Information system. Implementation of an information system as a way to improve business processes of an enterprise Implementation of an information system in an enterprise

The introduction of corporate IP, developed independently or purchased from a supplier, is often accompanied by the disruption (redesign) of existing ones at the enterprise business processes. We have to rebuild them to meet the requirements of the standards and the logic of the system being implemented. Let us note right away that the introduction of information systems solves a number of managerial and technical problems, but it gives rise to problems associated with human factor.

The implementation of an information system, as a rule, greatly facilitates the management of enterprise activities, optimizes internal and external information flows, eliminates management bottlenecks. However, after the system has been successfully installed, “tested” in operation and shown to be effective, some employees show reluctance to use the IS in their work. As a result of the reengineering, it becomes clear that some employees largely duplicate the work of others or are not needed at all. In addition, the implementation of CIS is accompanied by mandatory training, but, as Russian experience shows, there are not many people willing to retrain. Breaking old skills and instilling new ones is a long and difficult process!

It must be clearly understood that corporate IP is designed to simplify the management of an organization, improve processes, strengthen control and thereby provide competitive benefits. Only from this point of view can the benefits of its implementation be assessed.

Following this logic, it becomes clear that although corporate IS is generally intended to provide all users with the necessary information, managing the development and implementation of the CIS is the prerogative of the company's top management! Do leaders understand this?

Here, too, we have to fight persistent stereotypes. “Why do I need a corporate system if things at the enterprise are already going well?” “Why break something if everything works?” But most often there is no need to break it. At the first stage, you only need to competently and correctly formalize and transfer the identified processes within which the enterprise lives into corporate IS. Such formalization will only sharpen, polish successful marketing and production ideas, and optimize management process and control and will allow further targeted changes.

The introduction of a new IS is a complex process, lasting from several months for small IS to several years for the IS of large distributed companies with a wide range of products and a large number of suppliers. The success of a project to develop (or acquire) and implement an information system largely depends on the enterprise’s readiness to carry out the project, the personal interest and will of management, a realistic program of action, the availability of resources, trained personnel, and the ability to overcome resistance at all levels of the established organization.

By now, a standard set of techniques for introducing information systems has emerged. Basic rule: perform the required phases sequentially and do not skip any of them.

The following factors are critical to implementation:

the presence of clearly defined project goals and IP requirements;
availability of a strategy for the implementation and use of IP;
conducting a pre-project survey of the enterprise and constructing “As is” and “As will be” models;
planning work, resources and monitoring the implementation of the implementation plan;
participation of senior management in the implementation of the system;
carrying out work on IS implementation by systems integration specialists together with enterprise specialists;
regular monitoring of the quality of work performed;
quickly obtaining positive results at least in part of the implemented IS modules or in the process of it trial operation.

Before development begins implementation project necessary:

formalize the goals of the IS implementation project as much as possible;
estimate the minimum necessary costs and expense items;
set a high priority for the implementation project over other ongoing projects;
endow project manager the maximum possible powers;
carry out mass educational work with the personnel of the enterprise in order to convey to everyone the importance and necessity of the upcoming transformations;
develop organizational measures for the use of new information technologies;
distribute personal responsibility across all stages of implementation and trial operation.

It is also necessary to determine the functional areas of implementation of information system modules:

organizational management;
organizational and administrative support;
control business processes;
management, financial planning and accounting;
personnel Management;
document management;
material management technical support;
management of relations with clients and the external environment.

In addition to what is listed above, it is necessary to set technological requirements for the implementation of IS:

system platform- implementation and adaptation of a ready-made solution from the manufacturer or custom development in accordance with terms of reference customer;
integrability- data is stored and processed in a single information space; this ensures their completeness, consistency, reliability and reusability; the system may include newly developed and already used technologies and applications;
adaptability- the system is configured in accordance with customer requirements and on the features of the customer’s information field;
distribution- the system can function effectively in geographically remote divisions and branches of the enterprise;
scalability- the system can be made in the form of a frame containing basic modules and supplemented in accordance with the requirements of the changing external and internal environment.

Main phases of information system implementation

Phase "Preliminary work on preparing the IS implementation project". During the pre-project survey of the enterprise (Fig. 8.4), detailed information is collected about the structural structure of the organization, functional relationships, management system, main business processes, flows within the enterprise (Control Flow, Doc Flow, Data Flow, Work Flow, Cash Flow ), necessary for constructing appropriate models and selecting objects for automation. The timing, resources, types and volumes of work, the range and cost of software, hardware and telecommunications, the cost of personnel training, etc. are assessed.

Phase "Project preparation". After completion of the first phase, preliminary planning and formation of project launch procedures are carried out:

formation of project and expert groups;
distribution of powers and responsibilities;
determination of organizational and technical requirements for the implementation process;
clarifying customer specifications and expectations;
training of the implementation group consisting of specialists from the customer enterprise.

For some reason, the last, very important point is often missed when drawing up an implementation plan. But the success of the entire project greatly depends on it! After the start of financing, the project is considered to be launched.

Phase "Conceptual development of the project". During this phase:

a conceptual project is formed and approved;
a mandatory unambiguous understanding of the intentions of all project participants regarding the implemented IS is achieved;
the goals and objectives of the project are clarified and specified;
the dimensions of the system prototype are determined;
the enlarged work plan, sequence of stages and conditions are agreed upon trial operation, planning, financial and reporting indicators;

In this case, all these actions without fail are documented, agreed upon and approved by all interested and responsible parties.

