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Ethiopian TVET-System

DATABASE ADMINISTRATION LEVEL IV

LEARNING GUIDE # 11
Unit of Competence: Migrate to new technology

MODULE TITLE: migrating to new technology

MODULE CODE: ICT DBA4 11 0811

TTLM BY DBC TRAINRS Page 1

 LO1: Apply existing knowledge and techniques
Migrating new technology
1.1. The need to identify new technology:-
When a new technology emerges, IT professionals wait anxiously to see how the technology could
be used to enhance the current business functions.
There should be a good business case supporting any decision to integrate new technology into a
business.
When a technology is used to support a task that is not well suited for the functions and skill levels of
the employees, it is likely to be a waste of time and fail.
In the majority of cases, the lack of skills related to using and supporting new technology hinders the
migration into the new technology, causing missed opportunities.
Therefore, it is important for you as an IT professional to upgrade your skills in response to any new
technologies that are emerging in the industry.
Sources for identifying new technology
As an IT professional, you need be aware of the trends of new technology emerging in the
industry.
The following are some sources amongst many others that will keep you up-to-date with
these changes.
Trade magazines
 Trade and business magazines such as Technology and Business constantly introduce
IT professionals to new technologies.
The Internet
 The Internet, giving access to World Wide Web, forums, newsgroups and mailing
lists, is also a valuable source of information about new technologies.
Networking
 Socializing with other IT professionals and joining professional associations is also a
good source of identifying new technologies available.
Formal training
 Attending formal training courses will certainly expose you to new technologies
available by giving you an opportunity to identify new technologies
1.2. Identifying the impact of new technology
New technologies are emerging in the market every day. It is important that IT professionals are aware
of how to identify new technologies that are appropriate for their organization.
IT professionals need to follow a systematic procedure to identify the implications of the new
technology for all the stakeholders.
Implementing new technology means change. It is expected that the new technology will make life much
easier for users by providing better mechanisms for performing and managing regular organizational
tasks. However, if we are to be successful in migrating to new technology then we must anticipate how
the new technology will impact all stakeholders. You should also be mindful of the magnitude of the
impact the technology will have on the enterprise. Finally you must bear in mind that user (stakeholder)
acceptance is the key to successful implementation

Assessing the impact of new technology on the business

Gather information about the technology

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 1. Talk to vendors and other IT professionals to learn as much as possible
about the new technology and other related technologies.
2. Use IT magazines and other journals to learn about the technology
including legal and political impacts.
3. How this technology compares with the existing technology to get an
idea of the magnitude of the impact on the organizational functions.
Assess (review) the impact on stakeholders
Assess not only the financial, educational and economic impact of new technology but also the social,
legal and political impact that new technology will have on the stakeholders.

1.3. Skills for acquiring and implementing new technology

IT professionals must refresh their skills and use their existing knowledge when
acquiring and implementing new technologies.
The following are the types of skills essential in acquiring and implementing new
technologies.
 Technical skills
 Interpersonal and psychological skills
 Managerial skills
Technical skill
Once a new technology is identified, it is fundamental that you gain the technical
skills necessary before migrating to it. These technical skills may relate to:-
1. Hardware,
2. Software,
3. Network,
4. PC support or programming knowledge.
Building technical skills is an ongoing and never-ending process for an IT
professional
Interpersonal and psychological skills
 An IT professional must further develop interpersonal and psychological skills,
so they can deliver the new technology in a user-friendly manner.
 Psychological skills will give you the ability to create harmony in difficult
situations and promote better acceptance of new technology.
Managerial skills
 It is important that the IT professional be conversant in managerial and design
skills so that new technology is chosen and implemented in line with business
objectives.
1.4. Identify classify and use new or upgraded equipment
We have grown to accept technological change. Unless businesses exploit the advantages of the new
technology, they will find that they can’t compete with businesses that do. Consider the changes to
our lives that have been brought about by such things as telephone banking, the Internet, e-business,
email and so on, and the competitive advantages such changes have given the organizations that
implement them.
Organizations need to be constantly aware of current or emerging technology trends and directions in
information technology (IT).
IT will continue to evolve and produce more and more new technology. Many IT managers are very
keen to embrace new technology, anticipating better IT services for the organization. However,

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 unless new technology is used appropriately, it may not bring the desired outcome for the
organization.
Align (support) business and IT strategies
In today’s competitive business environment, and IT manager should understand the link
between business objective, business strategy and IT strategy.
All IT managers should understand that IT exists to support the business objectives of the
organization and not the other way around. IT must support the business goals in every
service it provides. The IT department must develop a vision and strategy to ensure that this
is the prime focus of its existence.

