OPENING VIGNETTE: OS RAM SYLVANIA THINKS SMALL, STRATEGIZES BIG —DEVELOPS THE 1NFONET HR PORTAL SYSTEM 1

6.1 OPENING VIGNETTE: OS RAM SYLVANIA THINKS SMALL, STRATEGIZES BIG —DEVELOPS THE 1NFONET HR PORTAL SYSTEM 1

A business portal is a central a g g r e g a t i o n p o i n t f o r c o r p o r a t e d a t a , tools, a n d links accessed through a browser interface. Portals appeal to organizations whose i n f o r m a - tion and business processes are scattered across m a n y different reports, applications, systems, and geography. Thinking small w h e n building a first portal m a k e s sense.

R a t h e r t h a n trying to create a mega-enterprise portal f o r e v e r y o n e and everything, companies focus on first building a small, specialized portal that solves a pressing prob- lem in a particular d e p a r t m e n t or business f u n c t i o n — a prototype. That is t h e way t h e small, m o t i v a t e d t e a m o f I T a n d business staff a t O s r a m Sylvania a p p r o a c h e d H R InfoNet, a portal focused on human resources. T h e N o r t h A m e r i c a n division of O s r a m

G m b H ( G e r m a n y ) , h a s $3.7 billion in sales a n d 12,500 e m p l o y e e s in 30 locations. O s r a m Sylvania m a n u f a c t u r e s and m a r k e t s lighting, precision materials, a n d c o m p o - nent products.

T h e lighting i n d u s t r y is highly c o m p e t i t i v e . HR is strategic to Osram Sylvania. Finding, recruiting, a n d hiring specialized scientists, engineers, a n d hourly staff is a m a j o r challenge. E m p l o y e e benefits administration was accomplished with an expen- sive outsourcing solution. T h e recruitment p r o b l e m n e e d e d a faster solution t h a n t h e existing, slow, tedious paper-based system. With the existing system, employees could not do what-if comparisons or even see t h e cost of t h e p r o g r a m s they chose (it was voice-actuated). A n o t h e r p r o b l e m was that the system did not p e r f o r m r o u t i n e life sta- tus changes (e.g., adding a child to a family's benefits). These requests were h a n d l e d manually. I m p r o v e m e n t was clearly necessary. An interactive W e b portal f o r e m p l o y e e self-service benefits would improve employee service.

Bringing j o b requisitions and benefits enrollment online was t h e initial goal of HR

I n f o N e t . While the I T r e q u i r e m e n t s w e r e relatively s t r a i g h t f o r w a r d , t h e r e w e r e two internal issues. The first was that only a b o u t one-third of the e m p l o y e e s h a d computers. The second was that the head of t h e project, R o g e r R u d e n s t e i n , h a d b e e n hired in 1995 t o h e a d u p the P e o p l e S o f t system g r o u p t o maintain a n d extend t h e P e o p l e S o f t H R system and t h e interface with t h e new payroll system. T h e g r o u p was so busy with t h e

payroll conversion that it could n o t start the HR portal until early 1996. T h e r e was a sense f r o m earlier projects that an intranet (an internal I n t e r n e t ) was t h e a p p r o p r i a t e technology p l a t f o r m for the HR system. This first decision, to build an intranet, was adopted.

R o g e r c h a m p i o n e d t h e project f r o m t h e IT side, and G e o f f H u n t , vice president of

h u m a n resources, a n d Nancy D o b r u s i n a n d Julie T h i b o d e a u , his c o u n t e r p a r t s i n t h e HR d e p a r t m e n t , c h a m p i o n e d it f r o m the business side. They also h a d ongoing s u p p o r t

' A d a p t e d f r o m Rudenstein (2000).

C H A P T E R 6 DECISION SUPPORT SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT

f r o m Michelle M a r s h a l l a n d t h e c o r p o r a t e c o m m u n i c a t i o n s d e p a r t m e n t t h r o u g h o u t t h e process. T h e t e a m a d o p t e d t h e strategy think small, strategize big. R e s o u r c e s w e r e minimal

f o r d e v e l o p i n g H R I n f o N e t . T h e r e w e r e n o d e d i c a t e d staff, n o f u n d s t o hire consul- tants, a n d no budget, despite t h e fact t h a t this was a crucially strategic project. R o g e r targeted a solution that they could m a k e workable. Think small m e a n t t h a t it was nec- essary to conserve b o t h m o n e y a n d precious time. Strategize big m e a n t that t h e devel- o p m e n t p l a t f o r m a n d solution architecture would h a v e t o h a n d l e f u t u r e applications a s well as c u r r e n t solutions as t h e p o r t a l g r e w in capability (scalable). It was a l m o s t a given that in-house technology was to be used. This cut d o w n on IT staff training a n d licensing.