Phase "Project Implementation". During the main implementation work, the system environment is created, installed and configured, system administration procedures are determined, and basic hardware and software systems and applications are installed. The system configures organizational staffing and organizational functional structures enterprises using such organizational units as branch, department, section, work group, etc.

The implementation of corporate IP, developed independently or purchased from a supplier, is often accompanied by disruption (redesign) of existing business processes at the enterprise. We have to rebuild them to meet the requirements of the standards and the logic of the system being implemented. Let us note right away that the introduction of information systems solves a number of managerial and technical problems, but gives rise to problems associated with the human factor.

The implementation of an information system, as a rule, greatly facilitates the management of enterprise activities, optimizes internal and external information flows, and eliminates bottlenecks in management. However, after the system has been successfully installed, “tested” in operation and shown to be effective, some employees show reluctance to use the IS in their work. As a result of the reengineering, it becomes clear that some employees largely duplicate the work of others or are not needed at all. In addition, the implementation of CIS is accompanied by mandatory training, but, as Russian experience shows, there are not many people willing to retrain. Breaking old skills and instilling new ones is a long and difficult process!

Here, too, we have to fight persistent stereotypes. “Why do I need a corporate system if things at the enterprise are already going well?” “Why break something if everything works?” But most often there is no need to break it. At the first stage, you only need to competently and correctly formalize and transfer the identified processes within which the enterprise lives into corporate IS. Such formalization will only sharpen and refine successful marketing and production ideas, optimize the management and control process and allow for targeted changes in the future.

By now, a standard set of techniques for introducing information systems has emerged. The basic rule is to complete the required phases sequentially and not skip any of them.

The following factors are critical to implementation:

the presence of clearly defined project goals and IP requirements;

availability of a strategy for the implementation and use of IP;

conducting a pre-project survey of the enterprise and constructing “As is” and “As will be” models;

planning work, resources and monitoring the implementation of the implementation plan;

participation of senior management in the implementation of the system;

carrying out work on IS implementation by systems integration specialists together with enterprise specialists;

regular monitoring of the quality of work performed;

quickly obtaining positive results at least in part of the implemented IS modules or during its trial operation.

Before starting to develop an implementation project, you must:

formalize the goals of the IS implementation project as much as possible;

estimate the minimum necessary costs and expense items;

set a high priority for the implementation project over other ongoing projects;

give the project manager the maximum possible powers;

carry out mass educational work with the personnel of the enterprise in order to convey to everyone the importance and necessity of the upcoming transformations;

develop organizational measures for the use of new information technologies;

distribute personal responsibility across all stages of implementation and trial operation.

It is also necessary to determine the functional areas of implementation of information system modules:

organizational management;

organizational and administrative support;

business process management;

management, financial planning and accounting;

personnel Management;

document management;

logistics management;

management of relations with clients and the external environment.

In addition to what is listed above, it is necessary to set technological requirements for the implementation of IS:

system platform - implementation and adaptation of a ready-made solution from the manufacturer or custom development in accordance with the customer’s technical specifications;

integrability - data is stored and processed in a single information space; this ensures their completeness, consistency, reliability and reusability; the system may include newly developed and already used technologies and applications;

adaptability - the system is configured in accordance with customer requirements and the characteristics of the customer’s information field;

distributed - the system can function effectively in geographically remote divisions and branches of the enterprise;

scalability - the system can be implemented in the form of a frame containing basic modules and expanded in accordance with the requirements of a changing external and internal environment.

Article text

Balamirzoev Nazim Liodinovich, Candidate of Economic Sciences, senior lecturer of the Department of Economics and Management in the Oil and Gas Industry, Dagestan State Technical University, Makhachkala [email protected]

Problems of implementing an enterprise management information system

Annotation. The article discusses the main problems and tasks that arise in most cases when implementing enterprise management information systems and recommendations for solving them. Key words: information systems, information process, information, enterprise, organization, firm.

The implementation of an enterprise management information system, like any major transformation in an enterprise, is a complex and often painful process. However, some problems that arise during the implementation of the system are quite well studied, formalized and have effective solution methodologies. Studying these problems in advance and preparing them significantly facilitates the implementation process and increases the efficiency of further use of the system. Below are the main problems and tasks that arise in most cases when implementing enterprise management information systems and recommendations for solving them. The main problems and tasks that require special attention when their solution:

lack of setting management tasks at the enterprise;

the need for partial or complete reorganization of the enterprise structure;

the need to change business technology in various aspects;

resistance from company employees;