To ensure that IT is totally aligned with business objectives, IT managers need to:-
 The IT leadership must be connected to business management
 Think about the impact of tasks on business as a whole rather than provide
solutions for individual tasks
 Concentrate more on end-user experience with new technologies rather than the
technology itself.
 Focus on the business goals and let the technology follow.
 Play a strategic role in the future of the organization.

The relationship between business objective, business

strategy and IT strategy.
Business objective
A business objective is what the business wants to happen in broad terms. It is best if there is
some way of measuring it. Some examples are:
 Reduce operating costs by 2.5% per year.
 Get BAS ready on time every 3 months.
 Improve customer satisfaction levels by 10%.
 Process orders within 3 working days
Business strategy
A business strategy is how the business objective will be met. Some examples are:
 Automate a labor-intensive function.
 Implement an accounting package with BAS capabilities.
 Provide printed quotes over the counter.
 Implement an order tracking system
Information technology strategy
IT strategy is about how IT will be used to support the business strategy. More than one strategy may be
identified. Some examples are:
 Switch to barcode-scanner checkouts.
 Modify existing accounting package and retrain users
 Build extract report software. Provide networked PCs and printers to front
counter staff and train them
 Purchase an order tracking module of the existing inventory software and
train staff

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Types of business technologies
Production technologies
Production technologies include:
 Technologies that boost (improve) aid or enhance production/manufacture of
goods
 Technologies for the ‘production’ of technical services such as a wide area
network (WAN) and computer software development
Automation (computerization) technology
Automation technologies include:
 technologies that automate services such as payroll
 technologies that automate the tasks that are labor intensive or dangerous
Technologies that improve services
Technologies that improve the quality of services will lead to increased profit
by drawing clients back for more service,
E.g. more accurate diagnostics in the medical field made possible by
new technologies and automated patient monitoring in hospitals.
Technologies in design
Design technologies include:-
 technologies that are used to design or develop a new product or service
such as :-Computer Aided Drafting (CAD) and Computer Aided Systems
Design (CASD)
 technologies that promote modernization by introducing new, more
efficient, cost effective and improved quality services or products to the
consumer.
New technology and your business
New technology is used to enhance service, promote innovation, and improve
communication and quality while reducing the costs, and increase productivity and profits.
The appropriate business use of new technology should result in benefits such as:
 reduced costs
 improved quality of existing services
 existing resources being utilized to optimum capacity resulting in better
products and better ways of conducting business
 Increased flexibility
Understanding your business
To be utilized effectively, technology must fit with the users’ goals. It is no good developing
a database that manages stock when the requirement is for a system that manages contacts of
potential customers.
Documents produced by the organization such as mission statements, strategic plans and
organizational charts are usually a good source of information for determining the
organization’s core business.

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  Organization charts:-can provide a graphical representation of the business in
terms of how it is organized to fulfill its core business
Locating information
Where can you find information such as mission statements and organization charts?
Many organizations publish these documents and can provide them when requested to do so. A
source is the company’s annual report which may be available on the company’s website. You
can see examples of these documents on Global Platform website http://www.globalplatform.org
by following the link ‘About Global Platform’
Business planning and IT solutions
To understand how the business planning process relates to the development of IT
business solutions, we must first define the organizational needs and establish the
business requirements
Defining organizational needs
One definition of organizational need is a lack or problem that requires actions so that
organizational goals or objectives can be achieved.
Organizational needs are usually identified by the staff and/or the managers directly
affected by them.
The product selection process
The product selection process establishes a set of criteria that must be matched by new
achievement. The product selection criteria are drawn from business requirements of an
organization.
An organization’s business requirements will state high-level outcomes of any new
technology. Often, new business requirements arise when organizations experience problems.
Problems are expressed in different ways by organizations, and, as we mentioned previously,
they can be found in documents such as:
 Corporate mission or vision statements
 long-term goals stated in strategic plans
 Product specifications from project plans and designs.
From these high level outcomes stated in the business requirements, a set of criteria can be
established for selecting any new technology that the organization will acquire.
For example, the high level outcomes of the business requirements could implicate
all or any of the following criteria for selecting the new technology.
1. Compatibility
New technology will need to work with existing hardware, system and application
software with minimum changes to both.
2. Interoperability
The new technology must be able to interoperate with the existing network.
3. Maintainability
The current IT staff should be able to maintain the system even after the introduction
of the new technology.
4. Centralizations/accessibility

