IMAT5206: Organisational and Intra-Organisational Structures - Legacy Systems - Management Assessment Answer

Subject Code: IMAT5206 Internal Code: 1AHADA

Management Assessment Answer

TASK: Story 1 Information Systems (IS) and organisational structures (IMAT5206) Information systems (IS) and organisational structures are often entangled. Organisational structure dictate the way information systems are structured in an organisation. But additionally, the introduction of information systems will alter the structure of the organisation. This influence can be partly through the impact of newly implemented information systems such as enterprise resource packages on the business processes of the organisation and the subsequent effect on organisational structure. Equally, legacy systems can lock in organisational structure so changes in structure are much more difficult to make.

Tasks

1. Using some examples, perhaps a case study, and diagrams explain how information systems implementation might affect organisational structure. How do information systems, business processes and organisational structure connect? Assess the value of implementing new information systems to catalyse organisational structure change.

Story 2 Legacy Systems (IMAT5206) In many organisations, key information systems have been in place for many years. These systems often run core business processes such as billing and logistics. Such systems are known as legacy systems and have a number of properties. They are usually based on old technology, perhaps using mainframe languages such as COBOL. Their documentation is weak, if lost. Nobody really knows how they work, and nobody is prepared to attempt to change the system. While the technology is old, the system works well and acts as an engine for key business processes. Replacing it would be prohibitively expensive, so it tends to get left alone. This makes things very difficult if we want to connect it to a new system or provide a data feed to a new system. Means need to be found to replace legacy systems. This may involve enclosing it in a new interface and gradually removing and replacing parts of the legacy system. But legacy systems are also a source of rich data and can have new purpose, as demonstrated in the case of the Uruguayan Perinatal Care Information System.

Tasks

1. Define and give examples of legacy systems in organisations. Explain why they are important. Outline the problems with them. How can legacy systems freeze organisational structure and inhibit changes in business process? Give a case study of the problematical effect of a legacy system. Survey the solutions to legacy systems. How can they be replaced?
2. Today’s legacy systems are the large mainframe transaction systems. Will there be new legacy systems in 10 years’ time? Will they have the same problems? What are the good things about legacy systems?

Story 3 Retail IT (IMAT5206) Retail organisations such as Marks and Spencer, Tesco’s and John Lewis depend on a large array of IT systems and infrastructure to maintain the business and retail competitive advantage. In a time where multiple channel are critical, connecting systems and delivering a wide portfolio of information systems is very important. Information systems will range from the e-commerce site, which must integrate with inventory systems, through electronic point of sales (EPOS), enterprise resource planning (ERP), warehousing, logistics, and procurement. Not only do systems need to connect inside the company, but also the retailer needs to connect effectively to suppliers for which IT systems are key. There is clearly an increasing role for apps in retail.

Tasks

Select a particular major retail organisation.

1. Describe their strategy and current operations. Explore the retail systems the company uses. Create a systems map to trace how these systems connect together.
2. To what extent are the systems built in-house or provided by IT suppliers. Where possible identify the IT suppliers. How were the systems procured and implemented?
3. Explain how the systems are supported and what types of organisation and processes are required. Identify key problems and issues facing retail IT. Suggest the technology and business trends which might affect retail IT in 2017.

Story 4 Government IT Projects (IMAT5206) Large government IT projects over a number of years have been beset with failures which have cost billions (Table 1). Often systems are abandoned and written off. Work has to restart. The most prominent failure has been the UK NHS’s National Programme for IT (NPfIT) which did not result in a central patient database of electronic health records, and in which the Choose and Book system was only abandoned in late 2014. While lessons are identified, particularly by the public accounts committee and the National Audit Office, they never seem to be learnt and there are characteristics patterns. One of the most spectacular failures was the FIReControl system that was expected to deliver a national fire response system based around 9 control centres. Although the control centres were built, they were never used for their intended purpose and the information system was abandoned at a cost of £469 million. Currently the development of the Universal Credit system has been in trouble, having lost its external IT suppliers and abandoned an agile approach. It is likely that there are some underlying systemic issues.

Tasks

1. Produce a description of the FIReControl case study and identify possible reasons for the failure of this government IT system. To what extent has the failure to do with the technology and to what extent was it to do with the management, organisational and political structures? Are there any lessons we can learn about the role of IT systems in organisations and the connection between organisational structure and politics?
2. Investigate the current state of the Universal Credit IT system. Produce a brief overview of the Universal Credit IT system and how it reached its precarious current position. Produce a table that compares FIReControl and come to some conclusions on how we might protect the taxpayer from bankrolling future IT failures.

Story 5 Universal Credit IT System (IMAT5206) Universal Credit is a government system which intends to unify six different benefits into one system: “The overhaul of the welfare system has been driven by Mr Duncan Smith, who argues that too many people are trapped on benefits. He says the changes are designed to make work pay - instead of people seeing their income drop when they move off benefits and into low-paid work. The move is also a bid to simplify the system by merging a string of working-age benefits and tax credits into one single payment, called universal credit. This is supposed to reduce the amount of fraud and error that hits the benefits system amounting to billions of pounds a year.”

Tasks

1. Describe universal credit and outline the computer systems involved. How is universal credit supported to work? Create a timeline and describe the progress of universal credit to date, including the two systems and the “reset”. Identify the main problems that universal credit has hit, and describe the role of agile. What do you think are the fundamental problems? Do you think there has been too much secrecy, for example?
2. Does the case of universal credit identify fundamental lessons about systems development and contract management? If so what? As far as you can tell, what is the current state of universal credit IT development? Universal credit will be a problem for the new UK government. What recommendations would you give?

Story 6 Systems Integration (IMAT5206) Systems integration concerns the connecting of IT systems in an organisation to enable a company-wide flow of information and to support integrated business processes. It requires connecting separate units to create a continuous information flow, creating a seamless information flow, breaking down information silos and transforming a heterogeneous environment into a homogenous environment. However, it is difficult to do. It involves connecting disparate datasets, addressing interface style, and processes. It is about consistency management. Although not a lot is written about it, systems integration is often the main activity in IT departments.

Tasks

1. Using an illustration produce your definition of systems integration. Identify the main problem areas with systems integration. Identify and explain, with examples, approaches to consistency management involving common data representation (e.g. the NHS data model), compatible interface structures, and consistency across systems and reusability.
2. Discuss the process of IT systems integration. What are the steps that need to be undertaken? IT systems integration will be a key activity when two companies merge, what will be the problems and issues associated with such integration?

Story 7 ERP (IMAT5206) Enterprise resource planning (ERP) packages provide a standardised company-wide system to support the primary business processes. ERP software integrates standard business functions into one complete system to streamline processes and information across the entire organization. Functions include inventory and order management, accounting, human resources, and customer relationship management (CRM), based around a shared database that different divisions – sales, finance – can all access.

Tasks

1. What is an ERP? How have we arrived at the sophisticated systems such as MySAP we have today? Using an example system such as MySAP, explain the functionality of an ERP. What hardware resources does it require?
2. What are the benefits of ERPs? How would you persuade an organisation to adopt an ERP? Outline a process for ERP implementation.
3. Many ERP implementations fail. Using an example such as Hershey’s chocolate (there are many others to choose from) identify some core problems and issues that arise during implementation.

Story 8 The IT department (IMAT5206) The support of information systems in organisation requires the development of an IT organisation, a department which supports the procurement, delivery and continued service of a range of enterprise systems and other systems in the organisation. How this is to be structured is a matter of debate. It can be a centralised department which serves all the needs of the organisation and where IT is centrally procured. It can be decentralised, where each function or section of the organisation has its own IT unit. An alternative approach is federal where some key functions of IT are operated central and some locally. IT may be organised around its customers or around the technology. Often the temptation is to take a too technical view. Additionally an IT department needs standards and processes. Standards may include service standards such as ISO20000, governance standards such as ISO 38000 and specific specialist standards such as the ISO270001 security standards. Processes will cover approaches to development such as agile methods like Scrum and service processes such as the ITIL best practice processes. These need to be implemented over time; structure, skills and processes need to build up and the IT department needs to be a learning organisation, relating to the organisation it serves and aligned to its business.

Tasks 

1. Explore some examples of IT organisation. What are typical structures for IT? Is there a best structure? Provide a couple of case studies of IT organisation and critically appraise them. Identify the key management roles which will be required in the IT organisation, including the Chief Information Officer (CIO).
2. Expand on the differences between centralised, decentralised and federal IT structures. What are the advantages and disadvantages of each? Find out about how the structure of the IT department might be aligned with the structure of the organisation.
3. Define a standard. Why is it important for an IT department to adopt standards? What are the most common standards used in IT? Differentiate between best practice and standards. What is shadow IT?

Story 9 Top Technology Issues (IMAT5206) In 2018 IT management will face both traditional and new problems, opportunities and threats, Technical change is a constant. Areas such as cloud computing, the Internet of Things (IoT), virtualisation, and mobile computing will have a significant effect on the management of information systems. Additional to technological change and innovation are the management concerns of IT directors. Mobile technology may be a key focus. Cybersecurity, which has been of increasing importance over the recent years, may be critical to some organisations. We have seen the problems Sony has faced and the increasing prevalence of cyber warfare. While predicting the future is notoriously difficult. (Remember Thomas Watson’s ‘The world will only ever need 5 computers’), and understanding of trends and important issues is important in developing strategy and maintaining a competitive edge. CIO’s need to consider the up and coming issues. It is also interesting to review what CIOs thought were the strategic issues and whether they turned out to be important. Often these don’t change much (see Top 10 US State CIO priorities for 2015).

