Technology planning towards the development of NPC Executive Information System (EIS) / Milan J. Bautista

Year : 2007

Number of Pages : 43 leaves

Adviser : Prof. Glen A. Imbang

Executive Summary

The National Power Corporation (NPC) has several efforts made to satisfy the internal information needs through computerized systems operated by different people but had not proved successful. However, there exists multiple, stand alone systems that process similar data redundantly and inconsistently, inadequate or nonexistent sharing of data between systems is severely limiting customer/user service levels, redundant data and overlapping processes exist within systems belonging to different application areas and users, users get different answers to same questions from different systems, and system costs too much to maintain due to a poorly integrated batch architecture and costs too much to operate due to too many hand off points. Executive Information System (EIS) provides the information infrastructure critical to the business processes of an enterprise. For NPC, an EIS is a suite of Integrated Information Systems (IIS) that as a whole intended to deliver critical business information to the desktop of any authorized individual who needs the information immediately. The system provides the business intelligence that management needs lessens, if not totally eliminates, manual paper reports and reduces meetings and briefings. Previously, the NPC Management used manually-prepared reports or partially-automated systems to obtain information. Typically, the information came in different forms and were often submitted late. In addition, most hard copy reports were used multiple meetings were conducted involving large numbers of people and management needed update briefs to stay informed. In many cases, the information needed was also not available. By implementing transaction-processing systems, organization has taken a big step toward automating business processes. The same approach has been taken by NPC by previously embarking on in-house development of application systems using different technologies to achieve this objective. However, disparate systems have resulted in duplicate records across systems. It has also resulted to inaccurate and inconsistent data across reports that have often led to confusion among the functional groups. Furthermore, lack of connectivity between the plants and the NPC Head Office has resulted in the failure to deliver relevant and timely executive information and reports needed by the management for decision-making. This project reviewed and documented the business processes in the Finance, Asset Management (Logistics), Generation, Independent Power Producers Contracts Management (IPP-CM), Sales and Services and Human Resources Management functional areas and assessed the capabilities of the existing baseline systems being used in these functional areas to support the different business processes. Based on the data gathered during the gap analysis interviews and on the assessment made on the prevailing application systems being used in the functional areas covered in this study, the following issues were identified : Individual systems were developed to address the user needs without considering the corporate requirements. There is lack of logical integration between the automated systems of each functional group resulting in islands of systems within the organization.

Independent systems have been developed for each functional and intra-functional groups. These systems run in different platforms and have varying data structures. Some of these systems process data in batch mode leading to delays in the delivery of information and generation of pertinent reports for the intended audience. There is also an absence of logical linkages between the NPC Head Office and all cost centers. Physical connectivity for network connections between the NPC Head Office and main sources of data - the plants and SPUGs are not fully established. Transparency among functional groups does not exist. Data sharing is not norm within the organization. This contributes to the generation of inconsistent reports sowing variances in the figures. The IS/IT group are undermanned and lack coordination. Currently, they organizationally report to functional groups and therefore work independently. Thus, best practices in IS/IT standards cannot be consistently and properly be implemented for the organization. There seems to be a lack of protocol and public domain for data sharing. The following are rampant within the NPC systems and procedures : Many of the business units lack a comprehensive database pertaining to their business processes. This implies that ownership of data is open-ended and loosely managed. NPC management usually suffers from late submission of reports. These reports are sometimes riddled with inaccuracy or variances among several functional groups. Furthermore, there is difficulty in generating any real-time information sometimes due to unavailability of data. Upper and middle management has need of an Executive Information System (EIS) that provides them a level of information and the equivalent reports suited for their decision making requirements. To address these scenarios, a transformation strategy supporting the migration of stand-alone systems into the integrated architecture through an Executive Information System (EIS) is felt necessary. However, to ensure a minimal risk of failure in developing the NPC-EIS, it is vital to be aware of the various factors that could potentially affect the success of the development of the system and the most effective way to gain such awareness is by undergoing Technology Planning. Through technology planning, NPC management will have a framework of developing an executive information system. In general, planning is an ongoing process that translates organizational, policy and technology needs into concrete actions. It allows organizations to take advantage of technology innovations while minimizing the negative impact of unexpected challenges. Planning provides a road map for the implementation of technology and can result in more efficient expenditure of limited resources and an improvement in employee performance. The technology planning process will help minimize technology-related crises, use staff time efficiently and avoid wasting money on equipment.