Planning Approaches

Methodologies based on this approach emphasise the importance of planning at the strategic level prior to the development of any system. The organisational objectives and business strategy should first be determined and only then should an information system strategy be derived to support these.

information systems ^ will be outlined. In the first era (1960s onwards), which is known as the data processing era, systems were essentially transaction processing systems which computerised routine, operational tasks. The second era (1970s onwards), known as the management information systems era, was characterised by systems which aimed to provide more and better management information to support decision making. The third and current era (1980s onwards), known as the strategic information systems era is characterised by systems which aim to increase competitive advantage. The systems characteristic of the first era were developed in a piecemeal fashion to meet the needs of functional business areas. The IS strategy was rarely considered as a part of the system of a business strategy in the same way as for example a marketing strategy and a production strategy would be included. However, where the aims of implementation are those of increasing organisational effectiveness and competitiveness this approach to systems development becomes inappropriate. A different approach is required to produce systems characteristic of the second and third era. Typical types of strategic information systems include

(i) systems that link the organisation's technology directly to important external organisations and individuals, such as customers and suppliers;

(ii) systems that integrate and disseminate information in an organisation over established barriers such as different roles or departments;

(iii) systems that enable organisations to develop new products or services based on information;

(iv) systems that provide top executives with information to assist strategic activities.

These systems will affect the competitive position of an organisation and also depend

on internal information being integrated. Unless such systems are carefully planned and managed, organisations run the risk of eroding their competitiveness by poor investments in their information systems. It is therefore vital that top management who are responsible for formulating strategies have an understanding of strategic information planning. In a survey on information planning, by Galliers(^), out of 130 companies surveyed, only 10% said they had merged their IS planning with their business objectives. Top management were seen to be unambitious about systems planning and gave low priority to proposals which attempted to seek out opportunities which would give the business a competitive advantage. The potential contribution of information systems is too important to corporate success to be left to the technologist alone.

Planning approaches therefore emphasise the involvement of top management as well as the technologist in planning how information systems might best meet the organisational objectives. Methodologies based on the planning approach include Business Information Analysis and Integration Technique (BIATT), Business Systems Planning (BSP) and Stages of Growth Model. BIATT concentrates on analysing the information required to support the business objectives and then looks at the type of systems which could provide this information. BSP is similar to the traditional approach but emphasises strategic planning in the early stages and an organisation wide perspective. The data becomes a corporate resource which is available to everyone rather than being owned by departments.

The Stages of Growth is more of a framework to review the maturity of IS and help an organisation plan for the next stage in the development of IS. The original model developed by Nolan and Gibson^) documented four stages which an organisation is said to progress through in its implementation of IS. Nolan(^) later revised the model breaking down stage four into three stages, thereby producing a six stage model. The model is a contingency theory which presents a set of features for each given stage.

The features that can identify an organisation as being at a particular stage are the applications portfolio, DP organisation, DP planning and control and user awareness. The model is based on the assumption that an organisation must move through each of the stages. Stages can not be skipped as at each one a process of organisational learning occurs, without which it is not possible to progress to the next stage. Briefly, the stages in the model are:

(i) Initiation (ii) Contagion (iii) Control (iv) Integration (v) Data Administration (vi) Maturity Initiation

At this stage the organisation acquires its first information system. Systems characteristic of this stage focus on automating well defined clerical procedures, for example payroll. There is no strategic interest shown by management.

Contagion

This is a period of rapid growth in which users demand more applications. There is a high level of investment in information systems in an attempt to satisfy the user requests.

Control

This represents a period of a tightly controlled investment in IS and the enforcement of strict policies and standards due to management concerns about cost and return on investment. This action may produce a backlog of applications and an increasing number of dissatisfied users.

Integration

This stage focuses on integrating existing systems through the use of databases.

Data Administration

The focus is now on managing information. Information is viewed as a corporate resource to be shared within the organisation.

Maturity

At this stage the development of information systems is closely integrated with the business strategy.

Nolan identified one particularly important transition period. This occurred sometimes in stage three, where an observable shift can be seen in orientation from management of the computer to management of the company's data resources. Throughout each stage management response to the growth of IS may be observed in the use of two levers, namely slack and control. Slack is allowing flexibility and the commitment of resources regarding IS. Control is the monitoring of IS efficiency. The balance between these two levers is important and will take a different form at each stage. For example in the Contagion stage slack is high and controls are low, users are allowed the freedom to explore with very little monitoring of their activities by senior management.

Although this model was developed in the era when mainframes were dominant, and its appropriateness today may be questioned, the model still provides a useful framework for information systems planning.