MIS Work Teams

The system professionals will always have close liaisons with users, but new technology has provided a host of diagnostic and development tools that MIS groups can utilize for proactive resolution of application problems. MIS work teams should be organized around major appli­cations for ongoing support and maintenance and can frequently perform package upgrades and system inter­faces in a seamless work team approach. There may be key interface points for the users, but these can be scheduled without a complex work breakdown structure.

As MIS work teams become more experienced with soft­ware engineering tools (and the tools become more seam­less) the structure of business systems and the definition of fields and interfaces can be permanently defined in repositories and utilized over and over as systems expand and become more integrated. The user should no longer be needed to define terms and bring reports that show fields and data elements—the information that MIS needs will reside in a repository and will be maintained continuously as part of a work task.

RAD Teams

Rapid application development teams have become popu­lar in some companies because they are focused on rela­tively fast achievement of change and implementation. This approach usually provides unique reward structures also.
RAD teams comprise a mix of users and MIS types with very focused goals and deliverables to be accomplished within two to three months. They require unique work policy adjustments to maximize their effectiveness.

RAD requires that both users and MIS developers be dedicated and collocated to conduct this interactive, trial and error development approach. The RAD (prototyping) differs from traditional development life cycles in that it allows for system construction to begin before the system's design is completed. It allows MIS to produce a deliverable quickly such as a screen or a report and then to work closely with the client revising, changing, and reworking the deliverable until it meets the business need. RAD teams are appropriate for mission critical projects which have a short time frame in which to reach status.

For instance, there may be a need for extensive user involvement in the early stages of a system upgrade or in the design of a system enhancement. With a small team of users and MIS staff the design tasks can be defined, tracked and delivered without the administrative over­head of facilities, separate budgets and project managers. This approach empowers the users and system analysts to "get it done" and achieve a high quality fix in as short a period of time as possible.

The rewards for such an effort may include, work rule changes, salary rewards, special achievement bonuses, time off, vacation time and promotions.

To Be Continued