Some best practices of IS/IT

There are 23 best practices within the information systems life cycle phases that were identified by the professionals in this site (http://www.portlandonline.com/auditor/index.cfm?a=13026&c=27102). Among those, I only chose ten.

These practices were identified to help stakeholders in managing an information systems software project. Each of these contributes to the success of the project. So why not learn these practices?

1. Determine if you have a project.

-Addressing the organization’s problems and deficiencies could help in easy building solutions. Member of the organization should be vigilant and should find ways to help the organization. Recommending projects is a great idea.

2. Try to keep projects small and modular.

-Ideal IS application architecture is easy to debug for error handling, for the improvement of the application for future use, and easy organization and evaluation. An application need not be complex. The design should suit to what the organization’s need.

3. Describe the project in functional terms.
-In creating a project, the functions of the system should be specified. These should be considered: how the application would work, what the expected outputs are, how the user would interact and what are the inputs, and other concepts.

4. Know your business processes.
-Understanding the business processes would lessen the inconsistencies. Before recommending a system, a study should be conducted on what are the different business processes and how does it run.

5. Evaluate the project financially.
-Identifying the projects costs and benefits is an important element to calculate if the project is worth doing.

6. Use project deliverables to define success.
-We keep on simulating a project without knowing the concepts, and without knowing what we are trying to work. Defining the criteria for project success helps the project stay on track and for evaluation of the project’s performance. Goals, objectives should be defined.

7. Involve users early and often.
-From the start, the users should be one of the concerns in creating a system. Every improvement, the user interface should be regarded. Important concerns that deals with the users’ expectations and needs.

8. If you need outside help, get it.
-If there is a need of the external help, the organization should seek help.

9. Negotiate a good contract.
-It is a need to negotiate a good contract for the equal profit between the organization and the vendor. Contracts are used for the formality of every transaction. And in case of inoperable systems, the vendor could react and for the organization to heed its dignity.

10. Don’t be afraid to stop and reevaluate if things are not going well.
-Though failures may occur, the work on the system should not stop. Just keep on going! If it seems like there is something wrong with the system, reevaluate. You may find the answers to your questions, and you may find better solutions.

Why Information Systems Fail

There are many reasons why IS/IT systems fails that caused so much trouble in any business. Based on the studies that were conducted, such failure is not caused by technological difficulties alone. We should also have to consider the problems regarding human resources and the functionality within a business.

As what I have studied, we could say that an IS fails when it does not meet its design objectives, excessive costs, missed deadlines, the users cannot interact well with the IS, and unable to meet the clients expectations. These are only some of the facts that correspond with the other observations. Though fail may occur, the work on the system should not stop. According to Sauer, actual failure finally and irreversibly occurs when a project organization is unable to sustain sufficient support to continue work on the system, including development, maintenance, and operation; and the cessation of work leaves users dissatisfied with what the system has done for them.

Other contributions why IS fails because it is not well planned, a study is not implemented, there are no specific goals, and inattention to the contribution of the staff’s character, coordination, knowledge, and performance in which they could have a good plan, and could come up with one great idea.

“You stop working because you fail… but you fail because you stop working.”

Open Source Software

Open Source Software offers a great benefit to individuals, schools, and other institutions. You can have software without paying the license fee and install the application. You can modify and add new features to the software and can even share it with others. Yes! We can make the most out of it. We can use applications free with little effort from us.

With all these good stuffs, the school could save money and use it for other essentials. Open Source Software will provide the needs of the schools and students, enabling them to practice in the core of technological aspect, and that will improve the performance and learning.

Many schools have been taking part of this and our school should be one of those. The school could have a program or create an organization and if I were to suggest I would name it “OSS Enthusiast” that would remind students the current emerging softwares and could give a copy of those or let them search. The school could give the students a project that utilizes a particular application. There should also fun activities in school that would stimulate students’ participation and would encourage them to use those applications with their specific functions. Activities that would encourage the students to modify, improve, and create applications. All these would boost the students’ knowledge and would help in finding out their potentials.

With all these great ideas, applications could be developed and new technical concepts and tools could emerge.

The following URL’s taught me and be convinced how great an Open Source Software is:

• http://dragon.ep.usm.edu/~yuen/blog/2007/09/open-source-refers-to-software-programs.html

• http://www.opensourceconsortium.org/publicdocs/oss_in_schools.pdf

• http://edge-op.org/grouch/schools.html

Green Campus Computing

It is good to know that there is a program that cares for the environment and that could teach us on how to be involved. Green Campus Computing encourages us to do things such as conserving and recycling not solely for the benefit of environment, but for us to have a positive learning. It would be great if our school would adopt the concept and it should be. In implementing the concept, first, the school should educate the students, faculty and staff about the program; and encourage them to practice the green computing strategies – conserve and recycle. As an IT, we could help. There are many energy conservation strategies and one of the basics is to turn off the computer when not in use. Usually, when we are done with our work, we tend to leave the computer on. With this, we are wasting the energy and we are adding up the energy cost.

