Library+-+Information+Systems+Management

= Information Systems Management Library = 70-451 Library > Information Systems Management Library

Overview:
The resources in this section of the library relate to general management issues regarding information systems such as:
 * Project management for information systems projects
 * IS Governance
 * Project selection
 * Estimating and scoping IS projects
 * Managing information systems teams

Library Entries:

 * __Entry template:__**
 * Title**: << Management Information Systems >>


 * Author(s):** << Terence Lucey >>

<< http://books.google.com/books?id=A0bu30rNgJsC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false >>
 * Link or reference information:**


 * Core ideas:**
 * This book gives us a deep insight about the application and design of management information systems.
 * It classifies the difference in information systems between private and public organizations.
 * It also talks about organizational structures and leadership essentials.


 * Commentary:** I personally believe that the author is trying portray the fact that there are several frameworks that can be used to define and describe management information systems. Lucey further argues that the historical perspective of information system cannot be ignored. Also, the value of information is very important. The book takes a very strategic decision focus to the design and operation of MIS.


 * Entry history:**
 * [**MUGHEES AHMED**, initial post on Oct. 19, 2011]
 * [<>, < >

[]
 * Title: ** Difference Between Management and Governance.
 * Author(s): **Prabhat
 * Reference Information:**
 * Core ideas:**
 * which group(s) in the organization represent each.
 * Examples of tasks and responsibilities each of the two is authorized to do.
 * The hierarchical level of the governance team and the Management team in the company.

This article helps in simplifying the differences between the governance team in an organization or a certain project and the management team by relating it to the basic structure of an organization.
 * Commentary **:


 * Entry history**:
 * [Ayah Abujarbou, initial post on Oct. 19, 2011]
 * [<>, < >

http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/stamp/stamp.jsp?tp=&arnumber=205401
 * Title **:Systems development in information systems research
 * Author(s) **: Jay F. Nunamaker, Jr.
 * Reference information **:
 * Reference information **:
 * Core ideas **:
 * The article is about information systems development through research.
 * Systems development is identified as a developmental, engineering, and formulating types of research. A framework of research will help them to explain the dual nature of system development as a research most appropriate way and a research domain in IS search.
 * The author is talking about the importance of the research when it comes to IS development and how an effective research can lead to an effective outcome of Information systems.

The author is implying that Researching when it comes to Information system is the key turning point to the information systems development.I partially agree with Nunamaker because doubtlessly research can contribute a lot to the efficiently of the information systems; however, it's not the key turning point of it. I think we can use the research in order to improve the business analysis of the company. Spending a lot of capital on research will not help to maximize the overall efficiency of an organization.
 * Commentary **:


 * Entry history **:
 * [Mohammed Hadi Takiddin, initial post on Oct. 19, 2011]
 * [<>, < >]

http://mis.njit.edu/ullman/cis465/Articles/gorry.pdf
 * Title **: A Framework For Management Information System
 * Author(s) **: G. Anthony Gorry.
 * Reference information **:
 * Core ideas **:
 * Management information systems should be looked at from a decision making perspective and don't use it in the implementation process.
 * The types of decisions that an organization takes and what type of information systems can best support this kind of decisions.
 * The article is talking about how the information system is essential to the organization and how does it make the company run more effectively. Especially, when it comes to the sensible allocation of the resources.
 * When an organization wants to start using MIS, there should be a framework that they need to use in order to know how to effectively use it. One of the frameworks is to look at the MIS as a decision making process.

The main idea of the article is that, management information systems can be very helpful when it comes to resources allocation because it organizes this process and make it run in an effective way. Gorry argues that companies should look at the MIS as only a decision making process. I believe that MIS managers shouldn't only be responsible for decision making process, also it should be responsible for all of the implementation and planning stages to guarantee the effectiveness of the entire business process and make sure that it met the requirement and objectives that the company has set.
 * Commentary **:


 * Entry history **:
 * [Mohammed Hadi Takiddin, initial post on Oct. 19, 2011]
 * [<>, < >]

[]
 * Title**: A Framework for Information Systems Management and Governance
 * Author(s)**: Michael Coen and Donna Cullen, The University of Strathclyde
 * Link or reference information**:


 * Core ideas:**
 * Governance is the main perspective in the framework where it overlaps with management and is primly concerned with how effective the management is. the main relationships that the governance deal with are between governors, execution managers and operation managers. the key aspects that concern them are Vision, alignment and insurance


 * The resource perspective is concerned with the resources that are required to implement the information system, for instance: people ensuring that the staff have sufficient skills and expertise to support this IS, technology by ensuring that the techologies they use are robust and being used efficently and finance to allocate and manage the funding of the system.


 * The organization perspective is related to organizational structure, with documented policies and procedures that ensure that each stakeholder are aware of their responsibilities and decision making, deciding which of the groups are empowered to make what decisions


 * The service perspective ensures that the system is providing the services to the users, and ensure guidance to the information system and the effectiveness of the delivery of the services.

