GSLIS - The University of Texas at Austin LIS 387.5, Systems Analysis and Evaluation LIS 387.5 Systems Analysis and Evaluation Introduction to Concepts

GSLIS - The University of Texas at Austin LIS 387.5, Systems Analysis and Evaluation

LIS 387.5Systems Analysis

and Evaluation

Introduction to Concepts of System Development and

Business-Systems Improvement

R. E. WyllysCopyright © 2002 by R. E. Wyllys

Last revised 2002 Sep 2


Course Objectives• Understanding of the system-development cycle, and of the analysis,

design, production, implementation, and operation phases of that cycle

• Understanding of the processes of business process improvement and business systems improvement, and their similarities to and differences from the system-development cycle.

• Acquaintance with a variety of techniques used in the development, evaluation, and reengineering of systems

• Understanding of the importance of these techniques as tools for managers of libraries and other information systems

• Experience both in system development and in working as part of a team, through participation in one or more system teams, groups that work together to deal with portions of the system-development, business-process-improvement, and business-systems-improvement processes


Course Activities

• Reading the Hammer and Harrington texts

• Lectures on systems analysis, business-process improvement, business-systems improvement, and related ideas

• Group work on course project


Why Study Techniques for Coping with Large Systems?

• In the year 2002, in the beginning of a new millennium, society must deal with the– Increasing complexity and intensive inter-

relatedness of systems—both social and technological—in all aspects of our daily lives

– Increasing amounts of information • To which we are exposed• Some of which we must assimilate• Some of which we must use, manipulate, process, etc.,

in order to carry out daily activities as individuals and as members of society


History of Major Information Explosions

• Invention of language– 100,000-30,000 BP

• Invention of writing– China, Egypt, Indus Valley, Mesopotamia: 5,000 BP

• Invention of printing– China, c. 150 AD; Japan, 764 AD; Korea, 1250 AD– Europe, 1430-1450 AD; Gutenberg Bible, 1455 AD– Printing flowered with alphabetic rather than ideographic languages: lower

barriers to literacy?

• Invention of computers– Charles Babbage, Britain: designed analytical engine, 1830s– U.S. and Britain, 1937-1945; WW II development sparked by needs in

ordnance and cryptanalysis– Commercial use of computers, 1950+– Public release of first World-Wide Web browser, Mosaic, January 1993


Levels of Information Available to an Individual*

• Level 0: Pre-language– 107 bits of information in a single human brain

• Level 1: Groups with language– 109 bits in brains of a tribe

• Level 2: Societies with writing– 1011 bits in the Alexandrian Library

• Level 3: Civilization with printing– 1017 bits in modern world before computers

• Level 4: Civilization with computers– 1025 bits in essentially one world-wide network– This is 1018 (i.e., a billion billion) times as much information as

in Level 0*From: Robertson, D. S. The New Renaissance: Computers and the Next Level of Civilization. 1998


Levels of Available Information

0 1 2 3 4


Levels of Available Information

• The pictures on previous slide are misleading, because they vastly underrepresent the increases in available information, AI

• We need a more accurate representation


Proportionally Accurate Representation of Levels of Available Information (AI)

• Level 1 (language) is 102 larger than that of Level 0– Representable by a 2.5x2.5mm (0.1x0.1in) square

• Level 2 (writing) is 102 larger than that of Level 1– Representable by a 25x25mm (1x1in) square (thus showing that

there are about 10,000 pixels in one square inch)

• Level 3 (printing) is 106 larger than that of Level 2– Representable by a 25x25m (82x82ft) square

• Level 4 (computers) is 108 larger than that of Level 3– Representable by a 250x250km (155x155mi) square: e.g., a square

with corners at Austin, the east side of Houston, Waxahachie (40km [25mi] south southwest of Dallas), and Stockman (40km [25mi] northeast of Nacogdoches)

Let the Level 0 (pre-language) amount of AI be represented by 1 pixel: i.e., by a 0.25mm square. Then the amount of AI with


from

One Pixel

to nearly

One-Tenth

of Texas

The Increase

in the Informa-

tion Available

to an Individual Is Like

Going


Organized Problem Solving

• In the area of organized business-problem solving, there have been three main bodies of theory and practice – System Development, also called System

