Free Essay: System Development

Organizational Goal

The organizational goal of this organization is the development of an enterprise resource planning finance system. For this to be achieved, the company shall have three levels of governance. The first level shall be the executive level, which shall be charged with the designing of the finance system. The second level shall be focused on the implementation of the program, which shall involve the installation of the program in the organization. The last level shall be concern with the ongoing operations that shall ensure the smooth implementation of the system.

Complexities of Information System Technologies (IST)

Although information system technology is an important technology to be integrated in an organization, it usually comes with challenges. One of them is that the management team should have a better understanding of whether it will expand its already existing information system or replace it. In all the cases, the management team will have to finance the project, hence the financial commitments that are attached to information system technology (McKeen, & Smith, 2009). The management should also determine whether bit will undertake the development its system from scratch or it will use an existing system in the market. If the management team opts to use an existing system in the market, it should know how to obtain it.

On the other hand, if the management team decides to create its own system, it should hire professionals to develop it. For the purpose of this paper, the company will use the program implementation department since it has skilled workforce. This department has the skills and the technical knowledge required for the proposed information system. Third, the information system comes with technical issues that one should put into consideration in the process of choosing the right infrastructure (Pearlson & Sanders, 2010). These issues include the scalability and security. Based on this, the executive department shall assign the program implementation department the role of evaluating all the technical issues related to the system.

Alignment among Objective, Information system and Organizational Strategies

In order to come up with an efficient information system, the management team of the organization should align the system with the objectives and strategies of the company. This can only occur if the implementation of the team understands the goals and strategies of the organization. In this case, the organizational strategy shall be able to have in place, good governance system in the company that shall be responsible for overseeing the implementation of the system. The system of governance shall have three levels and every level shall play its unique role in making sure that the process of the implementation of the system is successful.

Besides, the other goal of the company should be installing a financial system and making sure that it meets the standards and specifications of the company. Therefore, it is important that while installing the finance system, the department charged with the implementation of the program should consider both the strategy and the objective of the organization, and make sure that they are aligned with the system. The department shall undertake this by depending on the executive department that understands the needs of the company (Pearlson, & Saunders, 2010).

Tools, Metrics and Process of Accomplishing Organizational Objective

The department undertaking the implementation of the program shall propose all the required tools for the program. This shall include the number of computers that are required in the organization, the software and peripheral equipments as proposed by the department. The executive department shall only approve all these tools once they are highlighted by the program implementation department. Once the proposal is made, the executive department shall determine whether those tools meet the specifications of the system or not. The executive department shall do this by making comparison on the expectation of the program implementation department from these tools and what it proposes, as the structure and design of the system (Lucas, 2005).

Based on the metrics and the process, the organization shall emphasize on four items. The first item is that the company shall determine the entire vocabulary of the project to all its three levels of governance by requesting every department to give its definitions. The company shall also focus on teamwork and encourage groups to work as a unit. The third item will require the company to define the project cycle and its process of implementation. Last, the organization shall mandate the executive department with the management of the project.

Governance hierarchical structure

Executive Level

The executive level shall include the managers, board of directors, chief information officer and chief compliance officer of the organization. This department shall oversee the structure and the design of the system. It shall also conduct the monitoring of its overall performance. Apart from these three roles, the executive shall also develop a business strategy and requirements that shall help in meeting the objectives of the information system. In a nut shell, although the executive department shall not implement the program directly, it shall guide the implementation of the program indirectly. The executive department shall also do so by making sure that the department charged with the implementation of the program fulfils the mission of the organization (McKeen, & Smith, 2009).

Thus, the executive department shall set the necessary standards of the finance system it expects the program implementation department to produce at the end of the exercise. In this case, the executive department shall also give its submissions on the design of the system, its structure and the role that it shall play in the organization. It shall also follow the implementation process keenly to ensure that the program implementation department meets its objectives. By doing so, the executive department shall come up with the business vision and make amends where necessary. This means that the executive department shall communicate its plan to the department charged with the implementation of the program.

The vision of the executive is communicated to enhance the development of a finance system that will not hinder the operations of the organization in future. This is because the executive department is the sole bearer of the company’s vision. If the executive fails to play its role, the program implementation department is likely to come up with a finance system that may in future, impact the operations of the company negatively.

The involvement of the program implementation department will also help in making sure that the company shall invest in expertise, thereby addressing the complexity of the information system technology (Pearlson, & Saunders, 2010). The executive department shall hold general meetings with all employees in the company so as to initiate the program. It shall also hold other important meetings with the program implementation department to find out about the success of the project.

Program Implementation

The department that is mandated with the implementation of the program shall include the information technology manager who shall head the department and the information technology employees of the organization. This department shall have the responsibility of implementing the information technology strategies and solutions that are new to the organization for enhancing the competitiveness, productivity and profitability of the company. In response to this, the department shall procure computers, the necessary software and peripheral equipments necessary for the installation of the finance system.

The department shall provide information to the executive on the operations of the company. This shall involve everything that the department shall require for the implementation of the program. The group will be mandated with developing the finance system, since the executive department shall design it. Guided by experience, the group shall, thus, advise the executive department on the program implementation process (Lucas, 2005). This shall be an important step for the program implementation department because it will be able to link the infrastructure with the bearers of the vision.

The program implementation department shall be mandated with developing the necessary finance programs that shall be applicable in the organization as per the vision developed by the executive department. This shall involve the translation of the vision into the infrastructure. It shall also involve the installation of the necessary hardware and software in the operations of the organization. On the other hand, in order to address the challenges in the system, the program implementation department shall often hold meetings with the ongoing operations department.

Ongoing Operations

The ongoing operations department shall include other workers in the organization that are not part of these two departments and not part of the support department. The people shall execute the roles or objectives outlined by the project implementation department. This shall entail the use of the installed software in the company, and raising concerns about the challenges experienced in the execution of the system (McKeen, & Smith, 2009). This will in turn help in addressing the problems.