temporary increase in the workload on employees during the implementation of an enterprise management information system; The need to form a qualified team for implementation and maintenance of the system, the selection of a strong team leader. Now we will describe these points in more detail: 1. Lack of setting management tasks at the enterprise. Probably this point is the most significant and difficult. At first glance, its topic echoes the content of the second paragraph, devoted to the reorganization of the enterprise structure. However, in fact, it is more global and includes not only management methodologies, but also philosophical and psychological aspects. The fact is that most managers manage their enterprise only on the basis of their experience, their intuition, their vision and very unstructured data about its condition and dynamics. As a rule, if a manager is asked to describe in any form the structure of his enterprise’s activities or a set of provisions on the basis of which he makes management decisions, the matter quickly comes to a dead end. Competent formulation of management tasks is the most important factor influencing the success of the enterprise’s activities in general, and on the success of the automation project. For example, it is completely useless to implement an automated budgeting system if budgeting itself is not properly implemented at the enterprise, as a certain sequential process. Unfortunately, at the moment in Russia a national approach to management has not fully developed, and at the moment Russian management is an explosive mixture of the theory of Western management (which in many ways is not adequate to the existing situation) and Soviet-Russian experience, which, although in many ways harmonizes with general life principles, but no longer meets the strict requirements of market competition. Therefore, the first thing that needs to be done in order In order for the project to implement an enterprise management information system to be successful, to formalize as much as possible all those control loops that are actually planned to be automated. In most cases, this cannot be achieved without the involvement of professional consultants, but from experience, the costs of consultants are simply not comparable to the losses from a failed automation project.2. The need for a partial reorganization of the structure and activities of the enterprise when introducing an enterprise management information system. Before starting to implement a management information system at an enterprise, it is usually necessary to carry out a partial reorganization of its structure and business technologies. Therefore, one of the most important stages of the implementation project is a complete and reliable examination of the enterprise in all aspects of its activities. Based on the conclusion obtained as a result of the survey, the entire further scheme for constructing a corporate information system is built. Undoubtedly, it is possible to automate everything on an “as is” basis, however, this should not be done for a number of reasons. The fact is that as a result of the survey, a large number of places where unreasonable additional costs arise, as well as contradictions in the organizational structure are usually recorded, the elimination of which would reduce production and logistics costs, as well as significantly reduce the execution time of various stages of the main business processes. Figuratively speaking, you cannot automate chaos, because this will result in “automated chaos.” By the term reorganization, I do not even mean reengineering in its classical Western sense, with a complete restructuring of all intra-economic and commercial activities. Reorganization can be carried out in a number of local points where it is objectively necessary, which will not entail a noticeable decline in the activity of current commercial activities.3. The need to change the technology of working with information and the principles of doing business. An effectively constructed information system cannot fail to make changes to the existing technology of planning, budgeting and control, as well as business process management. Firstly, one of the most important features of a corporate information system for a manager are the management modules accounting and financial controlling. Now each functional unit can be defined as a financial accounting center, with a corresponding level of financial responsibility of its head. This, in turn, increases the responsibility of each of these managers, and provides senior managers with effective tools for clear control over the implementation of individual plans and budgets. With an enterprise management information system, the manager is able to receive up-to-date and reliable information about all aspects of the company’s activities, without temporary delays and unnecessary transmission links. In addition, information is presented to the manager in a convenient form “from the sheet” in the absence of human factors that can biased or subjectively interpret the information during transmission. However, it would be fair to note that some managers are not accustomed to making management decisions on information in its pure form, unless it is accompanied by the opinion of the person who delivered it. This approach, in principle, has the right to life even if there is an enterprise management information system, but often it negatively affects the objectivity of management. The introduction of an enterprise management information system makes significant changes in the management of business processes. Each document that displays in the information field the progress or completion of a particular end-to-end business process is created automatically in the integrated system, based on the primary document that opened the process. Employees responsible for this business process only monitor and, if necessary, make changes to the positions of the documents generated by the system. For example, a customer placed an order for products that must be completed by a certain date of the month. The order is entered into the system, based on it, the system automatically creates an invoice (based on existing pricing algorithms), the invoice is sent to the customer, and the order is sent to the production module, where the ordered type of product is broken down into individual components. Based on the list of components in the purchasing module, the system creates orders for their purchase, and the production module accordingly optimizes the production program so that the order is completed on time. Naturally, in real life there are various options for unavoidable disruptions in the delivery of an order. Equipment breakdowns and so on. Therefore, each stage of order fulfillment must be strictly controlled by the circle of employees responsible for it, who, if necessary, must create a managerial impact on the system in order to avoid or reduce undesirable consequences. You should not assume that working with an enterprise management information system will become easier. On the contrary, a significant reduction in paperwork speeds up the process and improves the quality of order processing, increases the competitiveness and profitability of the enterprise as a whole, and all this requires greater composure, competence and responsibility of the performers. It is possible that the existing production base will not cope with the new flow of information about the progress of the production process, and it will also be necessary to introduce organizational and technological reforms, which will subsequently have a positive impact on the prosperity of the enterprise. 4. Resistance of enterprise employees. When implementing enterprise management information systems, in most cases there is active resistance from local employees, which is a serious obstacle for consultants and is quite capable of disrupting or significantly delaying the implementation project. This is caused by several human factors: ordinary fear of innovation, conservatism (for example, a storekeeper who has worked for 20 years with a paper or partially automated filing cabinet usually finds it psychologically difficult to switch to a computer), fear of losing his job or losing his indispensability, fear of significantly increasing responsibility for his actions. Managers of an enterprise who have decided to automate their business, in such cases, must in every possible way assist the responsible group of specialists carrying out the implementation of the enterprise management information system, conduct explanatory work with personnel, and, in addition: Create among employees at all levels a strong feeling of the inevitability of implementation;

give the implementation project manager sufficient authority, since resistance sometimes (often subconsciously, or as a result of unjustified ambitions) arises even at the level of top managers;

always support all organizational decisions on implementation issues by issuing appropriate orders and written instructions.5. Temporary increase in the workload on employees when implementing an enterprise management system. At some stages of the implementation project, the workload on the company's employees temporarily increases. This is due to the fact that in addition to performing normal job duties, employees need to learn new knowledge and technologies. During trial operation and during the transition to industrial operation of the system, for some time it is necessary to conduct business, as in the new system, and continue to conduct them in traditional ways (maintain paper document flow and pre-existing systems). In this regard, certain stages of the system implementation project may be delayed under the pretext that employees already have enough urgent work for their intended purpose, and mastering the system is a secondary and distracting activity. In such cases, the head of the enterprise, in addition to conducting explanatory work with employees who shy away from mastering new technologies, must:

increase the level of motivation of employees to master the system in the form of incentives and thanks;

take organizational measures to reduce the period of parallel management of cases.6. Formation of a qualified system implementation and maintenance group, a group leader. The implementation of most large enterprise management automation systems is carried out using the following technology: a small (36 people) working group is formed at the enterprise, which undergoes the most complete training in working with the system, then this group takes on a significant part work on system implementation and its further support. The use of such technology is caused by two factors: firstly, the fact that an enterprise is usually interested in having specialists at hand who can quickly solve most operational issues when setting up and operating the system, and secondly, training its employees and their use is always essential cheaper than outsourcing. Thus, the formation of a strong working group is the key to the successful implementation of the implementation project. A particularly important issue is the choice of the leader of such a group and the system administrator. The manager, in addition to knowledge of basic computer technologies, must have in-depth knowledge in the field of business and management. In the practice of large Western companies, such a person holds the position of CIO (Chief Information Officer), which is usually the second in the company’s management hierarchy. In domestic practice, when implementing systems, this role is usually played by the head of the automated control system department or a similar one. The basic rules for organizing a working group are the following principles:

Working group specialists must be appointed taking into account the following requirements: knowledge of modern computer technologies (and the desire to master them in the future), communication skills, responsibility, discipline;

Particular responsibility should be taken in selecting and appointing a system administrator, since almost all corporate information will be available to him;

the possible dismissal of specialists from the implementation group during the project can have an extremely negative impact on its results. Therefore, team members should be selected from loyal and reliable employees and a system should be developed to support this loyalty throughout the project;

After identifying the employees included in the implementation group, the project manager must clearly describe the range of tasks to be performed by each of them, the forms of plans and reports, as well as the length of the reporting period. In the best case, the reporting period should be one day. All of the above tasks that arise in the process of building an information system, and methods for solving them, are the most common and naturally, each enterprise has its own unique organizational specifics, and when implementing an enterprise management information system, various nuances may arise , which require additional consideration and search for methods for solving them. Actually, this is why professional business consultants exist.

Links to sources 1. Antonets, V.L., Nechaeva N.V. Innovative business. Formation of commercialization models for promising developments. M.: Delo, Academy of National Economy, 2009. 320 pp. 2. Kostrova, A.V. Methods and models of information management: Textbook // A.V. Kostrova. M.: Finance and Statistics, 2007. 336 pp. 3. Maglinets, Yu.A. Analysis of requirements for automated information systems. M.: Internet University of Information Technologies INTUIT.ru, 2010. 200 pp. 4. Shuremov, E.L., Chistov D.V., Lyamova G.V. “Information systems for enterprise management”, published by M.: Publishing house “Accounting”, 2011.

Balamirzoyev N. L., Cand.Econ.Sci., senior teacher of chair "Economy and management in the oil and gas industry" FGBOU VPO "The Dagestan state technical university", [email protected] of introduction of the information management system enterpriseAbstract. In the article the main problems and the tasks arising in most cases at introduction of information management systems by the enterprise and the recommendation about their decision are considered. Keywords: information systems, information process, information, enterprise, organization, firm.

Content

Introduction	3
Goals and objectives of implementing an information system	4
Classification of information systems	6
Information system requirements	9
Design and creation of information systems	10
Implementation of information systems	13
Traditional approach	14
Innovative approach	16
Efficiency mark	18
Experience in using information systems	19
List of used literature	21

Introduction

We constantly hear that Russian enterprises cannot compete with Western manufacturers, that our technologies are not so developed, and that the quality of Russian products is too inferior to their foreign counterparts. The problem is that Russian managers have begun to face at least two management problems:

it turns out that the indicators and procedures that were previously used to analyze and plan the activities of the enterprise (for example, the volume of products produced) do not allow them to compete successfully;
the emergence of competitors not only begins to impede the receipt of the usual excess profits, but sometimes reduces them to zero.

The most important factor in the successful operation of an enterprise is the ability of its management to sense the market and focus on it. There are two main tasks facing any company: to take care of itself and to see the surrounding reality. “Taking care of yourself” means putting things in order in operating technologies, document flow procedures, and organizational and staffing structures. Everyone is beginning to understand that it is necessary to change the management system, reduce costs and effectively manage finances. The question is how to do this? How to calculate the true cost of a product type, how to plan the purchase of materials with existing stocks, which processes to improve first. One of the mechanisms for solving the problem of establishing order is the establishment of a management accounting methodology at the enterprise, the use of which will provide answers to the questions of what, where, when, how, why, how much, what is the reason, etc. The result will be an increase in the internal efficiency of the enterprise. However, the successful internal life of an enterprise is a necessary, but not sufficient condition for survival, and even more so for occupying leading positions in the market. To increase external efficiency, you should adapt to the requirements of the surrounding world, market needs, and learn to manage suppliers and customers. The ability to correctly and timely respond to the external environment provides strategic thinking.

Recently, the desire of companies to move from detailed management of internal activities to management of customers and suppliers has been clearly evident. A company's competitiveness increasingly depends on the ability to create and deepen relationships with other companies (partners, competitors, customers or suppliers). The reasons for this are:

expansion of the economic space in which enterprises operate;
the emergence of a new strategic resource - information;
the need to take into account the time factor.