Analysis, Design, and Development– Business Process Improvement, also

called Business Re-Engineering– Business Systems Improvement


Organized Problem Solving—Old vs. New

• System Development (SD), aka System Analysis, Design, and Development (SADD)– Dates from 1940s and 1950s, with historical

antecedents going back to the early 1800s– Involves analysis, design, and implementation of

systems– Emphasizes improvement in all details of the

system, which can lead to "suboptimization"—improvement of parts at the expense of the whole



• Business Process Improvement (BPI)– Dates from late 1980s– Emphasizes high quality of the output of

products and services, and customer satisfaction

• By concentrating on outputs, strives to avoid the possible danger of suboptimization



• Business Systems Improvement (BSI)– Dates from middle 1990s– Retains BPI's emphasis on high quality of

the output of products and services, and customer satisfaction

– Places new emphasis on the integration of systems, both inside and outside the company or institution being focused on



• Despite minor differences, SADD, BPI, and BSI share– Goal of improvement– Techniques

• Exploring the situation to ascertain the real problem(s)• Placing problem(s) in context of company's or

institution's overall goals• Interviewing people who do the work and, if possible,

those who use the products or services• Flowcharting process flows, information flows, and

decision points• Documenting findings and recommendations


System-Development Cycle








An Example of the System-Development Cycle

• System-development cycles are divided into different numbers of steps by different writers and developers, typically from 5 to 10 steps. But all such divisions include the essential elements of defining goals, analyzing the present situation, preparing a plan, carrying out the plan, putting the finished system into operation, and monitoring the finished system's operations for possible further improvement.

• The following four slides show how the system-development process can be applied even to something far removed from information technology (but with the virtue of being a readily understandable example): viz., developing a garden. – The example is the 10-step garden-development process employed by the

Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum (ASDM), Tucson, Arizona.– You should consider for yourself how each of the ASDM steps compares with

the 5-phase system-development cycle discussed in the preceding slides.


Designing a Garden*

*This and the next three slides are taken from: Larson, Doug. ASDM Design Process. Sonorensis. Winter 2000; 20(1):5-9.


Designing a Garden (cont'd)• "1. Theme Selection

– "We think about our goals. . . ."

• "2. Site Analysis– "[We] determine what 'reality factors' exist at a proposed site."

• "3. Site Selection– "If more than one potential site . . . exists, what are the characteristics

unique to each site? We sometimes refer to these as site opportunities and site constraints. Which site characteristics will be most helpful in accomplishing our project goals?"

• "4. Concept Refinement– "The term 'concept refinement' means customizing the theme of a proposed

garden to fit the reality of our selected site. We accomplish this by frequent referral to our site analysis notes. We also visit the site frequently to observe and consider contingencies."


Designing a Garden (cont'd)

• "5. Preliminary Design– "Here is the part of the design process where we take our ideas,

concepts, and potential elements and start putting them down on paper in a way that allows others to perceive the project. . . . We play with the relative sizes of the elements, expanding some and reducing others, while also considering the relationships between the elements."

• "6. Final Design– "A detailed . . . plan is the essence of a final design. . . . It

becomes the road map from dream to reality."

• "7. Cost Estimate– "The finished plan provides us with the information to determine

the cost of the project."


Designing a Garden (cont'd)

• "8. Implementation– "This step . . . can be summed up by saying that the construction

of a garden or landscape . . . is broken down into an efficient sequence of tasks."

• "9. Maintenance– "A garden is only as good as the maintenance it receives."

• "10. Design Requirements– "As part of our maintenance procedures, we continually observe

each garden and evaluate its performance. . . . If [the garden] starts to stray from our original plan or it starts to evolve into something different, then we consider design refinements."


Life Cycles• Processes that take place over periods of time tend to

be viewed in terms of sequential phases that, taken together, form a “life cycle.”

• We have been working with an example of a life cycle, the System-Development Cycle. Its phases can be identified by such names as Analysis, Design, Production, Implementation, and Operation.

• We are about to look at Business-Process Improvement and Business-System Improvement, both of which have similar life cycles.

• Before we look at BPI and BSI, it will be instructive to look at a couple of other examples of the life cycles of processes.