Tasks

1. Develop a list of the top tech technology issues for 2017. Briefly explain each issue. Identify the top 10 management of information systems issues you think need to be addressed in 2017. To what extent are these common issues to all industry sectors?
2. Consider the specific issues in the Higher education and State government issues. To what extent is it really a case of nothing new, nothing changes? Identify three issues you think should be tackled as part of the Management of Information Systems module.

Session 2 Information System Procurement and Implementation (IMAT5206) Procurement of information systems. Developing a data centre. Procurement of information systems. Roles of information systems suppliers. Tenders, proposals and contracts. Monitoring IT suppliers. Developing a data centre. Implementation. Implementation failures. The case of Connecting for Health. For any Information Technology department, a range of systems must be procured. While some information systems may be developed in-house, a majority of application, hardware and resources managed in a typical IT department are bought in. That requires the management of suppliers, the development of relationships with suppliers, dealing with contracts and monitoring contracts. Not only are procurement concepts and skills not given much treatment in information systems courses, the practice is often found wanting. Failure in government IT are often down to failure in OT procurement and supplier management. In this session we will explore a range of issues specific to the procurement of IT systems in organisations. We will develop an understanding of suppliers, examine the tendering process and develop processes for procurement. We must structure the Invitation to Tender. This involves understanding the requirements and translating them into a set of mandatory and desirable requirements. Further on in the process, once we have shortlisted possible suppliers and systems, we will need to evaluate potential candidates this may involve demonstrations, visits to other sites and formal presentations to IT departments, managers and users. A major aspect of the work in information systems management will involve the introduction of the right systems and services into the organisation to ensure competitive support and delivery of information throughout the organisation. Primarily this will involve importing systems: hardware, applications and services: support, software development, maintenance, training etc. into the organisation rather than producing them in-house. This means that information system management needs to develop skills in connecting with suppliers, evaluating what they offer, negotiating contracts, selecting and implementing systems and services, and maintaining on-going relationships with suppliers. ERPs started as systems to support materials requirements planning in manufacturing and expanded in complexity and scope. The ERP integrates and automates core business processes, bring great benefits in information flow and hence business process flow. However, implementation is difficult and complex. Old systems must be replaced and the usual approach is to implement modules of ERP in a staged rollout and gradually build up the ERP. Costs of implementation can be great, as can failure. Hershey, the chocolate company’s first implementation resulted in a loss of $150 million and a 35% drop in their share price. Story 1 Information Systems Procurement (IMAT5206) Information systems procurement is a challenging process. It will involve a number of steps, from defining the requirements, through create an invitation to tender through to signing a contract and moving to implementation. We may be procuring an application such as an ERP. This will involve defining software, hardware along with aspects of integration, warranty and support. Along the way it will involve the evaluation of proposals and attending demonstrations by suppliers. Procurement of IT can be done centrally by IT department, or by user departments (fairly rare, I guess) or it can be part of general procurement in the organisation.

Tasks

1. Define and explain the expected steps in procuring an IT system for a large organisation. Research some examples of IT procurement processes for organisations. Evaluate and compare. What do you think are the most critical steps? Using a case study, illustrate some of the problems encountered in IT system procurement.
2. Explain the difference between the IT procurement process and the IT procurement policy. Gather some IT procurement policies from various organisations and provide an analysis of them. Explain the benefits and problems around an IT procurement policy. Compare centralised versus decentralised procurement. Provide recommendation for why centralised procurement is a good idea in a large organisation
3. The Invitation to Tender. The invitation to tender is the first step in procurement. Describe the purpose of the Invitation to Tender. Outline a structure or template for an invitation to tender. Find an example of an ITT and critically review it. What are the problem and issues that need to be considered in developing an invitation to tender? Explain how an ITT for procuring software and hardware might differ from an ITT to procure IT services.
4. Evaluation. Once we have a short list of suppliers to provide a software application – ERP is a good example – we need to evaluate short listed suppliers. By this point we have an ITT and the supplier’s responses. How do we evaluate? Identify the purpose and expected outcome of an evaluation step. Describe with examples the methods might you use? (Include demonstration, presentations, trials, etc.). Explain how the user or customer can be involved. Explain how the evaluation process will result in the selection of a system and critical appraise the place of cost, or rather taking the cheapest offering in the evaluation process.

Story 2 Information System Implementation (IMAT5206) Once a selection has been made and a supplier appointed, the process of application implementation and roll out becomes important. For major systems implementation such as ERP, EPOS, and Patient Management Systems, this is a major project which will involve the users in activities such as user acceptance testing, setting up the IT service and integrating the new system with existing systems, providing the system, installing, training etc.

Tasks

1. Using a case study, follow through the steps of implementation. Create a model project plan identifying the range of activities. Explain the different roles of customer IT staff, users, managers and sponsors and supplier staff. At what point do we move from implementation to support?
2. Implementation is beset by difficulties and pitfalls. Many implementations fail to deliver all they promise. A bad implementation can destroy a company. The NHS National Programme for IT was a substantial implementation failure. Describe the main implementation elements of NPFiT. What elements were successfully implemented? Which ones failed? Explain the problems with Choose and Book that led to even that system being dropped. What were the main failure factors? What general lessons about IT implementation do you think can be learn from NPFit (otherwise known as Connecting for Health)?

Story 3 Implementation of Mainframes (IMAT5206) Over 10% of business IT works on mainframes. All credit card transactions, most banking transactions and much travel and retail work is done on mainframes which are transaction processing machines working at a high rate on processing transactions. The recent release of the IBM z13 might herald an increase in the role and usage of mainframes. Mainframes require a different approach to information system management. Systems programmers are required and quite a big team to implement and operate a mainframe.

Tasks

1. Contrast Client/ Server, Thin Client and Mainframe systems and architecture. Give a brief overview of the history of mainframes and their pedigree which goes right back to LEO and, for the z13, goes from the IBM1401, through 360,370 and 380 series, e900s and through to the z series. With a case study, identify the uses of mainframes and discuss the advantages.
2. Using material from the launch of the IBM z13, explain the architecture of the z13. Identify key feature of the z13 and discuss some of the issues faced in its development and manufacture. Outline IBM’s case for the z13, particularly in terms of mobile computing, cloud computing and business analytics. Comment on the future of mainframes and the prospects for the z13 being a success and returning the billion dollars IBM have invested in it.
3. Using a case study, explain how you would implement a mainframe system. Once you have selected the mainframe and have a contract you must consider creating a physical environment for it, the staffing required, planning the workload and the allocation of virtual machines, transferring systems and data to the new mainframe through a migration process. Discuss some of the problems you might encounter in setting up a mainframe operation.

Story 4 The anatomy of a supplier (IMAT5206) There is a great variety of IT suppliers. Some provide hardware only, such as servers or printers. Some concentrate on specific applications such as ERP, quality systems or health systems. Others provide services whether, networking, help desk, or desktop. Some outsources will take over the entire IT services of an organisation. For example, IBM provide all IT services to University Hospital Leicester. Additionally, many act as remote suppliers of services, providing cloud or software as a service.

Tasks

1. Classifying IT suppliers: Identify the range of different IT suppliers in the IT industry. A skim through a recent copy of Computer Weekly will help in this. Create a classification of types of IT suppliers. What dimensions or characteristics will you use? Explore a range of examples of supplies of IT, right from networks, through IT services suppliers to large outsourcers. Size and range of services will probably be a characteristic.
2. Anatomy of a supplier. Present a portrait of Hewlett Packard. Consider history and evolution to current state. Problems and difficulties (including buying of Autonomy!). Research and development, range of services they offer. How they relate to customers. Evolution from hardware builder and suppler to IT service company. Examples of customers and case study. Future of Hewlett Packard

 Story 5 Managing the Supplier(IMAT5206)  The procurement of system and services, the selection of a supplier and the implementation of the software and service is only the start. We must then manage the suppler on a day-to-day basis. Many of the skills required in the management of information systems focus not on technology but on the relationship with the supplier. This means considering aspects of suppler management. ITIL is one approach. IT addresses best practice in service management, and part of it addresses how we manage suppliers.

Tasks

1. Investigate the ITIL best practice for supplier management. Present the main steps ITIL suggests for supplier management. What is good supplier management? How do you measure performance and what are the critical success factors? Critically appraise ITIL supplier management. How might it be improved?
2. Contracts and Service Level Agreements. What should be in a contract with a supplier? How will the contract differ from the ITT and the SLA? Define an SLA. How do we get a balance between becoming pedantic and obsessed with the contract so we are constantly bickering about whether something is in the contract or not and talking in wishy-washy terms about partnerships and relationships which are not underpinned by concrete commitments to a contract?
3. Find a working example / case study of an SLA and critically appraise it What management structures, roles and responsibilities, meetings etc. would you set up to manage the SLA and ensure suppliers are delivering to it and develop and change the SLA? How do you develop an SLA?

Story 6 Procuring Services for Information Systems (IMAT5206) We have talked mostly about the procurement of application systems and software. However, information systems management will require some, if not a lot of service procurement. Rather than procuring a product we will be asking a company to provide a service over a set of information systems functions which might include networking, support desk functions, and IT service continuity. In moving from a product to a service we move from the discreet to the continuous, we involve the customer on a daily basis in delivering the service. This means that procuring a service needs to address more about the people and the process. The procurer needs to specify what they will do as well as what it is expected the provider will do. Many IT companies such as IBM and HP now view themselves more as a service company than a manufacturer of computers, they have moved away from the boxes to the delivery of the services for which the boxes are only one part.

