IT Consultants and Packaged Software Selection
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Transcript of IT Consultants and Packaged Software Selection
IT Consultants and
Packaged Software Selection
Debra HowcroftCRESC and MBS
University of Manchester, [email protected]
Research Focus
• The process of selection and procurement of a software package within a small organization
• Analyses the case in the context of Markus and Bjorn-Anderson’s (1987) framework of power
Packaged software
• Increasing numbers of organizations shifting from custom to packaged software
• Sold as an ‘IT solution’ with a track record of success
• Delivers complex systems in short time-frame
• ‘Package paradox’ (Williams, 2005)
Product-oriented development
• Focus is on developing and ‘shipping’ a generic product
• Standardisation is pre-requisite for commodification (Fan et al. 2000)
• Developers (rather than users) needs are central
• IT consultants role is crucial as they position themselves between IT vendors and the client
Inscribed assumptions
• Packaged software is itself embedded or inscribed with assumptions, values and opinions – ‘frozen organizational discourse’ (Bowker and
Star, 1994)
• Software embodies scripts of particular behaviours (Akrich, 1992)– Organization may need to change itself or the
package
Guidelines on selection and procurement
DefineUser
Requirements
Package
EvaluationFinal selection
and purchase
(Lynch, 1987; Sharland, 1991; Bansler and Havn, 1994; Chau, 1995; Stefanou, 2001) (Martin and McClure, 1983; Nelson et al., 1996; KPMG, 1998) )
Power framework
• Markus and Bjorn-Anderson drawn on Lukes (1974) three-dimensional view of power– Considers covert power– Seeks to problematize consensus
• This framework is applied to custom systems development
Power framework
• Technical exercise of power– IS professionals select design features that users
object to
• Structural exercise of power– IS professionals create organizational structures and
routines that give them formal authority
• Conceptual exercise of power– IS professionals define the parameters of design
• Symbolic exercise of power– IS professionals shape users desires and values
Research Method
• Action research
• Our role as researchers’ ranged from that of detached observer to fully engaged participant
• Our primary responsibility was to the IT Manager
• Multiple techniques of data collection
Case study setting
• Owner-managed business• Established in 1990, three locations, with a
turnover of £1.1m• Around 20 internal staff and 20 external
consultants• MD had a strong organizational ‘vision’• IT systems established in an ad-hoc
manner, running independently of each other
The Client Tracking Process
Employed or Performance Improvement
Client(s) MentoringMentoring
The Research Department and External Consultants
Gathering Requirements
• We advised of the importance of discussing requirements with users
• A focus day was planned• Documentation hoped to appeal to
senior management
“to provide a business class service and grow effectively in the future whilst maintaining efficiency in all areas” (Board of Directors Document)
The Product Search
• Project team made use of marketing literature, internet, commercial product guides etc. to short-list products
• Negotiations set up with three CRM vendors.
Party A: Siebel
Vendor B: Sage
Party C and D: Goldmine
The ‘Beauty Parade’
• Party C’s ‘standard’ product– ‘Goldmine isn’t for us’– Wanted exploration of custom development
• Party D’s ‘personalised’ product– Vendor primed by project team– Marginally more expensive than Party C– Same Product– Budget Doubled– Scope extended
Implementation Process
• The package roll out order changed significantly
• Workflow day planned with end-users
• Signing off the workflow document
“This isn’t over, I expect the workflow document to be double the size it is now – you just see.”(Interview with IT Manager)
PS and the technical exercise of power
• Sociotechnical boundary is fluid
• Arguably, Goldmine is already fixed to a certain degree
• IT consultants position themselves as knowledgeable experts and define the sociotechnical boundary according to their audience
PS and the structural exercise of power
• Appointment of the IT Manager initiated a process of ‘IS professionalisation’ which saw the development of a number of policies
• Linked to the desire to provide greater control over the forthcoming project
• Externally, there are guidelines that govern how packages should be adopted
• Policies on new product releases, patches, and upgrades are also determined by vendor organizations
PS and the conceptual exercise of power
• At the market level, packaged software products are sold on the basis of realising an ‘ideal’
• System objectives were decided by the senior management team– improved profitability and enhanced market share
• Boundaries shift over time to fit the changing needs of senior management– ‘consultants do not so much target themselves at a
particular niche as seek to create a niche and persuade clients that they are within it’ (Bloomfield and Danieli, 1995 )
PS and the symbolic exercise of power
• The myths or fictional narratives of PS become increasingly pervasive as the benefits are evangelised
• Technology = progress– the CRM package would contribute towards
enhancing productivity and profitability via standardisation of activities
• The power of the Board of Directors is evident in the process of persuasion and enrolment surrounding the securing of the financial resources for the project
• Legitimizing devices of language, myth, ceremony, and rituals are all evident
Conclusion
• The categories of power should not be viewed separately, but are interwoven
• M&BA Framework has resonance in a packaged software environment
• Increasing market-orientation (Sawyer, 2001) has meant that power issues are operationalised both within the organization and in the marketplace, thus influencing the role of various parties– IT consultants play a primary role as third-party implementers,
liaising between vendors and the adopting organization– IT professionals are expected to negotiate a range of financial
and contractual issues with IT consultants– end-users involved in operational issues have minimal
participation and influence.
References
• Howcroft D and Light B (2002) A study of user involvement in packaged software selection, Proceedings of the 23rd International Conference on Information Systems, (eds. Applegate, L, Galliers R D and DeGross J I), 69-77.
• Howcroft D and Light B (2006) Reflections on issues of power in packaged software selection, Information Systems Journal,16, 215-235.