Mit6e Ch13 by Firli

Managing Information Technology
6th Edition
CHAPTER 13
SUPPORTING COMPUTER USERS
Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall 1

Supporting Computer Users
• In today’s organizations, computer users and
applications vary widely
• One of the main responsibilities of the IS
organization providing support services to users
both on- and off-site
• Additionally, some non-IT users may be
developing applications and IS organizations
may provide support and policies for this user
application development (UAD)
History of User Application Development
• Some history of user application development

• During the 1970s most IS managers did not
expect PCs to be used in a corporate setting
– In fact, many PCs were purchased by business
managers without the IS organization’s knowledge
• Over time, increases in computer literacy led
to an increasing number of spreadsheets and
small applications developed by end users

User Application Development
• Advantages
– Users do not have to explain their information
requirements to an analyst who is not familiar
with the business context
– Users do not have to wait for IS resources to be
assigned to work on their project
– Business managers gain control over development
costs

• Disadvantages
– Loss of application controls (security, data quality)
– Loss of opportunities for IT integration
• User developed applications are more likely to
“reinvent” functionality found in other applications and
miss opportunities to share data across applications
– Increased operational risks due to developer
turnover

• One of the biggest disadvantages from UAD is
potential loss of data quality
• Spreadsheet errors are an example of data
quality problems with user developed
applications

Types of Spreadsheet Errors
Mechan Qualita
ical
Logic Omissio
tive
errors n errors
errors errors
Things left out
●
●
Flaws that do
●
Typing errors, ●
●Incorrect formulas ●
●
due to choosing the

of the model not produce
pointing errors wrong algorithm or
immediate
or other creating the wrong that should be
formula to implement quantitative
simple slips the algorithm there
errors, but can
●
Have a high ●Eureka errors refer to
● ●
These are
easy-to-proof errors lead to
chance of ●Cassandra errors are
● difficult errors quantitative
being caught difficult-to-proof to detect errors later

Magnitude of Spreadsheet Errors
• Fidelity's Magellan fund experienced an
embarrassment due to a spreadsheet error

• The Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) has created
additional complexity for user application
development
• Spreadsheets and applications that use
financial information are subject to audit and
must be protected by the proper controls
• This increases the risk of UAD for many
organizations

Assessing the Risks from UAD
• Understanding the risks from UAD can help
managers understand whether an application
is suitable for UAD
• Three types of risk factors should be
considered:
1. Application characteristics
2. Tool characteristics
3. Developer characteristics

1. Application characteristics
– Scope (personal, departmental, organizational)
– Criticality/Impact (risk exposure)
– Size and usage (one-time, periodic, ongoing)
– Business problem complexity (commonality of task, problem
structure)
2. Tool characteristics
– Tool sophistication/complexity
3. Developer characteristics
– User developer skills, experience, and availability
– IS specialist skills, experience, and availability

Application Tool Developer

characteris characteris characteris
tics tics tics
Scope (personal,
Tool
●
●
●
departmental,
●
User developer
organizational)
●Criticality/Impact (risk
● sophisticatio skills, experience,
exposure) and availability
●Size and usage (one-time,
● n/complexity ●
IS specialist skills,
periodic, ongoing)
●Business problem
●
●
Interconnect experience, and
complexity (commonality of
task, problem structure) edness availability
Guidelines for User Developers
• IS professionals use development
methodologies appropriate to the application
they are creating
• Similarly, user developers should select an
appropriate methodology based on three of
the application characteristics:
1. Scope
2. Size
3. Complexity of the business problem
• Not all applications require a strict adherence
to a formal SDLC methodology
• Panko recommends the following
methodologies depending on the application
characteristics: Figure 13.3

• User developers commonly underestimate the
effort required to define a system’s requirements
• Asking important questions during the definition
and construction phases can guide user developers
Figure 13.4

• User developers often learn many lessons
during the course of application development
• Here are a few lessons other users have shared:
– Stay in touch with end users
– Development is time consuming
– Intricate, hard-to-find bugs often show up at end of
development
– Managing user expectations is crucial
– The prototyping methodology has value

Common UAD Pitfalls
• Even if users developers utilize an appropriate
development methodology, they often fall
victim to two common problems:
1. Not doing enough testing
• Thoroughly testing an application can take extensive
time and effort
2. Not providing sufficient documentation
• Multi-user applications are likely to require relatively
detailed documentation

Desktop Support
• One of the primary responsibilities of the IS
organization is providing desktop support
• Virtually all users rely on IS specialists for
desktop support
• A critical success factor is the staffing of the
support unit
– In the early 1990s, the typical staffing ratio was 1
support member for each 100 PCs

Framework for Designing User Support
• An overall framework for the design of user

support can be useful to organizations
• The Brancheau and Brown framework takes
into account the relationships among:
– Organizational context
– Organizational-level factors
– Individual-level factors

Framework for Designing User Support
• Brancheau and Brown Framework for
Designing User Support
Figure 13.5
(Brancheau & Brown, 1993)

Strategies for User Computing
• Many organizations have developed specific
strategies for user computing
• One useful way to characterize these strategies is
along two dimensions:
– Level of control established and enforced by the
organization
– Level of support resources provided by the organization
• Organizations that move along the control dimension
from low control to high control may experience
resistance from users
Resources
for Support STRATEGIES FOR
USER COMPUTING
Containmen
Containmen
Laissez-faire
tt
Laissez-faire
Control
(Adapted from Munro et al., 1987-
1988; Brancheau and Amoroso, 1990)
• Laissez-faire
– This “hands off” approach is characterized by low
levels of control and few resources for support
– This strategy was common in the 1980s as PCs
were first introduced into corporations
– Now it is com more commonly used when
introducing new technologies

