Directory UMM :Data Elmu:jurnal:I:International Journal of Educational Management:Vol12.Issue5.1998:

Managing platform conversion in educational
institutions
Sorel Reisman
Califo rnia State Unive rsity, Fulle rto n, Califo rnia, USA
Roger G. Dear
Califo rnia State Unive rsity, Fulle rto n, Califo rnia, USA
This paper describes a reengineering project undertaken by a comprehensive
university’s extended education department. The project
involved a transition from a
decentralized workplace
dominated by Macintosh
personal computers to an
IBM PC/clone-based
client/server environment.
Lessons learned during the
decision making and platform
conversion stages of the
project are emphasized.
These lessons are applicable
to other similar re-engineering projects.

Inte rnatio nal Jo urnal o f
Educ atio nal Manage me nt
1 2 / 5 [ 1998] 2 2 5 –2 3 1
© MCB Unive rsity Pre ss
[ ISSN 0951-354X]

Introduction
Th e pr ocess of r e-en gin eer in g h igh er edu ca tion is ba sed on n ew a ssu m ption s con cer n in g
ser vice a n d qu a lity a n d involves r edesign in g
wor k pr ocesses to ta ke a dva n ta ge of em er gin g
tech n ologica l ca pa bilities (Pen r od a n d
Dolen ce, 1992). Th e m otiva tion for r e-en gin eer in g is a desir e to com pete in th e n ew
wor ld of low costs, globa l r ea ch , fa st cycle
tim es a n d cu stom er satisfa ction (Kin g, 1997).
At its fou n da tion , th e pr ocess of r e-en gin eer in g depen ds on th e developm en t of a viable
in for m a tion tech n ology (IT) in fr a str u ctu r e
(Pen r od a n d Dolen ce, 1992). Th is pa per
descr ibes a n IT conver sion pr oject th a t w a s
u n der ta k en a t a la r ge com pr eh en sive u n iver sity’s exten ded edu ca tion depa r tm en t. Th e
pr oject’s objective w a s to pr ovide a dm in istr a tive com pu ter system s to su ppor t th e depa r tm en t’s con tin u ed gr ow th , th er eby im pr ovin g

cu stom er ser vice for its stu den ts. Th e pr oject
involved a tr a n sition fr om a decen tr a lized
wor k pla ce dom in a ted by Ma cin tosh per son a l
com pu ter s to a n IBM P C/ clon e-ba sed
clien t/ ser ver envir on m en t. Wh ile m ost con ver sion pr ojects involve tr a n sition s fr om a
m or e tr a dition a l m a in fr a m e envir on m en t, th e
lesson s lea r n ed du r in g th e im plem en tation of
th is pr oject a ppea r to be sca lable a n d a pplica ble to a w ide va r iety of IT conver sion effor ts.
To da te, n u m er ou s exa m ples of tr a n sition in g tech n ology in h igh er edu cation h ave been
docu m en ted in th e liter a tu r e (Allen a n d Wilson , 1996; Ba r r y, 1994; Bor el a n d Vin cen t, 1995;
E a ton a n d Sch u ler, 1994; Mu llig a n d F r ey,
1994). A com m on th em e th at em er ges fr om
th ese exa m ples is th at k ey m a n a gem en t con cer n s n eed to be a ddr essed in th e pr oject pla n n in g ph a ses. For em ost a m on g th ese is th e
r estr u ctu r in g of th e in for m a tion system s (IS)
or ga n iza tion to be m or e u ser -fr ien dly. Th is
im plies, a m on g oth er th in gs, r etr a in in g existin g tech n ica l sta ff, tr a in in g clien ts, a n d fin din g n ew w ays to do bu sin ess w ith IS clien ts. A
coor din a ted ca pita l r epla cem en t pla n for
desk top h a r dw a r e is a lso r ecom m en ded.
Th e pr im a r y IT r estr u ctu r in g/ r e-en gin eer in g focu s in th e 1990s h a s been on th e im plem en ta tion of clien t/ ser ver str a te gies. Th e
clien t/ ser ver pa r a digm h a s becom e th e com pu tin g a r ch itectu r e of ch oice, a n d m u ch

a tten tion h a s been given to clien t/ ser ver
a pplica tion developm en t m eth odologies

(F r ien d, 1994; Ha ger, 1996; J effer y, 1996; Levis
a n d va n Sch illin g, 1994; Low a n d Looi, 1997;
Miller, 1997; Ra bin , 1996; Sa elen s a n d N elson ,
1994; Su br a m a n ia n a n d La city, 1997). Wh ile
th e clien t/ ser ver pa r a digm is bein g tou ted a s
a r a dica l ch a n ge in IT, m ost of th ese a r ticles
fin d th a t cla ssic pr oject m a n a gem en t tech n iqu es th a t h ave been a pplied in oth er IT
con texts a r e still va lid. Th ese in clu de su ch
steps a s obta in in g top m a n a gem en t su ppor t,
r edesign in g bu sin ess pr ocesses befor e
a u tom a tion , solicitin g u ser pa r ticipa tion , a n d
developin g ph a sed im plem en ta tion str a tegies.
Clien t/ ser ver a pplica tion s a r e n ot w ith ou t
difficu lties. Th e n e ga tive side of clien t/ ser ver
a n d th e m a n a gem en t of r isk h ave been
a ddr essed by m a n y a u th or s (see for exa m ple:
Ch a r ette, 1996; Powell a n d Klein , 1996;

