About the Book
When you invest in expensive technology and systems, you want to get the most out of them. Process improvement has been used for years as an effective strategy to reduce costs, shorten cycle times, improve quality, and increase user satisfaction in other areas of business such as Quality, Manufacturing, and Engineering. While there are many books available on process improvement and process re-engineering, few of them address the unique processes within information systems as clearly and succinctly as A Practical Guide to Information Systems Improvement. Process Improvement for IS Tailored specifically for IS processes, A Practical Guide to Information Systems Process Improvement provides a step-by-step method for creating a world class Information System organization. The authors introduce process management and highlight its application to information systems. The book outlines a practical, complete, and easy-to-understand method for improving or re-engineering the processes within the Information Systems organization -- simplifying process improvement so that you can begin to use it immediately.
Avoid common pitfalls and mistakes The evolving business environment puts new demands on your Information Systems. E-commerce, changing technology, ERP, and globalization are just a few of the areas that will benefit from process improvement. This easy-to-follow guide includes a corresponding process model for each step that serves as a starting point for process improvement effort. It provides a checklist to ensure your new process meets all the requirements for its particular purpose and identifies pitfalls and mistakes to avoid.
Table of Contents:
Introduction to IS Process Management, Process Fundamentals Overview, Getting Started, Process Identification, Process Selection Current State Process Assessment, Process Plan, Future State Process Mapping, Implementing Process Changes, Summary
About the Author :
Cassidy, Anita; Guggenberger, Keith
Review :
"Cassidy and Guggenberger have done an excellent job of combining process improvement and quality improvement into a straightforward practical guide for information systems professionals to apply to improving the information systems development within an organization. The writing is straightforward and very accessible. This book enables organizations to improve both the quality and performance of information systems."-Dr. James C. Wetherbe, FedEx Professor of Excellence and Director of the Center for Cycle Time Research "I was immediately hooked to this book and could not stop reading. I want to make this into my organizations core belief. I want to learn it and teach it, not just to IT, but for other departments as well. I plan to introduce this to the executive team of my corporation as a way to work through issues together. This book, if correctly applied, will allow us to have the time to do the important things, not just the urgent ones. This is a very comprehensive, practical, methodology that all IT organizations need."-Adrienne Bodor, CIO, Eaton Corporation "This is an outstanding book for real practioners of Information Technology. Many in the industry have given lip service to being process oriented, but few actually effectively implement processes. This well written book is an excellent guide - using real life examples - on how to move from being a skills based organization to being process based."-Dan A. Christian, Vice President / CIO, Graco Inc. "IT departments are last to re-invent themselves - this book helps you change this paradigm! To help lead technology change, IT departments must change, and this book shows you the steps to cause change. This book explains how toensure that people, technology and processes are aligned, which is the true key to success in business today."-Cheryl Stepney, Director, Microsoft "Anita's second book is as good as her first. It's a clear, concise, easy-to-read guide for process improvement for any IS department. But don't stop there, you can apply these same techniques to any process. Read it through, then keep the book handy as you'll be referencing it frequently throughout your process improvement projects."-Mary Rolf, Executive VP, Rosemount Office Systems, Inc. "The IT Process book is easy to read and easy to understand. This is truly a 'How-To' book for both new and experienced IT leadership."-Joel Wiens, Vice President of IT, Regis Corporation "I liked the presentation of the material. Coming from the process world, I agreed with many of your viewpoints. I found the book to be interesting and very good."-Mark Brewer, Director of Information Services, Donaldson Company, Inc. "I thought it a very useful reference book for experienced people facing many of the issues in this and other organizations. I think that it would also be a useful book for someone who is new to the concept of process reengineering as well. I especially like the checklists at the end."-Cliff Tamplin, Managing Director, IS, Northwest Airlines, Inc. "This is an outstanding book for real practitioners of Information Technology. Many in the industry have given lip service to being process oriented, but few actually effectively implement processes. This well written book is an excellent guide - using real life examples - on how to move from being a skills based organization to being process based."-Dan A. Christian, Vice President / CIO, GracoInc. "IT departments are last to re-invent themselves - this book helps you change this paradigm! To help lead technology change, IT departments must change, and this book shows you the steps to cause change. This book explains how to ensure that people, technology and processes are aligned, which is the true key to success in business today."-Cheryl Stepney, Director Microsoft, "Anita's second book is as good as her first. It's a clear, concise, easy-to-read guide for process improvement for any IS department. But don't stop there, you can apply these same techniques to any process. Read it through, then keep the book handy as you'll be referencing it frequently throughout your process improvement projects."-Mary Rolf, Executive VP, Rosemount Office Systems, Inc. "The IT Process book is easy to read and easy to understand. This is truly a 'How-To' book for both new and experienced IT leadership."-Joel Wiens, Vice President of IT, Regis Corporation "I liked the presentation of the material. Coming from the process world, I agreed with many of your viewpoints. I found the book to be interesting and very good."-Mark Brewer, Director of Information Services, Donaldson Company, Inc. "I thought it a very useful reference book for experienced people facing many of the issues in this and other organizations. I think that it would also be a useful book for someone who is new to the concept of process reengineering as well. I especially like the checklists at the end."-Cliff Tamplin, Managing Director, IS, Northwest Airlines, Inc.
