it used to be.

7. What are the capabilities of the IT department?

Explanation: This is the people issues where it represents the readiness of the organization to absorb and use technology and the awareness factors. Knowing the organizations capability in this area will help to develop a much more strategic planning and effective results.

8. What is the status of your customers or the industry itself?

Explanation: The success of the operation and implementation will define the capability of the organization to handle projects in information technology. This will evaluate the readiness of the organization on implementing complex IT projects and then how will they managed it afterwards. Therefore, status can help in adjusting strategic planning.

9. What are their technologies?

Explanation: This will help in the study of their existing technology platforms, the infrastructure, the state and format of the data and information present. Along with this is the governance of their technology. Many technologies present in the company will sometimes result to difficulties management. There should be clear and specific choice in the standards, responsibility and approval structure in selecting and implementing technology to avoid difficulty of integration.

References:

http://www.allianceonline.org/content/index.php?pid=172
http://managementhelp.org/fp_progs/sp_mod/str_plan.htm

MIS 2(Assignement 7)

In tradition people have needs, wants, and fun of nice-to-haves. In our needs we will pay its marketable value. Our wants, we will pay modestly for, especially if were bundled with needs. Nice-to-haves we will not pay for it at all, but we’ll take them. The market economy is focused on needs, since they are the corporation's bread and butter, the only source of reliable revenue and growth, and hence profit.

Now there’s Google. In the progress and fast growth of technology, Google, in the other way around, fulfill people’s needs, wants, and nice-to-haves, and that’s all for free. At this point, we were divided into the leading side of they so called ‘digital divide’ who gratefully take all those three and never mind to differentiate them unless some of the nice-to-haves unduly complicate the application, in which case we don't want them and those on the other side of the ‘digital divide’ who get none of those three. The market understands none of this behavior, since it doesn't conform to any accepted business model. Google doesn't really seem to care either. They're too busy doing what they do so well - delighting customers with valuable, perceptive, boldly innovative and expansive new products, on a scale that is the envy of every entrepreneur.

GOOGLE, Inc.

Google Inc. is an American public corporation, earning revenue from advertising related to its Internet search, e-mail, online mapping, office productivity, social networking, and video sharing services as well as selling advertising-free versions of the same technologies. The Google headquarters, the Googleplex, is located in Mountain View, California. As of March 31, 2009, the company has 20,164 full-time employees. Google was co-founded by Larry Page and Sergey Brin while they were students at Stanford University and the company was first incorporated as a privately held company on September 4, 1998. The initial public offering took place on August 19, 2004, raising US$1.67 billion, implying a value for the entire corporation of US$23 billion. Google has continued its growth through a series of new product developments, acquisitions, and partnerships. Environmentalism, philanthropy and positive employee relations have been important tenets during the growth of Google. The company has been identified multiple times as Fortune Magazine's #1 Best Place to Work, and as the most powerful brand in the world (according to the Millward Brown Group). Google's mission is "to organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful." The unofficial company slogan, coined by former employee and Gmail's first engineer Paul Buchheit, is "Don't be evil". Criticism of Google includes concerns regarding the privacy of personal information, copyright, and censorship.

GOOGLE's REVOLUTIONARY BUSINESS MODEL

Google's Infrastructure:

The business concept of Google is similar to the concept and strategy where Dell has started, only adapting it for the Web & broadband. Instead of trucks and assembly plants, however, Google’s supply chain is made up of fiber networks, data centers, switches, servers and storage devices. Google has to deliver search as fast as possible at as low a cost as possible.

To simply understand its business model, here is the breakdown of its data inputs: Relevancy of results. Speed of search. Cost of executing a search query.

The company has to make sure that the speed of its search is really, really fast. Any random search on Google these days takes between 0.12 to 0.06 seconds or faster. It also makes perfect sense for Google to build their own servers, storage systems, Internet switches and perhaps, sometime in the future, even optical transport systems. Let’ s try to imagine connecting thousands of hosts (storage and server systems) at speeds of, say, 10 gigabits per second, in a manner that allows any-to-any connections. The sheer cost to keep such a beast going would suck up a major component of the infrastructure. A better option is to have gear that is customized for your processes, ones in which you have a major operational expenditure advantage. In the telecom bubble, large service providers were brought to their knees by operational expenditures. With the exception of optical systems, Google has built or is building the gear. It has been rumored to be a big buyer of dark fiber to connect its data centers. Building customized gear is an expensive strategy, but when you are the scale of Google, it starts to become less of an issue. Its because process-optimized infrastructure ensures that Google’s cost of executing a query keep going down.

In summary, Google’s gigantic infrastructure is the big barrier to entry for its rivals, and will remain so, as long as the company keeps spending billions on it. That said, there’s another thing Google could learn from Dell: Maintain the quality of your search results — customers will only put up with shoddiness for so long(Om Malik | Dec. 4, 2007).


Google's Direct Competitors :

1. Yahoo! Inc.
2. Pvt1 (MSN) – Privately held
3. AOL, Inc.
4. Industry (Internet Information Provider)
5. Disney Online
6. Move, Inc.
7. Match.com,LLC
8. Sina Corp.
9. Daum Communications Corp.
10. Joost (Joost is the new online distributor of Viacom’s property)
11. Etc.

Google's Unique Advantage:

The fact can't be denied. Google have achieved a massive success and almost every developer wants to work for. Google is best known for search and for ads associated with search, that was obvious. This is in essence Google’s one true product. It is the one feature Google developed for the outside world. When Google developed search it was no different from a small company. It is what Google has done since then that makes Google different. Google doesn’t answer to any external power. They don’t have anyone they have to deliver a product to. There is no contract with a deadline. Due to not having any external dependencies, Google can continuously iterate over a product until it reaches a state of near perfection. It can stay in internal testing as long as Google wants and no one is going to care. See Gmail, Google Maps, etc. This then allows Google to use the perfect form of the agile process. Continuous iterations and testing and development, continues improvement. Then as Google sees fit, release the products. As they get better and better, more people use them and more money from ads come in. And that's undeniably beautiful! Another thing is that Google hit on the formula for ads before anyone else. They now have such a commanding lead in that arena that to compete with them you need deep pockets of money of your own. That makes it difficult to launch a company and follow Google’s lead of avoiding external dependencies and having the near perfect product development process. Google does have external contracts, especially for serving up ads on other sites. But notice that Google’s contracts are different from most companies’ contracts. Google isn’t developing a product for these companies. All they are doing is giving them an existing product that Google has already completed and released. Development on that product might still be happening, but it happens within Google, not within the realms of the contract. Google is still free to develop how ever they want (Mark Mzyk | March 17, 2008). And i agree to this point that Google has its unique advantage.