A f t e r a few suggestions f r o m several coworkers, a n d s o m e evaluation of p o t e n t i a l systems, t h e t e a m a d o p t e d t h e L o t u s N o t e s / D o m i n o S e r v e r . T h e y d e v e l o p e d t h e i r experience by just doing it. Within t h r e e months, they h a d successfully d e p l o y e d a p o r - tal application for posting j o b requisitions in LotusScript a n d N o t e s / D o m i n o d a t a b a s e s with agents. This validated t h e technology, a n d so they c o n t i n u e d with t h e next applica- tion, allowing e m p l o y e e s to e x a m i n e a n d correct their benefits online. For e m p l o y e e s w i t h o u t c o m p u t e r s , they d e v e l o p e d kiosks t h a t u s e d s t a n d a r d b r o w s e r s with special

security features. H o u r l y employees w e r e given n e t w o r k I D s a n d training. T h e next step of t h e j o b requisition application process was to c r e a t e an i n t r a n e t -

b a s e d w o r k f l o w to allow m a n a g e r s to describe j o b openings a n d r o u t e t h e m to t h e cor- rect H R p e r s o n using online forms. These postings can n o w b e s u b m i t t e d directly t o t h e

c o r p o r a t e W e b site. A f t e r successfully c r e a t i n g t h e initial H R I n f o N e t p o r t a l , t h e y

e x p a n d e d i t t o include m o r e H R b e n e f i t s a n d c o m p e n s a t i o n i n f o r m a t i o n . In early 2000, t h e p o r t a l allowed e m p l o y e e s to view their benefits, c o m p a r e t h e costs of different programs, access i n f o r m a t i o n to help m a k e their b e n e f i t s decisions, change benefits e n r o l l m e n t , a n d p e r f o r m m a n y H R m a n a g e m e n t duties, such a s devel- oping plans f o r salary reviews, m a n a g e m e n t b o n u s programs, h e a d count reports, a n d r e t i r e m e n t packages. By t h e n , t h e p o r t a l s e r v e d as t h e focal p o i n t f o r t h e f i r m s j o b postings, requisitions, a n d hiring workflow, as well as t h e interface with HR b e n e f i t s f o r all employees.

E m p l o y e e f e e d b a c k o n t h e n e w H R c a p a b i l i t i e s h a s b e e n e x t r e m e l y positive. R e c r u i t i n g cycle t i m e h a s i m p r o v e d , a n d H R p r o d u c t i v i t y i s h i g h e r . H R b e n e f i t s

a d m i n i s t r a t i o n i s m u c h m o r e user-friendly, a n d e v e n kiosk users h a v e e m b r a c e d t h e system. By taking b e n e f i t s administration in-house, t h e c o m p a n y saves $500,000 a n n u - ally—an excellent r e t u r n on t h e project.

I n s t e a d of t h i n k i n g big a n d trying to solve every p r o b l e m at once, which is h o w traditional systems analysis works, t h e t e a m used a f o c u s e d a p p r o a c h , tackling t h e key problem first a n d t h e n moving on to t h e next one. This evolutionary d e v e l o p m e n t (iter- ative d e v e l o p m e n t ) is k n o w n formally as prototyping. Thinking big can lead to million- dollar budgets, hiring staff, p r e p a r i n g t h o u s a n d s of pages of specifications, a n d so on.

