Design and Implementation of a Wide Area Network

This case deals with the experience of a school district in the design and implementation of a wide area network. The problems faced by the school district that made the WAN a necessity are enumerated. The choice of hardware and the software is explained within the context of the needs of the school district. Finally the benefits accruing to the school district are identified, and the cost of the overall system is determined.

Implementing a Wide-Area Network at a Naval Air Station

This is an action planning case. The case objective is to apply these methodologies and an understanding of organizational change to developing an action plan recommendation for implementation of a wide-area network.

Integrating Information Technologies into Large Organizations

NASA Langley Research Center’s product is aerospace research information. To this end, Langley uses information technology tools in three distinct ways. First, information technology tools are used in the production of information via computation, analysis, data collection and reduction. Second, information technology tools assist in streamlining business processes, particularly those that are primarily communication based. By applying these information tools to administrative activities, Langley spends fewer resources on managing itself and can allocate more resources for research. Third, Langley uses information technology tools to disseminate its aerospace research information, resulting in faster turn around time from the laboratory to the end-customer. This chapter describes how information technology tools are currently cutting cost and adding value for NASA Langley internal and external customers. Three components from a larger strategic WWW framework are highlighted: Geographic Information Systems (GIS), Integrated Computing Environment (ICE), and LANTERN (Langley’s intranet). Based on experiences with these and related projects at Langley, we suggest that there are four pillars of information technology project success: training; provision of useful services; access to enabling tools; and advertising and advocacy.

Nation-Wide ICT Infrastructure Introduction and its Leverage for Overall Development

This paper describes 10 years of efforts in introducing the state-of-the-art information and communication technologies (ICT) and development of ICT infrastructure on the national level. The aim of the project was to build Internet in Croatia and to foster its leverage in the broad range of activities of public interest in the society as a whole. The prime target group was academic and research community, as a vehicle for the overall development in the society. Croatian Academic and Research Network (CARNet) had been started as a project in 1991, and, after five years, it was transformed into a government agency. A broad range of activities had been started, from building and maintaining private nation-wide communication and computer network to information services, user support, education, pilot projects and promotion. The academic community has been treated not only as the main customer, but also as an active partner in developing and providing services. CARNet has been fully funded by the state budget for 10 years, without any participation of the commercial sector, domestic donations or international financial support. Although CARNet is treated as Croatian success story, recognized inside and outside of the country, the question is whether the initial goals have been realistic and achievements sufficient, considering the low penetration of ICT into the Croatian society. Likewise, budget cuts, continuous struggle for political recognition and authority, as well as fights with national telecommunication monopoly, have created an array of questions to be answered at the beginning of the second decade of this highly ambitious endeavor.

Added Value Benefits of Application of Internet Technologies to Subject Delivery

The application of Internet technologies towards distance education is widely discussed in the literature. This case applies Porter’s “added value” theory relating to the use of IT to the application of Internet technologies used as a supplement to traditional classroom subject delivery. Most of the reported advantages of this type from online course and subject delivery relate to cost savings in terms of efficiency, flexibility and/or convenience for the students. The case study examines a range of subjects taught in the School of Information Systems at Victoria University, Australia. Each subject uses Internet technologies for different “added value” benefits. Subject coordinators comment upon the use of the Internet technologies for both academic and administrative aspects. Students are surveyed to determine the value of Internet technologies from their perspective. Student responses indicated the applications were perceived to beat least “useful,” and findings supported Porter’s theory. The challenge for the faculty is to demonstrate the “business” benefits to faculty staff of adopting Internet technology for teaching. The case studies have shown that the use of Internet technologies by students seems to be higher where the coordinator actively encourages it.

