CRITICAL ISSUES IN ADOPTING THE APPLICATION PACKAGE APPROACH TO CBIS DEVELOPMENT

Abstract

A conceptual model is developed to facilitates decision making in adopting the application package approach to develop computer-based information system (CBIS). This model is used to identify 57 issues to be considered in the decision. A survey is carried out to quantify the relative importance of these issues in the Singapore context. The results show that the top ten issues are in five main areas: (1) package modification (2) package testing (3) vendor support (4) package interfacing with existing systems (5) CBIS development staff. Comparison with similar study comprising 38 issues in the US (Gross and Ginzberg, 1984] shows both agreements and differences. The agreements are: four package modification issues are ranked within the top six places in both Singapore and US studies; issues relating to the organizational ability to assess packages are ranked very low in both studies. The differences are: package interfacing with existing systems is ranked 2nd in Singapore, but not identified a an issue in the US study; non-availability of documentation is ranked 5th in the US study and 33rd in the Singapore study; arranging end-users to test packages is rated 16th in the US study and 39th in the Singapore study. Factor analysis is carried out to reduce the number of variables that need to be considered to a smaller number of principal components. 13 factors are identified. They determine and interpret the underlying structure of the 57 issues in adopting the package approach. Together with mean score analysis, six key areas are identified as critical to making the decision to adopt the application package approach: (1) package modification (2) vendor viability and obligation (3) package testing (4) CBIS development staff and development (5) package related costs (6) package interface and information.