A n d a large project is m u c h less likely to succeed t h a n a small project. I n s t e a d , they strategized big by d e v e l o p i n g a plan a n d t e c h n o l o g y strategy to achieve s o m e quick successes, while o f f e r i n g a solid f o u n d a t i o n on which to b u i l d t h e f u t u r e . T h e think

small, strategize big p r o t o t y p i n g a p p r o a c h led to a m a j o r success f o r t h e HR I n f o N e t portal at O s r a m Sylvania. We p r e s e n t their practical insights into applying this philoso-

phy in D S S in Focus 6.1. Success leads to success, a n d so t h e t e a m is developing m o r e applications within

a n d like H R I n f o N e t . H R I n f o N e t p r o v e d t h e validity o f t h e p o r t a l concept. T h e t e a m will c o n t i n u e to d e v e l o p n e w applications in succession planning, p e r f o r m a n c e m a n -

P A R T II DECISION SUPPORT SYSTEMS'

a g e m e n t p r o c e s s ( P M P ) , a n d t i m e a n d a t t e n d a n c e . O v e r t h r e e years, O s r a m Sylvania

e s t i m a t e s a 251 p e r c e n t r e t u r n on i n v e s t m e n t ( R O I ) a n d a savings of $1.5 million.

• Q U E S T I O N S FOR T H E O P E N I N G V I G N E T T E

1. What was the strategic business need? What were the benefits of the completed HR InfoNet system? Explain.

2. Why was it important to have an IT champion,a functional business (HR) cham- pion, and an executive champion involved in the project?

3 . W h o w e r e t h e u s e r s ? W h a t decisions did t h e s y s t e m assist t h e u s e r s i n m a k i n g ?

4 . H o w w e r e t h e users i n v o l v e d i n t h e s y s t e m d e v e l o p m e n t ? H o w w a s m a n a g e m e n t

involved?

5 . D o y o u f e e l t h a t i f t h e d e v e l o p m e n t t e a m h a d " t h o u g h t big," t h a t is, t r i e d t o design a n d d e v e l o p a t o t a l s o l u t i o n o v e r a l o n g p e r i o d of time, t h e y w o u l d h a v e

DSS IN FOCUS 6.1 GUIDELINES FORA 'THINK SMALL, STRATEGIZE BIG" IMPLEMENTATION

Here are some practical insights for applying the think

means helped them stay on track and kept the small, strategize big philosophy, as outlined in the

users involved, which helped lead to success. Osram Sylvania HR InfoNet development described in

• Choose the right technology tools. Notes/Domino the Opening Vignette.

was chosen because the company was already using • Draw on "hidden" talent. Osram Sylvania used a

it, and so it was free. After becoming familiar with it, small group of staff involved in another project at

the team members realized it would meet their cur- virtually no cost. Management gave them a chal-

rent and future needs. The fact that all its applica- lenge and interesting, exciting extra work. They

tions are integrated was also a critical factor. also had the strong support of the IT infrastructure

Cementing the system together was relatively easy, staff, which was critical to their success.

and there was a common interface—a Web browser. • Partner with the business staff. Roger Rudenstein We add the following:

was already working with his functional counter- parts in HR business systems, benefits, and com-

• Enlist a champion in higher management. The full pensation. He had an office near them and helped

support of an executive sponsor leads to resources in joint planning and collaboration. He worked

for a project. The HR InfoNet had several champi- hard to determine their needs and make sugges-

ons.

tions on how IT could meet these needs. Successful • Build a user training program into the system IT projects involve the users throughout the entire

release. This leads to better adoption and satisfac-

tion. It also leads to fewer problems with non-com- • Use an iterative process. Prototyping was critical.

development process.

puter specialists using the system when it is The team members did not have all the details

released. Users must be appropriately trained, else before starting development but were able to

they may become noncooperative. refine on the fly. They used an iterative process,

• Align the project with business needs. Without this, where they sat down with the business staff and

it is difficult to get an executive sponsor. The bene- worked out an agreement that described what they

fits'of the project were clear at the outset. New were trying to do. Then they developed a proto-

benefits unfolded as the project evolved.There was type, and the many ongoing iterations evolved into

a critical need for the project. the application, quickly moving the project along.

Employee feedback via focus groups and other Source: Partly adapted from Rudenstein (2000).

C H A P T E R 6 DECISION SUPPORT SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT

succeeded? W h a t could have gone wrong? Do y o u think they k n e w this in advance?

6. W h a t technology issues, behavioral issues, and i m p l e m e n t a t i o n issues h a d to be w o r k e d t h r o u g h i n developing t h e H R I n f o N e t system?

7. W h a t implementation a p p r o a c h was a d o p t e d ? W h y ?

8. C o m m e n t on how success b r e e d s success in D S S d e v e l o p m e n t .