IT426-1302B-02 System Integration and Organization Deployment
Academy Carpets Integration Project
06/24/2013

Contents Project Outline 3 Integration Model and Tasks 5 Standards and Regulations 7 Support Strategies 9 Best Practices 11 Cultural Implications 15 References 17

Project Outline

The organization I have targeted for this assignment is Academy Carpets. They are a small business located in my hometown of Colorado Springs, Colorado. They have three locations, and currently employ about 100 employees. They are relatively small company but over the last three to four years business has been steadily rising. Before the influx of new business the slow systems didn’t really bother the business or the employee’s production, but over the past years the need to upgrade their systems processes has become apparent. Academy Carpets now desperately needs a new system integrated, some salesmen are still using a pen and pad to track sales and request their orders, as a result of this their orders are constantly getting misconstrued up due to the lack of organization. The goal is to get the entire organization on an integrated computer system and provide the staff with a user friendly system that will give them the organization and performance that is needed for the company to continue to grow. Academy Carpets hopes by achieving this goal, not only will the salesmen have a less complicated workplace but Academy Carpets will have the ability to place, track and send orders via the computer and have an up to date warehouse inventory. This new process with also help the warehouse employees receive and fulfill orders more quickly and with better precision. Currently there is a slow, out of date computer software system that really needs updating. Academy Carpets is having troubles with their system sending the right invoices to the correct destinations, these mix ups not only cost the company time but also money as a result of longer work hours and wrong orders being filled. They need a system integration model that will send the appropriate documents to the right place. For example, when a sale is made and items need to be pulled from the warehouse, they need an invoice sent from the sales area to the warehouse with the correct request for the items that were purchased. Throughout this paper we will go over what exactly is needed to help this company meet its full potential when it comes to the IT industry. Academy Carpets main goal throughout this integration process is to do it as seamlessly as possible. The goal is to have as little downtime as possible. Downtime is one issue that may arise, and if the system is down for any more time than allotted, this will cause a big disruption within Academy Carpets business process. To try and defer this from happening, one of our main focuses is going to be on change management. By appointing someone to focus on change management, this will help with not only the integration but also the training of employees on the new system (Harps, 2005). We feel like by focusing on change management it will help the project move smoothly and without any major disruptions.

Integration Model and Tasks

After reviewing all of the integration models we feel as if the Horizontal or energy service bus model will be the best fit for Academy Carpets. In this section we will describe exactly what this model entails as well as list the tasks that come along with the integration. We will also take a look at the advantages of using this model as compared to others.
The horizontal integration is otherwise known as the enterprise service bus or ESB. This is a method where a specialized subsystem is used for the communication between other subsystems (Harps, 2005). Basically this method provided the proper communication between the two subsystems that exist at Academy Carpets currently. The goal by implementing the enterprise service bus model is to cut the number of connections/interfaces to only one per subsystem. The subsystem will now connect directly to the ESB. This model comes with many advantages; the first is the ability to cut the cost of integration. And secondly this model is very flexible and seems to be a good fit for a growing company like Academy Carpets. Lastly, as compared to other more pricey models utilizing the enterprise service bus is very cost effective and this has been stated as one of Academy Carpets top goals, saving money is a top priority.
We feel like the energy service bus model is the best fit for Academy Carpets because it fits their exact need as far as ensuring all their subsystems are communicating properly. The perks of this method are the low cost of implementing it and the fact that the ESB method is flexible will fit the needs of Academy Carpets greatly. The fact that this method will fix the problem of the invoices from sales going to the right places will correct Academy Carpets main need.
There are many major steps to be considered during this integration process; in this section we will go over the tops processes to ensure this project is a success.
Planning- In the planning process the goal is to make sure everything that is needed is detailed and no aspect of the project is looked over. The top tasks in the step are; meeting the business requirements, going over the resources needed for both the system and employees working on the integration, and the application’s requirements (IBM, 2012).
Installing- During the installation process, the tasks that will be completed are; installing the database, installing the needed software and installing the ESB (IBM, 2012).
Configuring- In this last phase we will; create the database, create the profiles and configure the database to meet Academy Carpets needs.