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 The new technology must be accessible by multiple users at various sites.
5. Security
The new technology must be accessed by authorized users only.
6. Ease of use
Existing users must be able to operate new technology with minimum re-training.
7. Scalability
The system introduced using the new technology should be able to cope with growth
of the business, expansion of networks, and a growing number of employees, etc.

Matching solutions with strategic directions

IT staff are expected to have expertise in a range of IT products. Each support section
has standard products that it supports, but because of the diverse range of offerings from
vendors, there are usually more products than is possible to fully understand and support.
IT staff usually have the skills to locate and interpret information about new technologies.
However, standard products cover most expected needs. This means that it should be
relatively easy to match existing technology to organizational needs.

Identifying appropriate new technologies

Suppose you came across a new technology that most IT managers are excited about. How
would you evaluate whether you need to implement this technology in your organization?
Remember that technology should be identified based on an organizational need and comply
with the technical, commercial and economic criteria of the organization. Here are some
approaches you can use when selecting a new technology for the benefit of the organization
 Get together with a team of IT professionals in your organization and put your
heads together to identify a suitable new technology that will help achieve your
business goals.
 Horizon scanning — talk to your circle of friends or other IT professionals.
Browse through published reports. Read IT magazines and the World Wide Web
to identify new technologies that are proven to be a success.
 Collective scanning — attend meetings of IT professionals such as the Systems
Administrator’s Guild to discuss their findings..
Evaluating and selecting new technology
How do you evaluate whether the new technology is successfully aligned with the business
requirements?
There are several tangible (e.g. cost savings) and intangible (e.g. user satisfaction) benefits of
implementing new technologies. These benefits will give you an indication of how well the
new technology is aligned with the business objectives. Therefore, before new technologies
are introduced, an organization’s management must agree on the performance indicators that
will help them calculate and measure benefits after implementation.
Assessing the appropriateness of a technology
This involves assessing the technical as well as economic features of the new technology in
the organizational context. It is important to obtain reliable information about the new
technology from various sources, such as the Internet,

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  consultants,
 colleagues and other IT professionals,
 IT supplements of newspapers,
 magazines and trade papers,
 demonstration versions of software
 and vendor catalogues containing drawings, designs and product
specifications
Self-Check Written Test

Name:-
Date:-
Instruction I: Answer all the questions listed below, if you have some clarifications-
feel free to ask your teacher.
Answer true or false.
1. Technology is so intangible that it is impossible to put a dollar value on the
benefits of technology to an organization.
2. Selection of new technology should be driven by a solution not a need.
3. New technology solutions should match the organization’s strategic direction.
4. Technology is changing so rapidly that experience gained in previous projects
is no longer useful when planning for new technologies.
5. If our major competitors have used a new technology, then we must
immediately implement this technology to maintain our competitive edge.
6. Introducing new technology does not always guarantee increase in
productivity.
7. The word ‘technology’ refers only and specifically to tangible, working
machinery, stuff you can touch.
Instruction II. Choose the best answer.
8. Technology should be a transparent tool that is used to:
A. Define the goals of your business
B. Broaden the scope of your business
C. develop and improve your business
D. Test and evaluate your business
9. In a competitive business environment, all businesses aim to: (select two)
A. Increase profit and improve service
B. Increase credit and reduce inventory
C. Increase inventory and reduce bad debts
D. Increase market share and reduce cost
E. Increase sales and reduce credit
Answer key:-
1.
2. False
3. True
4. True
5. True
6. True
7. False
8. C

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 9. A & D

LO2. Apply functions of technology to assist in solving organizational

problems
2.1. Testing of new or upgraded equipment
Once the new features of the technology are identified, you must build a variety of tests to
ensure that these features continue to meet the business goals even after implementation. In
order to test the effectiveness of the new technology you can use the following process:

 Test case — states clearly the features you are testing.