Google's New Services:

1. New Storage Service

Google Inc has announced its very own cloud-based online storage service which will allow Google Docs users to upload any type of file of up to 250 MB while they will have access to a total storage capacity of 1GB.
(14 January, 2010, by Desire Athow)

2. Google Nexus One

Yesterday Google wasn’t in the business of selling mobile phones. Today, they are. The Nexus One smartphone has arrived and on sale at Google.com/phone.
(January 5th 2010 by Michael Arrington)

3. Google Click-to-Call (Billing) in Ads on Mobile Devices

Google sent out notification to its AdWords advertisers that this month “your location-specific business phone number will display alongside your destination url in ads that appear on high-end mobile devices. Users will be able to click-to-call your business just as easily as they click to visit your website. You’ll be charged for clicks to call, same as you are for clicks to visit your website.”
(Jan 5, 2010 at 7:59am ET by Greg Sterling)

4. Google Goggles

A new service that promises to make searching the internet as easy as taking a photo. The application, which will premier on Android devices, will let a user snap a photo of anything and then Google will deliver search results based on that image.
(December 7th, 2009 by Stefan Constantinescu)

5. Free DNS Service

Google just released their newest service which is public DNS. DNS is one of the most important services when it comes to using the internet. The main reason to use the service is reliability, speed and increased security. Google has put in other measures to help with overall security.
(December 5th 2009 by serverguy)

Sources/References:

http://searchengineland.com/google-to-introduce-click-to-call-billing-in-ads-on-mobile-devices-32831
http://www.programmersparadox.com/2008/03/17/googles-unique-advantage/
http://www.techcrunch.com/2010/01/05/google-nexus-one-the-techcrunch-review/
http://www.serverninjas.com/free-dns-service-offered-by-google
http://finance.yahoo.com/q/co?s=GOOG
http://blogs.salon.com/0002007/2005/10/16.html
http://www.itproportal.com/portal/news/article/2010/1/14/microsoft-teases-google-over-new-storage-service/

MIS 2 (Assignment 1)

"The difference between a successful person and others is
not a lack of strength,
not a lack of knowledge,
but rather a lack of will."
- Anonymous

Granted that I will be a worthy IT professional, ten years from now I will run my own IT Firm that showcase the skills of many IT professionals and we’ll gonna be partners in making large projects for the country and across the nation. Hoooh!!!!!! Wow, very rewarding! “Worthy IT professional”. The term can really paid off the years I’m going to spend in this college.

I was caught in a thought if why is it that there is this word “worthy”. I came to ask myself in silence, why such a “worthy” IT professional? Does it mean that some IT professionals are not worthy to be called IT professionals? Well, I just tried to examine the unnecessary question that pop up my mind.

As we try to see the reality, yes, there are many IT professionals that are not “worthy”. Simply because they never met the standard of this word, of being worthy to be called IT professionals. But why is it that there is a need to categorize those people? What makes a difference? The word “worthy” will sometimes taken for granted. Sometimes we believed that we are worthy because we did it! We believed that we are worthy because people around us believed we are. We believed that we are worthy because we surpass others, we are greater that others. But we never realized that being “worthy” to something means a lot of everything. The very life of a worthy, successful man is sober and dramatic.

When I was a child and people would ask me what I wanted to be when I grew up, I always had an answer. That answer changed significantly as time went on, that’s the reality I guess, but one thing never did — I always had a plan. May it change or will it stay, planning for our future is very important. One way in which we plan for the future is by setting goals. When you try to look its definition in the dictionary or when browsing through the internet, you will find a lot of definitions of what is a goal. But I like this one from Merriam-Webster Online that defines a goal as “the end toward which effort is directed”, very brief but concise.

What are my strategies to see myself what I wanted ten years from now?

Planning

Many of us people want to experience a much more enriched life than the one that is currently unfulfilling. We are not contented of what we have. We always want to go higher. That is why we don't have to continue with what we have if we really desire to change or alter it. Don't be stuck in doing the same old things which get you the same old things over and over again. It’s redundant and time-consuming.

One way in which we plan for the future is by setting goals. We actually set goals regularly when we plan what we want to accomplish that day, that week, or even that month. Those are usually fairly simple goals, like we clean the house, finish an assignment, do laundry, cooking and etc. We decide what we want to do and then figure out what we need to do to achieve our goal. Then we get into more complicated goals -- our plans for the future.

The career action plan describes steps that we will take to reach our goals. In this case the goal is usually a particular career objective. It can be a particular occupation, a rung on the career ladder, or an earnings level. It's fairly simple to say that in five years we want to be a such and such. Or in two years we want to earn amount of money. It's achieving those goals that aren’t so easy. Of course the actions we take to try to accomplish our goals will play a huge role in whether we reach them. But, the way we formulate our goals is extremely important too. We need to have a criteria inline to achieve our goals.

One question that is often asked, "Can setting a goal make you a success, can it make you a winner, an achiever?" Well, our experience shows that it will help focus you on areas in both your personal and professional life that are important and meaningful, rather than being guided by what other people want you to be, do, or accomplish. Goal setting has made a tremendous difference in my life. They have allowed me to achieve success, and to accomplish what I had previously only dreamed of, or wished for. And, for me, I consider being successful when I reach the objective I set. My goals kept me on track and, in some cases, they gave me hope. They allowed me to see not where I was today, but where I could be in the future. And, yes I faced challenges and obstacles, but I persevered, found ways around these challenges. I was determined. And when you are determined and when you stay focused it is amazing what you achieve.In can order to attain some of my goals meant learning and developing new skills. More importantly, this process has helped me to focus not on what someone else thought I should do or be, but instead, on what I wanted to accomplish with my life.