Steph en s, 1996; Solom on , 1994). Th e con sen su s a ppea r s to be th a t wh en effectively
a pplied, r isk m a n a gem en t is a power fu l tool
for m a k in g a n IT pr oject pr oa ctive. However,
poor ly a pplied, r isk m a n a gem en t ca n lea d a n
IT pr oject in to r u in . Solom on (1994) r ecom m en ds ca u tion . He n otes th a t a lth ou gh expecta tion s a r e gr ea t a n d en th u sia sm h igh , m ost
of th e a ctu a l clien t/ ser ver a pplica tion s th a t
h e r eviewed wer e per iph er a l, n on -cor e a pplica tion s, a n d cer ta in ly n ot m ission -cr itica l. In
a ddition to tech n ologica l issu es, a n u m ber of
a u th or s h ave str essed th e h u m a n side,
n a m ely th e a dva n ta ges of pa r ticipa tor y pla n n in g a n d u ser tr a in in g (Am oa ko-Gya m pa h
a n d Wh ite, 1997; Du ffin , 1996; Mu ller, 1997;
Rou se, 1996). Va r ied a ppr oa ch es a r e pr oposed
for effective pa r ticipa tion . Th ey r ecom m en d
th e u se of pilot system s a n d n ote th e im por ta n ce of tr a in in g to a ssist in th e sm ooth tr a n sition to a dva n ced tech n ologies.
Th e n ext section pr esen ts ba ck gr ou n d
in for m a tion on Ca lifor n ia Sta te Un iver sity,
F u ller ton (CSUF ) a n d its Un iver sity E xten ded
E du ca tion (UE E ) depa r tm en t. Su bsequ en tly,
th e h istor y of com pu tin g a t UE E is r eviewed
a n d th e evolu tion to a Ma cin tosh -ba sed en vir on m en t is descr ibed. Th e m otiva tion / str a te gy for th e IT r e-en gin eer in g pr oject is

pr esen ted w ith a n em ph a sis on th e lesson s
lea r n ed du r in g th e decision m a k in g a n d
im plem en ta tion sta ges of th e pr oject. Th e
follow in g su m m a r izes th e lesson s lea r n ed,
wh ich sh ou ld be a pplica ble to oth er sim ila r
r e-en gin eer in g pr ojects.

[ 225 ]

So re l Re isman and
Ro ge r G, De ar
Managing platfo rm
c o nve rsio n in e duc atio nal
institutio ns
Inte rnatio nal Jo urnal o f
Educ atio nal Manage me nt
1 2 / 5 [1 9 9 8 ] 2 2 5 –2 3 1

IT re-engineering lessons learned
1 Stu dy m a r k et tr en ds ca r efu lly a n d a ssess

lon gevity poten tia l dispa ssion a tely.
2 Use in ter im solu tion s to a ssist th e tr a n sition in g pr ocess.
3 Per son n el a r e m or e lik ely to cooper a te a n d
a ssist oth er s wh en th ey a r e con vin ced th a t
tech n ology ch a n ges w ill be ben eficia l to
th eir ow n jobs.
4 Iden tify u ser s wh o ca n ea sily a da pt to
ch a n ge a n d u se th em a s a gen ts of ch a n ge.
5 Do n ot for ce ch a n ge to ta k e pla ce a t a n
u n r ea listic pa ce.
6 Be pr epa r ed to dea l w ith tech n oph obic
wor k er s.
7 Utilize “excessed” h a r dw a r e if possible.
8 P u r ch a se th e m ost power fu l h a r dw a r e
ava ila ble.

com m u n ity. All pr ogr a m s offer ed th r ou gh
UE E m u st be fin a n cia lly self-su ppor tin g.
Th u s th e or ga n iza tion str ives to oper a te a s
effectively a n d efficien tly a s possible, lik e a

bu sin ess in th e pr iva te sector, or a n on -pr ofit
or ga n iza tion in th e pu blic sector.
UE E w a s esta blish ed in th e ea r ly 1980s, a n d
du r in g its fir st deca de th e depa r tm en t
r em a in ed r ela tively sm a ll a n d u n a m bitiou s,
focu sin g m a in ly on ser vicin g in ter session
cr edit cou r ses. A m or e a ggr essive a ppr oa ch
w a s a dopted in th e ea r ly 1990s, a n d a s of
1996/ 1997 CSUF ’s UE E pr ogr a m con sisted of
m or e th a n 125 fu ll- a n d pa r t-tim e em ployees
(n ot in clu din g in str u ctor s) offer in g 950 n on cr edit cou r ses, 45 cer tifica tes, a n d m or e th a n
55,000 exten sion en r ollees.

History of computing at UEE
Background/ environment
CSUF is on e of 22 u n iver sities in th e Ca lifor n ia Sta te Un iver sity System . Loca ted a ppr oxim a tely 30 m iles sou th ea st of Los An geles (a n d
a bou t eigh t m iles n or th of Disn eyla n d), CSUF
pr ovides in str u ction in a w ide a r r ay of fu lla n d pa r t-tim e u n der gr a du a te a n d gr a du a te
de gr ee pr ogr a m s to over 24,000 stu den ts. In
a ddition to sem ester -ba sed cr edit pr ogr a m s,

