Research Method

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The phase of the research reported here aimed to identify an initial set of risk factors that were believed to be influential in determining the success/failure of systems implementation in Omani government. The approach taken was to determine initial factors using local expert opinion and to compare this against the relevant literature. The next phase of the research is concerned with the validation and weighting of these factors. Several factors were identified from the first author's experiences of working, for many years, in IT projects in Oman and also from the various viewpoints of the delegates that attended a workshop on "government information systems success and failure" that took place in Muscat, Oman on the 14th of October, 1999 (Al-Wohaibi, 1999). The objective of the organiser was to gather a discussion group of experts to gain different perspectives on the issues surrounding software failures in Oman. Therefore, in the workshop speakers were selected from varied backgrounds in academia, commerce, and government. They represented a good cross-section of the talent that is currently working in the area of information technology in Oman and reflected the international make-up of this expertise. The nationalities represented included: Omani, British, Jordanian, Indian, Syrian, Egyptian, Ukrainian, and American. Around 40 IT professionals attended the workshop, and speakers were as follows: two from the local university, three IT directors, and two IT consultants from large local IT companies. The workshop consisted of two sessions, each followed by a panel discussion. The first session provided a theoretical review of risks, success and failure factors. It consisted of three presentations. The first was from a researcher in the Computer Science Department (Sultan Qaboos University) and highlighted the role of methodology on minimising risks. The second was by the head of the Information Systems department (Sultan Qaboos University) who proposed a database approach to IS development and alignment of IT and business strategies in IS projects success. The third paper was by the first author and covered the contingent view of IS success and failure. In the second session, two IT consultants and two IT directors presented four papers from government organisations. These papers presented experiences of implementing IT projects in the public sectors and highlighted the risks involved from the viewpoints of the IT practitioners. A final panel discussion helped in summarising the various risks that were raised in the workshop. A report of the workshop proceeding can be found in Al-Wohaibi (1999). The individual factors raised at the workshop were then categorised by the authors and presented to a panel of experts that consisted of three IT researchers: two from the local university and the third from abroad. The panel deliberated and reached the following three risk categorisations: human resource deficiency, organisational inefficiencies, and the immaturity of the IT business culture.



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Advanced Topics in Global Information Management (Vol. 3)
Trust in Knowledge Management and Systems in Organizations
ISBN: 1591402204
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2003
Pages: 207

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