This document broadly defined IT governance and introduces some of the issues of information technology back in 2007 that would explain the need of having a customized approach to IT governance. the document also provides a frame work for information management and governance, it discusses in more details the way to resolve the complexity of some systems, which is through five perspectives, governance, management, resources, structures and services.
 * Commentary**:


 * Entry history**:
 * [Amal Osman, initial post on Oct. 18, 2011]
 * [<>, < >

[]
 * Title **: Project Management information system
 * Author(s) **: Rodolfo Sile
 * Reference information **:
 * Core ideas **:
 * A good MIS project could be implemented following key elements for proper monitoring and evaluation, without adding complex systems that will end up wasting time that can be used for analysis and decision making. Thus project information systems should be s kept simple


 * Information management projects will help the company enhance their business processes, where they will be able to define, locate, collect, store, analyze and use information. Information is on one of the most valuable things to the organization, because it resembles the knowledge and the experience that people gain, thus Information should be managed within the context where it matters the most. "Good development depends upon good information". A project needs to have the adequate resources and skills to bring the right information, to the right people at the right time. It is through information management that a project can improve its decision making process, learn and create new knowledge.


 * Information system should be built in a way that is flexible enough to satisfy all the needs of the project, there are many components that should be covered such as: what we do, the project activities, whom we do it, and by whom we do it, the project staff


 * Information management process consists of 8 basic steps, Define, locate, select, collect, organize, analyze, share and evaluate. all of these steps takes in consideration the stakeholders, the data collected and the process chosen to be implemented.

The CARE document provides readers with guidelines and helpful advice on how to plan, implement and manage a project information system, and how to promote knowledge sharing.The document introduces and defines DME-IS and presents the requirement needed to implement it as well as the basic components needed. In addition, it discuss the information management process and the development of the plan to be able to design the information process and implement the strategies.
 * Commentary **:


 * Entry history **:
 * [Amal Osman, initial post on Oct. 17, 2011]
 * [<>, < >]


 * Title**: How Cloud Computing Works?
 * Author(s)**: Johnathan Strickland
 * Link or reference information**: http://computer.howstuffworks.com/cloud-computing/cloud-computing3.htm
 * Core ideas:**
 * Cloud computing is divided into two sections the front end which includes the client's computer and back end that includes various computers, servers and data storage system. They are connected through a network usually the Internet.
 * Clients using cloud computing will be able to access their application and data using any computer linked to the Internet, they wont be restricted to a certain hard drive.
 * Security and privacy are some of the concerns raised when using Cloud Computing is used.

This article starts by explaining and defining what Cloud Computing means, how does it work and then identify its application and give some reasons why companies would want to use it (cut major costs) and finally mentions the concerns that companies might consider when using it and offer solutions and advices for their fear
 * Commentary**:


 * Entry history**:
 * [Al-Jawhra Al-Mana, initial post on Oct. 18, 2011]
 * [<>, <


 * Title**: Electronic Document Management: Challenges and Opportunities for Information Systems Managers
 * Author(s)**: Ralph H. Sprague, Jr.
 * Link or reference information**: []


 * Core ideas:**
 * Business value from documents**
 * For publishing companies, improving and managing the documents is an initial source to revenue.
 * For industries and other companies, the improvement of their electronic documents is a way to improve the tasks of information management, which would be the need to operate the organization.
 * Document management technologies**
 * There are many technologies responsible for managing different kinds of documents, for example capture and creation is responsible to transfer documents which are on papers to digital copies such as scanning the documents.

The article is about managing electronic document by several ways and to do that there will be a lot of opportunities and challenges for information systems managers. Moreover, there are many technologies which are responsible for managing electronic documents.
 * Commentary**:


 * Entry history**:
 * [Dalia Hassan, initial post on Oct. 19, 2011]
 * [<>, < >


 * Title**:Information and business performance: a study of information systems and services in high-performing companies
 * Author(s)**: Ian Owens, T.D. Wilson and Angela Abell
 * Link or reference information**: []
 * Core ideas:**
 * report on findings of a research done on high performing companies in Britian and their usage of Information Systems.
 * article describes the research model and how they collected the pool of companies to exaimine as well as how they conducted the research.
 * results emphasize the reliance on information systems is crucial to guarnetee company's success.