A goal can be set and achieved in all areas of your life. Goals are not just to be dedicated to work related thoughts or endeavor’s; goals are key to accomplish a new skill, enjoy the finer aspects of a new hobby, the attainment of education in whatever field is of interest, or in renovating a house. The old adage holds true everyday in that if you don't know where you are going any destination will do. By setting a clear and precise goal or objective, you know where you are headed, and in knowing that, you will be more able to avoid going off in the wrong direction, or taking inappropriate action, or expending wasted energy. No matter what success you are looking for, you will always have issues to overcome, but if you have a strong desire you will find a way. Setting a goal in your life can help you achieve all that you dream of. Take your dreams and turn them into a goal, push through the obstacles, persist, and achieve what you are dreaming of.
But, just setting a goal without knowing how to overcome procrastination won't work. Neither will goals without knowing and learning how to achieve goals. Moving on with life means that you have chosen to close a door behind you in order to open a new door in front of you. Byron Pulsifer

Recipe for Success

A phrase for a recipe for success goes like this:
"Goals turned into action plans with time frames can bring you success."

Recipe for Success:

- Add what you want ( your goal)
- Measure correctly (be specific with your goal, make sure it is measurable)
- Mix in an action plan ( how you are going to get it)
- Combine time frames (when will each action plan be complete)

Put the ingredients in step by step. Keep stirring until you can see results - translated - do a little bit every day.

Don't be discouraged if it doesn't cook through first time around - translated - we sometimes hit obstacles and roadblocks, find a way around them.

Once completed take time to celebrate each action step.

Enjoy, your goal is achieved. Set another.

Now to get into the mixture in the success elements of goal setting.

Important distinction between a goal and an action plan. Simply put, a “goal” tells you

WHAT you want ;
and,
an “action plan” tells you
HOW you are going to get it.

To quote Bette Davis, "Success only breeds a new goal. The golden apple devoured has seeds. It is endless."

Goals will help you to use your time both efficiently and effectively. People without goals usually accomplish much less than they are capable of achieving. Its not saying that they have no accomplishments. However, if they had set goals, they could have accomplished a lot more. They could have attained what they currently have with fewer detours, false starts, misdirected motion, wasted resources, and a lot faster.

Goals Need Action

Without a goal setting strategy, or series of actions, that you are going to use to work towards the goal, whether or not you achieve the goal you have set is just a matter of blind chance. And blind chance is no way to run a successful business! To be successful, you need to make things happen, not just let things happen.

Goal + Action = Success

Other people suggest you should categorize goals for all areas of your life: for example, career, family, financial, leisure, educational. You then set goals for each category. I would caution you in using this method initially because it may result in setting so many goals that you find yourself becoming overwhelmed. Other people suggest picturing how you want your life to look in 10 years, and then set your goals accordingly. This method can work as long as you break the long term goals into a series of smaller ones.

While all of these suggestions have merit, you must be careful not to set goals that are too numerous, or too complex, so that you become overwhelmed, and end up accomplishing none of them. Like anything else you learn to do, start by keeping it straight forward and simple. As you learn by achieving actual results, you can expand the number of goals, the complexity, the time frames, and your horizons.

The best way I have found to determine my goals is to ask myself a couple of very simple questions. The first and most obvious question is, “what do I want?".

Sources/Reference:

http://www.goal4success.com/goal-now/index.html
http://www.goal4success.com/
http://www.mindtools.com/page6.html
http://careerplanning.about.com/od/settinggoals/a/goal_setting.htm
http://www.goal4success.com/success-elements/index.html

MIS 2 (Assignment 5)

“Begin at the beginning in organizational change”

In business, the only constant is change. Systems change, partnerships change, markets change, the business world is in a constant state of flux. Unfortunately, enterprise software applications are by their nature rigid, complex and often inaccessible to untrained users or external audiences. As such, users adapt by managing business processes with homegrown databases, spreadsheets and email. Visibility, cycle time and decision making suffer.


What is Organizational Change?

Typically, the concept of organizational change is in regard to organization-wide change, as opposed to smaller changes such as adding a new person, modifying a program, etc. Examples of organization-wide change might include a change in mission, restructuring operations (e.g., restructuring to self-managed teams, layoffs, etc.), new technologies, mergers, major collaborations, "rightsizing", new programs such as Total Quality Management, re-engineering, etc. Some experts refer to organizational transformation. Often this term designates a fundamental and radical reorientation in the way the organization operates.

What provokes Organizational Change?

Change should not be done for the sake of change -- it's a strategy to accomplish some overall goal. (See Organizational Performance Management.) Usually organizational change is provoked by some major outside driving force, e.g., substantial cuts in funding, address major new markets/clients, need for dramatic increases in productivity/services, etc. Typically, organizations must undertake organization-wide change to evolve to a different level in their life cycle, e.g., going from a highly reactive, entrepreneurial organization to more stable and planned development. Transition to a new chief executive can provoke organization-wide change when his or her new and unique personality pervades the entire organization.

Range of Organizational Change

1. AUTOMATION: Using technology to perform current tasks more efficiently & effectively

2. RATIONALIZATION OF PROCEDURES: Streamline Standard Operating Procedures; eliminate bottlenecks

3. BUSINESS REENGINEERING: Radical redesign of processes to improve cost, quality, service; maximize benefits of technology

4. PARADIGM SHIFT

PARADIGM: A complete mental model of how a complex system functions

A Paradigm Shift Involves:

– Rethinking the Nature of the Business,
– Overhaul of the Organization;
– A Complete Reconception of How The System Should Function


Business Re-engineering

"Business Process Reengineering, although a close relative, seeks radical rather than merely continuous improvement. It escalates the efforts of JIT and TQM to make process orientation a strategic tool and a core competence of the organization. BPR concentrates on core business processes, and uses the specific techniques within the JIT and TQM ”toolboxes” as enablers, while broadening the process vision."

Paradigm Shift

A major change in the way of thinking about something or doing something. For example, development of the Internet has resulted in a paradigm shift in the way people gather information.

The Most Radical Type of Change is… Paradigm Shift;

The term "paradigm shift" has found uses in other contexts, representing the notion of a major change in a certain thought-pattern — a radical change in personal beliefs, complex systems or organizations, replacing the former way of thinking or organizing with a radically different way of thinking or organizing:

• Margaret Mead, noted anthropologist, shows a flashlight to the indigenous New Guinea people.
• People blind since birth are suddenly enabled to see.
• Development of new techniques in genetics impact long-standing assumptions in anthropology.
• An apparently miraculous healing is witnessed by someone who has never believed in miracles.
• Brainwashing — conversion experiences, patterned or forced shifts in ideology and social behavior.

