IT Consultants and Packaged Software Selection

1. IT Consultants and Packaged Software Selection Debra Howcroft CRESC and MBS University of Manchester, UK debra.howcroft@mbs.ac.uk

2. Research Focus • The process of selection and procurement of a software package within a small organization • Analyses the case in the context of Markus and Bjorn-Anderson’s (1987) framework of power

3. Packaged software • Increasing numbers of organizations shifting from custom to packaged software • Sold as an ‘IT solution’ with a track record of success • Delivers complex systems in short time-frame • ‘Package paradox’ (Williams, 2005)

4. Product-oriented development • Focus is on developing and ‘shipping’ a generic product • Standardisation is pre-requisite for commodification (Fan et al. 2000) • Developers (rather than users) needs are central • IT consultants role is crucial as they position themselves between IT vendors and the client

5. Inscribed assumptions • Packaged software is itself embedded or inscribed with assumptions, values and opinions • ‘frozen organizational discourse’ (Bowker and Star, 1994) • Software embodies scripts of particular behaviours (Akrich, 1992) • Organization may need to change itself or the package

6. Guidelines on selection and procurement Define User Requirements Package Evaluation Final selection and purchase (Lynch, 1987; Sharland, 1991; Bansler and Havn, 1994; Chau, 1995; Stefanou, 2001) (Martin and McClure, 1983; Nelson et al., 1996; KPMG, 1998) )

7. Power framework • Markus and Bjorn-Anderson drawn on Lukes (1974) three-dimensional view of power • Considers covert power • Seeks to problematize consensus • This framework is applied to custom systems development

8. Power framework • Technical exercise of power • IS professionals select design features that users object to • Structural exercise of power • IS professionals create organizational structures and routines that give them formal authority • Conceptual exercise of power • IS professionals define the parameters of design • Symbolic exercise of power • IS professionals shape users desires and values

9. Research Method • Action research • Our role as researchers’ ranged from that of detached observer to fully engaged participant • Our primary responsibility was to the IT Manager • Multiple techniques of data collection

10. Case study setting • Owner-managed business • Established in 1990, three locations, with a turnover of £1.1m • Around 20 internal staff and 20 external consultants • MD had a strong organizational ‘vision’ • IT systems established in an ad-hoc manner, running independently of each other

11. Client(s) Employed or Performance Improvement Mentoring Mentoring The Client Tracking Process The Research Department and External Consultants

12. Gathering Requirements • We advised of the importance of discussing requirements with users • A focus day was planned • Documentation hoped to appeal to senior management “to provide a business class service and grow effectively in the future whilst maintaining efficiency in all areas” (Board of Directors Document)

13. The Product Search • Project team made use of marketing literature, internet, commercial product guides etc. to short-list products • Negotiations set up with three CRM vendors. Party A: Siebel Vendor B: Sage Party C and D: Goldmine

14. The ‘Beauty Parade’ • Party C’s ‘standard’ product • ‘Goldmine isn’t for us’ • Wanted exploration of custom development • Party D’s ‘personalised’ product • Vendor primed by project team • Marginally more expensive than Party C • Same Product • Budget Doubled • Scope extended

15. Implementation Process • The package roll out order changed significantly • Workflow day planned with end-users • Signing off the workflow document “This isn’t over, I expect the workflow document to be double the size it is now – you just see.”(Interview with IT Manager)

16. PS and the technical exercise of power • Sociotechnical boundary is fluid • Arguably, Goldmine is already fixed to a certain degree • IT consultants position themselves as knowledgeable experts and define the sociotechnical boundary according to their audience

17. PS and the structural exercise of power • Appointment of the IT Manager initiated a process of ‘IS professionalisation’ which saw the development of a number of policies • Linked to the desire to provide greater control over the forthcoming project • Externally, there are guidelines that govern how packages should be adopted • Policies on new product releases, patches, and upgrades are also determined by vendor organizations

18. PS and the conceptual exercise of power • At the market level, packaged software products are sold on the basis of realising an ‘ideal’ • System objectives were decided by the senior management team • improved profitability and enhanced market share • Boundaries shift over time to fit the changing needs of senior management • ‘consultants do not so much target themselves at a particular niche as seek to create a niche and persuade clients that they are within it’ (Bloomfield and Danieli, 1995 )

19. PS and the symbolic exercise of power • The myths or fictional narratives of PS become increasingly pervasive as the benefits are evangelised • Technology = progress • the CRM package would contribute towards enhancing productivity and profitability via standardisation of activities • The power of the Board of Directors is evident in the process of persuasion and enrolment surrounding the securing of the financial resources for the project • Legitimizing devices of language, myth, ceremony, and rituals are all evident

20. Conclusion • The categories of power should not be viewed separately, but are interwoven • M&BA Framework has resonance in a packaged software environment • Increasing market-orientation (Sawyer, 2001) has meant that power issues are operationalised both within the organization and in the marketplace, thus influencing the role of various parties • IT consultants play a primary role as third-party implementers, liaising between vendors and the adopting organization • IT professionals are expected to negotiate a range of financial and contractual issues with IT consultants • end-users involved in operational issues have minimal participation and influence.

21. References • Howcroft D and Light B (2002) A study of user involvement in packaged software selection, Proceedings of the 23rd International Conference on Information Systems, (eds. Applegate, L, Galliers R D and DeGross J I), 69-77. • Howcroft D and Light B (2006) Reflections on issues of power in packaged software selection, Information Systems Journal,16, 215-235.