This article is interesting for it highlights high performing companies’ opinion and usage of Information systems and how this relates to their success. Twenty five companies from a wide range of industrial sectors go through interviews and questioners. Interesting results were noted to be that the successful information system developments have been led by CEOs and that corporate culture believed their knowledge base relied on their employees rather than on their systems.
 * Commentary**:
 * Entry history**:
 * [Hind Al Khulaifi, initial post on Oct. 18, 2011]
 * [<>, < >


 * Title**: Cloud CIO: What "consumerization of IT" really means to CIOs
 * Author(s)**: Bernard Golden
 * Link or reference information**: http://www.cio.com/article/687931/Cloud_CIO_What_Consumerization_of_IT_Really_Means_to_CIOs?source=ifwartcio
 * Core ideas:**
 * Consumerization of IT refers to the ease of use of technology, attractive interfaces, intuitive functionality and low prices.
 * IT organizations will continue to face immense pressure to support the "Bring your device to work" movement, which encourages employees to use their personal devices for work.
 * Suggests that companies need to have a convenient integration point that does not require custom engineering on them or their partners. As the management of ongoing partnerships and the countless numbers of devices that comes with that increases this form of integration system is necessary.

This article is of interest because it discusses IT consumerism which is similar to but not the same as the issue of IT commoditization which is discussed in the article "IT doesn't Matter". The authors provide a clear definition of the consumerization of IT, its key problems and how it affects business. The article provides CIOs and senior IT management with advice on how to manage the increase of personal devices that employees use in order to help the business progress.
 * Commentary**:
 * Entry history**:
 * [Maryam Al-Thani, initial post on Oct. 19, 2011]
 * [<>, < >

[]
 * Title**: Information Technology As Competitive Advantage: Role of Human, Business and Technology Resources.
 * Author(s):** Thomas. C Powell, Anne Dent-MiCallef
 * Link or reference information:**
 * Core Ideas:**
 * Research on linkage between Information System and firm performance.
 * Investigates into how some firms outperform others using same ITs.
 * In the retail industry, some firms have gained advantage by using IT to improve human and business resources.

This article talks about how IT can provide a competitve edge in the industry and result in high-level performance of the firms. The article also discusses how firms can use IT to improve their resources. It also investigates cases how successful IT firms sometimes lose out on sustaining the competitve edge gained from IT.
 * Commentary:**
 * Entry History:**
 * [Jevika Shetty, initial post on Oct. 19, 2011]
 * [<>, < >]


 * Title:** Strategic Informations System Revisited: A Study in Sustainability and Performance.
 * Author(s):** William J. Kettinger, Varun Grover, Subashish Guha, Albert H. Segars
 * Link or reference information:**[]
 * Core Ideas:**
 * Classic sustainable IT approaches have been differentiated from non- sustainable ones.
 * Through research study, certain common factors that provide a sustainable competitve advantagge have been identified in the article.
 * Strategic IT planning in a certain efficient and effective manner can help the firm gain successful results out of its IT investments.

The article talks about how important it is for an IT investment to be able to sustain long enough to help the firm succeed in market. The article elaborates on a research study that investigates several classic cases of strategic planning of IT and which ones among them had a sustainable and non-sustainable turn-out. It also provides certain factors that have been identified as some key points that could result in a strategic IT plan having a sustainable competetive edge and improving the firm's business performance. >
 * Commentary:**
 * Entry History**:
 * [Jevika Shetty, initial post on Oct. 19, 2011]
 * [<>, < >]

Combining qualitative and quantitative methods information systems research: a case study
 * Title**:
 * Author(s)**: Bonnie Kaplan, Dennis Duchon.

http://staff.blog.ui.ac.id/r-suti/files/2010/03/qualquant_in_is.pdf
 * Core ideas**
 * **How important it is to combine quantitative and qualitative methods.**
 * The importance and need for context-specific measures of job characteristics versus standard context-independent instruments.
 * How process measures come into play when evaluating information systems.
 * **The** necessity of the perceptions of the user and his/her understanding of the computer **system.**
 * Link or reference information**:

I believe this is an interesting article because it looks at the information systems management in terms of qualitative and quantitative aspects. I believe a wide variety of audience can relate to such a distinction. Also, it emphasizes the importance of the relationship between both, qualitative and quantitative information.
 * Commentary**:


 * Entry history**:
 * [Hamsa M Al-Massri, initial post on Oct. 19, 2011]
 * [<>, < >


 * Title ** : << Effective Governance of IT: Design, Objectives, Roles, And Relationships. >>
 * Author(s) ** : << Kenneth G Rau >>
 * Link or reference information ** : << [] >>
 * Core ideas **
 * The author offers the best IT governance design and shows the organizational roles needed for policy setting, controlling and monitoring the use of IT to ensure that the technology investment matches the business strategies and goals. However, each organization should design its own IT governance.


 * The author explains the role of IT Governance Council. It also includes the roles of CIO (Chief Information Officer), Customer Services and Project Office and how each one of these is related to IT Governance Council.


 * The author focuses on the roles of Non-IT and why the organization needs to have both (IT and Non-IT) in order to enable effective IT governance.


 * The author mentions two critical success factors when developing an implementation approach. These two factors are: Organizational Readiness and Participation by Stakeholders. He supports this point by clarifying two opposite IT governance implementation scenarios.

