ABSTRACT
This chapter presents two detailed case studies: a public sector case and an oil company case. The aim of these two cases is to highlight the importance and the contribution of the organisational factors on the success of IS/IT projects. In each of these two cases a particular IS/IT project was selected and followed through from inception to completion. The analysis will focus on the main organisational factors which were discussed in Chapter 2 and their sub-elements as follows:
1 People (staff, skill, Head of IS/IT department) 2 Process (practices) 3 Work environment (leadership, culture, structure) 4 IT infrastructure (systems)
The first case is a technology-driven one where the project was initiated mainly because the organisation’s existing system had reached its limits in terms of data storage and it was no longer able to respond to the organisation’s expansion plan. The selection of the international vendor to provide the “total solution” for the organisation was based on its technical capability to design, develop and implement an integrated database for the organisation’s applications. The vendor’s proposal and thereafter the signed contract did not address the expected changes in the organisation as a result of the implementation of the new system and how to address these changes during the project’s phases. This led to a significant disturbance to the work environment and therefore the termination of the project.