Examples of paradigm shifts in complex systems and organizations:

• The English monarchy with the signing of the Magna Carta.
• The "explosion of life" during the Pre-Cambrian era.
• Society with the invention of any of several innovations (fire, the wheel, gunpowder, the microchip, etc.).
• Warfare and corporate structure with the development of the Prussian military model.


I don’t really know how to explain this further by my own interpretation of some articles that I have read. That is why I choose to paste some write ups that I found when browsing the internet. I know it could help to understand the real paradigm situation that I’m trying to discuss here.

Journal Article Excerpt
Coping with consumer fraud: the need for a paradigm shift.
by Monroe Friedman

For years law enforcement and consumer education practitioners have developed speaker programs, user guides, and other informational initiatives to help consumers avoid economic exploitation by criminal elements. (For recent examples, see Mott 1993; Schulte 1994; Shadel and John T. 1994; Whitlock 1994.) While these practitioner-launched undertakings are undoubtedly valuable to many consumers, it is the contention of this paper that they would be even more valuable if the advice they offered drew upon a larger and more diverse informational base.

In this paper an informational base commonly associated with consumer initiatives for avoiding victimization is described along with its limitations. Also described and illustrated with a detailed case study is a plan for enlarging the informational base to provide more useful behavioral guidelines for helping consumers avoid victimization.

CURRENT INFORMATIONAL BASE AND ITS LIMITATIONS

The informational initiatives noted above, like most consumer guides for avoiding victimization by criminals, are often authored by practitioners with considerable professional experience dealing with criminal cases of consumer fraud. This experience typically takes the form of criminal investigations or prosecutions at federal, state, or local levels. The natural unit of description and analysis is often the individual police or agency report which describes in detail the particulars of an alleged act of fraud and its impact on the victim (e.g., financial losses incurred).

While such reports offer several advantages to the practitioner who hopes to help consumers avoid victimization (e.g., the reports provide a wealth of swindle particulars useful in informational and educational programs), the cases they consider are unlikely to be representative of seams at large. Many crimes go unreported. This is especially true of confidence swindles (Alston 1986). The victims who fail to report these crimes are often found to be naive individuals who do not know they have been swindled, and if they do, they do not know to whom to turn once a swindle has occurred (Blum 1972). For these various reasons, among others, available case studies may offer an unrepresentative picture of the population of actual confidence swindles.

A second weakness of case studies concerns their lack of information about critical incidents or stimuli that lead to consumer victimization (Fattah and Sacco 1989). It may be helpful to get an impression, albeit unrepresentative, of when and where swindles occur, but this general information is unlikely to be sufficient to help consumers ward off a swindle's sophisticated approach. It is not enough to provide a set of general background characteristics to be on guard against as this leads to many "false positives" being identified by consumers in that many individuals or circumstances that fit the swindle category also fit the non-swindle category.

What is especially needed to resolve such dilemmas is what behavioral theorists refer to as discriminative stimuli and responses, stimuli and responses whose presence is associated with a swindle situation and whose absence is associated with a non-swindle situation (Donahoe and Palmer 1994). In lay terms we should think of discriminative stimuli as danger signals and discriminative responses as escape mechanisms.

Unfortunately, analyses of case studies of swindles reveal few danger signals and escape mechanisms. This finding should come as no surprise because case studies typically found in police files have been placed there as a result of the failure of swindle victims to recognize and act upon discriminative stimuli.

HELPING OLDER AMERICANS COPE WITH CONFIDENCE SWINDLES: A PILOT STUDY

To secure needed information on danger signals and escape mechanisms, it was decided that a new strategic approach was needed, one that focused on the coping behaviors of consumers who have been successful in dealing with the attempts of confidence swindlers to defraud them. As older Americans are often victimized by confidence swindles (Friedman 1992), it was also decided to focus on this population subgroup. The first step in implementing the new strategic approach consisted of placing public service announcements (PSAs) in various news media and newsletters regularly received by older Americans in an effort to identify such success stories. A primary source was the AARP Bulletin, the newsletter of the American Association of Retired Persons, which is distributed each month to the more than 30 million AARP members, all of whom are at least 50 years of age. These older Americans were asked by the PSAs to submit a short letter relating a personal story of a suspected confidence swindle directed at them that they managed to avoid; they were also asked to identify relevant ...

Here is another piece that tackle Paradigm Shift

The entire nation on some level knew what they were doing; they just never noticed what it was doing to them, or in the case of the sub-prime mortgage lenders and investors -- never cared. The United States is now riding on what appears to be an unstoppable conveyor belt towards losing its top ranking within the global hierarchy. With such a massive tipping point, often comes a new way of thinking.

Economic Tipping Point Leads to Consumer Paradigm Shift

According to Edmund L. Andrews and Jackie Calmes in the December 17, 2008 New York Times article, “Fed Cuts Rates to A Record Low,” the Federal Reserve cut federal-fund rates to zero in a desperate effort to revive frozen credit markets and to stimulate bank lending and consumer spending.

Some economists feel however, that despite the fact that money is now “on sale,” making it easier to pay credit card debt and afford equity loans; lowering interest rates might not be the golden ticket to boost consumer confidence. Americans are too worried about losing their jobs to assume more debt, while banks are unwilling to lend to people they view as a high credit risk. People are too scared to borrow what they might not be able to pay back and banks are reining in loose lending standards, two changes in fiscal behavior that in hindsight, seem long overdue.
This involuntary shift to how consumers and institutions view and manage money flow could move this once-or-twice in a century economic crisis into the next critical phase of social change: a complete paradigm shift. The nation might be ready to adopt an entirely new belief system about how to ensure the health of an economy. Consumers, lenders, bankers, investment firms and leaders will likely have to permanently alter how they now operate liquidity levels and money systems.

http://tim.oreilly.com/articles/paradigmshift_0504.html - This site offers an article which has the title of “Open Source Paradigm Shift” by Tim O'Reilly dated June 2004. He said that “This article is based on a talk that I first gave at Warburg-Pincus' annual technology conference in May of 2003. Since then, I have delivered versions of the talk more than twenty times, at locations ranging from the O'Reilly Open Source Convention, the UK Unix User's Group, Microsoft Research in the UK, IBM Hursley, British Telecom, Red Hat's internal "all-hands" meeting, and BEA's eWorld conference. I finally wrote it down as an article for an upcoming book on open source," Perspectives on Free and Open Source Software," edited by J. Feller, B. Fitzgerald, S. Hissam, and K. R. Lakhani and to be published by MIT Press in 2005”. See for more details…

Leaders in Organizations are in a position to change the evolution of humanity. For example, in changing our perception from wrong-mindedness to right-mindedness---moving from a fear-based to love-based perception---the scarcity principle of there's not enough and I'm afraid I won't get mine no longer governs. This movement can facilitate a change from the having mode to the being mode...not wanting more and consuming only what I need, thus sustainability by acting responsible. This transformation in perception no longer requires the endless search for outside material contentment which gives us an illusion of success for the intrinsic elements of happiness, security, satisfaction, purpose, and fulfillment are found within.

