IMPLEMENTING THE SYSTEM

After each system had been designed and developed, the implementation of systems followed three main stages:

(i) Training personnel (ii) Conversion procedure (iii) Post Implementation Review

These stages will now be discussed in the following sections. 5.9.1 Training the Staff To Use the System

All staff involved in using computer systems at Weaver Construction had to undergo training. This included in-house training and a general computer appreciation course. In-house training took place before the final installation of the system. The purpose of in-house training was to:

(i) provide staff with an understanding of the systems they were operating. This involved familiarisation with application, data capture, data handling, and information retrieval from the systems;

(ii) inform the staff of the tasks they would perform and the responsibilities to be undertaken in order to maintain the integrity of data.

The general appreciation courses were run at a much later date in the project when many of the system had been implemented. The courses were administered by experienced trainers at Sheffield City Polytechnic and covered the topics of databases, spreadsheets and MS-DOS operating system. The purpose of the general appreciation course was to:

(i) to give current users of the systems a broader perspective than they might have gained from the in-house training and to cover aspects other than their own area of work;

(ii) provide users with additional training in areas which they appeared to be experiencing frequent problems;

(iii) to provide future users with a background knowledge of the systems installed and allow them to establish confidence in using computers.

Staff were classified into one of three groups: expert, average and novice according to their experience. Staff with similar amounts of expertise in the subject areas were grouped together. The siting of the training courses at Sheffield City Polytechnic removed the problems of interruptions which occur in the work environment and also ensured that adequate resources which were in short supply and in great demand in the company, were available for all the members of staff. Subsequent interviews with the staff regarding the general appreciation courses indicated that they had perhaps taken place at the wrong time. Current users felt that courses would have been more beneficial prior to systems installation, or soon after. Some users felt that the courses were too early and the procedures they had learnt would be forgotten by the time their systems were installed.

However, positive feedback was also received. The current users of the systems felt they had a better understanding of how the applications they were using worked. The prospective users felt their level of awareness of computer systems had been increased. 5.9.2 From manual to computerised systems.

System conversion is the process of changing from the old system to the new system. It is a very complex process requiring careful planning and preparation. This situation is highlighted in a similar study^^ of ten small companies operating in the UK construction industry also implementing computerised MIS.

In this study all systems were piloted, and based on feedback, changes were made and systems refined until they satisfactorily met user requirements. A transition phase was also required where systems would then be run in parallel with the old systems to fully ensure correct operation of the new systems. Other activities that took place during conversion were to convert all manual files to computerised files. In some cases the new files required additional data and involved a extra work to input data into the computer. Batch control methods were employed to ensure that all the necessary records had been entered onto the computer.

A post implementation review was also necessary to obtain feedback on all systems implemented to determine if they were operating correctly and how the system had been accepted into the company. The results of the post implementation review are discussed in chapter 6.

5.10 SUMMARY

In this chapter the design, development and implementation of the computerised MIS was described. Because the level of awareness of IT in the company was low, technology was introduced gradually into the company by means of pilot systems. These proved to be successful in terms of increasing staff productivity and facilitating a more flexible approach to working. Following the introduction of the standalone pilot systems, work proceeded on the design of an integrated database which incorporated the existing systems. At this stage the management of Weaver Construction decided that they did not want to proceed with the implementation of the integrated MIS and were satisfied with continuing along the standalone route. A costing exercise was carried out comparing the costs which would be incurred for both the standalone and integrated database approaches to further systems development. The differences in cost were in fact minimal, however the company were still determined to continue with the standalone approach. Further work was on the basis of the integrated database design but developing only the required sections. This meant that if the company did decide at

CHAPTER 6

POST IMPLEMENTATION REVIEW: DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS