Lecture 3- Accounting information systems change and development

One main internal driver of organisation change is [blank_start]technological capability[blank_end]

Another main internal driver of organisation change is the [blank_start]culture of the organisation[blank_end]

Third main internal driver of organisation change is [blank_start]available investment funds[blank_end]

One main external driver of organisation change is [blank_start]legislation[blank_end]

Another main external driver of organisation change is [blank_start]the economy[blank_end]

Third main external driver of organisation change is [blank_start]demographics[blank_end]

Hard change- Refers to an [blank_start]information systems[blank_end] change which is driven by [blank_start]new technologies[blank_end]

Soft change- Refers to change which [blank_start]arises[blank_end] from how an [blank_start]organisation[blank_end] is [blank_start]structured[blank_end] or how it does things [blank_start]internally[blank_end]

Minor change- A [blank_start]fine-tuning[blank_end] adjustment to the [blank_start]information system[blank_end] & no change is made to how the system [blank_start]fundamentally operates[blank_end]

Major change- The [blank_start]impact[blank_end] on the information system is more [blank_start]substantial[blank_end] & may affect many [blank_start]system components[blank_end]

Systems development life cycle is a [blank_start]methodology[blank_end] to ensure smooth [blank_start]systems design[blank_end], testing & [blank_start]implementation[blank_end]

One way how systems can be implemented is through [blank_start]direct transition[blank_end] from [blank_start]old to new[blank_end]. There could be [blank_start]restricted access[blank_end] to the [blank_start]old system[blank_end] & [blank_start]forced use[blank_end] of the [blank_start]new system[blank_end] only

Another way how systems can be implemented is through a [blank_start]phased transition[blank_end]

Third way how systems can be implemented is through a [blank_start]parallel approach[blank_end]. The [blank_start]old & new system[blank_end] could be run [blank_start]together[blank_end] for a period of time

First step in managing an information systems project is [blank_start]estimation[blank_end]. This phase estimates the [blank_start]resources[blank_end] required by [blank_start]breaking down[blank_end] the project requirements into [blank_start]smaller activities[blank_end] & assigning a [blank_start]time & cost[blank_end] to each task

Second step in managing an information systems project is [blank_start]scheduling[blank_end]. This phase entails [blank_start]determining[blank_end] a [blank_start]start[blank_end] & [blank_start]completion date[blank_end] for each [blank_start]activity[blank_end]

Third step in managing an information systems project is [blank_start]monitoring[blank_end]. This implies [blank_start]control[blank_end] which means [blank_start]corrective action[blank_end] is taken on any deviations from [blank_start]plan[blank_end]

Fourth step in managing an information systems project is [blank_start]documentation[blank_end]. This phase involves keeping the project [blank_start]documented[blank_end] as it reduces any [blank_start]maintenance[blank_end] or change efforts after [blank_start]project completion[blank_end]

Critical path analysis- A [blank_start]technique[blank_end] which [blank_start]diagrammatically[blank_end] represents a chain of all [blank_start]project activities[blank_end] & events & shows the [blank_start]events critical[blank_end] to the successful implementation of the project

Organisational change is [blank_start]complex[blank_end] but [blank_start]ubiquitous[blank_end] (present everywhere) phenomena. [blank_start]Accountants[blank_end] will be part of organisational change ([blank_start]actively[blank_end] or [blank_start]passively[blank_end])

Tools that can be used to analyse business environment include [blank_start]PESTEL analysis[blank_end] & [blank_start]Porter's 5 Forces[blank_end]

Two main perspectives towards organisational change are [blank_start]static view[blank_end] & [blank_start]dynamic view[blank_end]

One theory of change in static view is [blank_start]organisational development[blank_end]. It's based on [blank_start]Lewin's[blank_end] theory but also applies [blank_start]behavioural science[blank_end]. A theory within this is [blank_start]Dawson's[blank_end] theory. Steps of this theory include: identifying [blank_start]need[blank_end] for change, selecting [blank_start]technique[blank_end] for intervention, gaining [blank_start]top management[blank_end] support to implement change, [blank_start]plan[blank_end] change process, [blank_start]overcome resistance[blank_end] to change & finally [blank_start]evaluate[blank_end] change process

Another theory of change in static view is [blank_start]contingency[blank_end] (best way to [blank_start]structure[blank_end] & [blank_start]manage[blank_end] organisational change [blank_start]depends[blank_end] on, or is [blank_start]contingent[blank_end] upon, [blank_start]circumstances[blank_end] of particular organisation)

Third theory of change in static view is [blank_start]consulting approaches[blank_end]. It's largely [blank_start]informed[blank_end] by [blank_start]consultative[blank_end] rather than an [blank_start]academic[blank_end] perspective. It's connected to particular [blank_start]philosophy[blank_end] underpinning [blank_start]management[blank_end] theory

Theories of change in dynamic view are [blank_start]less prescriptive[blank_end] & [blank_start]more analytical[blank_end]