 Test procedure — identify the specific tasks that are involved
in using each feature.
 Test plan — develop a test plan to determine whether the
features of the new technology are used to improve business
performance.
 Conditions — select the conditions under which the test will
be conducted.
A test case
Let’s take the supermarket example again and develop a test case of the feature ‘Produce a
weekly establishment working hours report’. Table 1 presents a test case for the supermarket
Shift Management System.

No Feature Required Test scenario Pass/Fail

functionality
1. Produce a weekly Ability to generate Generation of a PASS
establishment working an accurate weekly report accurately
hours report. report using the providing
daily casual and information
full-time workers about weekly
hours submitted by hours worked
each department. for each
employee and
total hours for
each department

Classifications of testing
Level 1
These tests are used to test the major functions of the equipment and usually this is done
during the equipment selection process.

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Level 2
These test the major as well as minor functions of the equipment and ensure that they can
work together in a variety of situations. This type of testing is usually conducted in the
prototype phase.
Level 3
These tests target the performance, stability and reliability under heavy loads, usability,
error handling, recovery and compatibility. Level 3 tests could start very close to the
implementation phase and a substantial period after the introduction of the new technology.

Strategies for testing

It is good practice to use two different groups of users and test various methods of doing the
same task using the technology. This will enable you to identify the most productive method
of performing a task and confirm the operation of advanced features and functions.
In most cases, as the technology is new to the organization, testing must be conducted with a
few competent people, unless the purpose of the test is to identify problems for all users.
Therefore, it would be a great help to identify one or two ‘power users’ from each area being
tested to eliminate incorrect use of software due to poor training.
When selecting participant for testing you must include:-

 Users for whom the new technology is an integral part of their work
Representatives from IT personnel supporting the new/upgraded equipment
Individuals who understand the business objectives and the rationale behind the
implementation of the new equipment.

Conclusion (ending) of tests

Conclusions of tests should be able to indicate whether the organization’s business
performance expectations are met with the measured performance of the
new/upgraded equipment.
Test results must be documented as part of the ongoing process of monitoring,
implementing and aligning new technologies with business requirements.

2.2. Features of new or upgraded equipment

New technologies are expected to have a positive influence on the business performance. In
is not realistic to have this expectation unless users are willing to use the features of new
technology to improve the business performance. For new or upgraded equipment to be used
to its optimum capacity to meet business objectives, we must continuously verify that
advanced features and functions are used and that they are providing the promised
performance.
Some users might find the new technology overwhelming, and therefore only use the features
of the new technology that they are comfortable with. Consider the following situation:

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Your organization has been using a spreadsheet package version 1. Recently you upgraded
to version 3 of this package as the technology committee found that it will definitely increase
the business productivity. There are a number of very important advanced features available
in version 3 of the spreadsheet package. However, you find that most users are not using any
of the added features because they are already familiar with the way version 1 performs and
they can perform all version 1 functions using version 3.

Integrating new equipment into the existing workflow

The existing infrastructure must be taken into consideration when implementing new
technology. Measures must be adopted to ensure that the new equipment will integrate well
with the current workflow.
Consider the following situation:
A local supermarket introduced a new computerized ‘Shift Management System’ to keep
track of the weekly hours of the full-time and casual shift workers in each department. Many
department managers are very comfortable with the manual paper-based system and are not
very keen to change their well-established system.

Phasing out old technologies

Ensure that old processes and technology will lapse by a certain date so users will be more
eager to learn and use the features of the new technology.
If you continue to use the old systems, some users will feel very comfortable using these
and IT professionals will end up dealing with platform and file compatibility problems.
In the case of the supermarket example, unless the old manual system is phased out by
stopping the acceptance of manual time sheets and departmental reports, the users will not
have incentive to learn about the new system nor use it to improve the business processes.

Selling new features to users

You must sell the new features to the existing users so that they will actively adopt these
potentially profitable features to improve the business performance. It is worthwhile
spending time ‘hyping up’ users to use the new features of new technology.

Giving full conceptual perspective to users

Make the business and IT strategies accessible to all users. This will enable them to
understand the full picture of the new technology and how it improves the business processes
to achieve the business objectives.
In the example above, the supermarket department managers must be given the full picture of
how the new system will improve the performance of the organization. The supermarket
managers will filter this information to the workers in their departments.

Developing an organization-wide support strategy

Introducing support strategies could substantially lower the barriers that users face when
using new technology. The organization-wide support strategy should be flexible enough to
adapt to varying needs of the different user groups.