Standards and Regulations

Anytime a company is looking to add or change their information technology system there needs to be some kind of process or standard that is going to be followed. It is a big mistake for the company to take matters into their own hands and try to accomplish the task at hand. There are too many problems that may arise if there is not an industry standard or regulation that is being set in force. In this portion of the paper we will be looking at the industry standards and regulations that Academy Carpets will be following to ensure a smooth transition of the new system integration.
To help Academy Carpets integration move along as seamlessly as possible we have chosen to follow the CORBA standards. CORBA stands for Common Request Broker Architecture, and is a vendor independent architecture and infrastructure that applications use together over different networks. CORBA fits Academy Carpets need perfectly, Academy Carpets goal in this project is to have their network applications to work together without any system bugs.
CORBA has been used in tons of different scenarios, this is because of how painless it is for CORBA to integrate machines from different providers of all different sizes together. The first version of the CORBA standard was introduced in 1991, it was relatively small in size and this was on purpose (Omg, 2012). OMG, who created these standards wanted to first design a small standard to let the people implementing CORBA the ability to slowly grow and learn the standards and then they could add more capabilities.
There are many advantages when it comes to using CORBA. The first advantages is the fact that CORBA is considered an open standard, there is a long list of vendors Academy Carpets can choose from, and if the need to switch CORBA vendors is established, the switch is made relatively easily. Another advantage of CORBA is it offers a wide platform support, these integrations are available for a wide variety of computers and operating systems. Along with the wide variety of computers and operating systems, CORBA also offers a long list of programming languages (Omg, 2012). The last advantages of CORBA are; efficiency and scalability. Efficiency when it comes to the computer industry is always a must there is no time for the systems to be down or running slow. And scalability is always a word that should be considered when making system changes and by following CORBA, Academy Carpets will be assured that as they grow, their system will have the ability to do so as well.
Because of the flexibility and scalability of CORBA, there is no present need to make changes to our integration process. This is one of the main reasons why we have chosen to follow these industry standards. As long as Academy Carpets uses CORBA vendors there will be no changes needed to help make this project a success. The only thing that would impede upon this projects success is if for some reason we didn’t follow CORBA’s standards completely or skipped a step or process, but obviously this is not part of the main plan.
We have chosen to follow CORBA because of the success the companies have when using these standards. It CORBA has been established as the top standard to follow when integrating or implementing new systems.

Support Strategies

So far in this document we have examined what Academy Carpets goals and needs are. As well as looked into the rules and regulations we intend to follow to ensure this project is a success. Another aspect that with the proper implementation will help us meet our goals is a proper support system. Without the correct support this project may turn out to be an utter disaster.
After looking into several different types of support strategies we have decided on what we feel will be the best fit for Academy Carpets system. The route we have chosen to follow is hiring an out sourced help desk team to help Academy Carpets with any problems that nay arise. Larger companies with more complex computer systems hire on site IT professionals to help with problems day in and day out. This solution isn’t viable to Academy Carpets because the need for IT help will not present itself on a daily basis, if they were to hire professionals they would not be needed as much to make the hire worthwhile.
Help desk firms hire IT professionals to field a variety of calls to help businesses that use their service. Each help desk professional is trained with problem solving skills, and they possess the ability to walk Academy Carpets employees through any system issues that may arise. Within the help desk firm there may be various levels of support, if Academy Carpets calls in with a simple request or problem this question would be fielded by a lower seeded employee, however if there is a major system issue that requires a highly skilled technician, then the call would be taken by a highly skilled IT professional. The help desk will be available to talk to via; email, telephone, and also via chat capabilities. Each Academy Carpets will be giving the proper contact information for the help desk and will be trusted to only use the service when necessary.
Once the new system is laid out, we intend to hold a systems integration presentation. The goal of this presentation is to not only teach the employees of the features of the new system but to also give them insight on how to use it. We will provide troubleshooting tips as wells as documentation on how to fix potentially common errors. By education the employees of the potential pit falls of the system the will be more likely to be able and try to fix the problem themselves with a lower than of stress.
Implementation of the help desk is one of the easier tasks we will be performing throughout this project. The biggest piece of this puzzle is finding the right company for the right price. We will research many different firms to find the perfect fit for Academy Carpets. The selected help desk firm will do a consultation with us to see exactly what system we will be using, so they may prepare and train their help desk professionals on what is needed when system errors may arise. After the consultation we will be provided with a list of proper contact information, with a tiered level of support. The lower help desk employees with help with the simple requests and the high level will deal with the more complex errors. The help desk company will be available on Microsoft Lync, which is an instant message program where employees will have the ability to ask help desk professionals questions.
There isn’t a long list of resources needed to implement the help desk solution. After giving employees the proper contact information and training the employees on common errors the process is basically done. There are no big changes needed to hire the help desk professionals.

Best Practices

Whenever taking on a project of this magnitude it is a great idea to look within the industry for tips on what has worked in systems integrations and what has not. I this section we will go over what is needed to help make this process a success and identify why we feel it will be one. We have searched the internet and asked local companies on what they have found most successful when performing a system integration that is similar in size to ours. While searching we found a company known as Northrop Grumman Corporation. This is a company that has taken a serious look at systems integration and put together a list of best practices that they feel should be followed to help ensure a satisfying integration process. Pete Houser of Northrop Grumman describes the systems integration process as “Assembling the constituent parts of a system in a logical, cost-effective way, comprehensively checking system execution (all nominal & exceptional paths), and including a full functional check-out.”(Houser, 2011). Houser is responsible for the best practices we will following for Academy Carpets system integration. He had noticed in the past a couple of vital issues while following a standard systems integration. The first flaw he noticed is in most cases the integration is started late because of components coming later which results in a flawed and immature delivery. He also noted that the integration process is in most cases rushed, which in the end suffers as a result of a rushed testing process (Houser, 2011). And lastly Houser notices that most integration processes are focused on the components themselves and not the system capabilities. Below is a picture of a normal systems integration process, as you can see it is rather crowed and rushed.