Tasks

Using the example of IT service continuity and the provision of disaster recovery services, explain the differences between procuring software and procuring a service. You will need to explain what IT service continuity is and offer examples of companies providing IT service continuity and the services they provide. What are the specific issues that might be involved in procuring disaster recovery services? What do they tell us about the specific issues in procuring a service rather than a product? Story 7 Sole supplier procurement (IMAT5206) There are many different ways of procuring. We can procure different products and services from different suppliers depending on what is most suited to the organisation’s need. Alternatively we could appoint and work with just one supplier to provide all our technology needs. This is a sole supplier agreement. One example is DMU, which has a sole supplier agreement with Hewlett Packard. Sole supplier mean that the supplier provides certain products and services right across a sector.

Tasks

Explain what a sole supplier agreement is and how it works. Using several examples, identify the advantages and disadvantages of a sole supplier agreement. Explain how you would negotiate and start up a sole supplier arrangement. Additionally how might you end one? Story 8 Global sourcing of IT services (IMAT5206) Many companies in the UK now source IT services from countries across the globe. The sourcing of IT service suppliers in India is one such example. While this has its advantages in cost and efficiency, it brings with it problems concerning culture and service quality.

Tasks

1. Using a case study, illustrate how IT services are globally sourced and what the value of this. Explain how global sourcing of an IT service might be set up and identify some successes and failure in sourcing IT services from other countries. What are the problems with off-shore outsourcing?
2. What is the current trend? Are more companies outsourcing IT and IT services to countries such as India, Philippines etc., or are services returning to their home country? Are there also legal implications?

Story 9 Financing IT services (IMAT5206) A company with internal IT services, like one which has outsourced IT services, need to create charging model so that costs can be accounted for. How do you charge for a help desk call, for example, do you charge for each service request or just split the costs between the organisation’s departments? How can you use costing and charging to ensure the wise and effective use of IT services?

Tasks

Provide a review of the various approaches to IT charging, both as an internal process and as part of IT outsourcing. What is an IT chargeback model? How does it work and what are its benefits? Using an example, explain how the costs of IT are distributed and build up, particularly developing the concept of total cost of ownership. What is the best way of ensuring effective financing of IT systems and services? Explain some of the concepts and issues around charging for cloud services. Story 10 The Appliance Model (IMAT5206) New approaches to delivering systems and services are emerging all the time, including, for example desktop as a service. One new approach is the appliance model. Computer weekly describes this approach as: “In the appliance model, the supplier commits to preloading hardware with the necessary operating system and database, all tuned to data warehouse-type workloads in advance. Although further refinement will be necessary to optimise to the business’s specific demands, the appliance comes out of the box more attuned to the needs of a data warehouse than a generic transactional database. “

Tasks

Explain the appliance model. In what way is it a commoditisation of information systems? Investigate and present the offerings of some suppliers. Compare what they offer in order to summarize the concept and characteristics of a big data appliance. Explain the connection with big data. This is how IBM pitch their appliance: “Why IBM for Data Warehouse Appliances With simple deployment, out-of-the-box optimisation, no tuning and minimal on-going maintenance, the IBM Netezza data warehouse appliance has the industry’s fastest time-to-value and lowest total-cost-of-ownership.” Unpack this statement and explain the concepts in it. Story 11 Information Systems Management in Developing Countries The expectations of the value of information technology in developing countries has been very high. But often problems emerge. There may be too much dependency on outside help. Technical skills may not be available. Regulation can be either too severe or not sufficient. For many countries, such as Rwanda, Egypt, Nigeria and Uganda, information systems capital is installed without the underlying skills and training to maintain it and use it effectively. Perhaps a different approach is needed. Government strategy are often focuses not on the problems of the people in the country, but the needs and wishes of developed countries. This results in IT which only service the western countries and are not suited to the developing countries. They also base their strategies and policies on western models which are not suitable in the developing country.

Task

What are the main problems developing countries have concerning the deployment and effective use of information systems? How do National IT strategies help or hinder? Give your ideas on how a developing country can make effective use of IT and balance accessing the latest technology with developing an indigenous IT sector. Using a case study give an example of effective (or ineffective) IT deployment in a developing country. Session 3 From Data Centres to Business Analytics (IMAT5206) Cloud computing. Developing a data centre. Values and motivation for business intelligence. Tools and processes of business intelligence. Deriving and managing data for business intelligence. Effect of business intelligence on the organisation. Pitfalls and difficulties of business intelligence. IT Governance. How to manage and report to senior management. Story 1 Cloud Computing Cloud computing has become a key component in the delivery and management of information systems for many organisations. It offers flexibility, scalability and significant cost cases. Man companies which cannot afford large software implementation can access systems over the cloud using Software as a service. Additionally where demands on systems and servers varies and peaks such as Black Friday must be managed, cloud computing offers the ability to access computing resources on demand, and we do not have to service a large capacity in-house. But there are problems with cloud computing which need addressing, particularly around security. Procuring cloud computing requires and understand of current services and capacity, and identification of IT applications and services which would benefit and a definition of a business case.

Tasks

1. Using diagrams describe the concept of cloud computing. Discuss its reliance on data centres and identify what you would expect a cloud supplier to provide. Explain the difference between private cloud, public cloud and hybrid cloud. Using a case study, demonstrate how a company uses cloud services. Identify the benefits of cloud computing.
2. Using a case study, define and explain the steps that will need to be undertaken to evaluate, select, and procure procuring cloud services? What questions should you asked cloud service suppliers? How will you measure the benefits of cloud and implement a cloud service? What are the principle issues that need to be addressed in such contexts?

Story 2 Development and management of a data centre (IMAT5206) For many organisation, a central facility is provided which provides all the server and data requirements for the organisation. Here servers are provided which support numerous applications and systems. The value of a data centre is that the centralisation of resources enables better support and the concentration of expertise. Of course data centres are an essential element of Internet service providers and companies like Google and Facebook which will run very large server farms. Cloud service providers will also run large data centres. Examples would be data centres run by companies such as Hewlett Packard and Amazon that provide cloud services. These centre expand to cover large areas, some companies will run data centres in which they host servers for clients. Supporting servers for a number of companies provides economies of scale in which the outsourcer can provide 24/7 support which would be difficult for small companies to resource. The management of a data will involve the monitoring of servers, dealing with incidents and addressing, reliability, availability and serviceability.

Tasks

1. Using an example, walkthrough a data centre. Identify the environment required, the hardware and software which might be housed in the data centre. Discuss the application and systems which would be suitable to be hosted in a data centre. Identify the IT staff roles which would be required. Discuss the factors that would need to be considered in setting up a data centre.
2. Identify the issues of reliability, availability and serviceability which will be associated with the data centre. It is critical to maintain service continuity. Systems must continue to run if there is a fire, flood or earthquake. Survey the range of options for maintaining service continuity. These will range from the mirror sites which large banks run to cold sites. An alternative is to transfer the risk to a third party such as Sungard which provide disaster recovery (IT service continuity) service. Identify some disaster recovery companies. On what bases might it be worthwhile procuring IT service continuity services? For a medium sized data centre, suggest a suitable disaster recovery strategy and outline a plan for executing disaster recovery when a major fire destroys the facilities as recently happened in the case of North Oxfordshire District Council.
3. The need for efficient use of capacity in a data centre has led to the rise of virtualisation as a strategy for the deployment and use of servers. Using diagrams, explain what is meant by virtualisation. What are the advantages of virtualisation?
4. Data centres are large users of energy. Google datacentres in California use a significant proportion of the state’s energy. Concerns about energy supply are very important in locating data centres. Verizon, for example, decided against locating in London because of risks with the energy supply. Identify important issue to be addressed in information systems management in developing a Green IT strategy. Discuss the energy needs of a data centre and propose ideas and strategies for conserving energy in a data centre. Briefly outline the green IT maturity model, and suggest how it might be used in managing a data centre.

Story 3 Business Intelligence/Business Analytics (IMAT5206) The rise of business intelligence and business analytics has been an influence in the development of data centres. Machines such as the z13 now offer real time analytics in which, for example, the past purchases of a customer can be analysed while a transaction is taking place. Business analytics requires systems which can combine data from a number of sources into one coherent data base against which various kind of analysis can be applied which will support areas such as marketing, strategy development and product development. We will firstly examine two areas to develop an understanding of the scope and use of business analytics. We will then look at the process of business analytics development, particularly looking the extract, transform and load steps and problems associated with them. We will consider the management issues associated with them and finally extend our studies into the arena of big data.

Tasks

1. Business Intelligence in Education. Explain the concepts of Learning Analytics. (see for example, Learning analytics conference Identify a range of data sources which might be used for learning analytics. How might they be combined in a BI application? Comment on a possible data models. Having defined learning analytics, identify the benefits of it. Is learning analytics a disruptive technology? Using a case study, discuss how it might change higher education. Discuss the social and ethical problems associated with learning analytics. Value of learning analytics. Where the data comes from. Social and ethical problems of learning analytics.
2. Business intelligence as a driver of efficiency. Much discussion has centred around BI as a basis for marketing, particularly in focus making on individual customer interests (the demographic of one). However, much of business analytics addresses efficiencies, particularly in areas such as the supply chain and logistics. Using the magazine distribution case study (McBride, N. (2014) Business Intelligence in Magazine Distribution. International Journal of Information Management, 34(1) 58-62) explain how BI can drive efficiency. What are the driving forces which lead to the uptake of BI? How might BI influence relationships with suppliers and customer? Identify and explore management issues around BI, particularly concerning data storage, the ETL lifecycle, buying data and anonymization.
3. Developing Business Intelligence systems. Outline the Analytics life cycle (SAS). Using a case study, explain the steps in a BI methodology. What factors should be considered in evaluating and selection a BI platform? Classify BI users. Do different user groups need different management strategies? Explain what is meant by Extract, Transform, and Load. Does ETL pose problems for the management of information system?
4. Managing Big Data. Define Big Data. Where does it come from, why do companies consider it important? What are the benefits of developing Big Data applications? What are the costs? Explain the 5Vs of Bid Data: Volume, Velocity, Value, Veracity and Variety. What is HADOOP and how it is used? With large volumes of data being distributed and coming into the organisation, what are the management issues? How do we get strategic value out of big data?

