Information and Communications Technology Essay

Executive SummaryIn the boost world of breeding and Communications technology, a lot of requireing dusts has been demonstrable to alleviate manual processes. These knowledge Systems comes in incompatible aims. A uncorrupted computeion depends on so umpteen varying factors. The most authorised factor is having a precise level-headed objectify Manager who is tasked to fulfill his portions in order to plan the steps to be done in package exploitation. He should be able to establish an open communicating to his members so that ideas atomic number 18 free-flowing.The calculate Manager is responsible for dividing the squad, from each one with different task to do that is to follow the organisationatic way in package go through ontogeny- Project life sentence round. Following the Project Life round of golf is another factor that erect affect escort triumph. If a member in a team does not possess a grave drop deading relationship and domiciliate barel y work in a assort, chances are the barf is a total chaos. The members of the development team should contri furtherion their knowledge and expertise in order to accomplish the best realizable widening and to deliver the project on the estimated data.A project in like manner needs the attention of the owner. If the top anxiety does not give one hundred% musical accompaniment to the project development team or does not support the computerization of many business processes, the company will not be able to accomplish its objectives.However, problems in bundle development whoremaster hardly be avoided. Problems occur any season within the development of the project. The Project Manager as well as the members should anticipate problems and should be able to provide straightaway solutions so that the delivery of the project put upnisternot be delayed.Project Development accounting entryWhen a lot of work has been assigned, it is very tempting to stay former(a) to get ever ything done in the beginning the next day. But according to a research, this is not a good practice because workers who guide this kind of emplacement are 61% more than likely to suffer work-related injuries. ( indorsers happen March 1996, 132)The above-mentioned attitude of an employee is of great help to the company because it barely shows that they are dedicated to their job. In this way, projects assigned to these employees merchantman easily be complied and can be submitted even up before the deadline.Large companies should affirm these types of employees in order to deliver projects on time most especially in the field of randomness Technology where all trans corresponds happen in near a click. Because of the fast-paced advancement in the field of knowledge and Communications Technology, most if not all brass sections nowadays want an Information System that can help them in their day-to-day business operations.This Information System is built to alleviate the bu rden that manual procedures bring. This alike makes the organization be abreast with the latest technology and not be left behind by their competitors. In selecting a company that can assist the needs of big organization in terms of developing good software, the company needs to look for developmental organizations which can deliver projects on time and be able to complete the requirements being specified.Software Life Cycle ActivitiesIn order for companies to deliver projects on time, the software development group has to follow the Software Life Cycle. A project mean for large organizations should be broken down into smaller chunks to give decent attention to each of the smaller modules. In this way, the members of the group can steering on each phase and deal with problems, which arise while the realizing of each phase takes place, more systematically. The Software Life Cycle divides a large- stove project into the following six phasesAnalysis and specification of the task (Savitch 1993, 115)Design of the software (Savitch 1993, 115)Implementation (coding) (Savitch 1993, 115)Testing (Savitch 1993, 115)Maintenance and evolution of the system (Savitch 1993, 115)Obsolescence (Savitch 1993, 115)The CHAOS tuition divided the project into three (3) types Project Success the project is ideal happyly incorporating all the specified features, Project Challenged the project is completed solely with little features and delivered late and Project Impaired- the project is cancelled during the development cycle. The group conducted a survey and they establish out that there are factors bear on each of the three types of project. Taking into consideration the Project Success category, it was found out that exploiter Involvement has the highest percentage in terms of accomplishing the project.  