Page 216 - DCAP302_ENTERPRISE_RESOURCE_PLANNING

Enterprise Resource Planning

notes 2. Competitive advantage: Exploiting IT to create innovative and strategic business
information systems for competitive advantage.
3. Resource Management: Developing plans for the efficient and effective management of
an organisations information systems resources including the IS personnel, hardware,
software, data and network resources.
4. Technology Architecture: Developing technology policies and designing information
technology architecture for the organsation.
Planning for competitive advantage is very critical in to-days competitive and complex information
technology environment. Strategic IS planning is therefore involves an evaluation of potential
benefits and the risks a organizations phases when using IT for competitive advantage.
Tactical planning builds on the business / IT strategies developed in the strategic IS planning
stage. Tactical planning produces project proposals for the development of new or improved IS
that implement the IT architecture created during the strategic IS planning. These are evaluated
and selected for development. A resource allocation plan is developed to specify the IS resources,
financial commitments and organizations changes needed to implement IS development plan.
An organizations requires to evaluate and select hardware and software typically they require
suppliers, present bits and proposals based on systems specifications developed during the design
stage of systems development. Minimum acceptable performance and physical characteristics for
hardware and software requirements are established and these are listed in formal documents
called a request for proposal (RFP). A formal evaluation process reduces the possibility of buying
inadequate or unnecessary computer hardware or software. The performance of hardware and
software must be evaluated on various predefined evaluation factors.
Operational IS planning involves a detailed planning for the accomplishment of the new
information systems development projects including the preparation of the operating budgets.
Project planning is an important function which involves the development of guidelines /
procedures, schedules for deployment, training of end users and co-ordination with the top
management.
Other activities under implementation include system testing, documentation and training of
both users and Information System personnel. The initial operation of a new computer based
system is a challenge. It involves a conversion process in which the procedures, equipments, input
/ output media, and databases of an existing information systems need to be converted to the
requirements of new systems. The people need to be reoriented and trained on the new system.
The different approaches for this are parallel conversion, phased conversion, pilot conversion
and plunge / direct cut over approach.

In parallel conversion both old and the new system are operated until both the IS team and the
end users management agree to switch over to online operations. This helps in identifying errors
and correcting them and also creating confidence in the users. A phased conversion allows a
gradual implementation process to take place within an organizations. Similar benefits accrue
from a pilot conversion where one department serves as a pilot site.
Once a system is fully implemented and being used by end users the maintenance function begins.
Systems maintenance is the monitoring, evaluating, and modifying operational information
system to make desirable or necessary improvements. The maintenance activity includes a post
of implementation review process to ensure that newly implemented system meet the system
development objectives. This includes periodic review or audit of a system to ensure that it is
operating properly and meeting its objectives and for continually monitoring the systems for
potential problems or necessary changes due to organizational / business environment.

Did u know? A client is a computer such as a PC or a workstation attached to a network,
which is used to access shared network resources. A server is a machine that provides
clients with these services.

210 LoveLy professionaL university