F.J. Heemstra

Senior Executives' Use of Information Technology

Abstract There is a paucity of literature focusing on the ingredients for effective top management, i.e. senior executives, use of Information Technology (IT). In practice, many senior executives argue that they do not see a connection between what IT does and their tasks as executives. Based on the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), a research model was developed and tested to assess the factors that influence the use of IT by senior executives. A dedicated system supporting the task of a senior executive, an Executive Information System (EIS), was used as the IT tool under review. A large number of external variables were identified and hypothesized, influencing the core elements of TAM. To test the research model using structural equation modeling, cross-sectional data was gathered from eighty-seven senior executives drawn from twenty-one European-based multinationals. The results supported the core TAM and found only a small number of antecedent variables influencing actual use, either directly or indirectly. In addition to identifying the external factors, three of these key variables are under managerial control. They can be used to design organizational or managerial interventions that increase effective utilization of IT.

Dealing with risk: a practical approach

Most software projects take place in a volatile environment in which many dangers exist that may affect the successful outcome of the project. After completion of the project an evaluation may show that many of the problems encountered during the project could have been foreseen before they actually occurred. Risk management is an approach that is aimed at predicting the occurrence of this type of problem and at taking counter measures to either prevent them from affecting the project or to soften their impact. In this paper the basic activities related to risk management are described. Furthermore a concrete method aimed at supporting risk management is presented. This method has been used successfully in practice. Some of the results obtained by using it are presented on the basis of five cases. Some conclusions are that:(1) the use of a short and structured checklist will ease identification of and discussions about risks,(2) a risk management method in which explicit use is made of a group related approach, involving all parties, will increase reliability and acceptance of the results, and(3) involvement of a neutral process risk advisor will further both the successful use of the method and the acceptance of the results.

Calibrating a software cost estimation model: why and how

Abstract Calibration, has been found to be difficult in practice. Wide experience in using the estimation model is necessary; experience which the beginner naturally lacks. This paper indicates why it is important to calibrate a model and how the inexperienced user can be helped by an expert system. In addition, the development of, and experience with, the prototype of an expert system are described. The system dealt with here is intended for the calibration of the PRICE SP estimation.

Defining ICT proposals

The paper presents an approach for defining ICT investment proposals. The approach was developed on the authority of the Dutch Ministry of Transport, Public Works and Water Management. The Ministry was confronted with a growing amount of ICT investment proposals. Since there was no format for describing a proposal and no procedure for obtaining the data on the basis of which a proposal was described, the decision to select proposals for funding missed any kind of rationality. Proposals differed enormously and hence were incomparable. The evaluation of existing ICT assessment methods showed that there was not any method that would meet the expectations and demands of the Ministry. The main points of criticism concentrated on the limitation of applying a fixed set of data for describing a project proposal and the absence of a process to support the selection of a meaningful set of data to describe a project. Inspired by the multi‐criteria score method of Parker a tailor‐made approach for defining ICT investment proposals was developed, taking into account the characteristics of the governmental organization. In this paper, the approach as well as the developmental process with regard to this approach are presented. The overall conclusion is that a tailor‐made approach, which is developed with the full cooperation of the user organization, has considerable advantages since local knowledge and expertise is incorporated in this type of approach.

Empirical study of software maintenance

Abstract The paper describes an empirical study of software maintenance that was carried out in a system software department in 1989 and 1990. The study focused on error occurrence and fault detection. Over 400 problem reports were studied. The study showed some unexpected results. It showed, for example, no relation between the phase of error occurrence and the solution time. An explanation is the gap between the methods as they are supposed to be applied and reality. Assessment of the size of the gap is one of the contributions of this kind of empirical study.

ERP implementation costs: a preliminary investigation

The key question of the research reported here is ’which factors influence Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) implementation costs’. No sufficient answers to this question can as yet be found in literature. A ’theoretical’ answer to this question has been designed by studying the sparsely available literature on ERP implementation costs, and adding to this relevant items from the related fields of software cost estimation, COTS implementation cost estimation, and ERP implementation critical success factors. This result has been compared with empirical data that have been obtained from two large corporations. The combined result can be seen as a first attempt to define a generally applicable list of cost drivers for ERP implementation.

Software maintenance: an approach towards control

In this paper the software maintenance process will be looked at in more detail from a control point of view. From this it can be seen that in most situations no proper control mechanisms exist and that even the basic requirements for control are not fulfilled. The remainder of the paper will be devoted towards describing a basic approach that provides a starting point for an organisation trying to get a better grip on this problem. Aspects of this approach are: - a distinction between different kinds of maintenance. - types of goals to be used, - assignment of responsibility on a realistic basis, design of proper measurement tools.

Project Performance Indicator Workbench (PPIW)

A prototype has been developed of a generic tool set and accompanying methods that enable a customizable approach towards project tracking and benchmarking. The underlying data model describes a generic project life cycle. The prototype has been applied to an iterative development life cycle in a number of field rests.

Chapter 9 – Calibrating a software cost-estimation model: why and how

Publisher Summary nThis chapter presents calibrating a software cost-estimation model. Calibrating a model is a problem. To be able to carry out calibration, data on historical projects should be available. When performing the calibration the user is often meeting the model for the first time, whereas experience is needed in using the model to be able to calibrate properly. A possible solution to this problem is to make the experience required for calibrating the model available to the inexperienced user. One way to do this is to use an expert system. The chapter describes the development of an expert system for the PRICE SP cost-estimation model used at Philips. The chapter also discusses the importance of calibration.

Chapter 11 – Are software cost-estimation models accurate?

Publisher Summary nThis chapter discusses whether software cost-estimation models accurate. The use of a model is to estimate a software development project. Dozens of software cost-estimation models have been developed and today many are on sale. Well-known examples of estimation models include function-point analysis, COCOMO, Price, and Estimacs. The evaluation of a number of automated versions of estimating models is the subject of a study carried out by the Management of Software Development Projects research group of Eindhoven University of Technology for the ISA-TMS department of Philips. An important part of this study was an experiment in which 14 project leaders made a number of estimates using two estimation models. The goal was to evaluate two selected models in a semi-realistic situation. The experiment and its results are described in the chapter.