Assignment
Case Study: A Information System Development Challenges and Management
Like other global companies, Fremont, California-based Appliance Ware Inc. looked outside the United States when it couldn't find the development talents it needed here. "Our location in Silicon Valley places us in the most competitive software environment on the planet. The lack of available talent and the exorbitant prices mean we can't afford to expand development operations here" says ApplianceWare President Stacy Kenworthy.
Initially, Appliance Ware decided to open its own facilities in Minsk, Belarus, to take advantage of a sizeable pool of talented and cheap developers and a 10-hour time difference that, when complimented by the west coast time zone, would increase the number of hours the company could work on projects. However, says Kenworthy, the company found that Belarus government restriction on private enterprise would make doing business so prohibitive.
Appliance Ware's solution was to partner with SamSolutions, a development firm in Minsk. Appliance Ware now considers SamSolutions to be part of its business. Therefore, it worked with the developers to appoint a manager to oversee work and handle translation issues between Fremont and Belarus. The company also frequenty sends ab IT manager who works in Denmark to Minsk to ensure that processes and delivery are on track.
There are cost advantages to doing development in offshore locations, but they shouldn't be primary drivers, says Kenworthy. And those saving can be offset by additional travel and communication costs, he says. "You need to make substantial investments in communications, " he says. "And there's no getting away from face-to-face contact, so there's airfare, investments in process creation, investment in the learning curve, and other front-end work. You're basically changing your organizational structure"
Task
I. Discuss any three key issues raised by Appliance Ware Inc. about the business environment in California- United States in relation to system development.
II. Suppose Appliance Ware Inc. was located in Nairobi-Kenya, discuss any three software related issues/challenges the company is most likely to face in their operations.
III. Analyze any three software related factors that made Appliance Ware Inc. to move to Minsk.
IV. Describe any three challenges Appliance Ware Inc. faced in their quest to tap the international market.
V. Explain how Appliance Ware Inc. solved each of the challenge described in (IV) above.