John P. Kotter's 8 steps to successful change:

John Kotter's highly regarded books 'Leading Change' (1995) and the follow-up 'The Heart Of Change' (2002) describe a helpful model for understanding and managing change. Each stage acknowledges a key principle identified by Kotter relating to people's response and approach to change, in which people see, feel and then change (see a more detailed interpretation of the personal change process in John Fisher's model of the process of personal change): Kotter's eight step change model can be summarised as:

1. Increase urgency - inspire people to move, make objectives real and relevant.

2. Build the guiding team - get the right people in place with the right emotional commitment, and the right mix of skills and levels.

3. Get the vision right - get the team to establish a simple vision and strategy, focus on emotional and creative aspects necessary to drive service and efficiency.

4. Communicate for buy-in - Involve as many people as possible, communicate the essentials, simply, and to appeal and respond to people's needs. De-clutter communications - make technology work for you rather than against.

5. Empower action - Remove obstacles, enable constructive feedback and lots of support from leaders - reward and recognise progress and achievements.

6. Create short-term wins - Set aims that are easy to achieve - in bite-size chunks. Manageable numbers of initiatives. Finish current stages before starting new ones.

7. Don't let up - Foster and encourage determination and persistence - ongoing change - encourage ongoing progress reporting - highlight achieved and future milestones.

8. Make change stick - Reinforce the value of successful change via recruitment, promotion, new change leaders. Weave change into culture.

Sources/References:

http://managementhelp.org/mgmnt/orgchnge.htm#anchor493930
http://www.nexprise.com/solutions/business_process_automation.html
http://www.businessballs.com/changemanagement.htm
http://www.yourdictionary.com/business/paradigm-shift
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Business_process_reengineering
http://www.questia.com/googleScholar.qst?docId=5001350002
http://neohumanism.org/p/pa/paradigm_shift.html
http://americanaffairs.suite101.com/article.cfm/economic_tipping_point_leads_to_paradigm_shift

MIS 2 (Assignment 6)

Things that really matters for success : CRITICAL SUCCESS FACTORS

It’s often difficult to see the “wood for the trees” in business because many important matters compete for your attention. Likely to said, it can be extremely difficult to get everyone in the team pulling in the same direction and focusing on the true essentials. That's where Critical Success Factors can help. These are the essential areas of activity that must be performed well if you are to achieve the mission, objectives or goals for your business or project. By identifying your Critical Success Factors, you can create a common point of reference to help you direct and measure the success of your business or project. As a common point of reference, it will help everyone in the team to know exactly what's most important. And this helps people perform their own work in the right context and so pull together towards the same overall aims.

As we try to browse the internet and many other resources, we can find and will discover that there are potential but confusing variety of definitions and uses of Critical Success Factors.

Definitions

Critical Success Factor

An element of organizational activity which is central to its future success. Critical success factors may change over time, and may include items such as product quality, employee attitudes, manufacturing flexibility, and brand awareness. This can enable analysis.

Critical Success Factor

Any of the aspects of a business that are identified as vital for successful targets to be reached and maintained. Critical success factors are normally identified in such areas as production processes, employee and organization skills, functions, techniques, and technologies. The identification and strengthening of such factors may be similar.

Critical Success Factor

Is a business term for an element which is necessary for an organization or project to achieve its mission. For example, a CSF for a successful Information Technology (IT) project is user involvement.

In the Re.ViCa project a critical success factor is defined as follow:

A critical success factor is a factor whose presence is necessary for an organization to fulfill its mission - in other words, if it is not present then its absence will cause organizational and/or mission failure.

Those are just some of various definitions that we could find when we will try to look for the critical success factors.

History/Background

The idea of identifying critical success factors as a basis for determining the information needs of managers was proposed by Daniel (1961) but popularized by Rockart (1979). The idea is very simple: in any organization certain factors will be critical to the success of that organization, in the sense that, if objectives associated with the factors are not achieved, the organization will fail - perhaps catastrophically so. Rockart (1979: 85), by referring to Daniel (1961), gives the following as an example of the CSFs: new product development, good distribution, and effective advertising for the food processing industry - factors that remain relevant today for many firms.

As we start to discuss the Critical Success Factors, it is important to realize that the specific factors relevant for you will vary from business to business and industry to industry. The key to using Critical Success Factors effectively is to ensure that your definition of a factor of your organizations activity which is central to its future will always apply.

Therefore success in determining the Critical Success Factors for your organization is to determine what is central to its future and achievement of that future.

What is a Critical Success Factor?

Critical Success Factors are the critical factors or activities required for ensuring the success your business. The term was initially used in the world of data analysis, and business analysis.

Critical Success Factors have been used significantly to present or identify a few key factors that organizations should focus on to be successful.

As a definition, critical success factors refer to "the limited number of areas in which satisfactory results will ensure successful competitive performance for the individual, department, or organization”.

Inevitably, the CSF concept has evolved, and you may have seen it implemented in different ways.

Critical Success Factors are strongly related to the mission and strategic goals of your business or project. Whereas the mission and goals focus on the aims and what is to be achieved, Critical Success Factors focus on the most important areas and get to the very heart of both what is to be achieved and how you will achieve it.

The term “Critical Success Factor” is used differently, due to ambiguity of the word “critical”. But whichever definition we may use, just be sure it is understood by all the managers.

Types of Critical Success Factor

Four Basic Types:

1. Industry - resulting from specific industry characteristics;
2. Strategy - resulting from the chosen competitive strategy of the business;
3. Environmental - resulting from economic or technological changes; and
4. Temporal - resulting from internal organizational needs and changes.