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In the supermarket example, a support strategy to help with the department managers to
migrate from the old technology to the new technology will ensure that you win them over.
Focusing on user-specific features
Bring the users’ attention to the essential and most common tasks that they’ll need in their
everyday work life. To focus on specific features:-
Create job specific cheat sheets and how-to guides.
Provide help desk and other mechanisms for resolving problems and offering guidance,
E.g. automated information systems and searchable frequently-asked-questions
(FAQ) databases.
Offer initial and ongoing training on upgraded/new equipment and software.
Identify external resources, including websites, consultants, and volunteers as appropriate.
Establishing a use policy
It is important to establish an acceptable use policy for all new and upgraded equipment. This
policy should clearly state:
 User’s rights and responsibilities
 Rights of the organization to monitor and control the use of equipment or software.

2.3 Features and functions of new or upgraded equipment

Organizational requirements
You must carefully analyze and diagnose organizational requirements before introducing new
equipment. With the integration of new equipment into any existing system, change is unavoidable
and it is usually accepted in the expectation that it would bring about improvement. Therefore, the
first rule in managing technology is to ensure that the desired outcomes are aligned with
organizational requirements and achievable.

Identify organizational requirements

The following questions will help you to identify the organizational requirements with regard to new
technology:
 What are the current priorities of the organization?
 Is the organization expecting to grow in the near future? If so, what is the extent of the
expected growth?
 Will the organizational needs change in the near future?
 Does the organization have any budgetary constraints?
 How capable are the end users with regard to adapting to the new technologies
introduced? How much training would they need?

Strategic planning for new technology

Most new technology fails when it is implemented without proper assessment of the factors that
caused the technology to be introduced in the first place. For successful technology implementation,
you must first analyze the business requirement that alerted the need for new equipment in the first
place. This is usually found in the IT strategic plan and business strategic plan.

Importance of strategies and planning

Strategy is defined as an elaborate and systematic action to get something done. Once a company’s
goals and objectives are established, each division must establish strategies to support the company
goals and objectives.
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Strategic planning is essential for the successful running of any business in order to improve
customer service and increase efficiency. Strategic planning gives direction to the acquisition and
integration of new technology. All important equipment implementations must be carried out with
thoughtful planning within the framework of these strategies.

Technology strategy
When introducing new equipment into any existing system, you must conform to the technology
strategy of the organization because this will:
 Reduce completion time and accelerate the progress by providing a framework for
integrating new technology into the existing system.
 Reduce total IT costs through appropriate technology selection as well as improve
software development and package selection decisions.
 Enable increased return on your technology investments.
 Provide a competitive advantage through the strategic use of information technologies.

Integration and implementation strategies

As discussed above, following a systematic procedure can ensure the successful integration of new
equipment into an existing system. You can develop procedures appropriate to your organization by
selecting from the following strategies.
 Identify all stakeholders and take their input into account when formulating a strategy for
integration and implementation of new equipment.
 Map the organization’s business goals into the information technology requirements.
 Align the IT requirements to existing infrastructure to identify areas that need to be
supported by the new equipment.
 Check the readiness of the IT infrastructure to accept the new equipment. This is critical
for the success of your new technology implementation.
 Measure success. Strategies must be established to measure success of the new equipment
at each stage of the implementation.
 Plan a rollout strategy that may be based on any one of these: department, job function,
physical location and alphabetical order.
 Establish effective IT support strategies by reviewing and extending IT support policies
and services to include the new equipment.
Self-Check Written test
Name:
Date:
Instruction I: Answer all the questions listed below, if you have some clarifications- feel
free to ask your teacher.
1. What is involved in strategic planning for technology?
2. What possible actions can you take with IT equipment that is deemed redundant after
the introduction of new equipment?
3. What elements should you include when you are designing a test plan when
implementing new equipment?
4. What measures can you take to ensure that users become more competent in using
advanced features of new technology?
5. How would you go about planning for testing the advanced features of new equipment?
6. Who are the best people for testing the effectiveness of advanced features of new
technology?
Answer key

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 1. Strategic planning for technology involves assessing business requirements that
alerted the need for new technology. These requirements are derived from
business goals. Strategic planning for technology involves a proper and
accurate assessment of important facts and goals for technology
implementation.
2. Some possible actions are:-
Redeploy the technology within the organization.
Use the redundant equipment for spare parts.
Sell or donate equipment to charitable organizations.
Dispose of equipment in an environmentally responsible manner.