Life Cycles: Software Development Cycle

• Life Cycle Example: The development of computer software is typically managed in terms of the Software Development Cycle. An excellent statement of the phases of the SDC has been given by Dale, Joyce, and Weems, as follows*:– “Problem analysis Understanding the nature of the problem to be solved– “Requirements elicitation Determining exactly what the program must do– “Software specification Specifying what the program must do (the functional

requirements) and the constraints on the solution approach (nonfunctional requirements, such as what language to use)

*From: Dale, N.; Joyce, D. T.; Weems, C. Object-Oriented Data Structures Using Java. Sudbury, MA: Jones and Bartlett; 2002.


Life Cycles: Software Development Cycle

– “High- and low-level design Recording how the program meets the requirements, from the “big picture” overview to the detailed design

– “Implementation of the design Coding a program in a computer language

– “Testing and verification Detecting and fixing errors and demonstrating the correctness of the program

– “Delivery Turning over the tested program to the customer or user . . .– “Operation Actually using the program– “Maintenance Making changes to fix operational errors and to add to or

modify the functions of the program”


Life Cycles: Database Development Cycle

• Another Life Cycle Example: The development of databases is typically managed in terms of the Database Development Cycle (DDC). The phases of the DDC can be defined as follows*:– “Database initial study

• Analyze the company situation• Define problems and constraints• Define objectives• Define scope and boundaries

*From: Rob, P.; Coronel, C. Database Systems: Design, Implementation, and Management. 4th ed. Cambridge, MA: Course Technology; 2000.



– “Database Design • Create the conceptual design [i.e., model the real-world

situation]• [Database-management system] software selection• Create the logical design [i.e., express the model in terms of

the selected database-management system]• Create the physical design [i.e., deal with the physical storage

and access of the data]– “Implementation and loading

• Install the [database-management system]• Create the database(s)• Load or convert the data



– "Testing and evaluation• Test the database• Fine-tune the database• Evaluate the database and its application programs

– "Operation• Produce the required information flow

– "Maintenance and evolution• Introduce changes• Make enhancements"


Life Cycles: Summary

• We can summarize the foregoing discussion of life cycles as follows. The development of complex, interrelated processes aimed at solving a problem tends to be viewed in terms of a life cycle that – Begins with an analysis of the problem– Continues with careful planning and designing of a solution to

the problem– Proceeds further with the carrying out of the practical steps

involved in achieving the solution, including the testing of pieces of the solution and of the complete, integrated solution

– Concludes with the solution being put into full operation– May lead eventually to recognition of new difficulties and the

initiation of a new life cycle of analysis, design, and implementation.


Business Process Improvement*

• A process is any activity or group of activities that takes an input, adds value to it, and provides an output to an internal or external customer

• Organizations tend to structure themselves vertically into sub-organizations; processes tend to flow horizontally, and hence, to flow across the boundaries of sub-organizations

*This slide and the next thirteen slides in this presentation are taken from Harrington, H. James. Business Process Improvement: The Breakthrough Strategy for Total Quality, Productivity, and Competitiveness. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill; 1991.


Business Process Improvement

• Customers' satisfaction must be the prime goal of businesses and institutions

• Don't try to maximize profits


BPI Rules for Bringing about Change• The organization must believe that change is important and valuable to its future• There has to be a vision that paints a picture of the desired future state that

everyone sees and understands• Existing and potential barriers must be identified and removed• The total organization must be behind the strategy to achieve the vision• The leaders of the organization need to model the process and set an example• Training should be provided for the required new skills• Measurement systems should be established so that results can be quantified• Continuous feedback should be provided to everyone• Coaching must be provided to correct undesired behavior• Recognition and rewards systems must be established to effectively reinforce

desired behavior


Objectives of BPI

• Making processes effective—producing the desired results

• Making processes efficient—minimizing the resources used

• Making processes adaptable—being able to adapt to changing customer and business needs


BPI: Characteristics of Well-Defined and Well-Managed Processes

• They have someone who is held accountable for how well the process performs (the process owner)

• They have well-defined boundaries (the process scope)• They have well-defined internal interfaces and responsibilities• They have documented procedures, work tasks, and training requirements• They have measurements and feedback controls close to the point at

which the activity is being performed• They have customer-related measurements and targets• They have known cycle times• They have formalized change procedures• They know how good they can be


Assertions concerning BPI

• Business processes constitute a significant part of your organizational costs

• There is a significant opportunity to improve market share by improving your business processes

• BPI enables you to make better business decisions and to implement them faster

• BPI helps to improve and control your operation• BPI improves your production flow• Business processes have been ignored in the past


