Barriers in IS/IT Implementation

Assignment 5

Barriers in their IS/IT Implementation

In an organization, barriers are common to all. In any form, there would be a barriers or hindrance to do the act and in doing some. But, these barriers may be good or bad. It would or would not help the company depending on how the company and its employee approach to these issues.

There are many forms of barriers present in an organization. Barriers that may occur may vary on what type of organization is, because in every circumstance things change. These barriers, employees have a big contribution. In fact, employees are one and have the major contribution, concerns and involvement in this matter. In addition, there are still a lot of factors that is involved in this matter of issue.

A barrier is an obstacle which prevents a given policy instrument being implemented, or limits the way in which it can be implemented. In the extreme, such barriers may lead to certain policy instruments being overlooked, and the resulting strategies being much less effective. Potential risks and barriers to implementation have board coverage.

Our adopted company is ANFLOCOR which is holding company. As a holding company their services to their affiliates or subsidiary companies is the core of their major business flow. Compare to other organizations, ANFLOCOR doesn’t produced goods or manufacture goods, but instead its focus and concerns are to its subsidiary companies. With the series of interview we had with the Senior Manager – IT and Management Services of the company, we identified some of their barriers in information system and information technology implementation.

Resistance to Technology
Resistance is present in almost everywhere. It is part of the action or activity in our daily life and in every change we plan to have. It is part of the circulation and it may or may not help to achieve the success in our action. As a matter of fact, without resistance things may won’t work well or make it balance. In a sense, it would serve as an evaluation of the action we did or the change we had.
More likely, people resist because they don’t want change. It may seems burden to them or not necessary to engage with. Frequently, resistance takes place due to lack of understanding to the changes and its implications, fear to lose something they value and missing skills or resources to carry out the change.

***In the said company, resistance of the end-users to implement new IS/IT is visible. It is one of the concerns of the IT personnel of the company every time they implement new system. End-users may experience the reasons why fear of change that is stated above. To point out, the said company does not directly consider their end-users or clients as “barrier” in implementing new IS. In fact, as a holding company, their focus is to the “internal service” they can offer to their client. They work for the benefit of its clients or customers. They also provide what the clients suggest or needed. In implementing new IS, client side and approval are sought first before the implementation made.
But, based on observation, it is most likely due to lack of orientation and evaluation to its users to the limitation, scope, parameters and opportunity of the change they plan to do.

Project Implementations Period
As stated earlier, end-user or clients approval plays a big role in implementing new IS. When a need of the client is shows, the company does their role of providing services and does the system as mandated by the clients. On the period of making the system, there would instances that alterations of the functionality occur as the pace of necessity move. In effect, it may consider as barrier in implementation of IS but only partially.


To all intents and purposes, barriers vary occasionally depending to the kind of organization. Organizations core value, concerns, goal, role, activity and priority play a significance role in every step of the way and pace of improvements. But still, a lot of factors still present and show now or later. Here are some of the potential risks and barriers in implementation of new IS that may occur in any kind of organization.


Potential Risks and Barriers in Implementation of New IS


Delayed Decision Making by External Agencies
- Delayed decisions by agencies may jeopardize timelines
- Decisions that alter requirements may affect contracts


Negative Customer Reaction
- Customer may not be satisfied because needs may not meet.
- May be customer backlash if expected benefits don’t materialize
- Customers may not be satisfied with implementation rate of program
- Customers may see this as a way to justify increase in bills

Public Pressure on Government to Change Direction
- Program will not be completed prior to some political events
- Public pressure on government to reverse decisions


Changing Technologies
- The rapid change of the technology may also be considered as barrier. Changes in technological aspect also consider before implementing new IS that in effect relate to planning. As a result, it can insure the effectiveness of the new system and cope up in the competing issue in the market.