I think this article is an interesting one because it shows how to implement an effective IT governance by explaining the main concepts and ideas. These concepts will help the organization to adapt its own IT governance design based on its size, culture and IT dependency in pursuing its business objectives. As we studied IT governance before in this course, I believe this article is useful, as it provides more information about IT governance.
 * Commentary ** :


 * Entry history ** :


 * [Ahmad Al-Sarraf, initial post on Oct. 19, 2011]

[<>, < >

[]
 * Title**: Why information system's projects fail?: Guidelines for successful projects.
 * Author(s)**: Awatif Qassim
 * Link or reference information**:

It was an attractive title for me to read that: information system's project fail. The time that people is moving to integrate information system in their project, it is mainly because of the believe that IS will help to improve the project and make it more efficient. So I always had the idea that projects that use IS are successful. It is always good to know both sides of implementing IS. It is also good to know how hard and risky is to maintain success using IS.
 * Core ideas**:
 * Many surveys and researches show that most of IS projects fail.
 * Many of these researches identified factors of failure and factors of success.
 * Commentary**:

i really think that this article is very useful in showing the reasons and the common factors causing some information system projects to fail. The article has an easy and understandable language that doesn't show much of technical details but enough to understand it's purpose. I like the risk ranking, ratting wise improvement factors and recipe for success tables. Theses three tables are well written in terms of the organization of information (what comes first) and the choice of words.
 * Commentary:**


 * Entry history**:
 * [Aisha Al-Zaman, initial post on Oct. 19, 2011]
 * [Najla Al-Madhadi, Oct. 20, 2011]


 * Title ** : The Disadvantages of a Management Information System
 * Author(s) ** : Osmond Vitez
 * Link or reference information ** :[]


 * Core ideas ** :
 * There are three major disadvantages of MIS: expensive, maintenance and ineffectiveness
 * MIS is expensive due to the need of information technology and on going support to ensure that the system stays current with business technology.
 * MIS needs skilled, experienced and trained maintenance individuals who maintain the tools used by MIS as business technology can change frequently. This increases the labor cost along with the costs of training and educating labors.


 * Commentary ** : This article starts by showing the importance of MIS as an approach for a company to make business decisions. The author then focuses more on the disadvantages of MIS. He starts with the high expenses that are mostly associated with the need for information technology which require on going support and upgrade fees so the system stays current with business technology. The author then moves to maintenance, which increases both labor and training costs so that individuals can better maintain the changing and fast-developing technology used by the system. Finally, the author shows the ineffectiveness of MIS when making decisions especially if the system is programmed or designed based on unimportant or non-essential information. I think that the article is good enough in explaining the disadvantages in a simple and understandable way but I still believe that there are some other important disadvantages needed to be explained in addition to ones already mentioned such as the lack of flexibility for a system to update itself in some cases.

[<>, < >
 * Entry history ** :
 * [Najla Al-Madhadi, initial post on Oct. 19, 2011]


 * Title ** : Creating Competitive Advantage with Inter-organizational Information Systems

**Author(s)**: H. Russell Johnston, Michael R. Vitale

**Link or reference information**:

http://www.jstor.org/stable/248839?&Search=yes&searchText=systems&searchText=information&searchText=performance&searchText=improvement&searchText=business&list=hide&searchUri=%2Faction%2FdoBasicSearch%3FQuery%3Dinformation%2Bsystems%2BAND%2Bbusiness%2Bperformance%2Bimprovement%26gw%3Djtx%26acc%3Don%26prq%3Dinformation%2Bsystems%2BAND%2Bbusiness%26Search%3DSearch%26hp%3D25%26wc%3Don&prevSearch=&item=7&ttl=18614&returnArticleService=showFullText

**Core ideas**


 * How do organizations create competitive advantage through MIS
 * Organizations use MIS to connect with their suppliers and customers

**Commentary**:

I really found this article very interesting because it is relevant to other articles that I have done in this course. Some articles talk about that cutting the cost does not lead to competitive advantage because other competitors will end up copying what you do and implement the same system. However, this author claims that it is possible to get competitive advantage if you implement very unique system to cut your cost efficiently.

**Posting history**:
 * [Nijat Ibrahimov, initial post on Oct. 20, 2011]
 * [<<next person who added commentary>>, < >]


 * Title ** : Building an Effective Information Systems Function

**Author(s)**: William B. Miller

**Link or reference information**: [|http://www.jstor.org/stable/249334?&Search=yes&searchText=systems&searchText=information&searchText=performance&searchText=improvement&searchText=business&list=hide&searchUri=%2Faction%2FdoBasicSearch%3FQuery%3Dinformation%2Bsystems%2BAND%2Bbusiness%2Bperformance%2Bimprovement%26gw%3Djtx%26acc%3Don%26prq%3Dinformation%2Bsystems%2BAND%2Bbusiness%26Search%3DSearch%26hp%3D25%26wc%3Don&prevSearch=&item=12&ttl=18614&returnArticleService=showFullText]


 * Core ideas **


 * The way businesses build their Information Systems
 * Importance of creating effective and successful Information Systems.
 * Most businesses fail to create effective Information Systems

**Commentary**:

The small number of truly successful Information Systems department is well known. Part of the problem clearly lies in the management and direction of the Information Systems department in an organization. I found it interesting because it is hard to build information systems for the company and only few companies can really do that.