One theory of change in dynamic view is [blank_start]Pettigrew's theory[blank_end]. It considers [blank_start]contextual[blank_end] factors are important in [blank_start]change[blank_end] process. Three elements of the theory are [blank_start]content[blank_end] ([blank_start]portion[blank_end] of an organisation experiencing [blank_start]change[blank_end]), [blank_start]process[blank_end] (actions, [blank_start]reactions[blank_end] & interactions of various interested [blank_start]parties[blank_end]) & [blank_start]context[blank_end] (internal structure, [blank_start]cultural[blank_end] & political conditions as well as [blank_start]external[blank_end] ones)

To manage organisational change the following are needed which include: need [blank_start]top management[blank_end] support, change [blank_start]champions[blank_end], support [blank_start]business strategy[blank_end], good [blank_start]communication[blank_end], [blank_start]motivation[blank_end] & manage [blank_start]resistance[blank_end] to change

Change to accounting information systems is quite [blank_start]frequent[blank_end] given [blank_start]dynamic[blank_end] nature of [blank_start]business environment[blank_end] & [blank_start]fast pace[blank_end] of technological change. Change needs to be [blank_start]managed[blank_end]

First step in the systems development life cycle is [blank_start]systems planning[blank_end]. Identify [blank_start]need[blank_end] for systems [blank_start]change[blank_end]. This is through potential [blank_start]systems[blank_end] getting [blank_start]evaluated[blank_end]. Then [blank_start]development proposal[blank_end] is prepared. After that systems identified in [blank_start]previous stages[blank_end] are [blank_start]prioritised[blank_end]. Finally, [blank_start]initial design[blank_end] & implementation [blank_start]plan[blank_end] is done

Second step in the systems development life cycle is [blank_start]systems analysis[blank_end]. Analyses existing [blank_start]system[blank_end] to understand how they’re [blank_start]operating[blank_end] which would lead to [blank_start]identifying[blank_end] existing system. Includes [blank_start]survey[blank_end] of current systems, determining [blank_start]systems requirements[blank_end], determining [blank_start]user needs[blank_end] & [blank_start]report[blank_end]

Third step in systems development life cycle is [blank_start]systems design[blank_end]. It starts with [blank_start]conceptual design[blank_end] (reflection of how [blank_start]system[blank_end] is [blank_start]structured[blank_end]- how business processes [blank_start]flow[blank_end] & are [blank_start]connected[blank_end]) & [blank_start]physical design[blank_end] ([blank_start]actual design[blank_end] of system)

Fourth step in systems development life cycle is [blank_start]systems selection[blank_end]. There are few options for organisation. They include [blank_start]purchasing system[blank_end], [blank_start]develop[blank_end] system in-house (develop software & purchase required hardware) & [blank_start]mixed[blank_end] approach (i.e. purchase off the shelf software package & design other systems based on needs). Organisation would first select [blank_start]hardware[blank_end], then select [blank_start]software[blank_end]

Fifth step in systems development life cycle is [blank_start]systems implementation[blank_end]. Organisation prepares [blank_start]detailed plan[blank_end] of [blank_start]implementation[blank_end] which includes [blank_start]resources[blank_end] needed such as [blank_start]training[blank_end] & target dates. Three approaches are [blank_start]direct[blank_end], [blank_start]phased[blank_end] & [blank_start]parallel[blank_end]

Sixth step in systems development life cycle is [blank_start]review[blank_end]. [blank_start]Evaluates[blank_end] how [blank_start]actual[blank_end] system has been [blank_start]implemented[blank_end]. Organisation should consider various [blank_start]factors[blank_end] & [blank_start]assess[blank_end] them i.e. user satisfaction & reliability of systems

An alternative systems development methodology is [blank_start]rapid application development (RAD)[blank_end]. It is software development [blank_start]methodology[blank_end] which uses combination of [blank_start]prototypes[blank_end] & [blank_start]structured techniques[blank_end] to accelerate software development (hybrid between [blank_start]SDLC[blank_end] & [blank_start]prototyping[blank_end])

Structured Systems Analysis & Design (SSAD)- [blank_start]Seven-stage[blank_end] process which assists in [blank_start]analysis[blank_end] & [blank_start]design[blank_end] of information systems. Stages include: [blank_start]feasibility[blank_end] study, investigating [blank_start]current environment[blank_end], [blank_start]system[blank_end] options, requirements [blank_start]specification[blank_end], [blank_start]technical[blank_end] system options, [blank_start]logical[blank_end] design & [blank_start]physical[blank_end] design

Prototyping- [blank_start]Preliminary[blank_end] model of [blank_start]system[blank_end]. It’s built [blank_start]rapidly[blank_end] & [blank_start]inexpensively[blank_end]. Stages include: identifying user’s [blank_start]basic requirements[blank_end] (ask lots of questions), developing an [blank_start]initial prototype[blank_end] (flowchart/decision trees), using [blank_start]prototype[blank_end] (users try every part of new system) & [blank_start]revising[blank_end] & [blank_start]enhancing[blank_end] prototype (repeat, repeat, repeat)

Another option for systems development is [blank_start]outsourcing[blank_end]. Two ways of [blank_start]outsourcing[blank_end] are [blank_start]software service providers[blank_end] & [blank_start]cloud computing[blank_end]