رویکرد یکپارچه به سوی برنامه ریزی سیستم های اطلاعاتی استراتژیک

Within the competitive global environment, information has become a key resource for increasing a corporation's competitiveness by changing the nature or conduct of business. Accordingly, corporations are now seeking a method for information systems planning to maximize their strategic effectiveness. Strategic Information Systems Planning (SISP) refers to the process of creating a portfolio for the implementation and use of IS to maximize the effectiveness and efficiency of a corporation, so that it can achieve its objectives. An investigation of SISP, however, showed that only 24% of planned applications were actually developed (Int. J. Comput. Appl. Technol., 8 (1995), 61; MIS Quarterly, September (1988), 445). This figure clearly shows that enhancements are required for current SISP processes. In particular, this paper focuses on SISP methodologies, which provide support for overall SISP processes. The paper initially identifies four general SISP methodology problems: lack of support for Information Technology Architecture, under-emphasis on information technology opportunities, duration of SISP, and lack of support for business process reengineering. Next, it proposes an integrated SISP methodology which solves the above problems while retaining the advantageous qualities of current SISP methodologies. Finally, a case study is added to show how the methodology actually works in practice.

1.1. Strategic information systems Strategic systems are essential for a corporation to gain a competitive advantage to attain its goals. In order for a system to be called strategic, it must significantly change business performance, the means the business employs to attain a strategic goal, the way a corporation does business, the way it competes, or the way it deals with customers or suppliers (Ernst and Chen, 1994). The difference between strategic information systems and other Information System (IS) such as Transaction Processing System (TPS), Management Information System (MIS), Decision Support System (DSS) is that the new focus is on strategy. However, the competitive advantage that a corporation may gain by using strategic information systems is not risk-free. A corporation using strategic information systems may lose competitive advantage by shifting the basis of competition in an unfavorable direction, lowering entry barriers, bringing on litigation or regulation, or increasing the power of suppliers and customers relative to the corporation (Tan et al., 1995). Therefore, it is vital to consider all factors surrounding the development of strategic information systems in order to achieve substantial competitive advantage, which makes the planning phase imperative. 1.2. Strategic information systems planning In order for a corporation to develop a strategic plan, it needs to answer the following three questions. • What position is the corporation taking at present? (current status) • What position does it plan to take in the future? (objective) • What path should it take to reach the objective? (implementation) Strategic Information Systems Planning (SISP) is the process of answering the above questions specifically in relation to IS. Information systems planning is the process of creating a plan for the implementation and use of IS to maximize the effectiveness of corporate resources to achieve its goals. SISP has become an accepted part of the overall corporate strategic planning process. By using SISP, a corporation is involved in finding a way to manage effectively in a complex and dynamic environment. A study on satisfaction using SISP showed that corporations adopting a specific SISP method were more satisfied with the planning process and outcome than those not using a specific SISP method (Rogerson and Fidler, 1994). The process of SISP is quite intriguing because if developed quickly, the output is likely to be insufficient; if developed flawlessly over a comparatively long period of time, it is likely to become ineffectual by the time it gets to the stage of implementation (Lederer and Sethi, 1996). The development of the plan involves many participants working cooperatively, not independently. If business specialists develop the plan independently, the plan is likely to become technologically infeasible, and if the information specialists develop the plan by themselves, the plan is likely to become excessively technical. The participation of top management is also crucial since the IS will inevitably become the core of the corporation in the future.

This study, motivated by the need for improvements in the Strategic Information Systems Planning (SISP) process, focused on SISP methodologies in particular. It identified four SISP methodology problems and proposed an integrated SISP methodology for their solution while retaining the advantageous qualities of current SISP methodologies. The methodology places emphasis on maximizing strategic effectiveness while minimizing the use of corporate resources, especially time. The integrated SISP methodology is different to conventional SISP methodologies in four ways. First, it puts more emphasis on IT opportunities. IS, in this methodology, are used not only for assisting business strategies, but also for the creation of new strategies. Second, the output of the SISP process has become more specific and detailed with the incorporation of an Information Technology Architecture (ITA). ITA, which has been conducted separately from SISP in most corporations, is concerned with many activities that are directly related to SISP. Third, business process reengineering, which has also been accomplished separately from SISP, is designed to be accomplished alongside SISP in the integrated SISP methodology. By accomplishing business process reengineering along with SISP, the resulting SISP will have a better chance of being implemented. Finally, the design of the methodology is based on concurrent engineering to minimize time duration. Our study, however, had some constraints due to its limited focus. First, the SISP methodology did not deal with specific factors which concern particular corporations. The methodology was proposed in a general form so that it could be easily changed to fit particular circumstances. Second, the study did not deal with SISP problems which are not directly related to the SISP methodology; problems such as difficulty in securing top management commitment or difficulty in finding a team leader meeting desired criteria were considered outside our scope. Future research will concentrate on SISP problems that are indirectly related to the methodology. Because the SISP process involves many corporate resources, including human resources, it cannot be optimized solely through improvements in the SISP methodology. The SISP methodology is limited to providing support for the SISP process; it does not create an output by itself. In order to optimize the output of the SISP process, therefore, other SISP problems must also be solved.