Numerous information systems and their impact on project success
Numerous information systems have been unable to perform as expected or be operational at the specified time and these have rendered them as failed projects. The fundamental problems associated with information systems include cost, design, operations, and data and they have a significant impact on the success or failure of a project.\u00a0 A project is considered to have failed when it is unable to capture vital business requirements, or its user interface is confusing, data is incomplete or inaccurate, and it is costly to implement. Similarly, in an event where the intended information is not provided in an efficient manner and in the stipulated time then such information system project was not successful. The relationship between system designers and end users in the process of implementation is very vital since their role at each stage has an impact on the success of the project.\u00a0 How the system designers, decision makers, and end users handle crucial issues at each step in the implementation process will determine the success of organizational change.
Risk factors in information system projects
For the information system project to be error-free and prosperous in achieving its mission, the management must be able to deal with the risks present in the project. However, if the project is under poor control and also it is poorly organized, then it is bound to suffer from poor technical performance, cost overruns, inability to achieve the anticipated benefits as well as delays in completion.
Three principal risk factors that influence the level of risk in an information system project include project structure, project size, and technical skills of the staff working on the system development.\u00a0 The size of the project determines the cost of the project, time that will be needed to complete the project, its complexity and the number of organizational units that will be involved in the project. The chance of an information system project to fail is directly proportional to the size of the project, and therefore a big project is more susceptible to failing. The structure defines the project and helps in reducing the risk involved by enabling end users to understand their needs and what the system need to do for them. A highly structured project is subjected to low risk since the users have an idea of what they want and what they expect from the system. Furthermore, the level of risk will rise if the staffs of the information systems and the team working on the project do not have the necessary expertise in the system's software, hardware, and database management as needed in the project (Fleenor). In such cases where the technical experience is lacking, it will be difficult for the team to complete the project on time and also the cases of errors will be more.
Managing project risks and user involvement
Internal tools can be used to manage the technicalities of a project which will help the team in developing the information system by giving the members the required experience to avoid problems that may lead to slow down. By using PERT and Gantt charts that are formal tools in project planning and control help to document all the requirements and put them in order. Besides, to manage these project risks, there must be user involvement which makes them part of the team and works together to ensure that the information system meets the requirements by identifying the errors and bugs that could otherwise lead to its failure.
The failure of the Hilton Hotels Information System
The CONFIRM project was meant to help the customers of Hilton Hotels to make bookings for hotel reservations and car rental via an online system. This move could have made the booking process more manageable for both the company and the clients. However, this project crumbled after the developers were unable to complete the project on time. The problem that led to the failure of the CONFIRM project was caused by a lack of necessary skills to develop a good design at the initial stage (Flowers 37). At some point, AMRIS president resigned and also twenty staff from the team left the project and this called for staff changes. Introduction of new staff members that needed training contributed to the delay in completing the project. The failure of this project is therefore connected to project size, structure, and technical experience of the team staff.
Work cited
Flowers, S. Software Failure: Management Failure: Amazing Stories and Cautionary Tales. Addison-Wesley,1996. P 37
Fleenor, J. The Importance of Change Management in Information System Success and Failure. https://sites.google.com/site/ist305f12jfleenor/chapter-14.
Accessed June 16, 2018.