3. Some elements you can include in a test plan are:

 a test plan identifier
 any references such as manuals for equipment, CD-ROMs, URLs, etc
 test items (features to be tested), inputs and expected outputs, pass/fail
criteria
 features not to be tested
 the test approach
 test deliverables
 Test schedule.
4. The general approach should be to provide the support and training needed.
Some measures are:-
 Hire a consultant or an expert in new technology for a short period to
assist users to get the maximum benefit from the technology.
 Redesign procedures and processes in the organization so that users are
able to use the advanced features available in the new technology to
increase productivity.
 Reward employees for suggestions and comments.
5. When testing for the effectiveness of advanced features of new technology, use
the following process:
Test case — state clearly the features you are testing.
Test procedure — identify the specific tasks that are involved in using
each feature.
Test plan — develop a test plan to determine whether the features of the
new technology are used to improve business performance.
Conditions — select the conditions under which the test will be
conducted.
6. Users for whom the technology is an integral part of their work will be the best
people to test the new features. However, a person with an in-depth knowledge
of the new technology and actively involved in introducing the technology
should lead the testing team.

LO3
Evaluate new or upgraded technology performance

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 3.1. The need for evaluation.
Evaluation needs to be conducted after the migration into the new technology to
assess the project’s success or failure. In this process, you must use the project
success indicators to compare against the actual benefits and returns. During
evaluation, data is collected, recorded and analyzed to identify the benefits of the
new technology.
Evaluation is conducted after implementation of new technology to:-
1. Identify any issues relating to the relevance, effectiveness and efficiency
of the hardware and software systems installed
2. Identify changes that are necessary to address any pressing issues.
3. Ensure that the organizational process used for migrating to new
technology is acceptable to stakeholders and identify any changes that
are necessary.
4. Verify whether the system the system has delivered what was expected so
as to benefit future projects.
5. Monitor long-term use of the system.

3.2. The process of evaluation

There are three steps in the evaluation process:-
1. Collect, record and analyses feedback to track progress against the
targets.
2. Explain success and failures with respect to the performance
indicators.
3. Identify unintended positive or negative effects.
4. Decide on necessary adjustments to the system to increase its
usability and performance.
5. Establish any lessons that could be learnt from this project so future
information technology projects would be much more efficient

Planning evaluation
The evaluation plan should be flexible enough to accommodate new questions and
information sources. Here are some strategies in planning evaluation:-
 Obtain a list of all stakeholders of the new technology.
 Identify stakeholders that must be consulted to evaluate the performance and
usability of the system.
 Identify any other data sources to collect information such as documents, reports,
performance logs, etc.
 Identify key performance indicators with regard to performance and usability of
the software applications and hardware.
 Determine the resources that are needed to carry out the evaluation.
 Identify the methodologies that will be used to conduct the evaluation.
 The possible methodologies are:
 observations,
 questionnaires,
 walkthroughs,
 Interviews focus groups, etc.

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  Analyses the information collected and compares it against the targets of
performance and usability.
 Recommend potential enhancements to the system and identify any shortcomings
of the implementation for the benefit of future projects.

Key indicators of usability and performance

The overall objective of conducting usability and performance evaluation is to
recommend changes that will contribute to increase user acceptance, increase
productivity, decrease training and learning times, and increase business performance

Key indicators of usability

Usability of the system measures hardware and software user interface with respect to
attributes such as ease of learning, ease of use and satisfaction in meeting user needs. A
usable system ensures that the user can access the required feature instantly through its well-
planned user interface.
 Ease of use — users find it easy to apply to their intended tasks.
 User satisfaction with the functional capabilities.
 Sufficient and easily accessible user support. Users are satisfied with the support
procedures such as help screen with context sensitive help, knowledge bases, help
desk, etc.
 Satisfactory initial experience. Users have successful initial experience with the
software and/or hardware.
 Integration with existing processes. The new system integrates well with existing
processes.
 Overall system capability. Users are satisfied with the overall capability and
usefulness of the system.

Key indicators of performance

Performance of the system measures the reliability of the hardware and software. It includes:-
•availability of the system
•error rate
•mean time taken to complete tasks.

