All this raises some major questions about comparisons based on case studies. Even where overall savings in IS costs are realized, the savings occur only under specific circumstances, usually because IS costs were abnormally high to begin with.
Organizations with higher-quality applications, current hardware, efficient software, and different workloads will have an entirely different cost structure. Cost savings are particularly unlikely in an organization that uses system resources and personnel effectively.
Mainframe replacements are a relatively small percentage compared with the total volume of mainframe procurements. A survey of mainframe migration patterns in the United States in 1993, compiled by Computer Intelligence InfoCorp of La Jolla, California, is particularly revealing (Exhibit 6).
Exhibit 6. U.S. Mainframe Migration Patterns in 1993 for 309X and 4300
Series (From Computer Intelligence InfoCorp, La Jolla, CA, 1993.) According to the survey data, users of 309X-class systems who acquired new mainframe systems outnumbered those who moved to alternative platforms by more than 20 to 1. If 309X upgrades are included, the figure is 50 to 1. Among 4300-class users, new mainframe acquisitions outnumbered replacements by more than 8 to 1.
This figure does not include users who upgraded within 4300 product lines.
The extent of real mainframe replacement appears to be relatively small. The majority of downsizing actions involve moving specific applications from mainframes to smaller platforms, not actually replacing mainframes. This affects the validity of cost-savings claims. Although the cost of individual applications ma y be lower on new platforms, this does not necessarily mean that overall IS costs were reduced. In many cases, applications are either relatively small or exploit mainframe databases, or both. In addition, transition costs are seldom included in calculations.
CONCLUSION
One of the enduring ironies of the computer industry is that those who most uncritically and aggressively target IS cost savings are the least likely to achieve their goal. That is because unrealistic perceptions about automatic cost savings or inexpensive platforms often lead to inadequately managed planning and procurement. Preoccupation with technology may mean that major opportunities to achieve real, substantial cost savings through increased operation efficiencies are neglected. Even if real business benefits are achieved, the cost of realizing them is likely to be unnecessarily high.
Only by understanding IS cost structures, and targeting all the variables affecting these structures, can businesses ensure that they will obtain maximum cost-effectiveness from their IS expenditures.
Chapter 42: Information Technology for Project Management Automation
Chang-Yang Lin
OVERVIEW
Although project management systems have been evolving from mainframe-based, big-iron programs into microcomputer-based, GUI (graphical user interface) programs, they are still in their infancy for enhancing fundamental functions. The fundamental functions and new features that these current project management systems lack include:
§ Historical project databases
§ Knowledge-based methodologies
§ Multimedia-enabling capabilities
§ Flexible navigation mechanisms
The significance of these shortcomings is that, without these features, systems are insufficient to facilitate project management automation from the planning phase to the controlling and executing phase. Consequently, the attitude toward a project stays the same: instead of using project management systems, many project managers continue to employ paper and pencil as the principal tools; therefore, project management remains mainly a manual process.
PROJECT MANAGEMENT ACTIVITIES
The main goal of project management is to develop an acceptable information system on schedule and within the allocated budget. Projects usually involve a team of analysts, programmers, technic al specialists, and user representatives who work together. Managing projects is the continuing, iterative process by which an analyst plans, controls, and executes tasks and resources, and communicates progress and results. Specifically, project management involves the following fundamental activities:
§ Planning a project, including:
o
Determining and sequencing the required tasks
o
Estimating the time required for completing the tasks
o
Allocating the staff and resources to perform the tasks
o
Budgeting the tasks
§ Controlling the execution of the project, including:
o
Coordinating the tasks and resources according to the plan
o
Monitoring and measuring project progress against the plan
o
Presenting and communicating progress and results with management, team members, and clients
Project Planning
Planning is a critical part of project management. The project plan, resulting from the completion of planning, is the basis for coordinating, measuring, and communicating. Lack of planning has been cited as one of the major factors contributing to the failure of many systems projects. The failure to perform planning partly results from the nature of planning itself:
§ Uncertain or unstructured conditions often exist. For example, problems that trigger a development project are usually not understood completely at the early phases of the systems development process.