**Posting history**:
 * [Nijat Ibrahimov, initial post on Oct. 20, 2011]
 * [<<next person who added commentary>>, < >]


 * Title:** Information Systems Management in Practice.
 * Authors:** Barbara Canning, Ralph Sprague, Tung Bui.
 * Link Of Reference: []**
 * Core Ideas**
 * **Leadership Issues and CIO responsibilities**
 * **Information Systems Planning**
 * **Managing operation and sytems development**

Comentray This book takes an intresting approach at how we view IT theoritically and historically.The Author provides a practical look at evolution of IT in Business.Its an excellents refrence source for anyone to understand the strategic uses of information technology and its also a good reference for executives managers for and employees who are in the information technology department. Posting history: Jim Briggs Oct. 20


 * Title**: Inside the Mind of Google.
 * Author(s)**: CNBC, Maria Bartiromo
 * Link or reference information**: [|www.cnbc.com/id/34039290/CNBC_PRESENTS_INSIDE_INSIDE_THE_MIND_OF_GOOGLE]
 * Core ideas:**
 * Story behind the birth of Google.
 * The strategy of Google and how it was able to become the leading search engine.
 * The issues it faces today, like privacy.

This is a very interesting documentary about Google and how it generates 4 billion dollars in profit in 2008 from its systematic approach to advertising on its search engine. The documentary also discusses how its system operates and how it ranks the pages generated from a search. We are exposed to why Google has become a leading player in creating an information system that operates at effective speed and yet very simple in its user interface. We also learn about how Google is dealing with its privacy issues related to saving every inputted data in its serves.
 * Commentary**:


 * Entry history**:
 * [Hind Al Khulaifi, initial post on Oct. 31, 2011]
 * [<<next person who added commentary>>, < >


 * Title**: Outsourcing Informaiton Technology Systems and Services
 * Author(s)**:Robert Klepper and Wendell Jones
 * Link or reference information**: []
 * Core ideas:**
 * discusses 15 major factors to put into account when wanting to outsource.
 * It is crucial to consider the objectives of outsourcing and making sure they coincide with the goals of the company.

This article outlines the fifteen most important factors to guarantee successful information technology outsourcing. The author describes how its important to outsource for the right reasons and clear objectives behind the decision should be in place. He recommends that the same way a new system goes through phases before implementation, the decision to outsource should as well. Required services from a vendor should be explicitly documented and stakeholders should be analyzed and put into account. He also notes that one should construct a “sound” contract that would discuss issues like anticipating change and bankruptcy of both parties.
 * Commentary**:


 * Entry history**:
 * [Hind Al Khulaifi, initial post on Oct. 31, 2011]
 * [<<next person who added commentary>>, < >


 * Title**: Information Systems and e-Business Management
 * Author(s)**: J. Becker; M.J. Shaw
 * Link or reference information**: http://www.springerlink.com/content/1617-9846


 * Core ideas:**
 * focuses on the core tasks of information systems management; the conceptual analysis, design, and deployment of information systems; and all e-business related topics.
 * The journal publishes novel research findings in information systems management and e-business that advance the field fundamentally and significantly.

The journal publishes very useful research findings about information systems management and e-business which I think are important to advance the areas of the information systems projects and management. Those findings are related to the essential steps of the information systems management, analysis, design, testing implementation, deployment and modification. Also, this journal serves as a dynamic tool for both academics and practitioners in industry. I think this journal helps the reader to discover new innovative researches in the analytical, behavior and technological aspects of the information systems management.
 * Commentary**:


 * Entry history**:
 * [Dua'a Althabatah, initial post on Nov. 18, 2011]
 * [<<next person who added commentary>>, < >

[]
 * Title**: ITIL - A Simple Explanation
 * Author(s)**: Compucom
 * Link or reference information**:
 * Core ideas:**
 * Current IT management divides IT into different 'tools' or areas like servers and networks. They don't address business needs.
 * ITIL is one management framework that creates processes for IT management.
 * It includes different phases such as service strategy, service design, service transition and service operation.

This five minute clip is shown to explain one IT management framework. ITIL is used worldwide as a leading framework for managing IT and in large corporations, it is important to be able to use a standardized and effective way to manage the information technology resources at the disposal of the enterprise. The point of this video is not just to show IT but what IT management frameworks in general can do: allow businesses to maximize use of IT in business processes to become even more effective than before.
 * Commentary**:


 * Entry history**:
 * [M Hammad Abbasi, initial post on Nov. 20, 2011]
 * [<<next person who added commentary>>, < >


 * __Entry template:__**

[]
 * Title: ** Why information systems projects fail: Guidelines for Successful Projects
 * Author(s): ** Awatif Amin Qassim
 * Reference Information: **


 * Core ideas: **


 * Even though the Information System is considered as the core of today’s business, around 70-80% of Information System and Information Technology projects fail according to a survey, which is high.


