_risks in business and IS change_

For a company to be able to cope up with the rapid advancements of IS, changes and taking risks must be made. Risk taking is an everyday part of managing an enterprise. It is an essential element of business today and success comes to those organizations that identify and manage risks most effectively.

But these changes may bring various risks to an organization. The threats are classified as follows:

Investment or expense, the risk that the investment being made in IT fails to provide value for money or is otherwise excessive or wasted;

Access or security, the risk that confidential or otherwise sensitive information may be divulged or made available to those without appropriate authority;

Integrity, the risk that data cannot be relied on because they are unauthorized,
incomplete or inaccurate;

Availability, the risk of loss of service;

Infrastructure, the risk that an organization does not have an information technology infrastructure and systems that can effectively support the current and future needs of the business in an efficient, cost-effective and well-controlled fashion;

And Project ownership risk, the risk of IT projects failing to meet objectives through lack of accountability and commitment.

The management of risks is a cornerstone of IT governance, ensuring that the strategic objectives of the business are not jeopardized by IT failures.

As what I've commented before, I think the key for the success of IS is proper management.

http://www.isaca.org/ContentManagement/ContentDisplay.cfm?ContentID=33919

Barriers in IS/IT

Barriers are some things that impede or prevent employment of a particular act.

With regards to implementing IS, there are these hindrances and limitations. These are technological factors, resistance by individuals and political resistance.

TECHNOLOGICAL FACTORS deal with inconsistency of the products of the manufacturer, specifically the hardwares. Different standards that are made makes systems hard to handle due to incompatibility of their specifications.

Some managers do not use the system fully. Sometimes it's because they don't know how the system works and all its functionality. Thus, making them apprehensive to use it. It is what 'RESISTANCE BY INDIVIDUALS' is concerned.

And POLITICAL RESISTANCE concerns with how the information system changes the way information flows in the firm. Some managers feel threatened by it and may think they will be laid-off.

An additional to the list of barriers would be because of the LOSS OF HUMAN ELEMENT. Information systems cannot present all kinds of information accurately. Thick information, which is rich in meaning and not quantifiable, is best suited to human analysis.

To sum it all, I think it is because of inconsistency and lack of knowledge about the scope and limitations of the system that it why IS (Information System) is bounded.

http://www.csupomona.edu/~wcweber/301/301slide/ch17301/tsld017.htm
http://www.csupomona.edu/~wcweber/301/301slide/ch17301/tsld018.htm

best practices of IT

Based on what I’ve researched, BEST PRACTICES are those strategies, activities, or approaches that have been shown through research and evaluation to be effective in a given discipline, area of study, or application (Tech, 2004).

These are some compiled guidelines for efficient and effective performance of IT systems/projects.

Strategic IT Alignment
-It guarantees to achieve its main objective with regards to business.
1 Use an IT advisory board to oversee IT strategy and policy decisions.
2 Base IT decisions on bureau and City-wide strategic plans.
3 Position the IT director as a strategist who resolves business issues with information technology.
4 Ensure that IT customer service managers possess excellent communication and interpersonal skills.
5 Inform bureau managers on the rationale behind IT policies and of emerging technologies.
6 Monitor and report on the progress of the IT strategic plan.

Value Delivery
-Compliance of the particular project requirement on time and within the resources provided defines the system’s value.
7 Focus on optimizing bureau business strategies and IT investments.
8 Wherever possible, standardize common applications across bureaus and use on-the-shelf software.
9 Use consistent and methodical processes when consolidating or re-engineering systems or services.
10 Make the Help Desk’s effectiveness a priority.
11 Ensure that IT costs and cost recovery methods are transparent and clearly communicated.
12 Use project management, change management and project review processes.
13 Consider service level agreements (SLAs) a formal contract between the IT department and the bureaus, and report on performance metrics specified in the SLA.

Risk Management
-Controls and organization manage risk threat in projects.
14 Apply principles found in IT best practices guides.
15 Use policies, procedures and clear authorities to manage change.
16 Clearly define the scope of an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system

Resource Management
-Appropriate administration of resources (Staff, customers, vendors, hardware, software and relationships) is very crucial to enhance its value.
17 Develop strong and broad staff competencies.
18 Manage computing assets.
19 Recognize the customer as an important resource.

Performance Measurement
-It is an accomplishment basis that allows advance development and progress.
20 Measure performance and use the results to initiate improvements and change.

• Organizational Practices
• Team Practices
• Individual Practices

The main intent is to understand how a given skills set affects projects at various levels such that we can be aware of its effectiveness.
Hardware, software and peopleware may have diverse functions but they are all essential to the success of IS/IT system.
How well they are being managed defines how effective they can be. The key is management.
In accordance to the development and successful management of information technology resources, these practices are best implemented.

http://www.cache.htm

info on infotech. . .

Information Technology (IT) is always associated with Information System (IS) for they are both coordinated with manual and automated processes and management of contemporary systems.
I suppose IS/IT system flunk and break down due to its erroneous infrastructure of softwares and hardwares, unorganized and insufficient data and information, and incorrect usage and management of the system.

IS/IT systems should be well-managed, maintained and continually be developed. Failure to do so may cause malfunction and error to the system.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Information_system