Goals and Objectives of the information system

An enterprise is a single organism, and improving one thing can lead to the slightest shift towards success at best, or to a decrease in overall performance at worst. Managers, and especially heads of financial departments, need to make complex decisions affecting the entire enterprise. And the workload of solving operational problems further complicates the management process.

To simplify management, primarily financial, it is necessary to have an effective enterprise management system, including a quality management system, and an information system to support them. What can the implementation of an information system give?

reduction of the enterprise’s overall costs in the supply chain (in procurement),
increasing the speed of turnover,
reducing excess inventory to a minimum,
increase and complexity of the product range,
improving product quality,
fulfilling orders on time and improving the overall quality of customer service,

The main goals of enterprise automation are:

Collection, processing, storage and presentation of data on the organization’s activities and external environment in a form convenient for financial and any other analysis and use in making management decisions.
Automation of business operations (technological operations) that constitute the target activity of the enterprise.
Automation of processes that ensure the execution of core activities.

In order to really evaluate the effectiveness of the system, it is very important to understand what tasks a properly designed information system can solve:

Planning of production activities. Drawing up production plans at various levels, from strategic to operational, and checking the possibility of their execution in accordance with the state of production capacity and human resources. The degree of detail of plans at different levels is different - from a set of products for solving strategic planning problems to specific materials or production operations for operational production management;
Purchasing, inventory, sales management. This is the automation of planning and accounting processes for supply (materials and technical support) production, sales of finished products and inventory management;
Financial management. As a rule, this includes accounting, settlements with debtors and creditors, accounting for fixed assets, cash management and financial planning;
Personnel Management. The personnel management subsystem implements all the basic needs of working with personnel: hiring and firing personnel, recording information about employees, planning their career growth, paying wages and recording working hours. Considering personnel as a separate type of resource allows us to link together the personnel potential of the enterprise and production plans, which is also possible when using an information system;
Cost management. This includes accounting for all enterprise costs and calculating the cost of finished products or services;
Project/Program Management. Modern enterprise activities are increasingly viewed through the prism of the implementation of production projects or programs, for which separate planning and accounting can be carried out;
Product and process design. Information about the composition of products, technological routes for their production, product development in accordance with customer requirements, as well as an assessment of the costs that the enterprise will incur when producing such products.

As you can see, information systems are capable of a lot. But in order to obtain efficiency with a large investment when purchasing a system, you must correctly choose which system is needed. In this case, you should not adhere to the principle “the more functions, the better.” The more a system “can do,” the more expensive it is and the likelihood is that not all of its functionality will be used and it will not pay for itself.

classification of information systems

The first systems that were developed to solve enterprise management problems mainly covered the field of warehouse or material accounting ( IC – Inventory Control). Their appearance is due to the fact that accounting of materials (raw materials, finished products, goods) on the one hand is an eternal source of various problems for the manager of an enterprise, and on the other (in a relatively large enterprise) one of the most labor-intensive areas that require constant attention . The main “activity” of such a system is accounting materials.

The next stage in improving material accounting was marked by systems for planning production or material (depending on the direction of the organization’s activities) resources. These systems included in the standard, or rather two standards ( MRP – Material Requirements Planning And MRP II – Manufacturing Requirements Planning), are very widespread in the West and have long been successfully used by enterprises, primarily in manufacturing industries. The basic principles that formed the basis of MRP standard systems include

description of production activities as a flow of interrelated orders;
taking into account resource limitations when executing orders;
minimizing production cycles and inventories;
formation of supply and production orders based on sales orders and production schedules.

Of course, there are other MRP functions: process cycle planning, equipment load planning, etc. In Fig. 1 shows the processes that are implemented when using such a system:

Rice. 1

It should be noted that MRP standard systems solve the problem not so much of accounting, but management material resources of the enterprise.

The most popular new type of information systems at the moment are standard systems ERP - Enterprise Resource Planning. ERP systems in their functionality cover not only warehouse accounting and materials management, which the systems described above provide in full, but add to this all other resources of the enterprise, primarily monetary. That is, ERP systems must cover all areas of the enterprise directly related to its activities. First of all, this refers to manufacturing enterprises. The systems of this standard support the implementation of basic financial and management functions. For example, in Baan 1 systems this is:

finance and accounting,
production,
sales (including warehouse accounting, trade and marketing),
transport,
equipment service and maintenance,
project management,
as well as a single management panel - the Manager Information System module, on which the manager can see all the main departments and production indicators.

Rice. 2

The main task of ERP systems is to monitor the current state of affairs at the enterprise and alert managers about all dangerous changes in production activities. The processes managed by the ERP standard information system are shown in Fig. 2:

information system requirements

An information system, like any other tool, must have its own characteristics and requirements, according to which its functionality and effectiveness can be determined. Of course, for each specific enterprise, the requirements for an information system will be different, since the specifics of each organization must be taken into account. Despite this, it is necessary to highlight several basic requirements for the system, common to all “consumers”:

Localization information system. Due to the fact that the largest developers of information systems are foreign companies, the system must be adapted for use by Russian companies. What is meant here is localization, both functional (taking into account the peculiarities of Russian legislation and payment systems) and linguistic (help system and documentation in Russian).
The system must provide reliable information protection, which requires password-based access control, a multi-level data protection system, etc.
If the system is implemented in a large enterprise with a complex organizational structure, implementation is necessary remote access so that the information can be used by all structural divisions of the organization.
Due to the influence of external and internal factors (changes in business direction, changes in legislation, etc.), the system must be adaptive. Applicable to Russia, this quality of the system should be considered more seriously, since in our country changes in legislation and accounting rules occur several times more often than in countries with stable economies.
Opportunity needed consolidation of information at the enterprise level (combining information from branches, subsidiaries, etc.), at the level of individual tasks, at the level of time periods.