Houser has come up with these best practices to try and avoid these potential pitfalls. 1. Use a continuous integration model, as opposed to the “big bang model” above. 2. Create a system architecture skeleton early in the program and use it as a framework for the integration and continually update the skeleton and the process progresses. 3. Develop component and subsystem specifications to the level that they are needed in to define component verification procedures. 4. Continuously perform regression testing; create internal and/or external automated test tools that greatly reduce the emphasis on man-in-the-loop testing. (Houser, 2011)

Below is an example of a continuous integration model.

At first glance this continuous integration model may look more complex and have more work entailed in it. But in many ways these are good things, by breaking up the process in to smaller simpler steps, it helps the integration run more smoothly as help stop the chance of errors or overlooking items in during the integration process. As a result of using these best practices for the system integration, we do not necessarily have to change our overall systems integration plan, we need to change the way we will approach the project as a whole. By following the continuous system integration model, we will be able to provide Academy Carpets with the best possible systems integration process for many reasons. First, by following the smaller steps in the continuous model we feel we will be less likely to have any oversights or errors. This process will take more time to follow but Academy Carpets has given us a flexible timeline to follow and are more than willing to accommodate for more time if it ensures a better product in the end. We also plan to create a system architecture skeleton and to update it throughout the process. By doing so we will be able to provide Academy Carpets will milestones that we reach along the way.

Cultural Implications

In this last and important section we will be looking at the possible cultural implications that may occur during the system integration process. This is a very vital step to take in the system integration process because if your company is not fully prepared to deal with these cultural issues bigger problems may arise. We will go through a couple of examples of these implications and will also go into detail about how we feel Academy Carpets can avoid these problems. The first cultural issue that we will be planning for is if there are cultural issues between the different software and service providers we have planned to use. If either of these products clash with another program or provider this may cause the system to not function properly or even worse it could result in a complete system failure. This is considered to be a pretty easy issue to avoid, the key is to our homework when choosing the software and service providers we have planned to use. One solution is to follow combinations that have been proven successful by other similar companies in our position. Another good idea to follow is to make sure to follow the standards we have chosen to follow to achieve the system integration. And the last way to avoid this issue is to constantly test the system to try and uncover this issue early on in the integration so it may be handled in a timely manner Another cultural issue we feel is needed to be looked into is the staff of Academy Carpets not being properly trained on the system. If the employees are not trained to use the system efficiently, this will result in potential system errors as well as longer wait times for the customers of Academy Carpets. If the employees are still engulfed in the culture of the old system, this can be a very hazardous situation. This issue may also cause the helpdesk company to be overloaded with simple questions which in return will cost Academy Carpets more money in the end because of how much the helpdesk is being used. The only way to avoid this cultural implication is to not only thoroughly train the staff to use the system properly in the beginning but to also hold quarterly training seminars to refresh the employees minds and to also keep them informed on any upcoming changes to the system to keep them prepared for the future. Along with the new system also comes new users, not only within the company but also with the different service providers we have chosen to help us. This brings up another interesting cultural implication, more people that have access to the system means there is more people that have access to Academy Carpets database. This may cause a breach in the security of not only Academy Carpets sensitive information but also the customer’s files that have been saved within Academy Carpets database. If this information is breached it can cause a number of different problems for the company so this is an issue that needs to be addressed before the situation happens. All of Academy Carpets users and other people that have access to the system must be educated regarding Academy Carpets information technology usage policy. If the employees and users do not understand what is expected of them, then we cannot expect them to behave in a certain manner. These employee policies will help us educate the employees so both parties understand what is expected. As you can see along with the system integration also comes some very detrimental cultural implications. But the good thing about these potential issues is each one will be completely planned for and we will do everything in our power to help Academy Carpets avoid these problematic areas. By doing the due diligence and planning for these issues will be setting Academy Carpets new system up for success.
References

(OMG, 2012) CORBA Basics. Retrieved on 06/01/2013 from: http://www.omg.org/gettingstarted/corbafaq.htm (IBM, 2012) N.A. Installing Enterprise Service Bus. Retrieved on 05/24/2013 from: http://publibfp.dhe.ibm.com/epubs/pdf/c3472351.pdf (Harps, 2005) Leslie Harps. Integrating the Old and New. Retrieved on 05/24/2013 from: http://www.inboundlogistics.com/cms/article/supply-chain-technology-integrating-the-old-and-new/ (Houser, 2011) Pete Houser. Best Practices for Systems Integration. Retrieved on 06/17/2013
From: http://www.dtic.mil/ndia/2011system/13007_HouserThursday.pdf