CSUF offer s a va r iety of cr edit a n d n on -cr edit
cou r ses th r ou gh its UE E depa r tm en t. Th e
exten sion pr ogr a m a t CSUF oper a tes a s a
“m in i” or sh a dow ver sion of th e u n iver sity
w ith its ow n per son n el r espon sible for a ca dem ic pr ogr a m s a n d a dm in istr a tive fu n ction s.
Ta ble I sh ow s som e of th e a ctivities ca r r ied
ou t by ea ch of th ese fu n ction a l gr ou ps in
CSUF ’s UE E u n it.
UE E offer s cr edit cou r ses to m a tr icu la ted
stu den ts du r in g th e sever a l in ter session s
(J a n u a r y, a n d J u n e th r ou gh Au gu st), m a in ly
for stu den ts wh o w ish to a cceler a te th eir
gr a du a tion . N on -cr edit cou r ses a r e offer ed
th r ou gh ou t th e yea r to m em ber s of th e
Table I
Unive rsity e xte nde d e duc atio n func tio nal gro ups/ re spo nsibilitie s
Functional group

Responsibility

Academic programming

•
•
•
•

M arketing

• Competitive analyses
• Public ations

Registration

• Student registration
• Student servic es

Accounting

• Fees c ollec tion

• Instruc tor c ontrac t management

[ 226 ]

Course/ program definition
Instruc tor selec tion and evaluation
Fee determination
Fac ilities management

Wh en UE E fir st be ga n its oper a tion s, it
a cqu ir ed CP / M-ba sed per son a l com pu ter s
a n d developed a few sta n da lon e da ta ba se (file
m a n a gem en t) a pplica tion s for som e of th e
a ctivities listed u n der “IT r e-en gin eer in g
lesson s”. Du e to th e r ela tive in exper ien ce of
th e n ovice com pu ter sta ff a t th a t tim e, th e
a pplica tion s th a t wer e developed wer e
n eith er in te gr a ted n or n etwor k ed. Da ta sh a r in g a m on g a pplica tion s w a s n on existen t.
Com pu ter system s a pplica tion s w ith in th e
u n iver sity itself, h owever, wer e developin g

a lon g m or e tr a dition a l lin es. Th e ca m pu s
com pu ter cen ter evolved its m a in fr a m e
a dm in istr a tive a n d a ca dem ic su ppor t a pplica tion s ba sed fir st on CDC m a in fr a m es a n d
DE C VAX m in is, la ter m igr a tin g to IBM
m a in fr a m es a n d Alph a -m icr o com pu ter s. On
th e in str u ction a l side, Apple Ma cin tosh per son a l com pu ter s pr olifer a ted du r in g th e la te
1980s du e pr im a r ily to Apple Com pu ter ’s welldocu m en ted effor ts to pen etr a te th e edu ca tion m a r k et. Th is w a s a ccom plish ed th r ou gh
a com bin a tion of gr a n ts a n d exception a l
pr icin g policies. Th e Ma cin tosh pen etr a tion
exten ded fa r beyon d th e bou n da r ies of
in str u ction so th a t by th e en d of th e 1980s a n d
even th r ou gh th e m id-1990s, Apple Ma cin tosh es cou ld be fou n d on th e desk s of m ost
u n iver sity a dm in istr a tor s a n d th eir su ppor t
sta ff.
In th e m id 1980s, a n a ctin g dir ector of UE E
w a s a ppoin ted wh o br ou gh t w ith h im a n
u n w aver in g dedica tion to Apple Com pu ter
pr odu cts. Th e a ctin g dir ector be ga n a m a jor
com pu ter iza tion of UE E ’s a dm in istr a tive
fu n ction s, a ll ba sed on th e Apple Ma cin tosh .
Over th e n ext few yea r s, m or e th a n 75 n ew
Ma cin tosh com pu ter s wer e in sta lled in UE E ,
k eepin g pa ce w ith th e gr ow th of th e depa r tm en t. An AppleTa lk n etwor k w a s

So re l Re isman and
Ro ge r G, De ar
Managing platfo rm
c o nve rsio n in e duc atio nal
institutio ns
Inte rnatio nal Jo urnal o f
Educ atio nal Manage me nt
1 2 / 5 [1 9 9 8 ] 2 2 5 –2 3 1