These requirements are the main, but far from the only criteria for choosing a corporate information system for an enterprise.

Design and creation of an information system

Information system design is perhaps the most important element of enterprise automation. Designing the system correctly means ensuring much of the success of the entire automation project. A very common mistake is the implementation of an information system in the absence of any clearly formulated management system. That is, the expression “to create a system of government” is perceived as “to introduce something computer-based.” It is necessary to clearly understand that the control system is primary, and the creation of an information system based on it, or, simply put, its implementation in computer form is secondary.

Many companies believe that automation alone will lead to an improvement in their financial and economic situation, and begin their information systems implementation efforts directly with automation, skipping the critical steps of understanding and simplifying their business processes. But often these processes are so disordered that they generally create the impression of chaos in the enterprise. As you know, automating chaos is far from easy, if not impossible. Therefore, before creating an information system, you should review the management system in the organization. Changing business processes is called business processes reengineering. So, first you need to streamline the business process diagram and the organization’s management system as a whole:

determine the organizational staffing structure,
develop a mechanism for the financial and economic management of the company (including identifying responsibility centers),
identify the main technological flows (processes),
develop mechanisms for organizational management of technological flows,
based on the created management mechanisms, formulate a technology for financial analysis and management of the activities of technological flows.

If the above technologies are available, it will be much easier to develop an information system. However, it is often necessary simplify business processes in an enterprise, in order to make it easier to describe them in computer language.

An organization is a set of rules and procedures. An information system is also a set of rules and procedures, so you should understand which instructions and procedures should be replaced with which ones. We should also not forget about the human factor when creating an information system. Firstly, it is people who will have to work with the system; in any case, it cannot work alone. Second, employees can improve (or simplify) the processes they encounter every day. Automation should only happen after employees understand the process and decide whether automation is necessary.

After the formation of a clear management system, the process of designing an information system begins. It is important that, whenever possible, all employees who will work with it participate in the design of the system. This will allow you to identify small features and specific needs in the work of each department of the organization, since only users of the future system know best what they need.

The design of an information system should also involve its developers, that is, those who will create it. The choice of an information system developer must be approached very carefully. The main criteria for choosing a developer are experience in the field of creating information systems, the number of systems successfully implemented by the company at Russian enterprises.

The financial manager and the management of the enterprise must treat automation as a project, that is, determine all stages, characteristics, time frames and budget. The main stages of work on an automation project are:

Conducting a survey to describe the organization’s business processes.
Development of technical specifications for the automation system.
Development of a technical design of the system.
System development (sometimes called customization).
Various stages and phases of implementation, pilot and industrial operation.
Carrying out modifications in accordance with the changing needs of the organization.

The result of system design is a strictly formalized description of both the object of its automation and the system itself. This document should contain a description of what information the system should work with, how the data is presented in it and by what rules it works.
implementation of an information system
The effectiveness of automation of enterprise activities, along with the correct design and creation of the system, depends on the method of its implementation in the organizational structure of the company. This is due to psychological factors - there is usually resistance from employees to the creation and use of the system. In addition, the implementation of the system can last from 6 months to 2-3 years. During such a period, changes in external and internal factors affecting the operation of the enterprise may occur. Therefore, management’s expectations regarding the results of the system’s operation may not be met (since they will already have time to change).

Rice. 3

There are several approaches to implementing an information system into the work of an enterprise. 2 To consider two of them, we will use the example of an organization that has three levels of hierarchy: the level of performers and two levels of management (Fig. 3).

Traditional approach

This approach to the implementation of information systems to automate the company’s activities is organized on a top-down principle. The disadvantages of this approach are known: one of the most significant disadvantages is that the traditional (“hard”) automation system being implemented in an organization allows the results of the system’s operation to be obtained primarily by lower-level performers (Fig. 4).

Rice. 4. First stage of horizontal automation:

automation at the performer level.

Only after the automation of all business operations at the executive level has been completed, middle-level managers will be able to begin to receive useful results from the system (Fig. 5).

Rice. 5. The second stage of horizontal automation: automation of the level of performers and middle management.

In order for the organization’s top management to be able to receive complete information from the system (Fig. 6), a lot of time must pass - several months or even years.
Rice. 6. Completion of automation of all hierarchical levels of the organization.

As already mentioned, often by the time the implementation of the system is completed, the organization’s needs have time to change, which causes dissatisfaction with the organization’s management with the results obtained over a long time and at great expense. The system either has to be modified to suit the organization’s new tasks or replaced with a system that is more appropriate to the current needs of the organization. If the traditional approach is used again when choosing a new system, there is no guarantee that the new system will be better than the old one.
Innovative approach

The second approach to automating the activities of an enterprise is based on the use of adaptable innovative systems - systems “capable of self-regulation in accordance with changes in external conditions.” 3

This feature of such systems makes it possible to “autonomously” sequentially automate individual areas of an organization’s activities with the gradual “growing” of a single system covering the entire organization.

It is obvious that when automating not the entire organization, but a small area, the load on personnel is significantly reduced and the inevitable organizational and psychological problems of implementation are minimized. The system is expanded in accordance with the needs of the organization.

