Norita Ahmad

Lessons Learned During a Decade of ERP Experience: A Case Study

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) literature concentrates on critical success factors for implementation. More recently, published work relates to ERP maintenance and upgrade practices. In papers concerning all phases of the ERP lifecycle, researchers commonly gather material via case studies of organizations comparatively new to ERP implementation, maintenance, or upgrade projects. This article uses a literature review detailing critical success factors and best practices during all phases of the ERP lifecycle to frame a case study on a large company with a decade of experience in supporting an ERP system through implementation, two major upgrades, one major domestic business merger, and two international business acquisitions. This article catalogs the company’s departures and concurrences with the published best practices and success factors over time, as well as the positive and negative consequences of its decisions. The company’s experience shows that straying from generally accepted best practices can lead to a successful outcome, and that portraying some success factors too well can exacerbate problems in other areas.

Knowledge sharing through inter‐organizational knowledge networks

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to analyze the business sector in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) based on their level of involvement in knowledge‐sharing activities with external sources, internal organizational innovations, and the barriers and benefits of joining knowledge networks. Subsequently, the findings are used as a basis for proposing several recommendations on managing knowledge in the UAE businesses that could result in higher levels of motivation and productivity.Design/methodology/approach – An exploratory investigation is done by in‐depth interviews with the employees of five local and eight multinational companies in the UAE.Findings – The paper finds that the concept of knowledge management (KM) is still not well received in this region. Most of the companies interviewed are concerned about confidentiality of their knowledge, and the presence of competent and trustworthy partners in such KM structures.Research limitations/implications – The findings provide a foundation for further...

The integration of analytical hierarchy process and data envelopment analysis in a multi-criteria decision-making problem

This research focuses on developing a model that can be used to assess the performance of Small to Medium-Sized Manufacturing Enterprises (SMEs). The model will result from the integration of a decision tool called the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) and a data analysis model called Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA). This research demonstrates that by eliminating flaws and taking advantage of each methodologys specific characteristics in identifying and solving problems, the new integrated AHP/DEA model appears to be a logical and sensible solution in multi-criteria decision-making problem.

Software Project Management Tools: Making a Practical Decision Using AHP

The selection of an appropriate software project management tool, as in the selection of many other tools, is often approached using an ad hoc process. Such non-rigorous approaches often based on personal preference, intuition, or marketing hype, can lead to an erroneous result. In this paper a rigorous model for selecting a software project management tool using the analytical hierarchy process (AHP) is presented. The AHP provides a flexible, systematic, and repeatable evaluation procedure that can easily be understood by the decision maker in selecting the appropriate software project management tool. Several relevant factors based on the most common features offered by commercial off-the-shelf solutions (COTS) are used as the selection criteria in ranking the software project management tools. The contribution of this work is to apply a well-known decision making procedure in a novel way to help decision makers better identify an appropriate software project management tool without having to go through a more extensive evaluation process. In addition, this work establishes a framework for comparing individual product decisions across projects, project managers, organizational groups, and organizations

Technology adoption model and a road map to successful implementation of ITIL

– The purpose of this paper is to propose the use of technology adoption model UTAUT as an adoption model of IT governance frameworks, specifically Information Technology and Infrastructure Library (ITIL). The aim is to help the decision maker to better map ITIL processes with business performance, to make a better decision on what processes to implement, and how to implement them. , – The paper uses a literature review detailing critical success factors of ITIL implementation. The proposed model was then implemented by applying it to a case study of a company in the United Arab Emirates where the ITIL implementation project failed. , – The proposed model gives ITIL the flexibility to work for a wide variety of industries and businesses, but it also introduces many challenges. One of the most apparent challenges is to map ITIL processes to the real world. As a result to analyzing the case study in light of the adoption model, a road map to successful implementation of ITIL is proposed. , – This research is targeted more toward practitioners such as the IT experts; therefore further studies need be conducted to understand the views of the business in respect to the challenges and benefits of the ITIL implementation. , – The paper proposed an adoption model for ITIL based on UTAUT which is evidently absent from the current literature. The research findings lead us to a proposal of a roadmap for ITIL implementing.

Integrated model of operations effectiveness of small to medium-sized manufacturing enterprises

The Small to Medium-sized Manufacturing Enterprise (SME) has consistently demonstrated the ability to innovate and bring to the market new technologies and advancement in manufacturing. SMEs in industrialized nations function as the supplier base for domestic manufacturing. However, as more businesses are going global, SMEs face a new challenge in competing in the competitive global market. In this research, we aim to answer the following question: by taking advantage of the challenge as new opportunities, how SMEs can reposition themselves to be more competitive in the global market. We analyze the data collected from over 3000 SMEs using an integrated productivity-oriented model. The results present us with information about SMEs’ operation and performance. We are able to link both qualitative and quantitative factors of multiple manufacturing input/output to further assess the performance of SMEs, making a set of efficiency benchmarks available. This information can be used to help SMEs better understand the problems and opportunities confronting their operations. So their business transformations can be cost-effectively conducted for more competitive edges.

Systematic Approach to Successful Implementation of ITIL.

Information Technology and Infrastructure Library implementation is not well spelled out in documentation and therefore can be very challenging. In this study, a literature review is conducted to identify critical success factors (CSFs) for ITIL implementation. The CSFs are then used in an improved solution to the decision problem using Analytical Hierarchy Process. In order to validate the proposed model, it was applied to a case study of a company in the United Arab Emirates, where the ITIL implementation project failed.

The KCRM knowledge audit: model and case illustration

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to propose a methodology for conducting a knowledge‐enabled customer relationship management (KCRM) knowledge audit, which involves applying knowledge auditing principles to assess the existence and implementation level of KCRM processes within an organization. This type of audit enables an organization to thoroughly review the extent to which knowledge is generated, codified, distributed and utilized while the firm is identifying, differentiating between, interacting with, and customizing products and services for its customers.Design/methodology/approach – This paper draws upon the KM, CRM, and auditing literatures to develop a KCRM knowledge audit methodology. As an illustration, the proposed methodology for KCRM knowledge auditing was applied within the service arm of a paint manufacturing firm in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).Findings – The proposed methodology allows supplier organizations to systematically evaluate the extent to which their CRM approaches are...

User development through proactive knowledge transfer

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to elucidate the concept of user development which consists of proactively transferring knowledge to potential users of IT innovations in order to increase the likelihood of innovation adoption and diffusion. Design/methodology/approach – An exploratory approach was adopted using three case organizations representing different sectors. These organizations represent the public, the semi-government, and the private sectors. Findings – The findings show that proactive knowledge transfer builds the requisite absorptive capacity of users to understand, adopt new and complex systems and technologies, and effectively integrate them into their organizations, hence increasing their likelihood of adopting such innovations. The findings also show that effective user development hinges on proper selection of potential users and on goals alignment between the innovating firm and the selected users. Research limitations/implications – The framework could be further refined through...

Reasoning about software using metrics and expert opinion

When comparing software programs on the basis of more than one metric a difficulty arises when the metrics are contradictory or if there are no standard acceptance thresholds. An appealing solution in such cases is to incorporate expert opinion to resolve the inconsistencies. A rigorous framework, however, is essential when fusing metrics and expert opinion in this decision-making process. Fortunately, the analytical hierarchy process (AHP) can be used to facilitate rigorous decision-making in this particular problem. In this work a combination of expert opinion and tool-collected measures are used to reason about software programs using AHP. The methodology employed can be adapted to other decision-making problems in software engineering when both metrics data and expert opinion are available, some of which are described.