im plem en ted a s a n a pplica tion ser ver for
wor k sta tion ba ck u p a n d to su ppor t a va r iety
of sh a r ed Apple la ser pr in ter s.
Softw a r e a pplica tion developm en t w ith in
th e depa r tm en t evolved in a disjoin ted fa sh ion . Despite th e in cr ea sin g popu la r ity of
in te gr a ted clien t/ ser ver da ta ba se system s in
bu sin ess, th er e w a s n o str a te gic softw a r e
a pplica tion developm en t pla n w ith in UE E .
In stea d, sta n da lon e a pplica tion s con tin u ed to
be developed on th e com pu ter of th e per son
r espon sible for a pa r ticu la r ta sk . Th er e w a s
n o file sh a r in g a m on g or even w ith in fu n ction s. Da ta fr om on e m a ch in e w a s copied to a
floppy disk a n d copied a ga in to a n oth er
m a ch in e. If th e fi le for m a ts wer e in com pa tible, for exa m ple between a da ta ba se a pplica tion a n d a spr ea dsh eet, a h a r d copy of da ta
w a s pr odu ced a n d r ek eyed on a secon d
m a ch in e. E ven wh en com pu ter a pplica tion s
on differ en t m a ch in es wer e equ iva len t or
sim ila r, th er e w a s n o on lin e file sh a r in g. To
com plica te th e situ a tion , Apple discon tin u ed
ea r ly Ma cin tosh m odels a n d in tr odu ced n ew
on es, r esu ltin g in a w ide va r iety of som ewh a t
in com pa tible Ma cin tosh com pu ter s w ith in
UE E .
At th e be gin n in g of th e 1990s, bu dget cu tba ck s a t CSUF r esu lted in a n eed to gen er a te
a ddition a l r even u e th r ou gh en tities su ch a s
UE E . A n ew dea n w a s h ir ed a n d on e of h is
in itia l a ctivities w a s to con tr a ct w ith a con su lta n t to r ecom m en d a system s str a te gy for
th e depa r tm en t. Th e con su lta n t
r ecom m en ded th a t UE E h ir e a dir ector of
in for m a tion system s, m oder n ize its system s
en vir on m en t, sta n da r dize its wor k sta tion
h a r dw a r e, a n d in te gr a te its a pplica tion softw a r e. F r om a str a te gic sta n dpoin t, th e desir a ble com pu tin g en vir on m en t for UE E w a s
on e in wh ich a ll u ser s cou ld h ave a ccess to a n
in te gr a ted da ta ba se system . F u r th er m or e,
th e a pplica tion en vir on m en t n eeded to be
im plem en ted on pr oven , r elia ble, cost-effective h a r dw a r e, a n d developed w ith sta n da r d
developm en t m eth odologies a n d softw a r e
tools. A two-ph a se str a te gic pla n w a s pr oposed. P h a se On e r equ ir ed th e con ver sion of
UE E fr om a n Apple to a n IBM P C (or clon e)
wor k pla ce. P h a se Two of th e system con ver sion w a s pla n n ed a s a pa r a llel developm en t of
a clien t/ ser ver da ta ba se a pplica tion system .
Th e r em a in der of th is pa per pr esen ts lesson s
lea r n ed fr om th e developm en t a n d im plem en ta tion of th e n ew IT in fr a str u ctu r e a t UE E .

Lesson No. 1 : Study computer industry
market trends carefully and assess
longevity potential dispassionately
Hardware
Str a te gic decision s r e ga r din g tech n ology
m u st be pr edica ted on th e lon g-ter m via bility

of ven dor s. Decision s sh ou ld n ot be ba sed on
tech n ology tr a de pr ess h ype a n d h ea dlin es.
By 1994, th e vita lity a n d via bility of Apple
Com pu ter a n d its wor k sta tion a n d n etwor k in g pr odu cts wer e a m a tter of m a jor con cer n
th r ou gh ou t th e in ter n a tion a l bu sin ess en vir on m en t. Con cer n ed a bou t th e poten tia l
im pa ct on its ow n oper a tion , UE E decided to
ch a n ge fr om a n Apple to a n IBM P C (or clon e)
wor k pla ce. Oth er su ppor tin g r ea son s
in clu ded:
• Apple Com pu ter h a d ca ptu r ed less th a n 10
per cen t of th e tota l m a r k etpla ce.
• Apple’s m a r k et sh a r e w a s con tin u in g to
decr ea se.
• Th er e w a s a gr ea t dea l of u n cer ta in ty a bou t
th e fu tu r e via bility of Apple Com pu ter.
• Th er e w a s a w ide selection of IBM P C com pa tible pla tfor m s a n d per iph er a ls.
• Vir tu a lly a ll com pu ter -ba sed bu sin ess
system s wer e (a n d con tin u e to be) im plem en ted on IBM P C a n d n ot on Apple pla tfor m s.
• Th er e w a s a n in cr ea sin g pr olifer a tion of
softw a r e developm en t tools for P C com pa tibles.
• Th er e w a s a w ide a n d in cr ea sin g r a n ge of
a pplica tion softw a r e ava ila ble for P Cs.
• Ha r dw a r e per iph er a ls a n d softw a r e for P C
pla tfor m s wer e r ea son a bly pr iced in com pa r ison to equ iva len t pr odu cts for Apple
com pu ter s.
• For th e for eseea ble fu tu r e, wh eth er or n ot
th eir pr odu cts wer e sta te-of-th e-a r t, ven dor s su ch a s Micr osoft a n d In tel h a d
a ppea r ed to r epla ce “IBM” in th e r efr a in of
th e 1960s a n d 1970s th a t “N o on e ever lost
th eir job ch oosin g IBM”.

Ope rating syste ms
Ch oices for th e oper a tin g system for UE E
in clu ded Un ix, N ovell, OS/ 2, a n d Win dow s
N T. Sin ce In tel-ba sed P C wor k sta tion s h a d
been selected for th e en d-u ser s, a n In tel-ba sed
P C ser ver pla tfor m w a s selected for con sisten cy a s well a s to m a xim ize th e pr oba bility
of com pa tibility. For a ll pr a ctica l pu r poses
th is elim in a ted Un ix a s a ca n dida te. IBM’s
OS/ 2, despite a ppea r in g to h ave m a n y of th e
fu n ction s desir ed for th e pla n n ed clien t/
ser ver en vir on m en t, sim ply did n ot a ppea r to
be a popu la r ch oice a m on g bu sin esses w ith
n eeds sim ila r to UE E ’s. N ovell a t th e tim e h a d
a sign ifica n t m a r k et sh a r e in sim ila r
clien t/ ser ver a r en a s bu t th e com pa n y’s u pper
m a n a gem en t seem ed to be in disa r r ay, ever
sin ce th e com pa n y pu r ch a sed a n d th en sold
off th e Wor dPer fect pr odu ctivity su ite. Mea n wh ile, Micr osoft’s stock va lu es wer e sk yr ock etin g. It w a s clea r th a t Micr osoft h a d sign ifica n t m a r k etin g m om en tu m a n d th a t th e com pa n y w a s deter m in ed to com pete a ga in st
[ 227 ]