3.3. Environmental considerations for new equipment and software

It is important to use a formal process to ensure that potential environment problems are
foresee and addressed at early stages of the implementation of new hardware or software.
However, a careful environmental impact assessment prior to implementation does not
exempt you from re-visiting this topic during the evaluation stage.
Assessment of the environmental impact of using the technology must be done
against:
 resources
 labor
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  infrastructure
 Supporting technologies required.
Factors that could bring favorable environmental outcomes are:
 reduction in wastage
 replacement of old equipment that is not environmentally friendly
 reduction in paper usage
 Reduction in energy consumption.
Factors that could pose a challenge are:
 environmental issues relating to disposal of obsolete computer supplies,
hardware and other equipment
 environmental issues relating to communication devices, wireless
communication devices in particular
 The apparent need of many organizations to purchase large numbers of new
computers. (It is estimated that 1.8 tons of raw materials are required to
produce the average desktop personal computer and monitor. Imagine the
negative impact of the production on the environment!)

Occupational Health and Safety of a piece of equipment needs to be evaluated. It is

unreasonable to make users operate unsafe equipment that could lead to illness or accident.
Items to be considered include:
Safety of cabling to equipment;
Electrical testing of equipment (ensure is up to date);
Equipment meets ergonomic requirements;
Appropriate training is provided to users to ensure safe Operation of equipment;

3.4. Using feedback

The value of feedback
Feedback is extremely valuable in the evaluation of hardware and software as it provides an
effective balance for your own observations and walkthroughs on the system. This is an
ongoing process of keeping IT professionals informed of the performance and usability of the
system and should not be treated as merely an event.

Gathering feedback
The goal of collecting feedback from users and gathering information from other sources is
to enable the technology committee to assess how well the software and hardware
implementation is satisfying the key usability and performance indicators.
Sources of information
You can gather data from people, documents, performance data, observation of events or any
other empirical method such as experiments and benchmarking.

Basic feedback gathering methods

The ideal form of feedback gathering is to use a combination of the following methods
depending on time and organizational factors.

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Observations, walkthroughs and site visits
These are conducted to get first hand information on performance and usability features of
the system. The internal or external evaluators will observe all stakeholders using the
technology and observe usability and performance indicators of the system.
Walkthroughs are conducted where an evaluator walks through a certain feature to assess
how the system performs that feature with respect to usability and performance indicators.

Interviews
Here are some tips for conducting interviews:
 Choose stakeholders who would have greater or unique involvement with the new
system.
 Communicate the purpose of the interview to the interviewee.
 Ask brief questions relevant to performance and usability of the system.
 Don’t interrupt.
 Be a good listener.
 Take notes.

Focus groups
These are group interview situations where discussions can take place about the
usability and the performance of the hardware and software. Here are some tips for
conducting focus groups:
 Reward the attendees by providing refreshments as this could be a good motivator.
 Start and finish on time.
 Be prepared to hear positive and negative comments.
 Be prepared with prompting questions to start the discussions about usability and
performance of the system.
 Let the participants communicate and listen carefully.
 Avoid being defensive.
 Listen to all comments.
 Engage a note-taker.
Surveys and questionnaires
These are used to gather quantifiable data about the system from a large number of people.
You should make allowances for the low response rate and the slow response time. Here are
some tips for conducting surveys:
 State the objective of the survey as evaluating the performance and usability of
the new technology.
 Keep the survey to a manageable length.
 Use both open-ended and closed questions.

Analyzing and processing feedback

All data regardless of how and from where it was collected must be summarized against the
performance and usability indicators so they are more manageable. In almost all case, both
quantitative and qualitative data will be collected and used.

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  The performance measurements such as error rates will be quantitative and will be
easy to interpret.
 Performance measurements such as reliability could be a combination of
qualitative and quantitative data.
 Usability indicators could be qualitative or quantitative.