Story 4 IT governance (IMAT5206) Governance concerns the structure, oversight and management processes which ensure the delivery of the expected benefits of IT in a controlled way to help enhance the long term sustainable success of the enterprise. This means we need the correct management structures, the correct reporting structures and good measureable indices.

Tasks

1. Introduction to IT Governance. Define in detail what IT governance is and how it differs from the management of information systems. Briefly overview ISO38500 and its five principles. Governance requires reporting structures. Identify the measurable elements you think IT departments should use to report to higher management. Introduce the balanced score card and consider how the measureable elements you have defined fit into the score card. What is Cobit? Overview Cobit principles and processes for IT governance. Find an example of IT governance structures in an organisation and critically appraise them.
2. Shared Services. In a time of austerity, IT budgets can be severely cut. One solution is for two companies to combine their IT into a shared service which provides IT to both companies. The idea of shared IT services has been particularly pursued in the public sector. Some local councils have started sharing IT services. It has been an important issues for central government, where attempts to share services have been recently criticised by the National Audit Office. Provide a definition of shared services. Explain why organisations such as local councils might share services. What would you expect to be in a business case for shared services? Outline the steps in a project to move IT services to a shared service. What are the possible business models? Discuss the problems and issues with shared services using a case study. Critically appraise the value of sharing services and suggest how a successful shared service should be developed.

Story 5 Public Cloud (IMAT5206) Public cloud is cloud services which are accessible by any person or organisation. Dropbox, OneDrive and Google Docs are examples. These services are used not just by individuals, but by organisations. Complex and confidential projects might be conducted using OneDrive. Company data may be maintained using the public services of a cloud provider such as Amazon. What are the risks with this? IT may be all very well storing family photographs on a public cloud, but it may be very different when it comes to running a major organisation.

Tasks

Find 4-5 public cloud providers (e.g. Dropbox, OneDrive, Google, Amazon) and review what they offer, compare and discuss. Identify the main problems that need to be addressed in selecting and uses public cloud services. How should an organisation use public cloud? As well as security and privacy, what are the other issues that should be addressed? What should be the guidelines for using public cloud? Will public cloud usage encourage shadow IT in organisations? Story 6 Server architecture and selection (IMAT5206) Since a data centre is basically a warehouse of servers, significant effort must go into selecting the servers. This story addresses the facts around servers and suggests what needs to be considered in procuring servers specifically for data centres.

Tasks 

Explain the concept of a server and its role in client / server architecture. Identify and describe the range of server types that can be obtained and what the differences between them are. Discuss the architecture of a server. What are the components? Explain the concept of fault tolerance. What are the main concerns about security and integrity? List questions a data centre managers would need to ask in evaluating and procuring servers. Story 7 Cloud Security and Trust (IMAT5206) Trust is critical in any supplier relationship. It is a particular issue when the organisational information, which will be a key asset for its survival, is located on servers outside the organisation and handled by an external organisation. We must be able to trust not only the technology being provided but the integrity and security of the cloud service provider. This requires an understanding of the issues that may erode trust and strategies for growing and maintaining trust.

Tasks

1. What is trust? Explain what is meant by trust and how it applies in a cloud computing environment. What are the issues concerning trust in cloud computing? Can we model trust and program trust mechanisms into the cloud computing environment? Provide some guidelines for improving trust in cloud computing.
2. What are the main security issues with cloud computing? What are the concerns for large organisations? What processes, techniques, tools can businesses use to maintain the security of their organisational data?

Story 8 IT asset management (IMAT5206) Good IT management requires that we manage our assets well. We must know what computers and software are in the organisation and who uses them. We need to manage software licences. We need to connect the management of IT assets with procurement. There are many advantages and efficiencies in good management of IT assets, and many problems which emerge from the bad management of IT assets.

Tasks

Define IT asset management. What are the pitfalls of not managing IT assets? How can a company benefit from formal IT asset management? Describe the process of IT asset management. How can suppliers be involved in this process? Find and critically appraise a case study of IT asset management in a company. Suggest what IT tools are needed for IT asset management. What is the link between IT asset management and procurement? Identify the importance of IT asset management in a data centre. Story 9 Data Centres and Privacy (IMAT5206) Data centres are going to hold vast amounts of personal information. They are going to connect that information together, particularly if they are carrying out big data analysis. This could have significance problems for the person whose data is connected. Therefore it is essential that data centres address the protection of personal information and develop policies and process for data protection. In 2014 a new ISO standard, ISO27018

Tasks

What is privacy? Give a brief overview of thoughts on the nature of privacy in the ICT context. What are the privacy issues for data centres? What type of personal information will they hold? What are the challenges and what should data centres be expected to do? Introduce and overview ISO27018. How will it meet the requirements for privacy in data centres? Suggest guidelines for its implementation. Story 10 Sarbanes-Oxley and the regulation of IT systems (IMAT5206) In 2002 Sarbanes-Oxley (Sox) became law in the US. This requires a quite different and more rigorous form of company account with severe penalties for the chief executive who didn’t comply, including prison sentences. Since all the data required to meet the auditing requirements would be in IT systems, the legislation has had a significant impact on IT management. In the UK and elsewhere it affects any company that has connection with the US, either thorough ownership, or having branches in the US.

Tasks

Introduce Sarbanes-Oxley, focussing on 404. Identify the issues it raised for IT management. Explain the impact of Sox on IT management, particularly on companies offering IT outsourcing. How did IT management respond? What is the value of CoBIT, ITIL and ISO20000 in responding to Sox? What is the process by which IT services should prepare to be Sox compliant? Story 11 The Future of Data Centres (IMAT5206) As data centres become the established orthodoxy for managing organisational information resources, future trends and issues with them become an important consideration for information systems management.

Tasks

Identify the challenges that data centres face. What are the problems with data centres? How do data centres need to change? How can they cope with climate change, threats of energy shortages? What will the next generation of data centres look like? What new IT technology and applications will affect how data centres are managed? How can data centres adapt to the increasing demands made of them? Session 4 Managing resources – technical and human  People: The CIO. The Skills Framework for an Information age. Human resource issue in IT. Technology: Capacity Planning, Managing desktops, Network Management, Software as a Service. Risk: IT Security Management, ISO27000, Cybersecurity as a Global Issue, Information system risk management, managing open source. The management of information system, like any other management area involves the management of resources to achieve business ends. The business end for information systems is to provide IT and information to the internal customers of the business to support processes and support information analysis to help with directing business direction. This management involves managing technical and human resources. For information systems, an expertise in the technology is particularly required. This requires specialist skills which might not be found elsewhere in the organisation. Hence IT has dual complexities: managing a complex set of technology and managing experts to deal with it. Further than that, management of information systems concerns the management of risks. These risks have to be controlled and constrained. Such is the reliance of organisations on IT that failure to manage risk can have wide ranging consequences which can lead to the demise of the organisation. In this session we examine the resources that must be managed and look at risk management, with a particular focus on the growing concerns of IT security management. A. People Story 1 The CIO  IT departments require good senior management. A Key role is that of the Chief Information Officer (CIO). The CIO should be able to address strategic and technical issues, should be part of the company board and helping determine the direction of the organisation. The CIO role was once about keeping the IT running. But how is that changing? Do companies need a CIO? Or is the CIO role really the same as the chief operating officer role now that information systems are so core to most businesses?

Tasks

Define the role of the CIO. Explore some recruitment advertisements for CIOs. How strategic is the role? To what extent does it go beyond the technology? Examine several CIO interviews in Computer weekly. Extract themes. What are the common foci of these CIOs? How are they relating IT to the business? Critically review whether organisations need a CIO. How is the role of the CIO changing? Story 2 Skills Framework in an Information Age One task in people resources in trying to get the right skills mix, both in expertise and maturity. A good IT department has pathways for promotion and gaining new skills. It contains the right proportion of strategic, tactical and operational skills. This requires attention to recruitment, training, promotion and deployment. The Skills Framework for an Information Age (SFIA) is a maturity framework which has been developed to help companies get their skillset right.

Tasks

Describe SFIA, its categories and maturity levels. Note that there are many skills that address strategy, service and customers and not so many concerning development and programming. How does it work? What is its history? What problems does it help an IT manager deal with? Find a case study of SFIA being used. What are its limitations? How might it be improved? Story 3 Human resource issues in IT (IMAT5206) IT staff may have a different culture to staff in the rest of the organisation. This can cause problems. It also means that approaches to recruitment, training and appraisal may be different. The management of information systems will involve the management of IT staff and an understanding of a culture gap. Not all IT staff are as portrayed in “The IT Crowd”, but there may be a need to encourage more empathy in technically minded staff.