Information Technology & FDA Compliance in the Pharmaceutical Industry

Given the recent profitability of and demand for pharmaceuticals, from prescription antibiotics and analgesics like Ciproflaxin™ and OxyContin™ and men’s health drugs such as Viagra™ and Vardenafil™ to over-the-counter Senokot™ laxatives and Betadine™ antiseptics, the rush to develop and market new pharmaceuticals has never been greater. The current process is complex and it often takes several years for a drugto reach the market due to the myriad of Food and Drug Administration (FDA) guidelines. Furthermore, the recent FDA guidelines mandating that all New Drug Applications (NDA) be submitted in electronic (paperless) format by the end of 2002is a catalyst for change in the pharmaceutical industry (FDA proposes first requirement for electronic submission, 2002; New Drug Application [NDA], 2001). Bayer Pharmaceutical, like its competitors Purdue Pharma and Boots Healthcare, has begun to take steps to assure that its use of information technology will allow it to not only meet FDA guidelines, but achieve its corporate goals of improved efficiency and reduced operating costs.

Implementing Software Metrics at a Telecommunications Company

Establishing and using fundamental measures of software development progress is an essential part of being able to predictably produce high-quality customer-satisfying software within a reasonable agreed-to timeframe. However, in many organizations such measurement is done incompletely or not at all. While various forces encourage measurement programs, others form barriers to such implementation. This case study explores a formal Metrics Program established to track and analyze the development of a new version for the major voicemail product of a mid-sized telecommunications company. The study addresses the evolution of the company’s organizational structure and culture that led to the adoption of the program, the components and structure of the program, the implementation of the program, its effects on product quality and timeliness, and what happened thereafter. The study also raises questions with respect to facilitating an organizational atmosphere where a Metrics Program can flourish.

The Value of Coin Networks

As a response to strong competitive pressures, the U.S. automotive industry has actively employed Electronic Data Interchange in communications between suppliers and carmakers for many years. This case reviews the recent development of ANX®, a COIN (Community of Interest Network) intended to provide industry-wide connectivity between carmakers, dealers and Tier suppliers. The authors identify technical and business challenges to the success of ANX®.

Shared Workspace for Collaborative Engineering

In the broad context of the collaborative research center project IMPROVE (Information Technology Support for Collaborative and Distributed Design Processes in Chemical Engineering), the presented case study has been concentrating on the provision of appropriate communication technology, specifically shared workspace means, to enable collaborative working between distributed engineering teams. Issues like distributed developer meetings, sharing common data, or even sharing entire work spaces including off-the-shelf tools being used for the development process are the driving forces for the studies on how to provide appropriate technology means in collaborative engineering. The considered case in the field of chemical engineering and development represents a difficult candidate for collaborative engineering due to the variety of proprietary data and tools to be integrated in a shared workspace. Furthermore, common aspects of cooperative working among development teams have to be considered as well. The resulting architecture-based on the findings of the current stage of the case is presented, trying to use as many existing software as possible. Drawbacks and challenges being encountered during the case study due to the a-posteriori approach are outlined, leading to a revised architecture proposal to be used in the future as a common platform for the information technology support within the context of there search project. Expected benefits and problems of the introduction of the new architecture are drawn.

Norwel Equipment Co. Limited Partnership (L.P.) Internet Upgrade

Norwel Equipment Co. Limited Partnership (L.P.) is a Louisiana business retailer of construction equipment specializing in John Deere heavy-equipment and has secured exclusive John Deere rights for most of the State of Louisiana. Founded in 1972, Norwelis the sixth largest John Deere construction equipment dealer in the United States. This case illustrates business and technology issues facing Norwel. In mid-1999, the October 1st deadline for John Deere’s requirement to communicate by e-mail was approaching and the response time of the Norwel’s primary computers system, an AS/400, was increasing to the point where users were not satisfied with performance. Also users were requesting new computing services such as e-mail, document sharing, and Internet access. For example, the Parts Operations Manger suggested selling parts online and the Manager of the Used Equipment Division suggest supporting the sales staff through Internet connections. Managing Partner, Richard Hevey decided an upgrade to the networks and a connection to the Internet were needed. He is faced with both short-term and long-term decisions about Norwel’s infrastructure.