Executive's Guide to IT Governance: Improving Systems Processes with Service Management, COBIT, and ITIL

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Application Systems Implementations and IT Governance

THE APPLICATION SYSTEMS DEVELOPMENT PROCESS was once a major concern for IT organizations. That was the time when most IT programming and systems development functions designed their own new systems, coded the programs using IT department resources, and implemented and then tested the major program components of new applications. This development process sometimes led to a hall of horrors for some enterprises. The new homegrown IT applications frequently were delivered much later than promised, were poorly tested, and did not meet their stated objectives. Even worse, sometimes new application projects were launched with no clear understanding of the system’s objectives. This era of failed application development projects goes back to the early days of IT, when everyone felt their own IT systems needs were unique and they had to develop their own applications to support those “unique” needs.

While dating himself to admit it, this author once worked in IT shops where there were systems development efforts to develop new accounts payable applications—effectively a check-writing application then—or even to develop and program new payroll systems! Given state and national rules, there are really few differences between the requirements of one payroll system versus another. However, back then there were few commercially developed applications to lease or purchase. Today, we generally buy this sort of software from ...