So re l Re isman and
Ro ge r G, De ar
Managing platfo rm
c o nve rsio n in e duc atio nal
institutio ns
Inte rnatio nal Jo urnal o f
Educ atio nal Manage me nt
1 2 / 5 [1 9 9 8 ] 2 2 5 –2 3 1

N ovell, wh o seem ed to be vu ln er a ble to
Micr osoft’s pla n s for N T.
Micr osoft’s N T 4.0 Ser ver a n d th e r ela tively
low -pr iced bu n dled system softw a r e Ba ck Office wer e selected, a lth ou gh th e fir st ver sion
did n ot h ave a ll th e fu n ction s th a t wou ld even tu a lly be r equ ir ed for th e UE E system . It w a s
felt th a t it w a s lik ely th a t by th e tim e th e UE E
clien t/ ser ver system w a s fu lly im plem en ted,
th e r equ ir ed fu n ction s wou ld be ava ila ble
fr om Micr osoft or fr om a n oth er su ppor tin g
softw a r e ven dor.

Applic atio n so ftware
An a n a lysis of UE E ’s Ma cin tosh a pplica tion
softw a r e w a s per for m ed a n d a pla n w a s developed to pr ovide en d-u ser s w ith equ iva len t
softw a r e fu n ction a lity on th e IBM P C pla tfor m . Du e to th e su ccess of Micr osoft’s in tegr a ted su ite of pr odu ctivity softw a r e, Office,
a n d its exception a lly low pr ice, th e decision
w a s m a de to sta n da r dize on th a t pr odu ct.
Ta ble II iden tifies th e Ma cin tosh a pplica tion s
th a t r equ ir ed con ver sion a n d th e IBM P C
pla tfor m solu tion for ea ch .

Lesson No. 2 : Use interim solutions to
assist the transitioning process
Som e pr ojects a r e design ed for a com plete
ch a n geover on a specific da te, oth er s a r e
ph a sed in over tim e. P h a sed-in pr ojects
en cou n ter pr oblem s wh en ta sk s a r e in ter depen den t. A cr itica l fu n ction th a t m u st be
su ppor ted th r ou gh ou t th e tr a n sition m igh t
depen d on a ta sk th a t r elies on a ca pa bility
th a t is n ot sch edu led for im plem en ta tion
u n til th e la tter pa r t of th e tr a n sition . An
in ter im solu tion is n eeded. Th is situ a tion
a r ose a t UE E wh en on e of th e sta n da lon e a n d
cu stom ized sin gle u ser da ta ba se a pplica tion s
w a s to be con ver ted in to a clien t/ ser ver a pplica tion du r in g P h a se Two. Th e existin g a pplica tion w a s a Ma cin tosh -ba sed pu r ch a se or der
m a n a gem en t in for m a tion m a n a gem en t system for th e a ccou n tin g depa r tm en t th a t h a d
been developed u sin g th e da ta ba se pr odu ct,
F ileMa k er. Repla cin g th e a ccou n tin g depa r tm en t’s Ma cin tosh es w ith P Cs du r in g P h a se
On e w a s clea r ly in con flict w ith th e n eed to
con tin u e to r u n th is a pplica tion .

Table II
IBM PC platfo rm re plac e me nts fo r Mac into sh pro duc ts

[ 228 ]

M acintosh product

IBM platform replacement

Primary UEE user

Word, Excel, PowerPoint

These produc ts were available within Mic rosoft Offic e
on IBM PC platforms, and at a higher version release
than for Mac intoshes

• Ac ademic programmers
• Marketing

InForm M anager

Available for IBM PCs; the PC version reads Mac intosh- • Ac c ounting
c reated “ forms” . With the eventual availability of the
c lient/ server system, InForm Manager forms and usage
would eventually be made obsolete

OrgPlus – an organization
chart builder

The func tionality of this produc t was available
within PowerPoint

• Administrative servic es

A generic personal
schedule manager

Available in Mic rosoft Offic e

• Administrative servic es

Screen savers

The multiplic ity of sc reen savers (some of whic h
were of questionable origin) c ould be replac ed with a
Windows version. A side benefit was the ability to
enforc e a single, professional sc reen saver standard
throughout UEE and eliminate many of the sc reen
savers that were of questionable taste

• All UEE func tions

3270 terminal emulators –
for access to the campus
mainframe student
registration system

With only a few minor differenc es, IBM PC and
Mac intosh 3270 emulating software is
almost identic al

• Student registration

QuickM ail – a
campus-wide electronic
mail system with
Internet access

Quic kMail for PCs c ould be made available on a PC/
Mac intosh hardware e-mail server c ombination

•

All UEE func tions

So re l Re isman and
Ro ge r G, De ar
Managing platfo rm
c o nve rsio n in e duc atio nal
institutio ns
Inte rnatio nal Jo urnal o f
Educ atio nal Manage me nt
1 2 / 5 [1 9 9 8 ] 2 2 5 –2 3 1

