As it can be seen from the case study, the medical instruments company faced a problem of implementation of the new software among its employees. The software, Executive Information System, seemed to work well for the limited number of users, namely the top management and the solution developers. EIS was marked by a robust functionality, compliance with the key business requirements and engaging user-friendly interface.
But in a month the software began to falter which was reflected in slow response to mass online requests, often inadequate information in the produced reports and problems with the users log in. The EIS sponsor decided to hire a quality specialist Scott Daniels who was to solve the existing problems develop a plan to avoid them for the future.
However, the specific underlying causes of software problems are not specified suggestions can still be made. The key technical matter of concern could be the weak back-end support of the EIS software. The system may have been elaborately developed but, for instance, the data used in the system could be placed on weak servers (be it cloud-based or internal company servers). The software could have problems with optimization. The hardware capacity in the company could also be insufficient for fast running of the EIS. Moreover, is obvious that the employees did not get any training on how to use the system properly.
The employees would apply the method of trial-and-errors and fail to arrive at any solution, thus, creating extra problems for the EIS tech support department. Nowadays it becomes crucial for the company to ensure the training of its personnel, training becomes an “investment – in your employee’s success, your ultimate success, and your organization’s ability to meet and exceed business expectations” (Fina, 2009, p. 63).
Among the key factors of the issues, are the lack of the developers’ attention to details, insufficient amount of crush-tests (the software must have been tested not only by the end users but by professional testers and quality assurance engineers trained to reveal every error). The company did not make an evaluation of the possible threats concerning the new software. The overall implementation of the project seems to be rather chaotic and lacking systems approach, which is important for successful IT projects and implies a streamlined management of technological, business and organizational issues (Schwalbe, 2012, p. 45).
The possible solution of the technological part of the issues is to send the software back for revision by the development and maintenance teams. They have first to evaluate the capacity of the company’s hardware and, based on that, to make possible changes. As the software is ready and working, it will be much cheaper to make amendments than to change all the hardware of the company. However, the change of servers still may be required.
As to the “human” part of the issue, Scott Daniels has to offer the top management to establish obligatory training for all the employees of the company. It will be save costs and time in future. From his part, Scott Daniels should work on this quality restoration project in his team in close collaboration with the company’s management and employees. The project should meet the SMART criteria: it should be specific (what are the goals and desired results), measurable (how much every step will cost), assigned (who is responsible for every step), realistic and time-framed (Schwalbe, 2012, p. 240).
As a result, the redesigned or revised EIS software will bring the company a range of benefits starting from the increase in the employees work speed and quality to the enhancement of cost-effectiveness. Successful implementation of the new software is impossible without investment in training possible further examination of the personnel; it will motivate the employees to work more thoroughly and be proactive.
References
Fina, M. (2009). Perspectives on managing employees. Boston, MA: Cengage Learning.
Schwalbe, K. (2012). Information technology project management. Boston, MA: Cengage Learning.