3.5. Scoring (achieve) of usability and performance

It is common practice to use a scoring system to identify how the system is performing
with regards to usability and performance. An example of a scoring system is given
below.
Table 1: Directions for scoring key indicators
Indicators Poor Satisfactory Good Excellent

Support
Help desk Support Support Support Excellent support
services mechanisms are mechanisms exist. mechanisms exist. mechanisms.
non-existent or But fees Fees for help desk Reasonable fees
not adequate associated with calls are and acceptable
help desk calls are reasonable but response times.
high and response response times are Relevant cheat
times are slow. slow. Cheat sheets sheets and how-to
and how-to guides guides are
are available for accessible through
some features the web-based
support system
Technical needs assessment
Needs assessment Needs assessment Some groups of Needs for all An elaborate and
conducted for was not stakeholders were stakeholders comprehensive
implementation conducted surveyed to identified needs assessment
identify computer however not all was conducted
hardware needs are and it all
requirements. accounted for in stakeholders were
the final well informed
implementation about the
improvements
that would be
introduced.

Indicators Poor Satisfactory Good Excellent

Training
Training prior to Training was not Training was More customize A comprehensive
and during provided. provided in large training for small training plan was
implementation groups. groups derived and all
users were trained
in groups for
common skills
and on a one-to-

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 one basis for user
specific tasks.
Customization
User All features are Desktop attributes Power users can Power users can
customization set and such as fonts and customize certain customize most
customization is colors could be features. Ordinary features where as
not an option customized to suit uses cannot ordinary users can
the user’s needs change any change a limited
features number of
features.
Integration
Compatibility The new software New software is New software is New software is
is not compatible partially backward totally backward
with any old compatible with compatible with compatible with
packages that old technologies the old software the old software
performed similar however the but does need
tasks. administrator has some intervention
stopped making with data
any reference to conversions
data in the
previous system.

Poor Indicators Excellent Good Satisfactory

Performance
Value for Money The technology The new The technology The technology is
has not produced technology has has minimized proving to be
any cost not enforced any costs producing a profit
advantages that additional
was anticipated. expenses
In fact, the new (running costs)
technology costs compared to the
more money to old technologies
the organization. used previously
Speed Output of new New Technology New Technology New Technology
(Throughput) technology is is comparable is lot more is producing more
slower compared with old other efficient than all than three times
to the previous technologies. previous faster than the
technologies technologies previous system
Quality The quality of The quality of Produces good The quality of
output is not output is quality output. output is rated as
acceptable. Error comparable to Less than 2% very high. Less
rate is more than older technologies defects than 0.5%
5%. and is acceptable. defects.
Less than 5%
defects.

Summary
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 We began with a discussion of the need for and process of evaluation when implementing new
technology. Then we moved on to planning an evaluation, key indicators of usability and
performance, and environmental considerations when purchasing new equipment. Then we
explored using feedback, its value and how to gather, analyses and process it. We finished with
an example of a scoring system to identify how the new system is performing with regards to
usability and performance

SELFE CHECK Written Test

Name:
Date:
I. Answer all the questions listed below, if you have some clarifications- feel free to ask
your teacher.
1. Which of the following is not a direct method of gathering information to evaluate
new equipment against performance and usability?
A. Questionnaires to stakeholders
B. Help desk call log
C. Surveys of stakeholders
D. Interviews with stakeholders
2. Why would you evaluate a hardware or software system that has already been
implemented?
3. How would you find the data required for evaluation?
4. What are some of the favorable environmental outcomes new technology could
bring to an organization?
5. List some of the indicators for measuring the usability of a system.

Answer key:-
1. C
2. The evaluation process can help to:
 identify any issues relating to the relevance, effectiveness and efficiency of the
hardware and software systems installed
 identify necessary changes required to address any pressing issues
 ensure that the organizational process used for migrating to new technology
was acceptable to stakeholders and identify any changes that are necessary
 Verify whether the system has delivered what was expected so as to benefit
future projects.
3. You can gather data required for evaluation by talking to users, customers (if applicable)
and managers as well as reviewing documents, performance data, help desk logs and
observation of events.
4. Some favorable environmental outcomes include:
 Reduction in wastage
 Replacement of old equipment that is not environmentally friendly
 Reduction in paper usage
 Reduction in energy consumption.
5. The following are some indicators for measuring the usability of a system:
 Ease of use — users find it easy to apply to their intended tasks.
 User satisfaction with the functional capabilities.

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  Sufficient and easily accessible user support. Users are satisfied with the support
procedures such as help screen with context sensitive help, knowledge bases, help
desk, etc.
 Satisfactory initial experience. Users have successful initial experience with the
software and/or hardware.
 Integration with existing processes. The new system integrates well with existing
processes.
 Overall system capability. Users are satisfied with the overall capability and
usefulness of the system.

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