|
Archive@NYU >
Stern School of Business >
IOMS: Information Systems Working Papers >
Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item:
http://hdl.handle.net/2451/14237
|
| Title: | CIO's Beware: Very Large Scale Systems Projects |
| Authors: | Laudon, Kenneth C. |
| Issue Date: | 1992 |
| Publisher: | Stern School of Business, New York University |
| Series/Report no.: | IS-94-06 |
| Abstract: | Very-Large Scale Systems (VLSS) play a powerful role in shaping what an
organization does and can do in a practical sense. VLSS are deeply
embedded in an organization's procedures, business plans, and
strategies. These systems evolve over long periods of time, often not
according to some rational plan, and for a limited time they provide a
significant competitive advantage over other firms. In the long run,
however, VLSS become strategic liabilities and must be rebuilt. Many
organizations experience great difficulty rebuilding VLSS. Indeed, most
organizations attempt to avoid rebuilding VLSS until the last possible
moment. Often, the organization is in a state of crisis, a strategic
transition. Because of the complexity and size of VLSS, existing
methodologies often are not helpful. To make matters worse, the typical
management incentive structure discourages rebuilding VLSS. In a typical
VLSS effort, participants soon discover that they must rebuild the
organization in order to take full advantage of new technologies. A
major organizational engineering effort is often required. Senior
management as well as systems management routinely underestimate the
complexity of the task before them. Consequently, large errors are made
in estimating costs and time. Drawing on research in both the private
and public sector, this paper examines why VLSS fail, why are VLSS so
difficult to rebuild, what are the strategy options, and how can senior
management guide the rebuilding process. |
| URI: | http://hdl.handle.net/2451/14237 |
| Appears in Collections: | IOMS: Information Systems Working Papers
|
All items in Faculty Digital Archive are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved.
|
