چکیده:
Information Systems (IS) acquisition prescribes induction of information technologies (IT) in the organization. At times, IS is used for managing broader enterprise level issues like implementing e-business, e-commerce. Enterprise level issues are addressed through adequate involvement of people in the organization which are termed as “user capabilities”. Managing user capabilities is critical since their roles are very important in the entire Systems Development Life Cycle (SDLC). It is seen that failures in IT acquisition are not because of the technology, but failure in choosing it rightly, and poor user capabilities. If planned properly, user capabilities can contribute effectively to SDLC. SDLC works in stages with different sets of users and insensitivities to users contribute to the gap between satisfying organizational needs and end-user deliveries. This problem can be addressed by carefully integrating user capability issues in the SDLC process. In this paper a framework is suggested to capture user capabilities in an IT acquiring organization. User capabilities are identified in two categories: IT users who are IT experts and involved in design, development, and implementation of SDLC driven projects, and, second, non-IT users who, despite having inadequate or no exposure to IT, contribute to SDLC driven projects. The framework is implemented through Unified Modelling Language (UML) based approach. A case discusses the utility of this approach.
خلاصه ماشینی:
Managing user capabilities is critical since their roles are very important in the entire Systems Development Life Cycle (SDLC).
User Capabilities, SDLC, Information Systems Modeling, UML Introduction It is a common notion that, once IT infrastructure is in place, it should be able to drive the organizational process successfully.
Generally, acquisition of IT infrastructure brings a new technology to the organization and is directed towards addressing specific processes and at times towards a broader framework like implementing e-business, e-commerce, etc.
SDLC-driven projects have three distinct stages which could provide an insight to user capabilities as presented in Table 1.
In the post- acquisition stage, SDLC prepares the project planners and managers to test the planned deliveries and measure their successes through user-driven tests and feedback.
Therefore, user capability largely depends on maturity levels in the organization's processes, technology acquisition environment, and people.
Table 2 Role of User Capabilities in SDLC {مراجعه شود به فایل جدول الحاقی} Non-It Users and SDLC Stages of IT acquisition in IT-acquiring organization can be as shown in Figure 1 (Ward et al.
IT service provider can organize its usability capability so that the user can use the product developed or supplied (Lientz and Chen, 1981; Abrahamson and Jokela ,2001).
In stage I (pre-acquisition stage), systems planning, project management strategies and prioritization of activities are included and these require capabilities of both IT and non-IT users.
This approach also provides an insight to user capability indicators in each stage of SDLC and the UML processes adopted for a project.