Tasks

How might IT staff differ from the rest of staff in the organisation? Explain the IT / Business culture gap. How will you recruit staff? What is the balance between recruiting skills from outside and training staff internally? How important are technical skills compared with business skills? Outline a recruitment process for recruiting a development team for a new project. Outline an approach to appraisals. Explain why culture is important in the IT department. What is a “community of practice” and how may they be developed in the IT department? B. Technology Story 4: Capacity planning (IMAT5206) In 2014, when the payments deadline approached for Her Majesty’s Revenue and customs, the banking system, operated by Citibank collapses under the weight of transactions total £1 million a minute. The bank has failed to plan its capacity, despite the obvious deadline. Capacity planning, of hardware, networking and storage is critical to maintaining availability. It involves not only understanding what the current system capacity is, and whether it is used effectively, but also working with the business to predict what capacity changes might be required from increases in customers, new products, mergers etc.

Tasks

Define capacity planning. Outline the ITIL approach to capacity planning. Why is it important? Explain some of the tools needed for capacity planning. How can the decision making for capacity planning be supported? What do you need to measure? Describe a case study of capacity management (for example, Domino’s Pizzas – see slides) Contrast replacement versus upgrades. Explain how IT asset management relates to capacity planning. Story 5 Managing Desktops Part of the management of information systems will be the management of the computers and screens put on workers desk. This will require careful procurement, maintenance and replacement. We need to explore the issues behind desktop management and the strategies for managing desktops.

Tasks

What issues do we need to consider in tendering and procuring desktops? What strategies are available for maintaining and managing desktops? What is remote desktop management? Explain the security issues around managing desktops. Outline the total cost of ownership per desktop? What contributes to the TCO? What is desktop virtualisation? What is Desktop as a service (Daas)? How would you decide whether it was a good option? What is the future of desktops? Is it possible that desktops will become obsolete as all services are delivered by mobile computing? Story 6 Network procurement and management Desktops, servers, mainframes cannot run without a network. And if that network is slow, the whole service will be perceived as being slow. Managing the network requires expertise that many user companies don’t have, so they are likely to pursue some kind of outsourcing strategy.

Task

Using an example, describe a typical network in an organisation. Define the management problems associated with network implementation and support. Briefly explain the steps in implementing a network. Since networking is complex one approach is to procure a managed network services, i.e. to outsource. Explain the benefits of outsourcing network implementation and maintenance; describe how you might outsource networks and provide a short case study as an example. Story 7. Software as a Service If a company cannot afford a large software package such as an ERP, one possibility is to subscribe to it on a network. The rise of cloud computing makes software as a service a viable option for managing some IT applications. This is not a new idea, but has gained widespread use as cloud has expanded. In any procurement software as a service (SaaS) should be considered as an option.

Tasks

Define software as a service and give an example of how it works. How big is the SaaS market? What benefits does it offer? What are the risks? Besides ERP and CRM, what other applications may be provided as SaaS? What are the security risks? Who are the main providers of SaaS? Explain how an IT director might make a decision on whether to use SaaS and what applications should be provided in this approach. ServiceNow provides an IT service Management application. What is an ITSM application and how is it delivered as SaaS by ServiceNow?   C. Risk Story 8 IT Security Management Security management is one of the major concerns in managing information systems. The organisation is beset with security risk which have to be addressed. Threats must be defined, the chances of them happening assessed. Actions must be taken to reduce the risk, for example by using firewalls and to manage the disaster if a security breach occurs.

Tasks

How widespread are security problems? Give some example of recent security problems which have affected companies such as Sony. Provide a classification of the main threats. What technical responses are possible? What are the limits of technical responses? How important is the management side? Explain the importance of a security minded culture. One of the greatest IT security risk is the inside threat. How can we deal with that? Story 9 ISO27001 Although ITIL addresses IT security management within service design, ISO27000 provides a rigorous standard for development information security management systems. Released in 2005, the latest version with significant changes was released in 2013.

Tasks

Give an overview of ISO27001. What is its history? What is it structure? What are the differences between the 2005 and 2013 versions? Why should a company use this standard? What are the benefits? Overview the contents of ISO27001/2013. What are the steps towards implementing ISO27001? Overview a case study of ISO270001 implementation. Story 10 Cybersecurity as a global issue Cybersecurity is not a parochial issue concern just the organisation. The threats and problems occur on a global scale, from groups in China and Russia, for example. We also face possibility of cyberwarfare. Cybercrime is also a major issue. Denial of service attack, phishing and a number of issue are global concerns. Cyber security is now a Board level issue for many companies, and one that lawyers advising the Board must understand. But how much do we really know about this increasing risk?

Tasks

Provide a definition of cybersecurity. Identify some key threats and issues which have a global dimension. Give some case studies looking at both the sources and the victims. Identify areas where you think UK companies need to respond. What is the role of ISPs in cybersecurity? How significant is the threat from national security services? To what extent is the dark net something that should concern IT managers or can we just ignore it? Story 11 Risk Management Managing information systems is about managing risk as much as managing technology. Risk management is the process of identifying risk, assessing risk, and taking steps to reduce risk to an acceptable level. We need to understand the risks associated with information systems deployment and management. But what methods do we use? How do we keep on top of the risks?

Task

Define risk management. Give an overview of the types of risks we might face in information systems management. This might include failure of a supplier, losses of systems. Unexpected changes in business requirement. Loss of services. It includes security and disasters but is much more wide ranging. Outline the steps in a risk management method. Define threats, vulnerability, likelihood and impact. Illustrate with a case study. Story 12 Introduction to Open Source With the success of Linux as an operating system, the availability of open office and e-commerce platforms such as Opencart, many companies are consider open source as a strategy for populating their applications. But what are risks/ is it less secure? What does it cost? Do you need a lot of programming expertise to run open source?

Task

Define open source and give some examples. What are the principles of open source and what is its history. How would an IT department go about becoming open source oriented? What is the business case for open source? What are the benefits? Why do developers write open source for nothing? What reasons might there be for not using open source? What is the role of open source companies such as Red Hat? What are the main management issues with open source? Story 13 Access Management Access management is of increasingly importance as the workforce becomes more mobile, more ICT aware and have jobs which require access to a wider range of systems and applications. Questions of whether staff have the access to the right applications and the right data become increasingly important. Access management is an important process in ITIL service operations, needing good management both using the service desk and automated systems. Increasingly biometric approaches are used.

Task

Access Management: What do we mean by access management? What are the different problems associated with access to an application and access to the data? What is two-factor authentication? Using the example of doctors’ and medical staff access to a patient management system, illustrate the types of access and the ways access to such a sensitive system can be managed. When an employee joins a company access rights must be set up, similarly these must be removed when s\he leaves. Using a diagram illustrate the access management processes over the lifetime of an employee. How can employees be encouraged to use strong passwords? What types of biometric authentications are now available? What new approaches are available for identity management? What do you see as the future trends in access management? Story 14 Managing the Globally Distributed Data Centre “The next-generation data centre is not just a physical structure, but a global, managed ecosystem with the capacity to share resources within and beyond physical boundaries.” (IBM) The data centre which an information system department may be using may not be physically in one place, but consists of services scattered across the world, or at least located in several globally distributed data centres.

Task

Data Centres: Using an example, explain how a globally distributed data centre works. How does it differ from a traditional data centre? Why should a company use global distributed data centres? What are the advantages? What are the problems? Unpack the following and explain what it means: “One of the challenges of building and deploying a dynamic application environment and cloud architecture models such as cloud bursting—is managing access to applications and services running with the clouds as they move from place to place.” What are the security, privacy, resilience and cultural issues associated with this? Story 15 Implementing ITIL ITIL is a set of IT service best practices which cover the whole service lifecycle. Processes from incident management through to IT service continuity can be defined in the organisation. Using ITIL process guidelines, an IT department can improve the quality and efficiency of IT services. But how do you go about implementing ITIL? Where do you start? How do we change the way IT staff do things? At the heart of ITIL implementation will be a process of reviewing current practice, comparing it to ITIL and developing new improved processes.

Task

ITIL: Using several case studies, explain how ITIL can be implemented in a medium sized IT organisation. Identify some good starting places, discuss the role of a service management system (such as Hornbill, ServiceNow or Marval) in ITIL implementation. Outline steps in implementation and identify the best places to start. Story 16 The Customers of Information Services Management Who are the customers of IT management? We need to understand who we deliver information systems for. Primarily we are providing IT for internal people; the IT customer is the employee of the organisation who then works on behalf of the organisation to serve the customers of the organisation. If our systems do not meet the needs of the internal customer, then they cannot service the company’s customers. Hence we need to understand our customers; we need to know what they do, how they use the systems we provide. We need to understand their role in working with the IT department as co-producers of value. We also need to understand that the value of the system is obtained when IT staff are not interacting with the internal customer, but when the internal customer is using the information system as part of a constellation of activity directed at a particular role. In essence, we need to take a customer-dominated view of the systems and services we deliver to our customers.

Task

Using a case study, identify the customers of the information systems (IT) department. How can we find out what their needs are? How can we understand how they view the quality of the systems we provide? Explore and present some material on approaches to understanding and determining the quality of the systems and services we deliver to our customers. Introduce questionnaires such as SERVQUAL and tools such as customer journey mapping. Explain how we can involve our customers more in the management of information services. Story 17 Cost cutting Tesco has announced it will be cutting costs from its IT budget to save money. The announcement that Tesco plans to reduce its IT spend comes after the retailer reduced its profit forecast for 2014/15 from £2.8bn to £2.4bn. The retailer said it was continuing to face a number of uncertainties and consequently the board had revised its outlook for the year. “The combination of challenging trading conditions and ongoing investment in our customer offer has continued to impact the expected financial performance of the group,” said Tesco's trading statement. Trading profit for the six months to 23 August 2014 is now expected to be in the region of £1.1bn.

