Transcript Selecting IS

Selecting and
implementing
hospitality information
systems
“Without a blueprint or plan for the future,
picking technology is almost a shot in the dark.”
---- Perter O’ Dell
Introduction
O Identify important IT projects and plan/monitor them
appropriately to reduce costs, increase revenue and
customer satisfaction.
O Top-down source are projects identified by top
management or by a diverse steering committee.
O Bottom-up source are project initiatives stemming from
managers, business units, or the development group.
O The payback method
O Accounting rate of return on investment (ROI)
Strategic Alignment
O Projects are much more likely to succeed if
they align to organizational needs and goals
O “Aligning information systems to corporate
goals has emerged as the number one
concern over the last five years in surveys of
information systems executives”
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall
Selecting IT projects
Steps in system selection
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Reviewing organizational needs
Evaluating current systems
Defining budget requirements
Developing a request for proposal (RFP)
System evaluation and selection
Reviewing organizational needs
O What is the mission or purpose of an
organization?
O What are the organizational goals or objectives?
O What is the organizational structure?
O What is the role of technology in service
improvement?
What is the organizational
structure?
4 levels of organizational activities:
O front-line employees
O lower management
O middle management
O upper management
Informational Pyramid
1.Level of
summarization
2. Time span of
summarization
High
Upper
Management
Low
Middle Management
Lower Management
Low
Front-line
1.Level of
detail
2. Importance
of current
data
High
What is the role of technology in
service improvement?
According to Leonard Berry, the important roles are:
OMultiplying knowledge
OStreamlining and personalizing service
OIncreasing reliability
OFacilitating communications
Evaluating the current system
OGrasp work and information flows
OIdentify problematic areas
ODetermine
whether current systems
organization’s most vital areas
O Formulate information system objectives
address
an
Defining budget requirements
Determining whether an information management
system purchase is worthwhile requires
identification of investment costs and annual
savings.
- Payback method
payback= investment / annual saving
Defining budget requirements
Alternative to purchasing an information management
system – Leasing
O open leasing
O financial leasing
O lease through ASP
OOn demand software
OSoftware as a service
Developing a request for proposal
O Property profile report
O Constructing the RFP
Sample of property profile report
Section 1
Section 2
Section 3
Section 4
Section 5
Section 6
type of facility
reports
desired function
work and staffing volumes
the layout of the facilities
the employees
Constructing the RFP
Report for Proposal
should contain:
Three rating approaches
to evaluate RFP:
simple ranking
O Property profile
rating scale
O Solicitation instructions weighted average
and conditions
O System specification

System evaluation
Software evaluation
O Does it satisfy system requirement?
O Does it have ability to interface with existing
systems, as well as future systems planned to
install?
O Is it easy to operate?
O Does it have software bugs or logic flaws?
System evaluation
Evaluation of customer support and vendor reputation.
RFP should include:
O How long have you been in business? How does this compare to
your competitors? Who do you feel are your four best
competitors?
O How many properties have you installed?
O What is your financial status?
O What has been your average growth in sales? What are your
projections for the next five years?
O Describe management. Who are your key personnel? What has
been their length of employment?
O Who are your reference?
System evaluation
Evaluation of training and installation
O When should the training take place?
O What employee will be trained?
O What should be covered in the training program?
Instructional system:
- User-manual
- On-job-training
- Computer-based training - Web-based training
System evaluation
Hardware evaluation
O Which comes first, selection of hardware or software?
O What type of computer system should be purchased?
O What should the hardware configuration be?
O Does the vendor understand hardware ergonomics?
O Top 10 mistakes to avoid when selecting computer
systems
Mistake 1: Not using a structured process
Mistake 2: Not defining needs beforehand
Mistake 3: Hiring consultant with bias
Mistake 4: Paying too much attentions to bells and whistles
Mistake 5: Not including key users in selection process
Mistake 6: Buying more than you need
Mistake 7: Allowing vendors to drive the process
Mistake 8: Allowing the “powers that be” to choose the system
Mistake 9: Confusing the salesperson with the product
Mistake10: Not using an RFP process.
-- IT Selection Strategies
System selection
O Does the vendor’s contract satisfy your requirements,
guarantee the results you want, and accept the
responsibility for failure to perform?
O What is the legal effect of the various clauses commonly
found in computer contract?
O Who is responsible if a system fails to work properly?
O Does the contract provide for an acceptance test, the
successful completion of which is a condition of payment
of the final portion of the purchase price?
(refer to Figure 8-7 in textbook p297 for the listing of common contract term.)
System implementation
Implementation steps:
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2.
3.
4.
5.
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11.
Contract signed
Order forms and supplies two to three months before installation
Prepare for hardware installation two to three months in advance
Provide vendors with the necessary information to build the database one to two
months before the installation
Verify conversion date and make final arrangements for equipment installation one
month in advance
Two to four weeks before installation: equipment arrives; forms and supplies are
received;set up training room; install and test hardware and cables
Two weeks before installation, a training schedules should be completed.
Week of installation training begins
After night audit is completed, quest folio and city ledger balances are transferred
to new system
Vendor trainers monitor system and assist employees in using the system
Vendor representative counsels coordinator on implementation problems
System implementation
Conversion strategies:
O Direct cutover
O Parallel cutover