Imparting the knowledge would also make the program succeed and would make our world become green.

The following URL’s talk about “green campus computing”:

• http://wings.buffalo.edu/ubgreen/content/programs/energyconservation/guide_computing.html

• http://blog.case.edu/its-news/2003/09/14/kenneth_c_green_director_of_national_campus_computing_project_joins_case

• http://ecenter.colorado.edu/energy/projects/green_computing.html

These are my father's written poems that I got from his book

The WAVES
by PEDRO CAGUIMBAGA

In the edge of the sea
Where the golden sun dwells
Rushing waves are fearing
Inviting me to venture to the sea.

Oh, waves you are beyond resisting
My heart throbs with desire
But fear lurks in the deep recesses of my mind
Because of the mystery I can't understand.

Million of lives perished in your bowels
Those who challenged mystery with delight
I cannot risk my one life
In seeking adventure in the sea.


THE VIEWER





The Living Shadow
by PEDRO CAGUIMBAGA

I gazed at the starry skies above,
And the golden moon with its sleepy eyes,
To console my aching, lonely heart,
But nothing appealed to me one night.

I heard the roaring water in the falls,
As if they were laughing at me in the mockery,
My teeth gnashed in violent anger,
But my screaming voice became an echo in the woodlands.

With tears in my eyes,
I looked up again to the stars
And there in the moonlit skies,
I saw the very picture of you.

And when I looked beyond the horizon,
I saw you fleeting like a shadow,
Moving towards me and floating in the air,
Now I know, you are a living shadow.





Odyssey of Vision

My sight traveled at the remotest part of heaven
That was crowned with sparkling
Stars like dewdrops in the sunny morning,
I who ventured in the lonely stream
Searched the pages of yesterdays.

Slowly, slowly until no more
The moon hid in its gravish wall,
And the birds and the bees were all asleep,
() and the whispering stream
Witnessed the sweetest dream of mine.

While the night and the dark went deepest,
The Supreme's torch went brightest
And I could see the image of her face
Far beyond the infinite space.
Over the sky I could see the memories of yesterday
When we met
When my heart was captured by your sleepy eyes.

Along the shore of heaven,
Came the wavering clouds from the west
And destroyed her engraved face
In the sandy sky.
Those clouds are the symbol of fear in my mind.
That caused my hopeless dream.

by PEDRO V. CAGUIMBAGA

July-October, 1969





"The biggest room in the world is the room for self-improvement."
-SIDNEY N. BREMER Ph.D


- "This is a clipping from "The Ballot Box", an official publication of the COMELEC. I included this in this book for my children to read and remember."

This is what my father's stated in his book.

I love my father.

Mimi was born (When I was born)

On May 31, 1989 my third child was born and we named her after a young talented movie star Sheryl Cruz. Sheryl was a cute little girl who used to cry during the evening and there was one moment when I carried her to a nearest hospital believing that she has a sour stomach but when we arrived at the gate of the Navares Clinic in Panabo we discovered that she was already very much relaxed. Soon, I discovered that she was just wanting to be with the cool fresh air outside the house.

On March 15, 1990 when Mimi was almost one year old (we nicknamed her Mimi as she was born in the month of May) I suffered again another heart-related problem, the one that caused so much worry in my life fearing that if I will loss my sight Mimi will be gravely affected. I immediately consulted my case to Dr. Durban of Limso Medical Hospital and Dr. Castaneda of Davao Doctors Hospital but both of them advised me to go to the Philippine Heart Center in Manila. Knowing that there is only 60% survival rate for a by-pass operation, I opted to stay in the house and kept on praying until a friend advised me to undergo a healing prayer. Another friend from the COMELEC also advised me to eat plenty of cucumber(pipino) for according to him it is good for the heart.

As of now, despite my problem I feel at ease and I have already submitted to God all that is in me including my life and I just hope that with all the miracles he has shown during my younger days, once again he will do it for me this time.

- This is from my father's book.

Playing the Game

So you played the game

And you lost, my lad?

And you're battered and bleeding too,

And your hopes are dead,

And your heart is lead,

And your whole world's sad and blue.

And so you sob and cry

In your grief and your pain

For the hopes that had to die,

But the game is through

And it's up to you

To laugh though you want to cry.

For someone, there must be

Something to lose, my lad,

It's sad but it's always true;

And day by day in the games you play

It's sure sometimes has to be you

So grit your teeth to the pain, my lad,

For you bottled the best you could,

And there's never shame in the losing game

When you lose like a real man should

For after all, life is a game, my lad,

And we play it as best we may;

We win or lose as the gods may choose

Who govern the games we play

But whether we win or lose, my lad,

At the end when the battle is through,

We must wait with a smile

For after awhile

And the chances that will come anew

- I got this from my high scool yearbook's page. I posted this just to share with you my perception of life based on my experiences.