 * Different research studies have been made to identify the common risk factors in any IS projects. These factors are mentioned in Table 1. On the other hand, Table 2 includes improvement factors to avoid IS projects failure.


 * There are 10 recipe ingredients for IS success, which are mentioned in Table 3. The ingredients are not required for IS project, but they can influence the success of the project by adding more value to it.


 * After thorough investigation, the author develops 20 guidelines, in Table 4, for IS project to reduce project failure rate.


 * Commentary ** :

I think the article is informative as it explains how to reduce the rate of IS project failure. It is not easy to implement information system project successfully, despite the defined procedures and methodologies applied in project management. There are several risk factors associated with IS projects and, therefore, researchers suggest clear improvement factors to improve the performance of project management, besides developing the skills required for project management. I really find the article useful especially the twenty project guidelines that are essential for the three project stages, which are: prior, during and after the implementation of the IS project.

I think this article is very important to businesses, especially the ones who are thinking of implementing a new Information System project, because in this article is written on the basis of previous experience that includes why particular IS projects were successful, and why some failed. It is really helpful for organizations which want to create a new project to learn from previous players.
 * Commentary: **

[<<next person who added commentary>>, < >
 * Entry history ** :
 * [Ahmad Al-Sarraf, initial post on Nov. 18, 2011]
 * [Mohammed Al-Rawahi, Nov 19, 2011]


 * Title**: Information System Management


 * Author(s)**: Taylor and Francis (Publishers)


 * Link or reference information**:

http://www.tandf.co.uk/10580530


 * Core ideas:**


 * This journal provides the latest on ISM, it is an "on-going" exchange of academic writings, experiences, and managerial ideas and insights on the topic. This source is a compilation of different themed papers on several IS topics of which are:
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Achieving Strategic IT Alignment and Capabilities
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">IT Governance
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">CIO and IT Leadership Roles
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">IT Sourcing
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Planning and Managing an Enterprise Infrastructure
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">IT Security
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Selecting and Delivering Application Solutions
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Portfolio Management
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Managing Complex IT Projects
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">E-Business Technologies
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Supporting Knowledge Work


 * Commentary**:

This source is a great packaging of different quality academic writings about IS systems. If you are looking into writing a paper or finding resources, this journal would be a great source. Please keep in mind that this is available for purchase only.


 * Entry history**:


 * [Nasser Al Khori, initial post on Nov. 20, 2011]
 * [<<next person who added commentary>>, < >

** Title ** : << The Changing Role of the Information Systems Executive: A Critical Success Factors Perspective >> ** Author(s) ** : << John F. Rockart>> ** Link or reference information ** : << http://as.nida.ac.th/~waraporn/resource/704-1-50/Readings/8-Changing%20Role%20of%20the%20EIS-CSF%20perspective-Rockart.pdf>> ** Core ideas ** (1, 2, or 3 bullet points that summarize the core idea presented in the article):


 * The job of the information systems executive is changing as technology advances
 * The role of the computer in major organizations and the tasks of its chief executives have shifted significantly

** Commentary ** : The author starts by mentioning that outsourcing IT used to be a trend, but it is no longer a new phenomenon. Thousands of companies outsource their IT services every year to countries such as India, China and Philippines. I think companies’ main objective of outsourcing is to cut cost and the desire to focus on the business not the IT. However, a company exposes itself to eleven risks when they make the decision of outsourcing. These risks involve possibility of weak management, inexperienced staff, business uncertainty, outdated technology skills, endemic uncertainty, hidden costs, lack of organizational learning, dangers of an eternal triangle, technological indivisibility and fuzzy focus. The eleven risks of outsourcing do not occur in every sourcing decision but they are not unusual.

** Posting history ** :
 * [Mohammed Kamal, initial post on Nov. 19, 2011

http://hbr.org/2002/11/six-it-decisions-your-it-people-shouldnt-make/ar/1
 * Title**: Six IT Decisions Your IT People Shouldn't Make
 * Author(s)**: Jeanne W. Ross and Peter Weill
 * Link or reference information**:
 * Core ideas:**
 * Successful companies, are those who understand the IT necessities of their company and whose senior management and not IT specialists make decisions on issues such as: IT spending and IT security.
 * The six decisions that should be made by a company's management and not their IT management are: How much should we spend on IT?, Which business processes should receive our IT business dollars?, Which IT capabilities need to be company-wide?, How good do our IT services need to be?, What security and privacy risks will we accept? and Whom do we blame if our IT initiative fails?
 * It is imperative for companies to have clear strategies before making IT decisions. This is the case because successful companies are companies who have clear strategies and ensure their technology and technology decisions support their strategies.

