Developing framework for quantifying modernization opportunity
Laukkanen, Heimo (2022)
Avaa tiedosto
Lataukset:
Laukkanen, Heimo
2022
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2022092820566
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2022092820566
Tiivistelmä
Information technology development and management literature have an abundance of instructions, guidance and management models to guide on making decisions on creating new information management systems and managing operations of information systems, but there are less practical insights and guidance on how to survive with aging systems, and how to make decisions on modernising or retiring critical legacy systems.
This thesis project takes a non exhaustive look at previous and current research on system modernisation and it-management literature, and included 14 free form interviews and 19 structured questionnaire responses to produce a contemporary view on how people in organisations make decisions on system modernisations.
As an outcome, this thesis project presents a simple way to identify and quantify the need to modernise IT systems in organisations. The model builds on top of tools and ideas presented in previous research on identifying legacy systems, but proposes a simple quantification mechanism to make legacy systems’ inherent risks visible.
Model comprises four distinctive phases: identification of primary business driver, capabilities that the organisation needs, assessment of the portfolio state and quantification of the change.
Core idea in the portfolio assessment is to focus analysis to two components: costs and risks. Costs include all the costs related to operating the service efficiently and risks include all the relevant risks that could have a business impact with some probability. Transforming operational, technical or other quality problems to risks forces the organisation to understand that lack of maintenance or quality is a business risk that needs to be accepted or controlled.
To assess modernisation opportunity or alternatives to the current state this thesis proposes quantifying modernisation improvement value in six distinctive categories: how it increases revenue, how it protects existing revenue, how it reduces costs currently accrued, how it avoids future costs not yet accrued, how it decreases previously quantified risk profile and how the change enables achieving some larger strategic goals in the organisation.
This thesis project takes a non exhaustive look at previous and current research on system modernisation and it-management literature, and included 14 free form interviews and 19 structured questionnaire responses to produce a contemporary view on how people in organisations make decisions on system modernisations.
As an outcome, this thesis project presents a simple way to identify and quantify the need to modernise IT systems in organisations. The model builds on top of tools and ideas presented in previous research on identifying legacy systems, but proposes a simple quantification mechanism to make legacy systems’ inherent risks visible.
Model comprises four distinctive phases: identification of primary business driver, capabilities that the organisation needs, assessment of the portfolio state and quantification of the change.
Core idea in the portfolio assessment is to focus analysis to two components: costs and risks. Costs include all the costs related to operating the service efficiently and risks include all the relevant risks that could have a business impact with some probability. Transforming operational, technical or other quality problems to risks forces the organisation to understand that lack of maintenance or quality is a business risk that needs to be accepted or controlled.
To assess modernisation opportunity or alternatives to the current state this thesis proposes quantifying modernisation improvement value in six distinctive categories: how it increases revenue, how it protects existing revenue, how it reduces costs currently accrued, how it avoids future costs not yet accrued, how it decreases previously quantified risk profile and how the change enables achieving some larger strategic goals in the organisation.