Similarly, group processes can be as straightforward or as complex as the individuals who make up the organization. It is vital to successfully launching a new program that the leaders understand the strengths, weaknesses, and idiosyncrasies of the organization or system in which they operate. Try to anticipate barriers to implementation so that you can develop strategies to minimize their impact or avoid them altogether. The following list of common barriers can be used to help your leadership team identify potential obstacles. The list of essential elements for change can help the team brainstorm possible solutions. The lists are a good starting point for a planning session that will be most effective if it also takes into account the organization's unique characteristics.
Common Barriers
• Studying the problem too long without acting
• Trying to get everyone's agreement first
• Educating without changing structures or expectations
• Tackling everything at once
• Measuring nothing or everything
• Failing to build support for replication
• Assuming that the status quo is OK
More Barriers to Change
• Lack of such resources as time and commitment
• Resistance to change
• Lack of senior leadership support or physician champion
• Lack of cooperation from other agencies, providers, departments, and facilities
• Ineffective teams
• Burdensome data collection
Essential Elements for Change Effort
• Define the problem
• Define the target population
• Define effective treatment strategies and establish procedural guidelines
• Establish performance measures; set goals
• Define effective system changes and interventions
• Develop leadership and system change strategy


To address the problem, there are 3 things to consider in implementing new IS:

Still, as difficult as major IT implementations can be, they can be properly executed. The roadmap to success lies in successful planning and management of the overall project. Many problems can be avoided or at least mitigated by paying constant attention to the "three R's" of project management: requirements, resources and recovery rates.
These three R's comprise the foundation of effectively planning and implementing projects. Successful large-scale project managers measure each of these project components and continuously communicate their status to senior management and the project team.

Requirements
The requirements of an IT implementation define the core reasons a business is investing time and resources in the project. The requirements of a project, often referred to as the project scope, must clearly set out what the project team is expected to deliver, and should be documented in detail.
By accurately documenting the work that needs to be done, the project manager can provide senior management with a better understanding of the time frames and resources that will be required to complete the project.
Prior to commissioning a major initiative, senior management should require the project team to complete a cost/benefit analysis. This analysis should outline high-level deliverables that will result from the project meeting its goals. The project team also should define metrics and benchmarks that can be used to measure the benefits of change and the progress and completion of each deliverable.
For example, if a new system is being deployed that reduces the time required to print, sort and attach hangtags, the current amount of time required to complete these activities must be accurately benchmarked. After the new system has been deployed, management can compare the new tagging time requirements against the historical benchmarks and quantify the amount of time saved.

Resources
The second of the 3 R's -- resources -- includes all employees, consultants and vendors who are required to successfully complete the project. Resources also encompass the budgets, capital expenditures, equipment and infrastructure necessary to achieve the requirements of the project within the target time frame. Resources are the most important commodities of the project. Without them, none of the project requirements will be completed. They also can be the most difficult aspect of a project to accurately pinpoint.

In determining the amount of resources that will be required to complete a project, many base their calculations on the firm's number of full-time employees (FTEs). Deriving an accurate FTE count, however, can be a difficult task. Thousands of variables change the resource requirements of major projects on a daily basis. People become ill, quit, go on vacations and take maternity or paternity leave.
When establishing an estimate for a project, the project manager must consider the amount of work that needs to be completed and put a stake in the ground in terms of the resources that will be required to do the job. As the project progresses, it is important that the project manager revisit the original estimates with updated information, and adjust his or her team's size, budget projections, etc. accordingly.

Recovery Rates
The recovery rate can be measured from the time any requirements of the project are completed through the time the business begins to recover its capital investment. A classic mistake of many project managers is to focus 100 percent on the end of the project. If project managers do not develop and manage interim milestones, they are unable to determine the rate at which they are achieving project requirements. As a result, they are not able to clearly determine whether the project is on time and if it will meet the deadline.
In the end, requirements, resources and recovery rates must all be carefully balanced to successfully realize the benefits of a large-scale project that is on time and meets budget. As changes occur, it is imperative that the project manager identifies which of the three R's each change affects. When a project is in balance, any change to one of the three R's will cause a compensatory change in another. For example, as requirements are added to a project, either additional resources or additional time must be added to the initiative.



http://www.growthhouse/palliative
http://www.mywhatever.com/cifwriter/content/22/4481.html
http://informationr.net/tdw/publ/papers/1989ISstrat.html