BPI Goal: To Ensure that the Business Has Processes That

• Eliminate errors• Minimize delays• Maximize the use of assets• Promote understanding• Are easy to use• Are customer-friendly• Are adaptable to customers' changing needs• Provide the organization with a competitive advantage• Reduce excess head count


Five Phases of BPI

• Phase I: Organizing for Improvement• Phase II: Understanding the Process• Phase III: Streamlining• Phase IV: Measurements and Controls• Phase V: Continuous Improvement


BPI Phase I: Organizing for Improvement

• Objective: To ensure success by building leadership, understanding, and commitment

• Activities– Establish the Executive Improvement Team (EIT)– Appoint a BPI champion– Provide executive training– Develop an improvement model– Communicate goals to employees– Review business strategy and customer requirements– Select the critical processes– Appoint process owners– Select the Process Improvement Team (PIT) members


BPI Phase II: Understanding the Process

• Objective: To understand all the dimensions of the current business process

• Activities– Define the process scope and mission– Define process boundaries– Provide team training– Develop a process overview– Define customer and business measurements and expectations for

the process– Flow-diagram the process– Collect cost, time, and value data– Perform process walkthroughs– Resolve differences– Update process documentation


BPI Phase III: Streamlining

• Objective: To improve the efficiency, effectiveness, and adaptability of the business process

• Activities– Provide team training– Identify improvement opportunities

• Errors and rework

• High cost

• Poor quality

• Long time delays

• Backlog


BPI Phase III: Streamlining

• Activities (cont'd)– Eliminate bureaucracy– Eliminate no-value-added activities– Simplify the process– Reduce process time– Error-proof the process– Upgrade equipment– Standardize– Automate– Document the process– Select the employees– Train the employees


BPI Phase IV: Measurements and Controls

• Objective: To implement a system to control the process for ongoing improvement

• Activities– Develop in-process measurements and targets– Establish a feedback system– Audit the process periodically– Establish a poor-quality cost system


BPI Phase V: Continuous Improvement*

• Objective: To implement a continuous improvement process

• Activities– Qualify the process– Perform periodic qualification reviews– Define and eliminate process problems– Evaluate the change impact on the business and

on customers– Benchmark the process– Provide advanced team training

*This is the last of the 14 slides taken from the Harrington book.


Business-Systems Improvement

• Emphasis is on systems rather than lower-level processes and sub-processes

• Systems are viewed as sets of interconnected processes that must be treated as wholes with respect to improvement (i.e., sub-optimization is to be avoided)

• Continuous improvement, rather than one-time project-oriented improvement, is often the goal


Business-Systems Improvement Life Cycle

1. Define the problem, in conjunction with management2. Initiate work by organizing teams and setting initial tasks and schedules3. Analyze the situation in detail4. Evaluate alternative solutions5. Develop improved systems (sets of processes) and change organization where necessary6. Evaluate results7. Return to Step 3 and re-enter the cycle

Note: For a light-hearted treatment of the solving of management problems, see Management Insight - A Tale to Ponder.

http://www.gslis.utexas.edu/~l3875rw/ManagementInsightHumor.html


Related Ideas and Movements

• Closely related to SADD, BPI, and BSI are – The Quality Revolution of W. E. Deming– Total Quality Management– ISO 9000


William Edwards Deming (1900-1993)

Picture from: Deming, W. E. Out of the Crisis. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press; 1982. ISBN:0-911379-01-0.


Who Was Deming?• W. Edwards Deming

– Was born in Iowa but grew up in Wyoming– Attended a one-room grade school and a high

school of 50 students– Graduated from the University of Wyoming in

1921as a physics major– Earned a master's degree in mathematics and

physics from the University of Colorado in 1924– Received his Ph.D. in mathematical physics

from Yale in 1926


Who Was Deming? (cont'd)

• W. Edwards Deming– In summers during his Ph.D. studies, worked

at the Western Electric Hawthorne plant in Chicago (this was the factory where industrial-engineering studies led to the recognition of the Hawthorne Effect in 1927)

• Note: Western Electric was the Bell Telephone System's manufacturing arm and was the corporate ancestor of today's Lucent Corporation


Who Was Deming? (cont'd)• W. Edwards Deming

– While working for Western Electric, met Walter A. Shewhart, the father of statistical quality control, and became interested in statistics