At the same time, an important quality of such a system is that the system has the ability to grow “from top to bottom”, when first of all it is not the activities of the performers that are automated, but the level of preparation and structured presentation of information for the management of the organization (Fig. 7).

Rice. 7. First stage: automation of upper management levels.

The use of an adaptable system provides the customer with the freedom of choice - to automate the activities of their enterprise in a traditional bottom-up manner or to abandon the traditional approach to automation and, combining organizational measures and the capabilities of the automation system, begin to receive the first real results from the operation of the system primarily at the top level of management through 6-8 weeks after the start of work (Fig. 8).

Rice. 8. Second stage: creation of a unified information space

The system installed at the first stage allows for the expansion of user capabilities. This facilitates not only the implementation and adaptation of the existing system to the needs of users, but also provides the opportunity to develop the functions of the system in the future as the needs of the enterprise change and develop.

When implementing an information system, one should not forget about training enterprise employees to use this system. This can take a lot of money and time, especially if we are talking about a state or former state enterprise, where most of the employees are older people who are not familiar with computers at all. Therefore, when determining the budget and time frame for a project to implement an information system, you need to pay attention to the problem of training personnel to work with the system.

Efficiency mark

The issue of assessing the effectiveness of the implementation of an information system is a rather important issue, since any large costs require justification, especially from the management of the organization.

Theoretically, it is possible to carry out a full-fledged project, including an assessment (modeling) of the “as is” situation, an assessment of the “as will be” changes possible during the implementation of the system, a comparison of both models and identifying the results of changes with subsequent financial assessment. Such a project would be an ideal justification for the investment, but it is very time-consuming and expensive. In addition, such a project requires very highly qualified information systems specialists to assess the consequences of implementation, so it is almost impossible to carry out such a project without outside help.

In reality, the effectiveness of implementation is assessed using the “industry average”. Typical average implementation results 4:

15-25% increase in productivity
10-20% reduction in inventory
20-50% reduction in order fulfillment time

It is much easier to evaluate the effectiveness of a project to implement an information system that is aimed at solving local problems associated with replacing certain accounting or management areas. When the implementation of an information system is carried out out of a desire to obtain an uncertain global result, it is almost impossible to determine the effectiveness, if only because it is quite difficult to separate the results from the implementation of the information system directly and the results from accompanying changes (reengineering, etc.).

Of course, you can simply take the formula and calculate the rate of return on investment. But this will not give the full picture, since not all positive results can be so easily expressed in monetary terms: for example, possible strategic benefits for the company or customer satisfaction. However, this statement does not mean that such an attempt is impossible. In fact, many non-quantifiable benefits can be translated into tangible numbers. For example, the ability to complete a balance sheet more quickly may be a material benefit. Identifying tangible benefits requires an analysis that involves breaking down business processes and tasks into clearly describable elements.

Experience in using information systems

Many large companies in the USA and Europe switched to using ERP standard information systems several years ago. This cannot yet be said about Asian countries. Most finance managers in Asian companies have hardly heard of such systems, let alone implemented them. Although there are companies that have decided to switch to ERP systems.

Information systems developers, in particular SAP, Baan, Oracle, PeopleSoft and J.D. Edwards, advertise their products quite aggressively, which gives the impression to people less knowledgeable in the field that these programs can solve all the problems of their companies. Statistics show that most attempts to implement an information system ended in failure, large losses, or bankruptcy. For example, management at FoxMeyer claims that an erroneous implementation of an ERP system led to its bankruptcy. The company blames the system's creators and consultants for this. The same fate befell Dell Computer, Dow Chemical and Kellogg’s.

But there are also examples of successful use of ERP systems. For example, the telecommunications company Aliant claims that the project to implement an ERP system was very successful. The expected rate of return on investment in this project was 33%.

In Russia, despite the high costs associated with the implementation of an information system, SAP alone has installed about 100 of its ERP systems, which, according to SAP, are operating successfully. Among its clients in Russia, SAP highlights Surgutneftegaz, Tulamashzavod, Sverdlovenergo, Donetsk Metallurgical Plant, Omsk Oil Refinery, Nizhny Tagil Metallurgical Plant, Syktyvkar Timber Industry Complex, Chernogorneft.

Despite many unsuccessful attempts to implement information systems, many companies around the world are seriously thinking about creating a system to improve their operations. Most likely, this is completely justified, since with a reasonable professional approach to the implementation of an information system, you can create a tool for more effective business management.

Used Books

Information System Management
M. Khokhlova, article “Modern market for enterprise management systems”
Abstracts of the report by Ally Information Technologies “Tool support for adaptive business development”
D. Glyamshin, article “The way out of the crisis is a management system”
S. Kolesnikov, article “So, automation systems...”
Study “Programs for Business-98”, AKDI “Economics and Life”
Yu. Tokarev, article “Corporate information systems and a consortium of developers”
M. Ilyina, article “Theory and methods of industrial management”
V. Baronov, I. Titovsky, article “Methods for constructing control systems”
V.P. Nesterov, I.B. Nesterov, article “Automation of the organization’s activities”
Michel Selarier, Roy Harris, article “Extracting additional profit from production”
Brownin Fryer, article “How to calculate the rate of return on investment”
Sar Ermako Jonii, article “To be or not to be ERP?”
S. Kolesnikov, article “Business process reengineering and implementation of automated control systems”
M. Ilyina, article “Principles, means and technologies for implementing the management concept”
S. Kolesnikov, article “On assessing the effectiveness of the implementation and use of ERP systems”
V.P. Nesterov, “Information support for the management decision-making process”
S. Kolesnikov, “Hierarchy of management accounting systems”
I.I. Karpachev, “Classification of computer enterprise management systems”
www.sap.com
www.baan.com
www.erp-people.com
www.economics.ru

By now, a standard set of techniques for introducing information systems has emerged. Basic rule: perform the required phases sequentially and do not skip any of them.