A decision w a s m a de to in vest pr ogr a m m in g
r esou r ces to r ew r ite th e F ileMa k er a pplica tion in Micr osoft Access, th e r ela tion a l da ta ba se m a n a ger w ith in th e Office su ite of softw a r e. Th is w a s don e despite th e fa ct th a t th e
a pplica tion wou ld even tu a lly be su bsu m ed
w ith in th e in te gr a ted clien t/ ser ver system .
Th er e wer e a t lea st th r ee ben efi ts der ived
fr om th is a ctivity:
1 Th e pr oject pr ovided a tr a in in g oppor tu n ity for th e softw a r e en gin eer a ssign ed to
th is ta sk sin ce sh e w a s, a t th e tim e, r ela tively u n fa m ilia r w ith Micr osoft’s da ta ba se pr odu cts.
2 Beca u se a r edesign ed ver sion of th e a pplica tion w a s goin g to be developed a s pa r t of
th e P h a se Two system im plem en ta tion , th e
r epr ogr a m m in g a ctivity wou ld pr ovide
im por ta n t in pu t in to th e design of th is
m odu le in th e clien t/ ser ver system .
3 Da ta con ver sion / tr a n sfer wou ld even tu a lly be r equ ir ed between th e old Ma cin tosh a ccou n tin g m odu le a n d th e n ew P Cba sed r ela tion a l da ta ba se. Th e in ter im
a pplica tion ’s Access da ta files wou ld be
com pletely com pa tible w ith th e fi le str u ctu r es of th e P h a se Two system (SQLSer ver ) a n d cou ld ea sily be im por ted in to
th e m a ster da ta ba se a t th e pr oper tim e.
Wh en th e in ter im Micr osoft Access a pplica tion w a s com pleted, th e a ccou n tin g depa r tm en t’s Ma cin tosh es wer e r epla ced w ith P Cs
w ith ou t losin g th e pu r ch a se or der ca pa bility.
Alth ou gh th e Access a pplica tion wou ld be
disca r ded w ith th e com pletion of P h a se Two,
it wou ld ser ve its pu r pose a n d pr ovide a dded
ben efits to th e en tir e pr oject.

Lesson No. 3 : Personnel are more likely to
cooperate and assist others when
convinced that technology changes will be
beneficial to their own jobs
Th e su ccess or fa ilu r e of a tech n ologica l
tr a n sfor m a tion m ay h in ge on th e m a n n er in
wh ich th e ch a n ge pr ocess is m a n a ged. P r oper
pr epa r a tion a n d com m u n ica tion w ith en du ser s a r e cr itica l. In or der to pr epa r e UE E for
P h a se On e of th e pr oject, gr ou p m eetin gs
wer e con du cted to descr ibe th e pla n for
r epla cin g th e Ma cin tosh es. In for m a tion
r e ga r din g existin g pr oblem s w a s collected
fr om th e en d-u ser s. Th e m ost visible of th ese
pr oblem s in clu ded slow n etwor k pr in tin g (or
som etim es n o pr in tin g ca pa bility), a n d a n
in a bility to r u n th e la test ver sion s of Office.
Th ese pr oblem s wer e du e to th e va r iety of
a ged a n d u n r elia ble Ma cin tosh es, in clu din g
som e w ith in su fficien t r esou r ces to r u n
u pgr a ded softw a r e. Su bsequ en t m eetin gs
pr esen ted expla n a tion s of h ow th e n ew system s wou ld a ddr ess th ose pr oblem s. At th ose

session s a n expecta tion w a s cr ea ted th a t th e
n ew system s wou ld elim in a te m a n y, if n ot
m ost of th e com pu ter pr oblem s th a t wer e
bein g exper ien ced. Wh ile m a n y en d-u ser s
r em a in ed sk eptica l, som e of th e per son n el
wer e en th u sed a n d wer e k een to volu n teer for
fir st u se of th e n ew m a ch in es. Th ese wor k er s
beca m e va lu a ble in str u m en ts of ch a n ge.

Lesson No. 4 : Identify users who can easily
adapt to change and use them as agents
of change
Follow in g th e gr ou p m eetin gs, en d-u ser s
wer e iden tified wh o wer e a lr ea dy fa m ilia r
w ith th e ta r get pla tfor m a n d/ or wer e m ost
lik ely to a da pt to th e n ew system w ith th e
lea st difficu lty. Two su ch in dividu a ls wer e
selected (or volu n teer ed) w ith in ea ch of th e
UE E fu n ction a l gr ou ps a n d th ey wer e sch edu led to becom e th e fir st P C/ N T u ser s w ith in
th eir depa r tm en ts. Th e specific softw a r e
a pplica tion n eeds of ea ch in dividu a l wer e
iden tifi ed, for th e m ost pa r t r eflectin g th e
even tu a l softw a r e th a t wou ld be in sta lled on
th e m a ch in es of th e oth er m em ber s of th eir
fu n ction a l gr ou ps.
Ma ch in es wer e or der ed for th is fi r st gr ou p
of ea r ly a da pter s, a n d a ppr opr ia te softw a r e
w a s in sta lled for ea ch . By th is tim e th e
r equ ir ed h a r dw a r e/ softw a r e in fr a str u ctu r e
w a s in pla ce. Th e ph ysica l fa cility w a s
r ew ir ed w ith E th er n et ca blin g a n d w ith con n ector s a t ea ch wor k sta tion site. Th e N T
Wor k sta tion P Cs wer e con figu r ed so th a t th e
N T desk top icon s (a pplica tion s a n d folder s)
wou ld be a s sim ila r a s possible to th e Ma cin tosh desk tops w ith wh ich u ser s wer e fa m ilia r.
N T per m ission -settin g fu n ction s wer e u sed to
set u p th e wor k sta tion s so th a t system fu n ction s a n d settin gs cou ld n ot be a lter ed by th e
u ser. For exa m ple, th e Win dow s Re gistr y,
w a llpa per, a n d scr een saver settin gs wer e
con figu r ed to be pr otected fr om en d-u ser
ta m per in g.
E a ch per son w a s pr ovided w ith a br ief,
in dividu a lized fa m ilia r iza tion session con cer n in g th e P C a n d th e N T in ter fa ce, a n d if
r equ ested, a su m m a r y textbook descr ibin g
Win dow s N T fu n ction s. After a bou t two
week s, th e fr equ en cy of a ssista n ce ca lls to
UE E ’s E n d-User Su ppor t r e ga r din g th e n ew
pla tfor m w a s n e gligible. Th e su ccess of th e
fir st gr ou p w a s qu ick ly becom in g a topic of
con ver sa tion a m on g th e sta ff, a n d th e ea se
w ith wh ich th e fi r st gr ou p a da pted to th e n ew
m a ch in es en cou r a ged people to volu n teer for
n ew P Cs.
Lesson No. 5 : Do not force change to take
place at an unrealistic pace
Ba sed on th e su ccesses to da te, it w a s deter m in ed th a t fu ll wor k sta tion deploym en t cou ld
ta k e pla ce. Abou t 20 m or e P Cs wer e or der ed
[ 229 ]

