Question 2:
MEMORANDUM
Date: January 24, 2013
To: Manager
From: Van Student, Business Analyst
Subject: Discuss options in regards to the delay in implementation of the new system
Please see the summary of the issues that arise because of the implementation delay, and the evaluation of possible course of options to resolve them.
Current issues:
The project has gone far over budget and over schedule. And yet in its final stage, we still face additional cost in new software licensing. In the mean time, we also need the resources in place to launch the new product after years of research and development. We do not have enough cash for both, so the decision here is whether to delay the launch of the new product, or choose to …show more content…
Peachtree current IT system is a de-centralized one. Each hospital has its own system that caters to its own special needs and purposes. The strengths of such system are that it will be able to respond to each individual hospital’s needs quickly thanks to the familiarity with the local business practices. Another gain is that it gives doctors some autonomy in decision makings. And this is quite suitable consider how the organization structure of Peachtree was made up (a network of hospitals.)
However, the weaknesses for such systems are that maintenance and support cost are high due to the lack of standardization. As we can see from Peachtree’s situation, the cost of maintenance is eating up a big chunk of the organization’s budget and it will be getting harder to support as the network grows. Therefore, the IT decisions tend to be reactive rather than strategic. This will result in less efficiency for the entire enterprise, thus not adding value to Peachtree as a whole.
Peachtree is made of interdisciplinary hospitals. Their strengths are that patients could have access to all kinds of treatment services. The advantages for such network are that diagnostic and treatment processes could be redesigned so that patients’ treatment journeys could be shortened, and patients’ care could be continued without disruption. Thus making support activities such as records keeping, lab results, pharmacy records synchronized to improve efficiency, and