Information System Stakeholders, Vendors, and Consultants
Information System
Stakeholders
A stakeholder is any
person who has an interest in an existing or proposed information system.
She/he may be technical or non-technical and internal or external workers. Stakeholders
are also called information workers. An information worker involves in creating,
collecting, processing, distributing, and using information.
There
are six groups of stakeholders and each group has a different role in the same information
system. But in practice, any individual person may play more than one role. For
example, a system analyst may also work as a system designer. The six groups
are: system owners, system users, system designers, system builders, system
analysts and project managers, and information technology vendors and
consultants.
System owners
System owners are the
information system’s sponsors and chief advocates. They are usually responsible
for funding the project of development, operation, and maintain the information
system. They are interested with how much will the system cost? And how much
value or what benefit will the system return to the business?
Every
information system has one or more system owners. They usually come from the
ranks of managers to supervisors.
System Users
These are the people who
use or are affected by the information system on a regular basis. They are
concerned with the system’s functionality related to their jobs and the system’s
ease of learning and use. A system user may capture, validate, enter, respond, store
and exchange data and information. System users are also called clients. To
know business requirements, discussions with most users need to be kept.
System Designers
These are technology
specialists who translate system users’ business requirements and constraints
into technical solutions. These are interested in information technology choices
and the design of systems within the constraints of the chosen technology. They
design the computer database, inputs, outputs, screens, networks, and programs
that will meet the system users’ requirements. These designs guide the
construction of the final system.
System Builders
These are also technology
specialists who construct information systems and components based on the
design specifications generated by the system designer.
Systems Analysts and
Project Managers
Systems Analyst:
Although, many people in organizations are responsible for systems analysis and
design, in most organizations the systems analyst has the primary
responsibility. The primary role of a systems analyst is to study the problems and
needs of an organization in order to determine how people, methods, and information
technology can best be combined to bring about improvements in the organization.
System analysts identify and validate problems and needs and ensure that the
technical solution fulfills these problems and needs. Systems analysts study
the system and identify and validate its problems and needs for system owners
and users and ensure that the technical solution fulfills the
business needs.
Project Manager: To build
a good information system and applications all the stakeholders must work
together as a team. Teams require leadership. For this reason, usually one or
more of these stakeholders takes on the role of the project manager to ensure that
systems are developed on time, within budget, and with acceptable quality. So, the project
manager is responsible for planning, monitoring, and controlling projects with respect
to schedule, budget, deliverables, customer satisfaction, technical standards, and
system quality.
Information Technology
Vendors and Consultants
Most information systems
are dependent on information technology that must be selected, installed, and
customized, integrated into the business, and technically supported. This
technology is developed, sold, and supported by IT vendors. Similarly, many
businesses rely on external consultants to help them develop or acquire
information systems and technology. The use of consultants may be driven by the
need for specialized knowledge or skills or by an immediate need to complete a
project.
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