It is said that things that are measured get done more often than things that are not measured. Each CSF should be measurable and associated with a target goal. It’s not necessarily that you need exact measures to manage. Primary measures that should be listed include critical success levels or, in cases where specific measurements are more difficult, general goals should be specified.

Identifying Critical Success Factors is important as it allows firms to focus their efforts on building their capabilities to meet the CSF's, or even allow firms to decide if they have the capability to build the requirements necessary to meet Critical Success Factors.

Using the Tool: Summary Steps

In reality, it is said that identifying a CSFs is a very iterative process. The mission, strategic goals and CSFs are intrinsically linked and each will be refined as it is developed.

Below are the Summary Steps that used iteratively that will help us identify the CSFs for the business or project:

Step One: Establish your business's or project's mission and strategic goals.

This is the mission statements and the vision statements. Vision Statements and Mission Statements are the inspiring words chosen by successful leaders to clearly and concisely convey the direction of the organization. By crafting a clear mission statement and vision statement, you can powerfully communicate your intentions and motivate your team or organization to realize an attractive and inspiring common vision of the future.

Step Two: For each strategic goal, ask yourself "what area of business or project activity is essential to achieve this goal?" The answers to the question are your candidate CSFs.

Tip: How Many CSFs?

To make sure you consider all types of possible CSFs, you can use Rockart's CSF types as a checklist.

1. Industry - these factors result from specific industry characteristics. These are the things that the organization must do to remain competitive.

2.Environmental - these factors result from macro-environmental influences on an organization. Things like the business climate, the economy, competitors, and technological advancements are included in this category.

3. Strategic - these factors result from the specific competitive strategy chosen by the organization. The way in which the company chooses to position themselves, market themselves, whether they are high volume low cost or low volume high cost producers, etc.

4. Temporal - these factors result from the organization's internal forces. Specific barriers, challenges, directions, and influences will determine these CSFs.

Step Three: Evaluate the list of candidate CSFs to find the absolute essential elements for achieving success - these are your Criticial Success Factors.

As you identify and evaluate candidate CSFs, you may uncover some new strategic objectives or more detailed objectives. So you may need to define your mission, objectives and CSFs iteratively.

Step Four: Identify how you will monitor and measure each of the CSFs.

Step Five: Communicate your CSFs along with the other important elements of your business or project's strategy.

Step Six: Keep monitoring and reevaluating your CSFs to ensure you keep moving towards your aims. Indeed, whilst CSFs are sometimes less tangible than measurable goals, it is useful to identify as specifically as possible how you can measure or monitor each one.

Examples of Critical Success factors

Statistical research into CSF’s on organizations has shown there to be seven key areas. These CSF's are:

1. Training and education
2. Quality data and reporting
3. Management commitment, customer satisfaction
4. Staff Orientation
5. Role of the quality department
6. Communication to improve quality, and
7. Continuous improvement

These were identified when Total Quality was at its peak, so as you can see have a bias towards quality matters. You may or may not feel that these are right or indeed critical for your organization.

The Critical Success Factors we have identified and use in the BIR process are captured in the mnemonic PRIMO-F

1. People - availability, skills and attitude
2. Resources - People, equipment, etc
3. Innovation - ideas and development
4. Marketing - supplier relation, customer satisfaction, etc
5. Operations - continuous improvement, quality,
6. Finance- cash flow, available investment etc

Key Points

Critical Success Factors are the areas of your business or project that are absolutely essential to its success. By identifying and communicating these CSFs, you can help ensure your business or a project is well-focused and avoids wasting effort and resources on less important areas. By making CSFs explicit, and communicating them with everyone involved, you can help keep the business and project on track towards common aims and goals

References/ Sources:

http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newLDR_80.htm
http://rapidbi.com/created/criticalsuccessfactors.html#WhatareCSFs
http://informationr.net/ir/6-3/paper108.html
http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newLDR_90.htm

MIS 2 (Assignment 3)

“God has never promised a road of success without crossing the streets of failure, only a safe arrival”

Life is full of frustrations. From the minor irritations of losing something to the major problem of continued failure towards a desired goal. Since many of the things we truly want require a degree of frustration, being able to manage frustration is required in order to allow us to remain happy and positive even in trying circumstances.

This entry required us to interview an IS professional of what are the two most frequent experiences that caused their frustrations. Thus we visited the AMS Group of Companies located at F. Torres St., Davao City. It was Mr. Gemrald R. Glibara, the M.I.S Department Head of AMS Group of Companies who entertained us.

They said that experiences are the best way of learning. And most of us agree to the statement. True, what we experienced will help us direct our undertakings. But sometimes, our experience will lead us to frustrations. Anyway, let me put here a definition of frustrations from a site: http://www.psychologistanywhereanytime.com/

Frustration is an emotion that occurs in situations where a person is blocked from reaching a desired outcome. In general, whenever we reach one of our goals, we feel pleased and whenever we are prevented from reaching our goals, we may succumb to frustration and feel irritable, annoyed and angry. Typically, the more important the goal, the greater the frustration and resultant anger or loss of confidence.

Frustration is not necessarily bad since it can be a useful indicator of the problems in a person's life and, as a result, it can act as a motivator to change. However, when it results in anger, irritability, stress, resentment, depression, or a spiral downward where we have a feeling of resignation or giving up, frustration can be destructive.

In the case of the interviewee, the two most frequently experienced causes of frustrations while working on an IS Plan is the lack of support/resistance to changes and communication gap. But primarily, the dissatisfaction and contrast in time plan to the time completion (Lederer and Sethi) and lack of support time concerns so as the communication and user’s fulfillment and acceptance.

Resistant to changes/Lack of Support

The interviewee plays a multi-role in their company. Aside from being the Head in his office, he is working as the Developer and Project Manager of the MIS department. He is working on the automation of manual systems of the HR Department of the company and developing the enterprise systems for the company. He said that in any organization, it should be practical to note that we cannot expect that everything in the work will go smoothly like in adapting to changes which is one of the frustrations of an IT professional. Since technology will evolve every now and then, changes will always take place and many cannot go along to adapt these changes especially that the users themselves will resist the changes. It is a fact that we cannot please everyone.

But there are reasons that some/many individuals resist to adapt changes, may it be technological or organizational change.

