system implementations) and managing projects
with “virtual” team members.
Eight original case studies, all written by the text-
book authors, accompany Part III. The Consumer and
Industrial Products case study describes the roles of
both business managers and IT professionals using an
SDLC methodology to develop a complex system. The
Baxter case study is concerned with a make-or-buy
decision for a critical software application, and the
Benton case study presents the different viewpoints of
various company leaders as they consider whether
or not to purchase an enterprise resource planning
(ERP) system. The Kuali Financial System case study
demonstrates the development and managerial
challenges encountered by a consortium of higher
education institutions to develop, implement, and
evolve a suite of applications as an open source sys-
tem governed by a non-profit foundation.
The NIBCO's “Big Bang” case study describes
a 15-month project to implement multiple modules of
an ERP suite at a midsized manufacturing firm, with
the help of consultants. This project entails major
changes to the way the organization purchases
materials, manages its factories, uses its distribution
centers, conducts transactions with its customers,
and manages its accounting functions. The BAT
Taiwan case study describes the challenges faced
when implementing a standard ERP package in a
small country office where expertise from other
BAT units in Asia is relied on in lieu of hiring non-BAT
consultants.
The final two case studies describe problematic
implementation projects in disguised organizations.
In the Modern Materials case study, managers are
faced with the dilemma of what to do with a runaway
(troubled) IT project. And finally, the Jefferson County
School System case study reveals the types of prob-
lems that can occur when selecting and installing a
packaged system in an organization that had previ-
ously relied on custom-developed applications.328 Part III • Acquiring Information Systems