§ Heterogeneous staff possessing various skill levels are common in most organizations.
§ Planning techniques (e.g., estimating techniques) are imperfect.
The results are obvious. Some project managers rely primarily on their own experience to perform planning activities because few tools appear to be available for planning. The estimated time required for completing a given task is often highly inaccurate because there is little project data for prediction. The sequence of the tasks is not consistent because project methodology is not standardized and historical project databases are nonexistent. As a consequence, rarely are solid project plans created.
Despite the difficulty in planning, the following steps to improve planning may be considered:
§ Establishing the project development methodology for determining and sequencing the development tasks
§ Maintaining the historical project databases to support, for example, estimations
§ Building knowledge or expert system to assist analysts in resolving such issues as task sequences, personal assignments, and estimation techniques Project Control
Project control includes coordinating activities and measuring for the execution of the project plan. First, coordinating involves integrating the activities for the ease of interaction among the team members. Creating a cooperative working environment that allows the team members to easily share project information or knowledge is important for the success of the project. Information or knowledge that may be shared includes the entire project plan and the status or progress of the project.
Second, measuring involves tracking and assessing the progress of the project.
Without knowledge of individual and team progress, the problems cannot be
identified, and the project managers cannot reshuffle the staff or revise the schedule to achieve the goals.
To assist the project team to perform project controlling activities better, the following steps can be taken:
§ Gathering project data to support the process management
§ Keeping track of the status of tasks, alerting the project manager and team members when tasks are incomplete or resources are not used effectively
§ Creating a distributed environment that can coordinate works Project Communication
Project communication involves reporting, presenting, and accessing. Traditionally, project status, project plans, and other reports are prepared in the forms of text, tables, or graphics on paper using a manual method and a batch-oriented approach.
Increasingly, such reports are also available on computers that can be accessed interactively.
Additional features are necessary for effective communication:
§ Digitized project information or knowledge to support automated access
§ Flexible approaches to access project information or knowledge
§ Automated tools for the preparation of project reports, presentations, or demonstrations in multimedia forms
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
Historical project databases and knowledge-based project methodology are essential for effective planning, control, and communication. This section identifies and describes specific information technologies that may automate historical project databases, knowledge-based project methodology, and others. Current project management systems are also examined, and the limitations and advantages of these systems are identified.
Current Project Management Systems
Almost all the current products for project management are microcomputer-based GUI programs aimed at both technical project managers and analysts. Examples are Microsoft Project and SuperProject for Windows (by Computer Associates International Inc.). These products are designed to support the process management for single projects consisting of approximately 200 to 500 tasks. Although in their infancy as single-project, single-user, record-keeping systems, these programs are already starting to offer some fundamental functions:
§ Simplifying the preparation of CPM, PERT, and Gantt charts
§ Generating a simple project plan
§ Assigning people and cost resources to tasks
§ Reporting project progress
§ Answering simple “What-If” questions
These microcomputer-based project management systems, however, lacked sufficient functionality, including:
§ Multiproject capabilities
§ Support of historical project databases
§ Knowledge-based project methodologies
§ Advanced decision support functions
§ Expert guidance for generating a customized plan
Relational Database Systems
The widespread use of relational database technology and its advantages have been well documented. Such use has been applied mainly to critical business applications in the user department. One essential task in relational technology is to plan an enterprise data model that can support the development of various applications.
Theoretically, the enterprise data model can also be extended to support project management applications in IS departments. However, project data must be planned as an integral part of the enterprise data model. With relational technology, the project database offers many advantages over current, microcomputer-based project management products, including:
§ Consistent and friendly data structure
§ Openness or connectivity
First relational databases incorporate easy-to-understand tabular structure to store data. A generic data model for project management, shown in Exhibit 1, may be implemented as a relational database in which each of these objects (project, task, assignment, person, time record) is converted into a table. The project database is then viewed as a set of tables that is consistent throughout the organization.