Managing Information Technology

divides the development into eight phases: initial study,
detailed study, draft requirements study, outline physical
design, total requirements statement, system design, cod-
ing and testing, and installation. This methodology pro-
vides detailed documentation of what should be done in
each phase. At the end of each phase detailed planning of
the next phase is done, and cost and time estimates for the
remainder of the project are revised. Each phase produces
a document that must be approved by both user and IS
management before proceeding with the next phase.
Stradis also includes a post-implementation review per-
formed several months after the system has been installed.

Roles in the PAS Project

The Stradis methodology defined a number of roles to be
filled in a development project: Anderson was the execu-
tive sponsor, Peter Shaw was the project manager, and
Linda Watkins was the project director. (Exhibit 1 shows
the Disbursements Department organization chart, and
Exhibit 2 shows how Corporate IS Systems Development
is organized.)

Executive Sponsor

Ted Anderson, director of disbursements, is responsible
for all CIPI disbursements, including both payroll and
accounts payable. Starting with CIPI in 1966 in the gen-
eral accounting area, Anderson had a long history of
working as the user-manager on systems development
projects, including projects in payroll, human resources,
and accounting. He spent a year doing acquisitions work
for CIPI and in 1978 served a stint in Europe as area

treasurer. He made steady progress up the CIPI manage-

ment ladder.

In the Stradis methodology the executive sponsor

has budgetary responsibility and must approve all of the

expenditures of the project. He or she must sign off at the

end of each phase and authorize the team to proceed with

the next phase.

According to Watkins, Anderson was a very active

executive sponsor:

Ted was determined that this project would produce a

quality system and get done on time and that his peo-

ple would commit themselves to the project. He not

only talked about these priorities, but he also led by

example by attending working sessions where lower-

level people were being interviewed and participating

in data modeling sessions. By visibly spending a lot of

his personal time on the project, he showed his people

that it was important for them to spend their time.

“The area manager has to take an active role in the

development of systems,” Anderson asserts:

particularly when you are trying to reengineer the

processes. If you do not have leadership from the

manager to set the vision of where you are going,

your people tend to automate what they have been

doing rather than concentrating on what really adds

value and eliminating everything else, so I took a

fairly active role in this project. I wanted to make

sure that we were staying on track with our vision

and on schedule with the project.

434 Part III • Acquiring Information Systems

Payroll

Accounts

Payable

Disbursements

Ted Anderson,

Director

Disbursements

Systems Group

Tom Hill,

Manager

Supervisor Supervisor Supervisor

Peter Shaw

Supervisor

EXHIBIT 1 Partial Organization Chart of Disbursements Department