Summary: Integrated by Design: A Model and Methodology for a Sustainable, Integrated Enterprise Information System

Created by John Borwick (Wake Forest University) on June 5, 2009

Cross-posted from http://itsm.is.wfu.edu/node/180.

Robert Thacker from Southern Polytechnic State University gave this presentation, "Integrated by Design: A Model and Methodology for a Sustainable, Integrated Enterprise Information System."

Robert's presentation had a lot of good information about the problems surrounding IT. He made an analogy to Disney's Fantasia--that "we have flooded the castle with the magic of IT." Companies then think they can pay consultants to map out their IT processes, resulting in expensive reference texts that are outdated and unused.

People think they can add new systems to IT without an over-arching vision, but this only results in more entropy. Systems need to be integrated holistically.

Robert Thacker's model for transforming and improving IT is in three steps:

Conceptual integrated vision, creating strategies
Logical integrated design, creating tactics
Physical reality, creating actions

This set of steps should also correspond to various levels of the organization, e.g. the "conceptual integrated vision" should happen at the "C-level" (CEO, CIO, etc).

One of the first steps in creating an integration tool (read: ERP system) is to define "the customer satisfaction process." The customer clearly owns this process. This process can become the guiding focus for all business units, and an ERP system can facilitate this process as it flows through business units.

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		Summary: Integrated by Design: A Model and Methodology for a Sustainable, Integrated Enterprise Information System Created by John Borwick (Wake Forest University) on June 5, 2009 Cross-posted from http://itsm.is.wfu.edu/node/180. Robert Thacker from Southern Polytechnic State University gave this presentation, "Integrated by Design: A Model and Methodology for a Sustainable, Integrated Enterprise Information System." Robert's presentation had a lot of good information about the problems surrounding IT. He made an analogy to Disney's Fantasia--that "we have flooded the castle with the magic of IT." Companies then think they can pay consultants to map out their IT processes, resulting in expensive reference texts that are outdated and unused. People think they can add new systems to IT without an over-arching vision, but this only results in more entropy. Systems need to be integrated holistically. Robert Thacker's model for transforming and improving IT is in three steps: Conceptual integrated vision, creating strategies Logical integrated design, creating tactics Physical reality, creating actions This set of steps should also correspond to various levels of the organization, e.g. the "conceptual integrated vision" should happen at the "C-level" (CEO, CIO, etc). One of the first steps in creating an integration tool (read: ERP system) is to define "the customer satisfaction process." The customer clearly owns this process. This process can become the guiding focus for all business units, and an ERP system can facilitate this process as it flows through business units. EDUCAUSE \| SERC09 \| southeast regional conference 2009 John's blog Login or register to post comments 102 reads
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