Managing the Delivery of Information Services

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Chapter 10

• Managing the Delivery of Information Services

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Structuring the IS FunctionLocating Control
Resources

• Organizing the IS function involves deciding
• How much control to centralize in a corporate IS
  staff
• How much to distribute throughout the
  organization

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Structuring the IS FunctionLocating Control
Resources
Figure 10-3
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Structuring the IS FunctionOutsourcing

• Outsourcing Hiring an outside organization to
  perform services such as information processing
  and applications development

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Structuring the IS FunctionOutsourcing
Table 10-2
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Structuring the IS FunctionAccounting for Costs

• Unallocated cost center
• Considers all costs of operating the IS
  department and related IS services as an
  organizational expense
• Allocated cost center
• The IS department allocates and charges its costs
  to the departments that use its services
• Profit center
• Bids for the work of internal users, charges
  internal users what it would charge external
  users, and often actively seeks external users

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Managing the IS FunctionStaffing

• Chief information officer
• Manages its information-related resources and
  activities
• Chief technology officer
• Has a staff and budget to pilot new technologies
  on real or hypothetical applications

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Managing the IS FunctionStaffing

• Data and database administrators
• Organize, manage, and guarantee the integrity of
  an organization's data
• Network administrator
• Oversees the corporate network, including both
  LANs and WANs

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Managing the IS FunctionStaffing

• Web master
• Responsible for the management, evolution, and
  sometimes development of an organizations Web
  site
• Project manager
• Directs a software development project and
  ensures that the project meets user requirements
  within a specified budget and time frame

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Managing the IS FunctionStaffing

• Applications Development Manager
• Monitors and coordinates the development of all
  software applications
• Systems analyst
• Refers to a technical position associated with
  all aspects of the systems development life cycle
  except programming and focused most directly on
  needs analysis

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Managing the IS FunctionStaffing

• Software engineers
• Analysts with CASE skills
• Programmer
• Technical position associated with the production
  of custom software
• Operations and Tech Support Staff
• Install, maintain, and operate the computers and
  communications equipment

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Managing the IS FunctionStaffing

• Data Entry
• Low-skilled, low-paid position in the IS
  hierarchy and work for companies that process
  large numbers of paper transactions

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Managing the IS Function Staffing
Figure 10-5
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Managing the Information Systems Function

• Measuring and Improving Performance
• Service level agreements
• Specifies a guaranteed level of performance on a
  variety of dimensions
• Help business managers trade off cost against the
  level of service they want from their technology
  support staff

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Managing the Information Systems Function

• Selecting and Enforcing Standards
• A standard is a rule governing the types of
  investments organizations may make in information
  technology and systems
• Managers need to decide
• What to standardize
• What standards to accept in each domain
• How rigidly to enforce standards

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Managing the Information Systems Function
Table 10-6
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Managing the Information Systems Function

• Disaster Planning
• Refers to the process of anticipating disasters
  and providing for appropriate responses to keep a
  business operating after a disaster

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Managing the Information Systems Function

• Managing Security
• Security policy
• Addresses proper security practices and methods
  of enforcing those practices

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Managing Change

• Aligning With the Business
• Steering committee
• Includes top business managers, selected users,
  IS managers, and technical specialists who
  provide direction and vision about the use and
  development of the IS infrastructure

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Managing Change

• Developing an Information Technology Architecture
• Information Technology Architecture
• Describes an enterprise-wide, long-term
  structural plan for investing in and organizing
  information technology

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Managing ChangeIT Architecture

• Application architecture
• Identifies existing systems, their strengths,
  weaknesses, and interdependencies
• Network architecture
• Addresses wide and local area network strategies
• Addresses data, voice, and their potential
  combination on a digital network
• Hardware and Platform architecture
• Refers to planning for computer systems and
  operating systems software

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Managing Change

• Developing Staff
• Need strategy for hiring, developing, and
  training staff to retain technical skills
• Training contributes to job satisfaction

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End of Chapter 10

• Managing the Delivery of Information Services