Critical to implementation are the following: factors :

· presence of clearly formulated project goals and IP requirements;

· availability of a strategy for the implementation and use of IP;

· conducting a pre-project survey of the enterprise and building models “As is” and “As will be”;

· planning of work, resources and monitoring the implementation of the implementation plan;

· participation of senior management in the implementation of the system;

· carrying out work on IS implementation by systems integration specialists together with enterprise specialists;

· regular monitoring of the quality of work performed;

· quickly obtaining positive results at least in part of the implemented IS modules or during its trial operation.

Before development begins implementation project necessary:

· formalize the goals of the IS implementation project as much as possible;

· estimate the minimum necessary costs and expense items;

· set a high priority for the implementation project over other ongoing projects;

· grant the project manager the maximum possible powers;

· carry out mass educational work with the personnel of the enterprise in order to convey to everyone the importance and necessity of the upcoming transformations;

· develop organizational measures for the use of new information technologies;

· distribute personal responsibility across all stages of implementation and trial operation.

It is also necessary to determine the functional areas of implementation of information system modules:

· organizational management;

· organizational and administrative support;

· business process management;

· management, planning, financial and accounting;

· personnel Management;

· document management;

· logistics management;

· management of relations with clients and the external environment.

In addition to what is listed above, you must set technological requirements to the implementation of IS:

· system platform- implementation and adaptation of a ready-made solution from the manufacturer or custom development in accordance with the customer’s technical specifications;

· integrability- data is stored and processed in a single information space; this ensures their completeness, consistency, reliability and reusability; the system may include newly developed and already used technologies and applications;

· adaptability- the system is configured in accordance with the customer’s requirements and the characteristics of the customer’s information field;

· distribution- the system can function effectively in geographically remote divisions and branches of the enterprise;

· scalability- the system can be made in the form of a frame containing basic modules and supplemented in accordance with the requirements of the changing external and internal environment.

6.6.1 Main phases of information system implementation

Phase "Preliminary work on preparing the IS implementation project". During the pre-project survey of the enterprise (Fig. 4), detailed information is collected about the structural structure of the organization, functional relationships, management system, main business processes, flows within the enterprise (Control Flow, Doc Flow, Data Flow, Work Flow, Cash Flow ), necessary for constructing appropriate models and selecting objects for automation. The timing, resources, types and volumes of work, the range and cost of software, hardware and telecommunications, the cost of personnel training, etc. are assessed.

Phase "Project preparation". After completion of the first phase, preliminary planning and formation of project launch procedures are carried out:

· formation of project and expert groups;

· distribution of powers and responsibilities;

· determination of organizational and technical requirements for the implementation process;

· clarification of customer specifications and expectations;

· training of the implementation group consisting of specialists from the customer enterprise.

Phase "Conceptual development of the project". During this phase:

· a conceptual project is formed and approved;

· the goals and objectives of the project are clarified and specified;

· the dimensions of the system prototype are determined;

· the enlarged work plan, the sequence of stages and conditions of trial operation, planning, financial and reporting indicators are agreed upon;

Moreover, all these actions must be documented, agreed upon and approved by all interested and responsible parties.

Phase "Project Implementation". During the main implementation work, the system environment is created, installed and configured, system administration procedures are determined, and basic hardware and software systems and applications are installed. The system configures the organizational, staffing and organizational-functional structures of the enterprise using such organizational units as a branch, department, department, work group, etc.

Figure 12 - Approximate contents of the implementation project repository

Installation, configuration and setup of network and telecommunications tools are carried out, data is transferred from previous local systems and interfaces are formed with legacy and external systems. At the same time, all created models, plans, working software products, and documentation are placed in the end-to-end repository of the implementation project (Fig. 12). An important part of this repository is the documentation system generated within the project (Fig. 13).

Figure 13 - Approximate composition of documentation for the information system implementation process

Systematic security issues of system operation in multi-user mode are being worked out. Applications, templates, reports, client access forms are created, and user rights are distributed. All systems are being tested in "combat mode" with the participation of all interested parties.

After the implementation phase ends, the implementation project is considered complete. The information system is put into operation.

Control questions

1. What is an “open information system”? List the main properties of open systems.

2. Describe the essence of the modern process approach to managing the activities of an enterprise and the use of this approach in the development of information systems.

3. What models and how are used in the design of information systems?

4. What software tools are used to model processes in the development of information systems?

5. Based on what data and information are the AS IS and AS TO BE state models developed?

6. Who in the company deals with the development, implementation and development of IP? Who is involved in preparing technical specifications for IP development?

7. Name the main stages of information technology design.

8. List the stages of the information system life cycle.

9. At what stage of development and implementation of IS is the company’s personnel trained?

10. List the main phases of IS implementation.

Information system. Implementation of an information system as a way to improve business processes of an enterprise Implementation of an information system in an enterprise

Main phases of information system implementation

Content

Design and creation of information systems

Traditional approach

Innovative approach

Introduction

Goals and Objectives of the information system

classification of information systems

information system requirements

Design and creation of an information system

Rice. 3

Rice. 8. Second stage: creation of a unified information space

Efficiency mark

Experience in using information systems

Used Books