Task

IT services: For many IT service department, the focus is on cost cutting when organisational cuts bite. This is particularly the case in public sector organisations. But also in the private sector. But how do you cut costs? What are the strategies? What should you not cut? How can suppliers help or hinder? And what are the potential risks in rationing and cutting IT services. Using appropriate examples, discuss how you would cut an IT service budget and what effect such cuts might have on IT service quality. Story 18 Futures - Cognitive Computing “Cognitive systems represent the next productivity wave, with the ability to simulate the human thought process at extraordinary speed. They have the capacity to sense, reason and interact with people in new ways. They can process massive volumes of fast-moving data, recognizing patterns, detecting anomalies and making complex decisions in seconds. Their ability to adapt and learn over time and process natural language is what distinguishes cognitive systems from traditional analytics.” (e.g. IBM Watson)

Task

Cognitive computing: Define cognitive computing. What are the technologies involved? Describe some possible applications. Using an example, show how cognitive computing works. What is IBM Watson? Explain the concepts and connection between natural language processing, machine learning and big data. Explain what opportunities cognitive computing offers and how it might deliver business value. Story 19 Futures - Collective Awareness Platforms CAPS can be described as non-commercial, open Internet platforms, connecting citizens to each other (and to the “Internet of Things” whenever necessary) and providing them with a more effective way to: - Spontaneously adopt more sustainable behaviours and lifestyles, based on better information (extended awareness); - Contribute to a low-carbon economy, for instance by lending, exchanging and reusing goods at scale, across geographic boundaries (collaborative consumption); - Get facts/evidence from citizens for better decision making, at personal or institutional levels (e.g. crowdmapping); - Develop alternative collaborative approaches to problem solving (crowdsourcing, crowdfunding, participatory design, collective intelligence, collective decisions); - Actively engage, innovate and act, individually or collectively, towards societally, environmentally and economically sustainable approaches and solutions to tackle societal challenges: growth and employment, environment, climate change, health and education, inclusive societies, wellbeing, etc. http://caps-conference.eu/; These social platforms offer new ways of problem solving, developing industrial ideas and gaining feedback from customers.

Task

CAP: Define Collective Awareness Platform (CAP). How does a Collective Awareness Platform work? Give some examples of Collective Awareness Platforms. What are the underpinning technologies? Explain what a CAP offers a company. How could a CAP be developed using a wiki platform, for example: for a large company? Give a case study of how it can be effectively used. Story 20: Futures- Digital Ledger (aka the Blockchain) The – an incorruptible digital ledger of economic transactions that can be programmed to record not just financial transactions, but virtually everything of value and importance to humankind: birth and death certificates, marriage licenses, deeds and titles of ownership, educational degrees, financial accounts, medical procedures, insurance claims, votes, transactions between smart objects, and anything else that can be expressed in code. This ledger represents the truth because mass collaboration constantly reconciles it. This technology platform is open and programmable, and it has the potential to unleash countless new applications. It also creates significant Like other big innovations, such as the PC, the web, mobility and the social web, often starts outside the IT function. Thoughtful CIOs should view this as positive because every business will become a blockchain business and every business leader needs to explore opportunities for transformation.   Tasks What are some of the challenges for the CIO and the enterprise? If an enterprise wishes to adopt the blockchain, how should it go about it? What steps should it take? What are some of the obstacles towards implementing the blockchain? Describe some of the regulatory issues. How can the blockchain support digital entrepreneurship? Session 5 IT Development and on to IT services For many organisations, software development is a very small part of the responsibilities of an information systems manager, since applications, most of which are standard and are bought from third parties. For some large companies, such as energy providers, the extent of software requirements may make it economical to build in-house and development may be required for specialist applications which can’t be obtained commercially. For suppliers and software providers, development is a core competencies and business activity. Software must be developed and then implemented in the live environment. At that point IT services take over. Applications must be maintained and incidents dealt with by the helpdesk. In this session we will investigate the process and management of software development and consider the processes and activities involved in managing IT services. This will involve considering some aspects of IT service management, in particular the whole process of incident and problem management and the importance of managing availability. Story 1 The software development environment Software development in any organisation requires a range of roles and tools. There will need to be some separation between the development environment and the live or production environment. Different roles such as systems analyst, analyst programmer, programmer, and tester will be required. There will be a need not only to create the application, but also the scripts for the operating system, the start-up procedures, test plans, and technical and user documentation (for which a technical writer may be required). Typically, the development is done in a stepwise manner using a software development lifecycle, although, agile approaches – to be discussed later – are gaining in popularity.

Tasks

1. Outline the software development lifecycle. Identify roles. Identify tools required (including development environments, testing tools, harnesses, and metrics). Using a case study tell the story of a software development. What is the mythical man month? What are the issues with software development, particularly around estimating, testing and managing quality?

Story 2 Introduction to PRINCE2 project management At the heart of software development is a project management method. The method, embedded in the software lifecycle enables development tasks to be allocated, depending on the software cost estimation. It will have stages and identify dependencies and links between the software components and hence the order they need to be developed in. Many projects use PRINCE2, a structured project management methodology which includes work breakdown structures and stage meetings.

Tasks

1. Prince2: Create an overview of PRINCE2. Explain its principles and concepts. What are the benefits of using PRINCE2? Explain how it is used. Describe its history and derivation. Explain how the PRINCE2 helps a manager control a project. Provide an example / case study of a PRINCE2 project. When might it not work? What are the shortcomings of PRINCE2? Why do many PRINCE2 projects still fail?
2. Prince2 and Configuration Management: Create an overview of PRINCE2. The term configuration management conjures up all sorts of questions for project managers, firstly; what is configuration management? How is it applied? Does this apply to all IT projects? How does it work with Quality Assurance or Quality plans? Provide a case study of Prince2 and its use of Configuration Management. What would a Configuration management strategy look like?

Story 3 Management of software testing During the building of software, there will be a number of test points. Clearly, the software developer will test the software as development progresses. Additionally the software developed by each programmer must be integrated into a complete system. This require testing of interfaces between modules and other components of the system. The software must be tested to see that it meets the requirements. In agile software development it is the test that drives the software development. A test is designed which the software will fail initially. Software and systems testing requires quality management systems, which include a number of practical steps including walkthroughs and inspections. Various standards and approaches are available which can be used as part of the discipline of software quality assurance.

Tasks

Introduce software quality assurance and explain the role of a software quality manager. Explain some of the standard approaches to software quality management including the use of ISO9000, TickITPlus, and the Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI). Explain how a walkthrough should be conducted. How does a walkthrough differ from a formal inspection such as Fagan’s inspection? How can a software quality assurance system help? Story 4 Anatomy of an IT project How does software development work out in practice? What are the issues and problems that the project manager faces? Often we can understand more by exploring case studies, both of successful and failed projects. BskyB’s software project (see: is one example of a failed project. What do such projects tell us about the issues and difficulties surrounding software development? Also we can learn from successful projects. Furthermore, case studies can give us a feel for the overall nature of a software development project and the issues associated with it.

Tasks

Describe a case study of a software development project failure and a success. Identify the factors involved in each case. Based on these studies, supplemented by other sources, what are the principle concerns a software project manager should address? Story 5 Software metrics and software estimation In order to manage a project we must be able to estimate the time it will take to develop software. This requires breaking a piece of software down into components for which the programmer / developer effort can be estimated. From such estimates we can build up a project plan and manager the delivery of software. But how do you estimate development times for software? It will depend on so many factors, including the experience of the programmer, the complexity of the functions the software delivers and the complexity of the environment. It requires that we can in some way measure a piece of software, a problem which has a whole discipline of software metrics behind it. The problems of software measuring were first raised in Fred Brooke’s classic book, ‘The Mythical Man Month’. There are now many methods of measuring software and estimation including COCOMO and Function Point Analysis. How objective can we be? Or does software estimation remain a black art?

Tasks

Explain the problem of software estimation and software metrics. Why is it so difficult? What is the goal of software estimation? Survey the main approaches to software estimation and identify some common measurable elements. Explain how metrics and estimation develops during the project lifecycle. How would you select estimation methods? What do you think is a common sense approach to software metrics and estimating? Story 6 Agile development Traditional software development progresses in a linear manner, starting with requirements specification and progressing through testing and acceptance testing. It is heavily managed through techniques such as PRINCE2. But it has many problems, including an inability to adapt and a lack of customer involvement. Recently, many companies have adopted an agile approach in which small amounts of software are delivered rapidly and regularly. Agile approaches resulted from a dissatisfaction by developers about the monolithic and heavy management which is part of traditional software development. An early approach, Extreme programming has evolved into the current most used approach of SCRUM. Along the way a philosophy has developed which is summarised in the agile manifesto.

Tasks

What are the problems with traditional development which led to an agile approach? Outline the principles of the agile approach referring to and introducing extreme programming and the agile manifesto. Describe SCRUM and how it works. Provide a short case study of an agile project and review the key problems associated with the agile approach. Story 7 DevOps One of the problems with agile is that it is not much good having agile development if the operations and release process is anything but agile. Agile systems would have to wait for the progression of a slow change management process before the software could be released. This frustration has given rise to the recent devops movement which seeks to make operations agile. It “Improves collaboration and productivity by automating infrastructure, automating workflow and continuously measuring application performance.” And makes operations part of the development team. The Devops community has grown rapidly and has its own website and resources, and is being taken up by large developers of software such as IBM.