– Worked with Shewhart in developing the theory of sequential sampling, a now indispensable tool for maintaining quality in manufacturing processes



– After receiving his Ph.D., went to work as a statistician at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)

– During 1933-1943, headed the Department of Mathematics and Statistics in the USDA Graduate School, a leading center of statistical research

– In 1939, became chief advisor on sampling to the Bureau of the Census



– In 1946 became an independent consultant in statistics, specializing in applying statistical techniques to the control of quality in manufacturing

– As his consulting grew, expanded his practice into other areas of the management of manufacturing, and developed what became his "14 Points" for good management and the achievement of high quality in industrial output

– Published 7 books and over 170 professional papers



• W. Edwards Deming– In 1947, at the request of General

Douglas MacArthur, visited Japan to advise on problems of rebuilding Japanese industry

– Visited Japan again in 1950, 1951, 1952, 1955, and 1956


Who Was Deming? (cont'd)• Deming's 14 Points program for achieving

consistently high quality in output was welcomed by Japanese industrialists as their key to re-entering world markets. Sony and Toyota are two examples of once tiny companies that grew to world leadership by using Deming's methods.

• Unfortunately, U.S. industry largely ignored Deming's advice till the late 1970s, when the success of his methods in Japan could no longer be ignored.



"The striking thing one first notices in the main lobby [of Toyota's headquarters in Tokyo] is larger than life pictures of three individuals. One is of Toyota's founder, another of the same size is of Toyota's current chairman, and a third, much larger, is of W. Edwards Deming."*

*From: Aguayo, R. Dr. Deming: The American Who Taught the Japanese About Quality. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster; 1990. ISBN:0-671-74621-9



"If you can't describe what you are doing as a process, you don't know what you are doing."

W. Edwards Deming*

*Quoted in: Investor's Business Daily, 2000 December 28, p. A3


Deming's Quality Revolution• Focuses on attaining the highest possible quality in

products and services, as the way to ensure long-term profitability and institutional life

• Forms the basis of much of modern management theory and practice, and gave rise to Total Quality Management

• Demonstrated its value spectacularly in the success of modern Japanese industry (e.g., Toyota in automobiles and Sony in electronics)

• Is encapsulated in Deming's "14 Points" and his "7 Deadly Diseases"


Deming's "14 Points for the Transformation of Management"*

1. Create constancy of purpose toward improvement of product and service, with the aim to become competitive and to stay in business, and to provide jobs.

2. Adopt the new philosophy. We are in a new economic age. Western management must awaken to the challenge, must learn their responsibilities, and take on leadership for change.

*From: Deming, W. E. Out of the Crisis. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press; 1982. ISBN:0-911379-01-0.


Deming's "14 Points for the Transformation of Management"

3. Cease dependence on inspection to achieve quality. Eliminate the need for inspection on a mass basis by building quality into the product in the first place.

4. End the practice of awarding business on the basis of price tag. Instead, minimize total cost. Move toward a single supplier for any one item, on a long-term relationship of loyalty and trust.



5. Improve constantly and forever the system of production and service, to improve quality and productivity, and thus constantly decrease costs.

6. Institute training on the job.



7. Institute leadership. The aim of supervision should be to help people and machines and gadgets to do a better job. Supervision of management is in need of overhaul, as well as supervision of production workers.

8. Drive out fear, so that everyone may work effectively for the company.



9. Break down barriers between departments. People in research, design, sales, and production must work as a team, to foresee problems of production and in use that may be encountered with the product or service.

10. Eliminate slogans, exhortations, and targets for the work force asking for zero defects and new levels of productivity. Such exhortations only create adversarial relationships, as the bulk of the causes of low quality and low productivity belong to the system and thus lie beyond the power of the work force.



11a. Eliminate work standards (quotas) on the factory floor. Substitute leadership.

11b. Eliminate management by objectives. Eliminate management by numbers, numerical goals. Substitute leadership.



12a. Remove barriers that rob the hourly workers of their right to pride of workmanship. The responsibility of supervisors must be changed from sheer numbers to quality.

12b. Remove barriers that rob people in management and in engineering of their right to pride of workmanship. This means, inter alia, abolishment of the annual review or merit rating and of management by objective.



