Managing and Using Information System

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MANAGING IT PROJECTS

A major function of the IS organization always has been to build and implement systems. This chapter describes that process using a project framework. It begins by defining what a project is and who the key players are. It then describes how IT projects are conducted. Various system development methodologies and approaches are introduced and compared. The chapter concludes with a discussion of two critical management areas for project success: risk management and change management.

The Rural Payments Agency (RPA), an agency responsible for administering agricultural subsidies to U.K. farmers, blamed poor planning and lack of testing of their IT system for delays in paying out £1.5bn of EU subsidies. The UK government developed a complex system for administering the Single Payment Scheme, which maps farmers' land to a database. By the end of 2006, only 15% of the subsidies had been paid to farmers and, as a result a large number of farmers faced bankruptcy after not receiving due subsidies. Problems still plagued the system in early 2012 when the RPA CEO stated that the agency had deep-rooted problems that won't be corrected until 2014. His litany of the problems included inaccurate data sources of past, present and future schemes claims, a lack of standard processes and controls, ageing systems, unsuitable technology, and an organizational structure and ...