Mesuring Information System Quality in the Post-Implementation Phase: A Process Approach
Markus Nygård
Aalto University, School of Electronics
Julkaistu: 14.2.2011
The increasing interest in information systems (IS) has highlighted careful alignment between ISs and the business processes that they operate in. Companies demand better quality from their ISs and are willing to examine IS quality also after the implementation project. However, past research has tended to focus on technical aspects of IS quality, or on planning and implementation of ISs. Currently there are few studies that approach IS post-implementation quality from a business point of view.
The aim of the study was to investigate how post-implementation quality of ISs could be measured. The objectives were to construct a method that develops post-implementation process quality metrics and to make the method generalizable to other similar cases. Constructive research and a holistic single-case study were used as research methods. Semi-structured expert and consultant interviews were conducted to get additional perspectives on the subject.
IS quality was defined as how well the IS supports the business process. From a business point of view it is crucial to understand the business process and its objectives in order to understand what role the IS has in the particular process. This study claims that when examining IS post-implementation quality, business processes become important.
A model was introduced to help managers, consultants and practitioners to systemically assess IS post-implementation quality. The model suggests five steps in building process quality metrics. It was tested at a case company from the cleaning services industry. As a result, 10 process quality metrics were introduced. They could be used to monitor performance, and to analyze and ultimately improve the alignment of the IS and the process. A weak market test after two months showed that some of the metrics had proven clear benefits for the case company and there was a clear confidence that the metrics would be useful even in the future. The approach used in this study was considered to be a valid way to measure IS post-implementation quality and by applying it companies can extract more value from their ISs and business processes.