Tasks

Define DevOps and give an example of its practice. What is the history of Devops and how has it developed? What are the principles of DevOps?. What are the benefits and risks with Devops? Devops emphasizes the use of tools: what are these tools, what do they do and why are they important? Critique DevOps: does it have a future or is it trend which will pass? Story 8 Managing incidents (IMAT5206) At the heart of the IT department will be the service desk, or helpdesk. This is the first point of contact with internal customers, the front office, and as such it determines how customers view the IT department. Incident management, an ITIL discipline within Service Operations, involves dealing with a customer problem and getting them back using the information systems as quickly as possible. It does not necessarily mean we solve the underlying problem. It may involve a workaround, a temporary replacement, or perhaps a temporary change in business process. We measure the success of incident management is terms of how quickly we respond to a helpdesk call and get the customer back in action, achieving their business goals.

Tasks

Define incident management and give some examples of the process. Explain the role of the helpdesk in incident management. Present some detail of a service desk management system such as Marval Software, or ServiceNow. What is a ticket and what is its purpose in incident management. Explain the concept of escalation, both technical and managerial. Outline a service level agreement which could be used in managing a service desk. Story 9 Problem Management (IMAT5206) An incident has to be dealt with quickly but leaves an underlying problem. That problem needs to be resolved. There are two types of problem management according to ITIL. One is reactive which the task is to solve the underlying problems such as a printer breakdown. However, this will involve looking into whether other printers may have the problem. The other is proactive problem management. This is analytical and involves applying business intelligence approaches to data from the service desk to identify trends and potential problems, and deal with them before they become major problems.

Tasks

Define problem management. Using examples, illustrate the difference between reactive and proactive problem management. Review the ITIL problem management process. Describe the benefits of addressing problem management. Why does it not get addressed much? In a large IT organisation there should be a role of problem manager. Define that role. Provide a case study of the successful implementation of problem management. Story 10 ITIL and ISO20000 (IMAT5206) ITIL v3 is the third version of the Information Technology Infrastructure Library, a globally recognized collection of best practices for managing information technology (IT). It is broken down into 5 sections: service strategy, service design, service transition, service operation and continual service improvement. It provides best practice in conducting the processes and activities of the IT service department, but it is not a standard. ISO20000 provides the standard, it defines measurables and documentation and practice which would be expected in an IT department. It offers the possibility of an IT department obtained certification to prove that they are working to ISO20000 standards in IT service management.

Tasks

Describe ITIL – Version 3 and it parts. Provide a short case study of ITIL implementation and explain its benefits and problems. Give an outline of the contents of ISO20000 and explain how certification can be obtained. How much does it cost to get ISO20000 certification? Compare and contrast ITIL and ISO20000. Identify some organisations that use ITIL and that have ISO20000 certification. Explain how you would justify investment in ISO20000 and what might be in the business case. Story 11 Availability management Payments to HMRC fail on tax deadline HMRC's banking service, operated by Citibank, appeared to buckle under the weight of £1m-a-minute tax payments on the self-assessment deadline today. The problem was not with the "faster payment" system, the electronic network established in 2008 to allow rapid payment between banks - but with Citibank's own systems.   Information systems managers have make to sure systems are available when required and that the capacity – processing, storage etc. anticipates both current and future needs. How is this done? It requires both the management of availability and capacity. We may require 100% availability, but is that possible? What is the cost of maximising availability and how can we match availability to the business needs and the investment available. What went wrong with Citibank could be corrected if availability and capacity management process were addressed.

Tasks

Using Citibank or another case study, identify the consequences of inadequate availability and capacity management. Define availability management. Overview a process for designing availability. Discuss how the business and IT interface in determining the correct level of availability. Identify and illustrate the role of suppliers in maintaining the availability of systems. Illustrate with a case study. Story 12 Procuring a service desk management system (IMAT5206) In developing the IT department, implementing ITIL and creating information management structure, one early activity will be the buying of a service desk management system to support the service desk (the helpdesk). Such system are important because they help with customer service. They also provide a repository for the information about systems and software (configurations) customer and activities that the IT service department requires. Procurement of service desk software requires an understanding of the functional requirements and the selection of a system which suits the IT department.

Tasks

Define the main functions of a service desk system. Why is it so important in IT services? Critically compare three service desk support systems. Candidates include Marval Software, Hornbill, ServiceNow, IBM Tivioli, and HP’s service desk software (see: http://www8.hp.com/uk/en/software-solutions/it-service-management-itsm/index.html). Explain what is meant by ITIL compliant. Provide some advice on how to select a service desk system. Consider whether you should implement ITIL processes and then get a new service desk system or put a new system in first to try to drive the adoption of ITIL processes. Story 13 Professionalism (IMAT5206) What is a professional? How can we, or should we turn IT practice and management into a profession? A profession requires a professional body, gatekeepers, entrance examinations, codes of conduct and ethics, a means of excluding or striking off. There are professional societies such as the BCS and ACM, but membership is not compulsory.

Tasks

Define a profession using an example from outside information system management. Produce a set of criteria for a profession. Match those criteria against information system managers. Identify where IT can be described as a profession and recommend improvements. Describe in summary the codes of ethics of the ACM and the BCS. Suggest whether IT practice should be formalised as a profession. Story 14 Futures: The Internet of Things (IMAT5206) Not only do information systems managers need to pursue proper theoretical grounding for their practice and consider both user and organisational issues, they need to consider the directions technology is taking and the impact on the delivery of IT services and the nature of work in the IT department. In this story we consider four technological directions which could significantly affect information systems management. The Internet of Things (IoT) is a scenario in which objects, animals or people are provided with unique identifiers and the ability to transfer data over a network without requiring human-to-human or human-to-computer interaction. IoT has evolved from the convergence of wireless technologies, micro-electromechanical systems and the Internet.

Tasks

Define the Internet of Things and provide some examples of the IoT. Describe current and predicted development of the Internet of Things (one example might be the expansion of the use of smart meters). Discuss the consequences for IT management – for example the mass of new data, information overload. Suggest some strategies for IT services in a company for managing the Internet of Things. Story 15 Futures Autonomic Computing (IMAT5206) “Autonomic Computing - Pertaining to an on demand operating environment that responds automatically to problems, security threats, and system failures.” Many of the system failures and incidents we deal with manually in IT services and IT management may be dealt with automatically. Autonomous systems, model on the human autonomic nervous system, will be self-healing, managing their own failures and only referring to IT services when necessary. Tasks Describe the attributes of autonomic computing. Explain what is meant by an Autonomic Computing architecture. What is the current state of autonomic computing? How far has autonomic computing progressed since 2001? How much autonomic computing is in the IBM z13, for example? How do you see autonomic computing developing? Explain how autonomic computing could affect information systems management and IT service management. Story 16 Futures: Robots Current usage in organisation. Potential for increased usage. Will they concern information systems? Could we be taking helpdesk calls from robots? Robots may not seem to be a concern for information system managers, but as robot take roles in companies and connect to the Internet to deliver and extract information, their maintenance, both in physical and informational terms may become a responsibility of IT management.

Tasks

Define what a robot is and give some example of robots in organisation. Particularly address the concept of the robot as an IT service worker. Using the example of the EU Roboearth project, explain how robots can interact with each other using the cloud and can provide information of use in information systems management. Suggest some principles that might need to be addressed in managing robots in the organisation. Story 17 Ambient Intelligence and Ubiquitous Computing Computing is everywhere. It can be in wearables including watches, in personal health monitors. This is ubiquitous computing. It can be embedded in furniture, in walls, mirrors. It can be sprayed on as could be envisaged in speckled computing. Another technical direction which has been investigate in a European Union project is that of guardian angels: “The Physical Guardian angel family are quasi invisible, miniaturized, wearable, non-invasive devices designed to accurately and robustly monitor physical and physiological parameters in humans. Physical GA systems integrate multiple sensors (ECG, accelerometers, gyroscopes, pulse oximetry, etc.) securely communicating with each other and with existing gateways (such as mobile phones).” All these advances will mean a greater distribution of computing Power. They will result in a need for new models and approaches to information system management since the IT will not necessarily be contained, nor will assets be easily measured or managed. Tasks Using examples, illustrate the concepts of ambient intelligence, speckled computing and guardian angels. Identify some common characteristics. Explore the extent to which ubiquitous computing is spreading in organisations. Based on the common characteristics, outline some of the difficulties to be faced in managing such ubiquitous computing and ambient intelligence. Is there any way of subjecting them to IT asset management, or do such systems mean the eventual loss of control of IT by the IT department? Story 18 Bring Your Own Device Bring-Your-Own-Device (BYOD) is the use of employee-owned devices to access enterprise content or networks. It has been an increasingly popular approach. Employees bring their own iPADs etc. to work and following security procedures, they are able to access company systems using them. “As many IT departments struggle to keep up with yearly technology changes, company employees increasingly want to use their own devices to access corporate data. It’s part of a growing trend dubbed Bring Your Own Device (BYOD), which encompasses similar Bring Your Own Technology (BYOT), Bring Your Own Phone (BYOP) and Bring Your Own PC (BYOPC) initiatives. All of them have evolved to empower workforces through the so-called 'consumerisation of IT'.As part of this consumerisation, BYOD encourages company employees to work on the device they choose - accessing corporate email on their iPhone 7 or using a Google Nexus 7 to view text documents. The goal for SMBs? Increased productivity and reduced costs. But BYOD also has a darker side. If not fully understood and regulated, it can threaten IT security and put a company's sensitive business systems.

