IT Professional Service - Assignment Example

IT Professional Service Name Date Course I.T. Professional Services Question 1 Customer relationship management acquisition of KATG IT professional services is in disarray due to various factors that were not considered. The coordination among the members of the team and the staff members of the company is poor. Some of the heads of departments are not aware of the project and yet the project is directly linked to the operations of the department. An example being the information technology infrastructure leader is not aware of the project. This has resulted to the lack of cooperation between the staff in the department and the team members of the project. The lack of coordination may be as a result of the poor communication between the leaders in the company. The composition of the team members also contributed to the problems facing the team. This is because the selection of the team members was based on their availability as opposed to their knowledge and experience. During a project implementation, it is important to ensure that the team members are selected from different departments. This is important in terms of ensuring that all the departments are linked to the project. It is especially important when dealing with the customer relationship management which will affect all the departments of the company (Buttle, 2012). Poor coordination and planning of the project is also likely to be an underlying factor behind the disarray of the project should. This complicates the roles of the team members and it also affects how they will work together and hence the problem for the company. The lack of expertise in the customer relationship management concepts by the team members also has a negative impact on the project. Most of the team members do not understand their roles in to the project. This has a direct impact on the operations of the team members during the implementation process. Lack of knowledge regarding the project affects its implementation (Kumar, 2010). This problem was caused by the lack of availability of experience members. Most of the experienced and knowledgeable members of the team were involved in other projects and hence the selection of the members who did not have adequate knowledge and experience on the concepts of customer relationship management. In the other hand, the lack of training of the team members regarding the project also contributed to the disarray that the company is facing in terms of acquisition of the customer relationship management. The training of members plays an important role in terms of ensuring that they are adequately prepared for their roles in the project. This should be carried out in advance so as to ensure that the roles are performed effectively. Some of the team members had no knowledge about the operations of the project and admitted that the issues are difficult. This was common among most of the team members and hence contributing to the problem during the implementation of the project. The lack of consultation is also a source of the problem that affects the implementation of the project. The software to be used was purchased by the managers because it belonged to a friend. This means that no consultations were carried out and hence the difficulty involved in its installation. The software should have been new in the market and the company could be lacking expertise on its installation. However, the decision of purchasing the software from a friend could have been driven by low costs. A proper consultation with the team could have led to the purchase of software that can be installed easily by the team members. The lack of documentation is also a factor that contributed to the problem facing the implementation of the project. This is because documentation can be used as reference incase of hitches during the project. However since there was no documentation, the team had no reference point and hence the problem. The failure to document could have been caused by poor planning during the meetings and implementation of the project. The heads of the departments in the company were also not consulted and hence the implementation problems being faced. On the other hand, it is also evident that the members did not understand the benefits of the project. This is also applicable for the other leaders within the company. This had a direct impact on the planning of the project and its implementation. The benefits of a project have to be outlined so as to create an understanding among the members. Question 2 Mr. Chan could be facing the analytics problems in association with the manipulation of the data. This is because the records of the customers could be complex and hence affecting the records management process. The process of compiling the data and records of the customers may therefore present a problem due to the bulky nature of the data. Errors may easily occur incase a proper compilation of the data is not done. This process therefore requires a lot of attention as well as accuracy. To solve this problem it is important to ensure that efficient software is used for the purposes of dealing with the data. On the other hand the process of integrating the data and records of the customers to the system may be complex. This may also be due to the bulky nature of the data and the need for accuracy. Software can be used to manage the integration of the data from the manual records to the system. Integration problem requires a lot time for it to be completed and hence increasing the chances of making errors. Once an error has been made, the process may have to be repeated again. These problems affect the implementation of the customer relationship management. Data driven disaster is also a problem that may be encountered during the integration of the data. This problem also requires a lot of accuracy in order to avert the disaster. The security of the data of the customers is an important factor in the customer relationship management system. Unauthorized personnel should not access the data and personal information of the customer. Establishing a security system is a complex process and it could be one of the reasons that Mr. Chan is facing difficulty in handling the records. The acquisition of customer relationship management therefore requires a lot emphasis on the security concern of the data and hence avoiding any inconvenience to the customers (Linoff, 2011). To deal with the management of the data security, it is important to ensure that a security management system is used. Experts in the security system should also be involved in the development of the security system. Data governance is also an important measure that should be put into consideration during the acquisition process. However it has a lot of challenges and it could also affect the process. The data governance may be affecting Mr. Chan and hence the problem