This article adresses two crucial issues; IT governance and the security of IT. The article published by the Harvard Business Review provides senior managers with convincing evidence on some of the decisions that they need to make themselves and not delegate to their IT management. The authors provide a useful table which clearly shows the role of senior management in each of the 6 decisions mentioned above and the consequences of senior management ignoring these issues. This article also touches on issues, such as information security, discussed in the article, The Myth of Secure computing. http://www.itgovernance.co.uk
 * Commentary**:
 * Entry history**:
 * [Maryam Al-Thani, initial post on Nov. 21, 2011]
 * [<<next person who added commentary>>, < >
 * Title**: IT Governance (Website)
 * Author(s)**: IT Governance Ltd
 * Link or reference information**:
 * Link or reference information**:
 * Core ideas:**
 * Information technology and information security is always a business issue. Business owners should be informed and make key information related decisions.
 * Senior management are accountable for the business's information technology strategy and implementation of the strategy.
 * The company works towards helping businesses and senior managers introduce secure systems and help senior managers become more informed about the importance of technology in business. The website provides IT governance information, guidance, advice, and consultancy.

This website is a very useful resource for senior managers and business owners. In addition to selling products on information technology and security, the website has numerous articles which advise senior managers on how to make IT related decisions. Articles that are available on the website include: best management practice and standard, data protection, corporate governance, consultancy, and cyber-security standards. These issues on IT security are directed towards senior management and so any business but not necessarily IT literate person can take advantage of the information and apply it to their business.
 * Commentary**:


 * Entry history**:
 * [Maryam Al-Thani, initial post on Dec. 2, 2011]
 * [<<next person who added commentary>>, < >

[]
 * Title**: Development of Measures To Assess the Extent to which an Information Technology Application Provides Competitive Advantage.
 * Author(s)**: Vijay Sethi and William .R. King
 * Link or reference information:**
 * Core ideas:**
 * To measure the extent to which Information Technology provides competitive advantage.
 * Information collected from top 185 information technology executives regarding the most efficient information technology techniques developed that provide a competitive edge over others.

This is a good research study based on Management information Systems, where the authors provide several facts and data from top 185 information technology executives who advise on the information technology applications that provide success and a competitive edge over other companies. In this article, we evaluate these IT aplications and assess their level of success in firms through further research.
 * Commentary**:


 * Entry history**:
 * [Jevika Shetty, initial post on Dec 3, 2011]
 * [<<next person who added commentary>>, < >]

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Despite being a short article the author puts forward some interesting ideas and facts in order to solve the issue with the IS projects. As she describes in the beginning, 70-80% of IS projects have chances to fail. This is rather large number and possesses threat to IS future. IS projects have very big impact on the business future as our modern day world is growing IS is becoming very important integral part of the global business. The author ranks 10 ways to become successful at implementing IS projects.
 * Title **: Why information systems project fail? Guidlines for Succeseful Projects
 * Author(s) **: Awatif Amin Qasim.
 * Reference information **:[]
 * Core ideas **:
 * 70-80 % of Information System projects fail.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Unsuccessful projects are more likely than successful projects.
 * Failure rates are more high when the IS project is large compared to medium and small projects.
 * Commentary **:

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Chaos 10 - <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">1. Executive Support <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">2. User Involvement <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">3. Experienced project manager <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">4. Clear business objectives <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">5. Minimized scope <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">6. Standard software infrastructure <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">7. Firm basic requirements <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">8. Formal methodology <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">9. Reliable estimates <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">10. Other criteria <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Moreover the author provides the criteria for failing as well. Overall, article focuses on the efforts to minimize the chances of IS project failure and to increase the rate of success. ** Entry history **:


 * [Orkhan Rustamzade, initial post on Dec. 9, 2011]
 * [<<next person who edits this entry>>, < >]

**Title**: Information Systems Innovation among Organizations. **Author(s)**: E. Burton Swanson **Link or Reference Information**: []
 * Core Ideas**:
 * The article talks about new IS innovations that can help improve the competitive aspect of the firms.
 * There have been three kinds of innovations listed to make sure that the firm has a strong IS foundation.
 * The article points out several substantial changes and developments and makes an effort to analyze their implications.

The paper appears to provide a good knowlegde about the several techniques of innovation that can play a major role in helping the organization develop a competitive edge over other businesses in market. There have been three kinds of innovations that are bound to make a substantial difference in the performance of the organization - Type 1 innovation which are innovations related to the the IS tasks of the organization; Type 2 which are related to providing support to the business operations and Type 3 which are aims at the core technology of the business. The paper also discusses about the consequences or effects of implementing new kinds of ideas or plans in an organization.
 * Commentary:**

** Entry history **:
 * [Jevika Shetty, initial post on Dec. 12, 2011]
 * [<<next person who edits this entry>>, < >]

**Title**: Information Technology Evaluation: Is it Different? **Author(s):** Philip Powell
 * Link or Reference Information: **
 * Core Ideas: **
 * The paper investigates how different or intensive are the investment decisions for IS compared to the other kinds of investment decisions made by the firm.
 * The paper talks about factors that could possibly be the reason for the lack of evaluation techniques of IT projects in an organization.