Nature and Causes to Resistant to Change

The list of reasons why individuals might be resistance to especially to organizational change has grown. However, there are several that are quite common and prevalent, which help provide a solid basis to understanding the concept. Most probably, employees may resist change because of something new they wanted to learn and acquire. De Jag er (2001) argues that “Most people are reluctant to leave the familiar behind. We are all suspicious about the unfamiliar; we are naturally concerned about how we will get from the old to the new, especially if it involves learning something new and risking failure” (p. 24).

Furthermore, Folger and Skarlicki (1995) investigated resistance to change as a response to the treatment employees receive in the change process. Specifically, they focus on the resentment-based resistance-reactions by disgruntled employees regarding the perceived unfairness of the change. They claim that “resent-based resistance behaviors, which can range from subtle acts of non-cooperation to industrial sabotage, are often seen by the perpetrators as subjectively justifiable-a way to “get even” for perceived mistreatment and a way for employees to exercise their power to restore perceived injustice” (p. 36).

There is a Positive Resistance

Most of the time, managers often perceive resistance negatively and employees who resist are viewed as disobedient and obstacles the organization must overcome in order to achieve the new goals. However in certain instances, employee resistance may play a positive and useful role in organizational change. Insightful and well-intended debate, criticism, or disagreement do not necessarily equate to negative resistance, but rather may be intended to produce better understanding as well as additional options and solutions. de Jager (2001) claims, "the idea that anyone who questions the need for change has an attitude problem is simply wrong, not only because it discounts past achievements, but also because it makes us vulnerable to indiscriminate and ill-advised change' (p. 25).

Piderit (2000) points out that what some managers may perceive as disrespectful or unfounded resistance to change might be motivated by an individual's ethical principles or by their desire to protect what they feel is the best interests of the organization. Employee resistance may force management to rethink or reevaluate a proposed change initiative. It also can act as a as a gateway or filter, which can help organizations select from all possible changes the one that is most appropriate to the current situation. According to de Jager (2001), "resistance is simply a very effective, very powerful, very useful survival mechanism' ' (p. 26).

Folger & Skarlicki (1999) claim "that not all interventions are appropriate as implemented -the organization might be changing the wrong thing or doing it wrong. Just as conflict can sometimes be used constructively for change, legitimate resistance might bring about additional organizational change" (p. 37).

Another Reasons Why there is a resistant to changes especially in the employees:

1. Creatures of habit

The usual things we did seems more comfortable. And changing the way people will operate or think is asking them to move outside their comfort zone. "We've always done it this way, so why do we need to change?" becomes the rallying cry for people who have difficulty changing their routines. In some cases, employees may ignore or deny the change simply because it requires them to experience something beyond their normal method of operation.

2. Fear of personal impact

Viewing change from a personal standpoint, some employees may respond by asking how the change will benefit them directly. Will it make their job easier? Will they have to work harder? Will the change put their job security in jeopardy? Will the change force them to work with different people or learn a new job?

3. Fear of the unknown

Employees may resist change simply because it is something unfamiliar. Not knowing much about the specifics of the change, they may imagine a worst case scenario, which can be very scary. They let fear of the unknown become their rationale for not giving the change a chance. These employees may acknowledge that a problem exists and agree that a change might improve it. However, they worry that the proposed change might actually make things worse! Their fear causes them to place roadblocks in the movement toward change.

4. Fear that the new way may not be better
If things have been going well, some employees may resist change because they fear that the change will not result in improvement. Focusing only on their part of the operation, they fail to realize that change is needed in order for the organization to stay competitive. They may resist forward movement because they are satisfied with the way things are going. Their current status is quite sufficient, and they wish to maintain business as usual.

5. . Unwillingness to learn

Some employees, hesitant to try new routines, express an unwillingness to learn anything new. They may say, "I already know all that I need to know." Like resistant employees who have already made up their minds that the change won't be productive, employees reluctant to learn something new impede the organization's growth and adaptation to change. They also hinder their own personal growth and development.

6. Closed mind

Some employees seem to have the attitude, "Please don't confuse me with any facts or supporting documentation about this change--I've already made up my mind!" Employees with this attitude approach the change process with their minds firmly made up, muttering, "No way!" during discussions and explanations of the future.

7. Concern about support system

Employees operating within predictable routines know their support system will back them up during challenging times. Changing the organizational structures may shake their confidence in their support system. They may worry about working for a new supervisor, with new employees or on unfamiliar projects because they fear that if they try and fail, there will be no one there to support them.

8. Loss of control

Familiar routines help employees develop a sense of control over their work environment. They feel they know what works and what doesn't, and this makes them confident about their contribution to the organization. Being asked to change the way they operate may make employees feel powerless and confused.

9. No obvious need

Some employees may see a change only from the perspective of the impact it has on them and their particular jobs. Not seeing the big picture, they may fail to recognize the positive impact of the change on the organization as a whole. Thus they may find the change disruptive and totally unnecessary. Their attitude may be, "If things have been working well all this time, why do we need to change?" or, in other words, “If it ain’t broke, why fix it?”

10. Fear of failure

Fear maybe the root of resistance to change. During this period, some employees may feel the need to cling to the past because it was a more secure, predictable time. If what they did in the past worked well for them, they may resist changing their behavior out of fear that they will not achieve as much in the future.


These are all initial responses you may experience when you announce an organizational change to employees. Once you understand why some employees resist change and realize that their reactions are perfectly normal, you will be better able to change their attitudes and turn their resistance into cooperation.

Conclusion

Employee resistance to change is a complex issue facing management in the complex and ever-evolving organization of today. The process of change is ubiquitous, and employee resistance has been identified as a critically important contributor to the failure of many well-intend and well-conceived efforts to initiate change within the organization.

In many cases, vast amounts of resources are expended by organizations to adjust employees to a new way of achieving desired goals. The natural propensity for individuals to "defend the status quo" presents a set of challenges that management must overcome in order to bring about desired change. Management must also seriously take into account and consider the myriad of problems that may result if they are not responsive to issues of resistance in the workplace.

In order to facilitate a smooth transition fi7om the old to the new, organizations must be competent in effective change management. The process of change management consists of getting of those involved and affected to accept the introduced changes as well as manage any resistance to them.