Tasks

Define Bring your Own Device. Using a case study, give some examples. What are the benefits? Why are IT departments adopting BYOD policies? What are the alternative approaches to BYOD? What are the advantages and disadvantages? Describe a BYOD policy and explain how you would implement it. IS BYOD suitable for all companies? In what situations might you recommend it? Story 19 Ethics in information systems management quality Many of the requirements for delivering a quality service in the management of information systems involves character and motivation. For example, one author defined quality as involving: prompt attention to complaints; good customer communications; showing respect and courtesy; keeping appointments and commitments; appearance and neatness and technical ability. Most of these involve ethical considerations and the development of ethical frameworks both for information systems development and IT service management. How can we do this? We need both processes and frameworks. Processes are steps which we can undertake during systems development which encourage the systems developers to reflect on and consider the ethical implications of the systems and services they are developing and implementing. Framework give guidance and hooks on which to reflect in the ethical issues of information systems. Many frameworks have been developed to identify issues that should be considered in systems and service development, for example PAPA which stands for privacy, accuracy, property, and accessibility. One such recently developed framework is ACTIVE ethics which stands for Autonomy, Community, Transparency, Identity, Values and Empathy. ACTIVE ethics tries to go beyond PAPA and provide a framework based on virtue ethics. Tasks Explain why ethics is an important aspect of information systems development. With examples such how ethics can be embedded into the process of information system development. Using a business intelligence system as an example apply the ACTIVE ethics framework. Why doesn’t ethics get a higher profile in IT departments? Session 6 Building Theoretical Foundations Theory is about trying to explain things, trying to understand why phenomena occur so we can better intervene. While information systems management is a very practically oriented subject, deeper understanding requires theoretical engagement. In this session we will explore some basic theories in information systems to try to set more of the context. IT managers need to be reflexive practitioners, they need to form mental models of why information systems are successful, what the relationship is between the activities of the IT departments and the organisation, and how organisations work. We will look at a range of theories which tackle both the adoption of IT in the organisation and the relationship between the IT and the organisation. We will also take a glimpse into the future, into the technologies which we may encounter. As technology changes, the management challenges increase because the complexity increases. We will also look at the management challenges in the ethical area. Story 1 Technology Adoption How does technology become standard? What influences organisations to take particular directions? Implementation of a technology requires that the people actually use the technology. What factors affect whether people adopt information systems like Enterprise resource planning systems? Issues such as culture and power will be involved. But also, the employee needs to perceive the information system as useful to their job, as enabling them to meet their goals. Additionally that technology must be usable. If the effort to learn a system is too much, the employees we’re trying to serve will resist using the system, use it in an inefficient way, or find ways round it. But the adoption of information systems is also a social construction, based on people communicating the value of an information system to each other and showing how it would be in other people’s interests to use the particular system. Task

1. Technology adoption models are generally quantitative models, validated through questionnaires and statistical analysis. Fred Davis’ Technology Adoption Model, which appeared in MIS Quarterly in 1989 has been much quoted an applied across a range of information systems. Describe the TAM, and the theories it is based on. How is TAM used in research? Explain how surveys may be used to measure TAM. Give some examples of how it has been extended. What are the problems and limits of TAM? Does it have any practical use in information system management? Illustrate with a case study of its application to information systems adoption. Suggest some alternative technology adoption models.
2. Actor Network Theory: Actor network theory, developed by Bruno Latour, focusses on the social network in which technology is adopted, and, distinctively treats technology as objects in the social network. Originally formulated to explain how scientific theories come to be accepted, it has been applied to look at the acceptance of information systems. Explain the main concepts of actor network theory (ANT) and its background. Define the main terms and start with an example outside information systems. Review the use of ANT in information systems, identifying the types of information system it has been applied to. Describe a case study of the application of ANT to an information systems implementation. What are the limitations of ANT? What is the justification for treating technology as an actor? Does it have practical use in information systems management?
3. Diffusion of Innovations: Diffusion research centers on the conditions which increase or decrease the likelihood that a new idea, product, or practice will be adopted by members of a given culture. Diffusion of innovation theory predicts that media as well as interpersonal contacts provide information and influence opinion and judgment. Studying how innovation occurs, E.M. Rogers (1995) argued that it consists of four stages: invention, diffusion (or communication) through the social system, time and consequences. The information flows through networks. The nature of networks and the roles opinion leaders play in them determine the likelihood that the innovation will be adopted. Innovation diffusion research has attempted to explain the variables that influence how and why users adopt a new information medium, such as the Internet. How can we apply this theory in the adoption of new technologies, the adoption of an information system by an individual – or an organisation? What can we learn for the information system, the individuals? Find a case study and describe the main concepts based on the case

Story 2 Organisations as Social and Work Structures (IMAT5206) There is a wide field of organisational studies, which tries to understand how organisations develop and are maintained as social structure and how people interact within them. A lot of the theory we can draw from organisational studies is very relevant to information system management.

Tasks

1. Structuration theory, developed by Anthony Giddens in his book, “The Constitution of Society”, connects the actions of human agents and the structure of social systems. The fundamental concepts involve humans communicating to define and reinforce the significance and meaning of phenomena, the use of power, including the ability to allocate capital and human resources, which establishes and reinforces power structures, and giving the social structure legitimacy through drawing on standards and norms of behaviour. Using a diagram, explain the basic concepts of structuration theory. (Note: It is not necessary to draw on Gidden’s original explanation which is complex, rather draw on simpler descriptions provided by information systems researchers such as Geoff Walsham and Matthew Jones.) Explain how structuration theory can be used to illuminate the effect of information systems in organisations. How do information systems mediate the interaction between the individual and the organisation? Present a case study of an information systems implementation which is explained using structuration theory. What are the limits of structuration theory? Does it provide any practical insights form information systems managers?
2. Institutional theory looks at the wide range of social values that affect organisations, and how organisation structure can be social constructed to legitimate social goals. Institution is ‘a social order or pattern that has attained a certain state or property’ and institutionalization, ‘denotes the process of such attainment’. Information systems research that examines the relation between organisations and information systems has found value in drawing on institutional theory. Identify the problems that institutional theory attempts to address. Provide some definitions and identify some key concepts. Explain the concepts of organisational isomorphism and the role of coercive, mimetic and normative processes. Why are these concepts useful in understanding information systems? Demonstrate their use by drawing on a case study. What are your conclusions about the practical application of institutional theory for information systems managers?
3. Activity theory has its origins in the work of Vygotsky in the 1920s and has been further developed by Engestrom at the University of Helsinki where he developed it as a way of understanding how work should be organised. It is a theory of learning which seeks to understand how a wide range of factors influence activity. Essentially, it considers an entire work system in which subjects(s) undertake activities to achieve an object, which may be a material object such as an information systems, and will result in outcomes. Artefacts and rules are applied with a community where there is a division of labour. Activity theory has recently been used to develop models to understand information systems development and deployment. Using a diagram, explain the main concepts of activity theory. Briefly give some history of activity theory and its usage outside information systems. What is the value of activity theory in understanding the role of information systems within work systems? Using a case study, give an example of the use of activity theory in information systems research. How can activity theory help information systems managers?
4. Sociomateriality: Information systems research has tended to study the social aspects of information systems and the technology separately. Sociomateriality suggest that they cannot be separated, that the social and the technology can rather be described as being entangled. The concepts of sociomateriality extend actor network theory and try to unite social and technical studies. Briefly identify the problem sociomateriality attempts to deal with. Explain the concept of entanglement using the example of a call centre interaction. What other ideas does sociomateriality provide? What is wrong with sociomateriality? Does it have any value in information systems management practice?
5. Complexity theory: “Many of society’s most pressing problems fall far from the confines of disciplinary research. Complex problems require novel ideas that result from thinking about non-equilibrium and highly connected complex adaptive systems. We are dedicated to developing advanced concepts and methods for these problems, and pursuing solutions at the interfaces between fields through wide-ranging collaborations, conversations, and educational programs.” (Sante Fe Institute http://www.santafe.edu/). Organisations may be seen as complex adaptive systems, networks of interaction in which the information system resides. Treating information systems as parts of complex systems can produce new insights, better explanations of phenomena, and ways of improving their use. The study of non-linear dynamic systems, chaos theory, is one branch of complexity which has been applied to information systems. Define complexity theory. With reference to the Santa Fe Institute, outline some of the main ideas. Explain how complexity theory can be useful. What are the difficulties with applying the ideas of complexity theory to information systems? Also why do managers find the ideas so difficult? Using a case study, explain how chaos theory can inform our study of information systems. How might an understanding of chaos theory help information system managers?
6. Sensemaking: Since Sensemaking has been under development since 1972, it cannot be explained in a few sentences. It is important to know that the project has been based on three central assumptions regarding communication practice: a) That it is possible to design and implement communication systems and practices that are responsive to human needs; b) That it is possible for humans to enlarge their communication repertoires to pursue this vision; c) That achieving these outcomes requires the development of communication-based methodological approaches. Outline some of the main concepts of this theory. Find a case study and describe its main results with regards to the use of the information system. What is the value of this theory in the study of information systems?
7. System Theory: System theory is the transdisciplinary study of the abstract organization of phenomena, independent of their substance, type, or spatial or temporal scale of existence. It investigates both the principles common to all complex entities, and the (usually mathematical) models which can be used to describe them. A system can be said to consist of four things. The first is objects – the parts, elements, or variables within the system. These may be physical or abstract or both, depending on the nature of the system. Second, a system consists of attributes – the qualities or properties of the system and its objects. Third, a system has internal relationships among its objects. Fourth, systems exist in an environment. A system, then, is a set of things that affect one another within an environment and form a larger pattern that is different from any of the parts.

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