• Acceleration
– This growth approach is characterized by low
levels of formal controls and procedures and
heavy investments in support resources
– The goal is to enable users to acquire and learn
computer tools and possibly develop their own
applications
– Used for more established technologies

• Containment
– This approach is characterized by high levels of
formal controls and procedures and minimal
support resources
– This risk adverse approach slowly brings in user
technologies after policies are established
– Strict guidelines for tool usage and security are
enforced

• Controlled growth
– This approach combines high levels of formal
controls and procedures with extensive
investments in support resources
– The approach is considered the most mature and
is common in organizations today
– Many organizations initially begin with a different
strategy and then migrate to controlled growth

Resources
for Support STRATEGIES FOR
USER COMPUTING
Containmen
Containmen
Laissez-faire
tt
Laissez-faire
Control (Adapted from Munro et al., 1987-

1988; Brancheau and Amoroso, 1990)
Service Level Agreements
• The development of Service Level Agreements
(SLAs) is important for successfully supporting
users
• These metrics are typically established in
consultation with business managers
Figure 13.7

Support Services
• IS organizations provide many different
services as part of desktop support
Figure 13.8

Support Services
• Many organizations have outsourced their
customer service support to organizations that
can easily support customers in different time
zones at a lower cost
• Similarly, help desks are commonly
outsourced
• Help-desk staff typically follow scripts when
helping to diagnose problems

Support Services
• Another important service that IS
organizations offer is user training
• Training may be in general computer literacy
or in specific tools or applications
• Many organizations have established “learning
portals”—Web sites that provide self-paced
training methods—or other e-learning
initiatives

Support Services
• Email Inbox Training
– One example of common training topic for users is
how to best manage email
– As corporate email use increases, training in the
best management of productivity tools such as
email applications has has become common

Control policies and procedures
• Control policies and procedures can reduce
the risks involved with user computing
• The policies are usually developed and
enforced by the IS organization
Figure 13.9

• Software Licensing
– The licensing of application software is another
responsibility of IS managers
– The piracy of software is a worldwide problem
that costs the commercial software industry over
$7 billion dollars a year

Software Licensing
• Software Licensing
– To deter software piracy, many of the large U.S.
software companies created the Business
Software Alliance (BSA)
• The BSA has power of attorney to enforce copyright
claims of its members
• The organization uses incentives and advertisements to
encourage whistleblowers
• In addition to paying the licensing fees, companies who
are caught are subject to steep fines

• Some of the greatest increases in costs for
desktop computing are related to security
Issues
• In 2003, the worldwide economic damage
from viruses, worms, and other attacks was
estimated at $120 billion
• Control policies and procedures should be
continually modified to address new threats

Special Case ●
Supporting Telecommuters
• Gartner has estimated that more than 80

million workers worldwide worked from home
at least one day per month in 2005
• The number of telecommuters has increased,
but not at the rate that was expected
• Not all jobs are suitable for telecommuting

Special Case ●
• Telecommuting is enabled by advances in

technology
– Mobile devices and high speed network
connections make telecommuting possible
– Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) and remote
access technologies allow location-independent
access to company data resources

Special Case ●
• Advantages for workers

– Flexibility
– Work-life balance
– Easier to communicate with others in different
time zones
– Infrequent or eliminated commute
• Advantages for Businesses
– Possible savings from decreased office space
– Tax incentives
Special Case ●
• Disadvantages for workers

– Feelings of isolation
– Potentially decreased opportunities for
advancement
• Disadvantages for Businesses
– Difficult to support telecommuters
– May need to change performance appraisal
systems
– More difficult to secure data
Special Case ●
• Obstacles to telecommuting
– Technical
• Equipment
• Bandwidth
• Support
– Managerial and behavioral
• Performance metrics
• Missing social interactions
• Securing sensitive data

Special Case ●
• Technical obstacles are becoming less problematic as

new technologies are introduced
• Ways to overcome managerial and behavioral obstacles
– Regular meetings can reduce feelings of isolation
– Performance evaluation systems can be revised to reflect
better metrics for telecommuters
– Training programs can help telecommuters feel included and
decrease concerns about a lack of advancement
opportunities
– Data security policies should be enforced to prevent data
loss

Special Case ●
Managing Intranets
• Most companies have implemented company

intranets for cost savings
• These cost savings can only be realized if
employees can find the information on the
intranet
• Less than half of business users say they can
find what they need on the corporate intranet

Special Case ●
Managing Intranets
• Intranets often have problems with data

accuracy and currency
• Different strategies for user computing have
been applied to the implementation of
intranets
– Some used acceleration strategy (e.g., Boeing)
– Others used containment
– Generally most of these eventually moved to
controlled growth strategies
Special Case ●
Managing Intranets
• Many organizations are integrating collaboration tools

common to the Internet into their corporate intranet
– Employee blogs
• Successful blogs have two important characteristics
– Blogger must have something important to say
– Blogger needs to share opinions uncensored
– Wikis
– Video
• A supportive culture is crucial for success

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a
retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic,
mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written
permission of the publisher. Printed in the United States of America.
Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc.

Publishing as Prentice Hall

Mit6e Ch13 by Firli

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Managing Information Technology

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• Some history of user application development

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due to choosing the

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Application Tool Developer

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• An overall framework for the design of user

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Control (Adapted from Munro et al., 1987-

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• Gartner has estimated that more than 80

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• Telecommuting is enabled by advances in

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• Advantages for workers

• Disadvantages for workers

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• Technical obstacles are becoming less problematic as

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• Most companies have implemented company

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• Intranets often have problems with data

• Many organizations are integrating collaboration tools

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