**Comments:** The paper discusses about how formal evaluation of IS investment decisions matter just as much as that of the other business decisions for the successful evaluation of businesses. It mentions how certain factors could play a great role in evaluating the IT investment decisions apart from lack of appropriate tools or techniques by the IT department to evaluate these investment decisions.

** Entry history **:


 * [Jevika Shetty, initial post on Dec. 12, 2011]
 * [<<next person who edits this entry>>, < >]

**Title:** Information Management, Organization and Managerial Effectiveness. **Author(s):** Raul Espego and John Watt []
 * Link or Reference Information: **


 * Core Ideas:**
 * The paper focuses on how information management is not just about managing the information resources economically but also about how individuals make use of their information input and output.
 * The central discussion in the paper is about how managers from different departments can utilize their information effectively into successful action.

The paper talks about the need to use the information provided wisely and to the fullest. The purpose of acquiring information in an organization is not just collecting important data and storing it in the database of the company but actually utilising it effectively and converting it to successful actions. The paper discusses potential strategies to imprve the scale of information management by the managers of an organization.
 * Comments: **

** Entry history **:


 * [Jevika Shetty, initial post on Dec. 12, 2011]
 * [<<next person who edits this entry>>, < >]

** Title ** : ** Information systems for risk management ** ** Author(s) ** : by ** Michael Gibson ** ** Link or reference information ** : []

** Core ideas ** (1, 2, or 3 bullet points that summarize the core idea presented in the article):


 * The document introduces the types and levels of risks and how to manage each
 * Measure and calculate the risk value

** Commentary ** : Risk management information systems are designed to overcome the problem of aggregating data across diverse trading units. The design of an information system depends on the risk measurement methodology that a firm chooses. The document introduces different types of risk management and how to measure, analyze and calculate the risk value. Also, the document explains the four goals for the IS risk management, which are calculate Value at Risk, perform scenario analyses, measure current and future exposure to each counterparty; do all three of the above at varying levels of aggregation, across various groupings of risks, across product types, and across subsets of counterparties.

** Posting history ** : [<<next person who added commentary>>, < >
 * [Dua’a Althabatah, initial post on Dec. 12, 2011]

---


 * Title**: Don't Just Lead, Govern: Implementing Effective IT Governance


 * Author(s)**: Peter Weill, Richard Woodham


 * Link or reference information**: http://18.7.29.232/bitstream/handle/1721.1/1846/4237-02.pdf?sequence=2


 * Core ideas**:


 * The definition of IT governance is: "specifying the decision rights and accountability framework to encourage desirable behavior in the use of IT".
 * The four critical decision domains of IT are: principles, infrastructure, architecture, and investment and prioritization. Establishing the domains and who makes the decisions is critical to building effective IT governance.
 * The 6 characteristics important for IT governance are: transparency, actively design governance, when to redesign governance, educate about governance, good governance requires choices, and handling exceptions. The descriptions of each of these are given in the article.
 * The importance for good IT governance grows hand in hand to the importance of IT itself. Businesses must therefore keep up and govern well.


 * Commentary**:

Although this is a fairly thorough article which introduces complex ideas, its basic argument is on the importance of IT governance and how it should be implemented effectively. I personally found this one interesting because it did not only give guidelines but also showed how businesses governed their IT after explaining the concepts. This helps put the theory into practical situations and gain a better understanding. It also demonstrates how well and top performing firms govern their IT differently to the typical firms.


 * Entry history**:


 * [Fatima Fikree, initial post on Dec. 13, 2011]

**<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Title **<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">**:** Information Systems Management
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Author(s) **<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">**:** David Flores
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Link or reference information: ** []


 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Core ideas **


 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Why you need to be informed: **
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> Need to know duties & Responsibilities of IT department if the it department to be an effective user of IT Resources
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> To be better informed and more effective manager


 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Responsibilities of IT Department: **
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> Plan for information systems and IT infrastructure
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> Develop and adapt information systems and IT infrastructure
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> Maintain information systems
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> Protect infrastructure and data


 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Plan for information system: **
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> Position its activities for future advance its competitive strategy
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> Test the technology


 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Maintain and operate: **
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> They must be repaired adjusted and maintained
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> Maintaining network connectivity


 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Commentary: **

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">This is small quick summary of of IT department of typical company and it lists its duties and responsibilities of IT department.


 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Posting history: **
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> [Nijat Ibrahimov, initial post on Dec. 13, 2011]
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> [<<next person who added commentary>>, < >]