Decision Making Process of Aquiring Application Software

Description

Applications are made available in line with business requirements. This process covers the design of the applications, the proper inclusion of application controls and security requirements, and the development and configuration in line with standards. This allows organisations to properly support business operations with the correct automated applications.

Management of the process of Acquire and maintain application software that satisfies the business requirement for IT of aligning available applications with business requirements, and doing so in a timely manner and at a reasonable cost is:

0 Non-existent when

There is no process for designing and specifying applications. Typically, applications are obtained based on vendor-driven offerings,brand recognition or IT staff familiarity with specific products, with little or no consideration of actual requirements.

1 Initial/Ad Hoc when

There is an awareness that a process for acquiring and maintaining applications is required. Approaches to acquiring and maintaining application software vary from project to project. Some individual solutions to particular business requirements are likely to have been acquired independently, resulting in inefficiencies with maintenance and support.

2 Repeatable but Intuitive when

There are different, but similar, processes for acquiring and maintaining applications based on the expertise within the IT function. The success rate with applications depends greatly on the in-house skills and experience levels within IT. Maintenance is usually problematic and suffers when internal knowledge is lost from the organisation. There is little consideration of application security and availability in the design or acquisition of application software.

3 Defined when

A clear, defined and generally understood process exists for the acquisition and maintenance of application software. This process is aligned with IT and business strategy. An attempt is made to apply the...