User involvement got 15.9% among all other factors. While the factor that really deterred a project success is Hardworking Staff. (Standish,1995)Based on the fact s presented, one of the major factors why an organization/project succeeds is due to hardworking staffs. If only a certain company hires employees who can work under pressure and requires less supervision, surely the focussing can deliver to its customers the desired project even before the deadline.Project Challenged Factors are deficiency of User Input (12.8%), fractional Requirements & axerophthol Specifications (12.3%), Changing Requirements & Specifications (11.8%), Lack of Executive Support            (7.5%), Technology Incompetence (7.0%), Lack of Resources (6.4%), Unrealistic Expectations (5.9%), Unclear Objectives (5.3%), Unrealistic Time Frames (4.3%), sore Technology (3.7%)  and Other factors (23.0%). (Standish,1995)The data above shows that the major factor that contests a project is lack of user input. User involvement greatly helps a projects success since users are the direct beneficiaries of the project. They c an also contribute to the features that will be incorporated into the system.Developing a easy application may be one criteria of a project success. A user-friendly application is take so that the company need not conduct a month or two training just to teach the users on how to navigate through the system.A project can be anything an organization wants to accomplish to deliver to its customers. It should have definite goals and objectives. A good Project Management involves a proper organization, management, planning, supervising and irresponsible to bring out a successful project. One major challenges of a good project management is the accomplishment of its goals and objectives while adhering to the projects scope, time and calculate. Objectives of the project must be specific, measurable, realistic, and relevant to the environment and is time bounded. (Free Management Library, 1997-2008)The figure shows the procedures to be best followed by the management in developing a su ccessful project.Figure 1.0 Project Life Cycle (Foote & Crum, 2000)In addition, the following are the key aspects of a Project Life CycleSetting goals and estimating costs (Foote & Crum, 2000)Before start any project, a clear specification of the goals and objectives should be set so that the management has a clear guide as where the project is going. cost should also be estimated for the management to prepare enough funds in the development of the project.The functional requirements study (Foote & Crum, 2000)Functional requirements should be intelligibly specified so that the management can focus on these requirements and can research ways and means on how to meet these. But before finalizing the requirements of the project, the management has to conduct a feasibility on what are to be included and what are not and on what are best needed by the their clients.The creation of a persona (Foote & Crum, 2000)A prototype or an archetype should be first developed to see if the project is feasible or not. Prototypes serve as a sample output when the system will be completed. Presenting this one will give the management an idea of how the system will work and what benefits can it give to them.            In order for an organization to accomplish and deliver projects on time, they have to have a good set of workers who are willing to be happy to further enhance learning. Moreover, the following are the steps to a successful projectScope out a detailed plan (Alexandrou, 2006) construe out for bad RFPs bid (Alexandrou, 2006)Plan ahead (Alexandrou, 2006)Find the constriction (Alexandrou, 2006)Do not cut corners on testing (Alexandrou, 2006)Develop a backup system (Alexandrou, 2006)Prepare other contingency plans (Alexandrou, 2006)Train, train, train and train some more (Alexandrou, 2006)Be honest (Alexandrou, 2006)Triage fixes (Alexandrou, 2006)Additionally, other suggested steps that a company may carry to del iver good IT projects to its clients are listed at a lower placeDiscover (JamesDeanWaryk, 1999-2008)Dreams (JamesDeanWaryk, 1999-2008)Desire (JamesDeanWaryk, 1999-2008)Decision (JamesDeanWaryk, 1999-2008)Destination (JamesDeanWaryk, 1999-2008)Direction (JamesDeanWaryk, 1999-2008)Daily action (JamesDeanWaryk, 1999-2008)Discipline (JamesDeanWaryk, 1999-2008)Determination (JamesDeanWaryk, 1999-2008)Delight (JamesDeanWaryk, 1999-2008)Destiny (JamesDeanWaryk, 1999-2008)            The above-mentioned steps can best be applied to an organization which has a good project double-decker that possesses the needed knowledge to perform all tasks and responsibilities assigned to him. A good leadership skill is also needed to inspire and earn respect from its team members and also from the top management. An outstanding project manager always conveys ideas in an articulate manner that resounds with the targeted audience and therefore should have a g ood communication skill. (Wu, 2005)On the other hand, there are also factors that greatly affects why a project fails. These IT projects fail because when the management does not able to deliver the project on time, it is over budget and the system does not work as required. The following are the reasons why an IT Project fails (Coley Consulting, 2001-2007)Lack of user involvement (Coley Consulting, 2001-2007)A very strategic factor since the Information System is mainly built for users/customers. So, this Information System should be able to satisfy what users want and need.Long or unreal time scales (Coley Consulting, 2001-2007)If the group assigned to develop the Information System specifies unreal deadlines surely the system is a failure. Before setting deadlines, the group must consider the features incorporated in the system. scurvy or no requirements (Coley Consulting, 2001-2007)Specifying the systems requirements is an important aspect in project development but if the ma nagement fails to do so, the project is of no good.Scope creep (Coley Consulting, 2001-2007)The scope and limitation of the project should be clearly defined.No change pull wires system (Coley Consulting, 2001-2007)There should be proper control over the system.Poor testing (Coley Consulting, 2001-2007)This happens when testing measures are not clearly established.            