So re l Re isman and
Ro ge r G, De ar
Managing platfo rm
c o nve rsio n in e duc atio nal
institutio ns
Inte rnatio nal Jo urnal o f
Educ atio nal Manage me nt
1 2 / 5 [1 9 9 8 ] 2 2 5 –2 3 1

a n d five m or e en d-u ser s w ith in ea ch fu n ction a l gr ou p wer e selected to r eceive th em .
Th e n ew gr ou p w a s selected pr im a r ily
beca u se th eir offices wer e ph ysica lly close to
th e fir st gr ou p of N T u ser s. Th is w a s don e so
th a t if n ew u ser s h a d pr oblem s or qu estion s,
th er e wou ld be som eon e close by to h elp
th em . As a r esu lt, th e n ext pa r t of th e r ollou t
wen t a lm ost a s sm ooth ly a s th e fir st. In a ddition , th e ea r ly a da pter s soon beca m e iden tified a s a r esou r ce to dr aw u pon for qu estion s
on u se of th e n ew P Cs.

Lesson No. 6 : Be prepared to deal with
technophobic workers
In th e fin a l ph a se of th e r ollou t in volvin g
a ppr oxim a tely 50 m or e en d-u ser s, it w a s
n oted th a t th er e w a s a gr ou p of wor k er s wh o
wer e less com for ta ble w ith th e pr oposed
ch a n ges a n d com pu ter s in gen er a l. For th ese
u ser s a con ver sion fr om th e desk top
m eta ph or of th e Ma cin tosh to th a t of th e IBM
P Cs w a s n ot ea sy. Wh ile Win dow s 95 a n d N T
h a d com e a lon g w ay, th er e wer e still en ou gh
differ en ces to con fu se en d-u ser s wh ose m a in
pu r pose in u sin g a com pu ter w a s to ju st
a ccom plish a wor k -r ela ted ta sk . E ven tr ivia l
differ en ces su ch a s sin gle ver su s dou ble click in g or th e u se of a on e- or two-bu tton m ou se
ca n be m a jor h ea da ch es for or din a r y com pu ter en d-u ser s.
Recogn izin g th e n a tu r e of th e wor k for ce, a
less a m bitiou s im plem en ta tion sch edu le w a s
a dopted for th is fin a l gr ou p. Mor e “h a n d
h oldin g”, a n d in dividu a lized a tten tion w a s
a n ticipa ted. On e-on -on e, per son a lized tr a in in g pr ogr a m s wer e pr ovided for k ey per son n el wh o wer e viewed a s bein g som ewh a t
tech n oph obic. Th is fin a l r ollou t tu r n ed ou t to
be ea sier th a n expected beca u se of th e ava ila bility of on -site “exper ts” w ith in th eir ow n
fu n ction s (see Lesson N o. 4). With in a ppr oxim a tely fou r m on th s, a ll of UE E h a d been
su ccessfu lly a n d r ela tively u n even tfu lly con ver ted to Win dow s N T pla tfor m s.
Lesson No. 7 : Utilize “excessed” hardware
if possible
Wh en a n n ou n cem en ts wer e m a de r e ga r din g
th e pla n to con ver t, m a n y sta ff m em ber s
in qu ir ed a bou t th e fa te of th e Ma cin tosh
h a r dw a r e. Most of th e older system s wer e of
n o va lu e, bein g in a dequ a te to r u n con tem por a r y softw a r e a pplica tion s. However, n ewer
a n d fa ster m a ch in es th a t cou ld be u pgr a ded
w ith m em or y (ta k en fr om even older Ma cin tosh es) wer e ca n dida tes for r edeploym en t.
Redeploym en t ea ses bu dgeta r y pr essu r es
sin ce cer ta in pr ocu r em en ts m ay be defer r ed
in to th e fu tu r e. Two types of en d-u ser s wer e
iden tified th a t cou ld u tilize u pgr a ded Ma cin tosh es: Stu den t Re gistr a tion a n d th e UE E
stu den t a ssista n ts.
[ 230 ]

Stu den t Re gistr a tion ’s pr im a r y u se of per son a l com pu ter s (a bou t ten m a ch in es) w a s a s
3270 em u la ted ter m in a ls a ccessin g ca m pu s
m a in fr a m e a dm in istr a tive system s, a n d for
ca m pu s e-m a il. Ra th er th a n in vest in n ew N Tm a ch in es for th ese people, it w a s decided th a t
th ose fu n ction s cou ld ea sily be ca r r ied ou t
u sin g th e best old Ma cin tosh es in th e in ven tor y.
UE E em ploys a ppr oxim a tely 25 stu den t
a ssista n ts wh ose pr im a r y com pu tin g a ctivities a r e e-m a il w ith th eir su per visor s, a n d
wor d pr ocessin g of th eir su per visor s’ letter s,
r epor ts, etc. It w a s felt th a t th er e w a s n o n eed
to qu ick ly deploy N T m a ch in es for th ese
u ser s, so ea ch stu den t w a s pr ovided w ith on e
of th e “better ” r em a in in g Ma cin tosh es. E ven tu a lly, stu den t su per visor s wou ld r equ ir e th a t
th eir stu den ts be u pgr a ded to N T-com pa tible
m a ch in es, a n d th e bu dget w a s a dju sted
a ccor din gly.

