Change.... The mere thought of the word makes some people cringe with fear. For others, however, the word represents rebirth, an opportunity to evolve and move forward from the mundane and familiar. In business, choosing to implement change in the form of a new information system creates similar anxieties. For instance, your employees may provide pushback towards the rollout of a new information system. Although ultimately designed to improve the overall efficiency of your business, the thought of learning a new information system will intimidate some people on your staff. Therefore, when introducing a new information system to your employees, choose your conversion strategy wisely.
Direct Conversion - Out With the Old, In With the New
When a business decides to use a
direct conversion strategy, the users stop performing tasks with the old system and begin using the new system immediately on a specified date. In fact, according to Gary Shelly and Misty Vermaat, primary authors of the textbook
Discovering Computers 2010 Complete: Living in a Digital World, a direct conversion strategy has the advantage of requiring no transaction costs (page 644). Additionally, implementing this type of strategy is quick for businesses due to the immediate departure of one system and the instant deployment of a new one. However, employing a direct conversion strategy can produce tremendous risk for the organization, especially if the new system fails to work properly after implementation.
Phased Conversion - Size Matters
In an organization with multiple departments, a large-scale system implementation may benefit from a
phased conversion strategy. With this approach, an organization may decide to rollout its new information system to one department at a time, thereby hedging the risks involved with a direct conversion strategy (Shelly, Vermaat, et al. 644). For instance, a firm may first introduce a new information system to its Finance Department. Then, after a certain amount of time, the firm would introduce the new system to another department within the organization until eventually all departments became oriented with the new information system. This type of conversion strategy provides advantages to understaffed IT departments. By implementing an information system one department at a time, IT staff can focus their attention to training one department at a time on the new system. Furthermore, the IT department may address performance issues departmentally, thereby reducing the enormity of an organization-wide system implementation.
Pilot Conversion - Who Wants to Go First?
Sometimes, organizations may decide to introduce a new system implementation via a
pilot conversion strategy. Under this type of strategy, a firm introduces the new system to one location (or department) at a time, similar to a phased conversion strategy (Shelly, Vermaat, et al. 644). However, unlike the phased conversion strategy, a firm implements a pilot conversion strategy with the purpose of
testing the system in a controlled environment. Once the system successfully achieves the firm's objectives in the test surroundings, management may decide to administer the system to other departments within the firm. One advantage of employing this type of strategy includes determining whether the system will actually meet the firm's intended purpose prior to implementing the system across the entire organization. Conversely, a disadvantage to using this particular conversion strategy is the element of time required, as well as the labor and development costs incurred, for management to decide whether a complete delivery of the new system to the whole organization is feasible.
Parallel Conversion - Twice the Fun
Finally, an organization can choose to use a
parallel conversion strategy. With this type of strategy, both the old and new information systems operate alongside one another for a specified time (Shelly, Vermaat, et al. 644). After comparing the results from both systems, the firm may either immediately terminate the old system or implement the new system gradually. Organizations typically choose this conservative strategy because the old system continues to operate, thereby preventing data loss if the new system fails to perform properly.
1 Another advantage for companies utilizing this conversion strategy is the ability to correct any problems with the system prior to terminating the old system (Shelly, Vermaat, et al. 644). However, a primary disadvantage to incorporating this strategy involves money, particularly the costs associated with operating two systems simultaneously. Moreover, this strategy can produce stress among users due to the extra work involved with running multiple systems (i.e. double data entry, dual reports, etc.).
1
Prior to leaving my former employer, management tasked me with implementing a new information system for our Building Department via a parallel conversion. Developed by an outside vendor, the new system increased the amount of retrievable data while simultaneously reducing the amount of input from field inspectors. However, several staff members immediately rejected the implementation of the new system due to their reluctance to change. Furthermore, upper management did not ask for input from front-line staff (including myself) during the early stages of system development. Thus, the department's failure to include the users in the development of the information system would eventually lead to resentment from field personnel. While some members embraced the new system with an open mind, the system ultimately failed, costing the department nearly $200,000 in labor, development, and implementation costs. As a result, after abandoning the new system, the Building Department continues to use the former antiquated information system to conduct its business operations.
Conversion from one information system environment to another is common in almost all organizations, regardless of the firm's size, shape, industry or geographic location.
2 In addition, each of the conversion strategies discussed may require companies to perform hardware, operating system, and/or database management system (DBMS) alterations.
2 Therefore, when implementing a new information system, companies must carefully identify the options available to find the best conversion strategy for their specific situation.
2 Otherwise, management may risk jeopardizing not only the success of the project, but potentially the future of the organization as well.
Works Cited
Citations:
Shelly, Vermaat, et al. Discovering Computers 2010 Complete: Living in a Digital World. USA: Cengage, 2010. Print.
1http://web.sxu.edu/rogers/cs111/conversion.html
2http://www.accessmylibrary.com/article-1G1-11476980/strategies-converting-one-environment.html
Images:
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1http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/images/results.aspx?qu=computer%20technicians#ai:MP900422405|
2http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/images/results.aspx?qu=high-rises#ai:MP910216972|
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