Moreover, projects fail due to stakeholder conflicts. Stakeholder conflicts can take part in many different roles in project failure. Frequently, stakeholders have personal reasons/conflicts for not being able to work as a team.   (Rosenfield, No year)            Furthermore, the following are various reasons why projects are not delivered on the schedule specifiedLack of of age(p) management commitment (Wilson, 1998)When the top management does not give its cytosine% support to the project being developed, the pr oject will not meet the deadline and eventually fails.Lack of user involvement (Wilson, 1998)As mentioned above, users should be voluminous in the development of the project because they should be the ones whom the management asked for the specifications the project should have.Lack of user requirements specifications (Wilson, 1998)User requirements specifications should be done during the planning stage to conservatively analyze the features that are to be included in the system.Poor project planning (Wilson, 1998)Planning is the most critical step in software project development life cycle. The success of the project depends on the effort, skill and care applied in the planning stage. (Blair, No year)Project team problems (Wilson, 1998)Problems among members of the development team greatly affect their performance. This can lead to not being able to meet the requirements of the project, thus, not beating the deadline. To avoid these, the team leader must be able to control and s upervise his members so that conflicts will not be experienced among themselves.            In todays modern world, to deliver projects on time and making it sure that these projects meet the customers requirements and features, the management must hire workers who are good team players. A person who cannot work in a team will not be able accomplish any tasks given as a group. Good camaraderie should be as well fostered among team members so that a healthy environment is established and everybody can work freely. certainty            Any organization, may it big or small, always aim for success in their field. With the aid of the current trends in Information Technology, so many applications can now be applied. One of these is the utilization of an Information System. The development of an Information System should follow the systematic way so that a very good outcome results.             Project Life Cycle has thus plays a very important role in the development of an Information System. The different steps in the cycle, if being carried out properly, results to a project delivered even before the delivery date schedule. The success of any project also lies in the knowledge and expertise of the team leader in the software development team. The team leader, having possessed all the expertise in the field of software development and very good managerial skills, can really motivate his members to work hard for the success of the project.            The project delivered by the software development team is the Information System being utilized by large-scale organizations. This Information System has helped all transactions in various aspects of the organization in so many different ways. Information System, if being delivered on time, brings a lot of positive results to the management side . This can boost up the companys morale, thus, making the company more competitive in the world market.            Project Management is a very crucial task of a manager. Thus, having been equipped with the knowledge and expertise, the company can gain competitive advantage in the business field.BibliographyNo Author. Readers Digest March 1996. Toil Smarter, Not Longer 132.Savitch, Walter J. 1993. Turbo Pascal. sequoia City, CA The Benjamin/Cummings Publishing Company Inc.The Standish Group. 1995. The Standish Group say CHAOS. http//209.85.173.104/search?q=cacheueLBNWtVA7MJwww.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/NCP08083B.pdf+chaos+standish+group+1995&hl=tl&ct=clnk&cd=2&gl=ph (Accessed 23March2008).Free Management Library. 1997-2008. http//www.managementhelp.org/plan_dec/project/project.htm (Accessed 24March2008)Foote, Kenneth E., & Crum, Shannon L. 2000. Project Planning and Life Cycle. http//www.colorado.edu/geography/gcraft/note s/lifecycle/lifecycl_f.html (Accessed 24March2008)Alexandrou, Marios. 2006. Information Technology Blog 10 steps to a Successful Project. http//www.mariosalexandrou.com/blog/?p=162 (Accessed 24March2008)JamesDeanWaryk. 1999-2008. How to 12 Steps to a Successful Project, Company or Life. http//www.ehow.com/how_2062188_steps-successful-project-company-life.html (Accessed 24March2008)Wu, Jonathan. 2005. 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