This investigation stresses that change usually involves an individual's psyche, so there are no concrete textbook answers and solutions to the problem. Since each individual is different, their perceptions and reasons for resisting are also different. As a result, researchers and scholars can theorize on how to lessen or remove employee resistance to change, but in the final analysis the only way to do so effectively is to understand the unique circumstances within each individual that is causing their particular resistance.

Communication Gap

The fast and efficient exchange of information is undeniably a competitive advantage in business. And in a fluctuating economic environment, it’s paramount. Unfortunately, in the rush to adapt to market needs, many organizations sacrifice effective communication. As priorities shift, executives may impart only the immediate goals and fail to share the rationale and strategies behind them. They may be so focused on results; they neglect to praise and reward their staff. Most of all, managers may forget that communication is a two-way exchange – one part dialogue, one part listening.

What Is Communication?

Communication is defined as a process by which we assign and convey meaning in an attempt to create shared understanding. This process requires a vast repertoire of skills in intrapersonal and interpersonal processing, listening, observing, speaking, questioning, analyzing, and evaluating. Use of these processes is developmental and transfers to all areas of life: home, school, community, work, and beyond. It is through communication that collaboration and cooperation occur.

Communication is the exchange of thoughts or information, feelings, or gestures between two persons; one would act as the sender of the message while the other would be the receiver. In effect, communication happens both ways to achieve therapeutic communication. The key is to listen. Active listening is use in Transactional Analysis; it is when you truly comprehend the message of the sender, not just words but the meaning itself. When communication is then become ineffective? That is when we have communication gaps. What causes these gaps? Technically, it's due to cultural differences where in there's a diversity of language, ethnicity and race. However, the details in the channels of communication such as the sounds, physical actions or gestures, and the entire physical environment when the message was delivered could also be a barrier. A failure would mean that there is a breakdown in communication.

What Does Communication Gap?

Communication gap is a state that occurs when what is being said is not been communicated to the addressee properly and completely. There can be many causes of communication gap depending on where it exists. Actually Communication gap is the biggest hurdle in achieving the organizational goal and does not help at all in achievement of organizational goal. Communication gap in an organization means that the goals and objectives that are set by the top management are either not communicated to the employees of the organization at all levels or if communicated they are not been understood properly by the employees This can be because of improper communication channels, unrealistic goals, inappropriate language etc.

Workplace communication gap between line managers and employees is widening. The challenge is to ensure that their contributions aren't buried under unexpected differences.

The interviewee shares his experience regarding the communication gap between himself and the office he is working to automate transactions. It was during the time when they gathered the requirements, both the office specified the functionalities to cater on the system that the interviewee will developed, after all necessaries have been agreed and passed the documentations they came up to the development of the system. As he deployed the system, all specified functionalities were made and it is functional. As time goes by, there were functionalities that the office wanted to add which supposed to be addressed during the requirements gathering, in this case it is now difficult for the IS professional to do some revisions and debugging when the system was actually delivered already. He also said, he is not used to make some closure and agreements in every documentation when asked if he was able to do it, for the systems are just in-source, and he is the one making the system so every time that certain office will request some functionalities to be added in the system, it will be cater and its part of the maintenance. To him, making some agreements and closure is only applicable to those who engaged in business process outsourcing.

Powerful Ways to Solve Communication Problems at Work

Someone once said that "communication is the lifeblood of an organization" - and it truly is. An organization that is experiencing a breakdown in communication will not live for very long because many problems will crop up and eventually cause the organization to die a natural death.

If communication problems do exist in your organization, make a quick response to resolve it. The life of your organization is at stake.

12 possible signs that your organization is facing communication problems:

1) You find it hard to get some people to cooperate.
2) Some people are being left out of the communication
loop.
3) Replies to messages are being delayed or completely
ignored.
4) Groups in the organization are failing to reach their goals.
5) Mistakes are cropping up more and more often.
6) People are resorting more to criticism and placing the blame on other people.
7) Morale of teams is going down.
8) Productivity is dull or at zero level.
9) You receive many complaints.
10) Moments of conflict result in expressions of anger.
11) There is significant employee turnover.
12) Business is going to your competitors instead of
to you.

If you find that there are some or many (if not all) of these warning signs present in your organization, it is advisable for you to take steps to address such problems before they kill your organization.

How does one correct or resolve such problems?
There are different steps to take to counter the prevalence of communication problems in organizations.

1) First, listen to the people involved or who have caused the communication problem in the first place. Doing so allows you to uncover the depth, nature and roots of the communication problem for that particular group of people.
2) If the problems are quite vast and have deeply-rooted causes, you may want to secure the help of a neutral negotiator. This third party may be able to get inside the problem more thoroughly than an insider because when communication problems crop up, the group involved may choose to clam up or point fingers rather than admit to their role in creating the problem.

3) To maintain confidentiality, it is possible to use a
tool such as a survey. People who might be scared to tell the truth because of reprisals would then have another safer option compared to coming out of the crowd.

4) After you have uncovered the problem and its roots, you may choose to initiate group counseling or training. The point of this is to address the problem of the group, rather than focusing on just one person. Finger-pointing is avoided. The saying "united we stand, divided we fall" should become the motto of the group.

5) It is important for the leader to have great communication skills so that communication problems can be resolved. Communication skills are required to diagnose communication problems, and naturally, provide the necessary solutions. Leaders who lack adequate communication skills might benefit from more training in communication.

6) Do your research - perhaps the communication problem you are experiencing now has occurred before in the history of the organization. And perhaps someone knows the solution that could work now. So look inwards into the heart of the organization, ask around, and you may find the way to properly address your organization's communication problems.

Remember, if your organization is already suffering communication problems; don't wait for these symptoms to get worse. Good communication is necessary for an organization to function properly and stay viable amidst the influx of a multitude of challenges from the environment. Act immediately on communication problems and stem the bleeding of your organization.

Success depends on how well we communicate. There must be the anticipation to actively listen and the concentration to portray the idea intended.

Sources/References:
http://ivythesis.typepad.com/term_paper_topics/2009/04/communication-gap.html http://www.blurtit.com/q945114.html
http://www.k12.wa.us/curriculumInstruct/communications/default.aspx
http://www.emeraldinsight.com/Insight/viewContentItem.do?contentType=Article&contentId=874378 http://ezinearticles.com/?6-Powerful-Ways-to-Solve-Communication-Problems-at-Work&id=652778