A large multi-national company that has a global service and aftermarket parts supply business recently launched a new integrated Information System. This system was designed to support all business functions and processes: product design, manufacturing, purchasing, sales and marketing, service, HR and accounting. The system was implemented in the cloud as SaaS, with modifications to the software product specified and paid for by the company.

During the post-launch review there were many criticisms of the new system at all levels.

1. The operational users found the system difficult to use and requiring more resources to support the day-to-day operations than the legacy systems. As a result the efficiencies in operating resources that were expected will not be achieved.

2. The department managers claimed that the reports produced and the information provided to support decision making were inadequate for two reasons. Firstly, because the operating people were not fully using the system, the data was not reliable and could not be trusted to support decisions. Secondly, the information was not correctly structured to support the decisions for which they were responsible in their departments.

3. The executives were dissatisfied with the information that was provided to them and its format, availability and relevance to support strategic decisions

The only positive feedback was that the Cloud implementation was trouble-free.

In summary, the system is not providing expected benefits, is only partially used and considered not fully implemented.

A list of possible potential causes for this unsatisfactory situation is provided below. For the examination you will select four from the list of potential causes which in your view contributed significantly to the partial implementation.

For each of the areas you select:

1. Explain how this area contributed to the declared problems.

2. Identify the potential for a review or repeat of processes or activities in this area to contribute to improving the situation.

3. Outline the process to be followed and the results to be delivered to achieve an improved outcome, ideally, that is a system that supports the requirements at all levels in the organization; operational, tactical and strategic.

Potential Causes:

1. Problems and opportunities poorly analyzed

2. Misinterpreted, inadequately communicated, or validated requirements

3. Requirements incorrectly implemented in design

4. Faulty process modeling and analysis

5. Faulty data modeling and analysis

6. Poor user interface design