with handling of the records and data. Data governance also ensures is important in terms of ensuring that the records of the customers can be managed through the system. This step is a must during the acquisition process. This means that any problem encountered at this stage has to be solved before proceeding to the next stage. The acquisition process usually encounters challenges due to the data management processes that may present complications. This can send the whole process to a disarray. Mr. Chan could also be facing problems due to lack of adequate personnel and expertise in the are to assist him with the management and handling of the data and records of customers. This is because the process requires teamwork for it to be accomplished. Since the company has most of the staff members dealing with certain projects, this could affect the process. Availing trained personnel is important in terms of solving the problem. The data of the customers also has to be of high quality so as to facilitate easy access when updating any new information. This may affect the acquisition process as the data being handled by Mr. Chan is bulky. Ensuring that the quality of the data is high is an important aspect and could also cause problems during the implementation process. On the other hand, the method of maintaining the system has to be put in for managing the data. The support from the other departments is also important during the process. However, due to the poor coordination of the project, this is not available and it has a direct impact on the operations of the company. Mr. Chan could thus be facing problems in terms of the coordinating the activities of the project in terms of the data and record management. However, it is also important to note that the data and record problems may take a lot of time leading to poor implementation of the project. Question 3 The acquisition and implementation of the customer relation management is a complex process. It is due to its complexity that the initial efforts were not successful. A systematic approach will be used with the aim of ensuring that the previous challenges are eliminated. Although Jane had already put in place a team, changes have to be made. New team members have to be recruited from a different department. Each core department of the organization has to avail one member for the project. The members from different departments will be required as information from each department is useful during the operation o the team. All the leaders of the department should also be informed about the project. This is unlike the earlier attempt where some leaders of different departments were not aware of the project. Informing the leaders of different core departments about the project will be useful in terms of ensuring that the team members receive the assistance that they need in relationship to the project (Kerzner, 2013). Initially, the members were not able to receive the necessary assistance from the other staff members which also had a negative impact on the acquisition and implementation. It is also important to ensure that the acceptance of the project by the other members of staff is achieved. This will ensure that it receives maximum support that will lead to the success of the project. The next step will involve the gaining the support of the top management. This has however been achieved as the it has received a positive response from the management. Winning the support of the management is important or a project as it will ensure that the project is fully supported during the implementation and acquisition process. The team members should then be trained on the concepts of customer relationship management system. This is for the purposes of ensuring that they gain insight knowledge of the project as they are from different departments. This will play an important role in solving the past problem where some of the team members ha no information regarding the customer relationship management. The development of the customer is management phase should then be done together with the members. This is for the purposes of laying the timeframe for the implementation of the project. The main goals of the project should also be developed during the process. However, customer’s acquisition and service improvement are the main goals of the project. This is the main priority and should be accorded more focus. The decision of purchasing the software should then be made once the goals and objectives of the project have been developed. Considerations should put on the cost of the software and its level of efficiency. The information about the vendor is also important as some of the vendors are known worldwide for producing the best quality software. The success of software is also dependant on the type of vendor and their previous experiences. The management should also be informed of the decision made before the purchase is done. The installation process should then proceed after the purchase of the software has been done. The process will involve the software and information technology implementation in relationship to the customer relationship management. The installation process requires the services of an expert for it to be successful. Each department will then be informed o the roles and responsibilities in relationship to the customer relationship management after the installation process. The information department should also ensure that the data of the customers are available for transfer to the new system. The next stage after the installation involves the training of the employees on the concepts of customer relationship management. This is because most of the employees will be required to use the system when performing different functions and duties (Schmitt, 2010). The training will also involve the handling of the data of the customers. Measures should also be put in place to ensure that the maintenance of the system is done regularly so as to avoid inconveniencing the customers. The final stage after the successful installation is the measurement of the results. This is for the purposes of determining whether the system is meeting the required goals and objectives. Improvements should be done where the objectives are not met and hence improving the efficiency of services provided to the customers. List of references Buttle, F, 2012, Customer relationship management, Routledge, London. Kumar, V, 2010, Customer relationship management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., New York. Linoff, G, 2011, Data mining techniques: for marketing, sales, and customer relationship management, John Wiley & Sons, New York. Kerzner, H, 2013, Project management: a systems approach to planning, scheduling, and controlling, Wiley, London. Schmitt, B, 2010, Customer experience management: a revolutionary approach to connecting with your customers, Wiley. com. Read More