Lesson No. 8 : Purchase the most powerful
hardware available
Utilizin g th e “excessed” h a r dw a r e a n d defer r in g pr ocu r em en ts per m itted UE E to pu r ch a se fewer, m or e power fu l P Cs for th e sa m e
bu dget. Du r in g th e in itia l pr ocu r em en t ph a se
th e In tel fa m ily of Pen tiu m pr ocessor s u n der wen t sign ifica n t ch a n ges in ava ila bility, pr ice
a n d ca pa bility. In a ddition , th e cu r r en t tr en d
for a pplica tion softw a r e to gr ow la r ger a n d
m or e m em or y h u n gr y sh ow s n o sign of
dim in ish in g. It w a s felt th a t th e fa stest ava ila ble pr ocessor wou ld pr ovide th e lon gest
poten tia l u tility a n d wou ld delay th e n eed for
r epla cem en ts. Con sequ en tly, UE E pa id a
pr em iu m to pu r ch a se th e fa stest ava ila ble
pr ocessor ea ch tim e a n or der w a s pla ced. Th e
fir st ba tch of m a ch in es u sed 133 MHz pr ocessor s, a n d th e fi n a l ba tch u sed 200 MHz Pen tiu m P r o pr ocessor s.
Wh en , a s a n ticipa ted, th e fi r st stu den t
Ma cin tosh u ser s’ n eed for com pa tible N T
m a ch in es beca m e a ppa r en t, 233 MHz
Pen tiu m pr ocessor -ba sed P Cs wer e ava ila ble.
Th ose n ew m a ch in es wer e a cqu ir ed a n d su bstitu ted for th e ea r lier -deployed 133 MHz P Cs,
th er eby a llow in g pr ofession a l sta ff to r eceive
sta te-of-th e-a r t P Cs wh ile th e stu den ts
r eceived th e older a n d slower 133 MHz
m a ch in es. E a ch tim e n ew m a ch in es wer e
or der ed, eith er for n ew sta ff or to r epla ce
Ma cin tosh es, a r e-exa m in a tion of a ll u ser s’
com pu tin g n eeds w a s per for m ed to deter m in e wh ich u ser s cou ld best u tilize th e
in cr ea sed power of a n ew m a ch in e.

Conclusions
Alth ou gh th e a ctivities th a t took pla ce a t UE E
wer e n ot u n der ta k en a s a pilot or test ca se,
m u ch of th e exper ien ce th a t w a s ga in ed

So re l Re isman and
Ro ge r G, De ar
Managing platfo rm
c o nve rsio n in e duc atio nal
institutio ns
Inte rnatio nal Jo urnal o f
Educ atio nal Manage me nt
1 2 / 5 [1 9 9 8 ] 2 2 5 –2 3 1

im plied th a t th e ver y sa m e str a te gies cou ld be
u sed for a con ver sion / deploym en t of m a n y
m or e u ser s a n d com pu ter s, i.e., th e UE E str a te gy w a s sca lea ble. In fa ct, a few m on th s a fter
th e com pletion of ph a se on e, th e u n iver sity
be ga n pla n n in g a sim ila r bu t m or e w ide-sca le
per son a l com pu ter sta n da r diza tion pr ocess
a cr oss th e en tir e or ga n iza tion . Th e UE E exper ien ce pr ovided va lu a ble in pu t tow a r ds th e
pla n n in g of th a t pr oject.
On e fin a l obser va tion : Per son a l com pu ter
folk lor e r ein for ces a m eta ph or con cer n in g
“r eligion -like” differ en ces between Ma cin tosh
a n d Win dow s u ser s. Lew is (1997) descr ibes
th is a s a for m of “tr iba lism ”. Wh eth er th eir
pa ssion is best descr ibed a s tr iba listic or
r eligiou s-like, it is ver y, ver y difficu lt to con ver t Ma cin tosh u ser s to IBM P C platfor m s.
However, disa ppr ova l of Micr osoft’s bu sin ess
pr a ctices a n d/ or a dm ir a tion for Apple’s
in con testa ble h istor ic con tr ibu tion to per son a l com pu tin g ca n n ot be fa ctor s in m a k in g
pr a ctica l bu sin ess decision s. Wh en cost ben efits a n d wor k efficien cy m u st be gu idin g pr in ciples, sh eer em otion ca n n ot sta n d in th e way
of pr ogr ess. In CSUF ’s UE E , pr ofession a l
a ttitu des tow a r ds pr ogr ess wer e a m otiva tin g
fa ctor in fa cilita tin g th e m ovem en t of th e u n it
for w a r d fr om its en tr en ch ed com pu tin g cu ltu r e tow a r ds a m or e con tem por a r y, efficien t
wor k envir on m en t.

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