13. Institute a vigorous program of education and self-improvement.

14. Put everybody in the company to work to accomplish the transformation. The transformation is everybody's job.


Deming's "7 Deadly Diseases of Management"

• In addition to his "14 Points for the Transformation of Management," Deming also discussed what he called the "7 Deadly Diseases" that impede the needed transformation of management.


Deming's "7 Deadly Diseases of Management"*

1. Lack of Constancy of Purpose. Much of American industry is run on the quarterly dividend. It is better to protect investment by working continually toward improvement of product and service that will bring the customer back.

*From: Deming, W. E. Out of the Crisis. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press; 1982. ISBN:0-911379-01-0.



2. Emphasis on Short-Term Profits. Pursuit of the quarterly dividend and short-term profit defeat constancy of purpose. Anyone can boost the dividend at the end of the quarter. Ship everything on hand, regardless of quality: mark it as shipped, and show it as accounts receivable. Defer till next quarter, so far as possible, orders for material and equipment. Cut down on research, education, training.



3. Evaluation of Performance, Merit Rating, or Annual Review. The idea of a merit rating is alluring. The sound of the words captivates the imagination: pay for what you get; get what you pay for; motivate people to do their best, for their own good. The effect is exactly the opposite of what the words promise. Everyone propels himself forward, or tries to, for his own good on his own life preserver. The organization is the loser. Merit rating rewards people that do well in the system. It does not reward attempts to improve the system.



4. Mobility of Management. A company whose top management are committed to quality and productivity, with roots, does not suffer from uncertainty and bewilderment. But how can anyone be committed to any policy when his tenure is only a few years, in and out? The job of management is inseparable from the welfare of the company. Mobility from one company to another creates prima donnas for quick results. Mobility annihilates teamwork, so vital for continued existence.



5. Running a Company on Visible Figures Alone. One cannot be successful on visible figures alone. The most important figures that one needs for management are unknown or unknowable, but successful management must nevertheless take account of them. An example: Visible figures showed that the credit department of a company had succeeded in retaining mostly only customers that paid promptly. The credit department had performed well on the job allotted to them. Figures not so visible showed that the credit department had driven to the competition some of their best customers. Top management looked too late at the total cost.



6. Excessive Medical Costs.

7. Excessive Costs of Liability, Swelled by Lawyers that Work on Contingency Fees.

Unfortunately, Deming's Deadly Diseases numbers 6 and 7 are diseases born of political decisions made over many decades by the U.S. Congress and the various state Legislatures. There is not much that corporate or organizational managements can do, within their institutions, to cope with these diseases. Remedies for these diseases will come about through political changes, if they ever do occur.


Total Quality Management TQM

• A movement inspired by Deming's 14 Points• Widely popular in American business in the

1970s and in American governments in the 1980s

• Some critics charge that in actual practice TQM often focuses too closely on achieving consistent high quality in easily observable details, and thus may miss "the big picture" of overall output quality and customer satisfaction


ISO 9000• The International Organization for Standardization (ISO)

has developed a detailed set of specifications for processes, the ISO 9000 series.– This organization's name is abbreviated by "ISO", not "IOS" (as

you might expect if it were an acronym, which it is not).– The reason is that "iso" means "equal" or "standard" in Classical

Greek. The organization chose this world-wide abbreviation of its name in order to avoid the problems of using different acronyms in different languages.

• Companies can follow the ISO 9000 specifications to ensure high levels of quality in their products and services.

• Companies that adhere to these specifications can be certified as "ISO 9000-compliant."

http://www.iso.org/iso/en/ISOOnline.openerpage

http://www.iso.org/iso/en/iso9000-14000/iso9000/iso9000index.html


ISO 9000• Many companies and organizations insist

that their suppliers and cooperating organizations must be ISO 9000-compliant.

• Hence, such certification has become valuable in the marketplace.

• ISO 9000 certification is especially popular in Europe, and U.S. companies wanting to sell there generally must acquire such certification.


ISO 14000• In a way similar to that in which

compliance with ISO 9000 has become important for businesses throughout the world, so also is compliance with the ISO 14000 series of standards becoming important.– The ISO 14000 series of standards covers the

area of environmental issues for organizations in the global marketplace.

http://www.iso.org/iso/en/iso9000-14000/iso14000/iso14000index.html


The Quality Revolution

• Though one-time projects to improve specific activities and functions will always be important, companies and organizations are increasingly striving for continuous improvement of their operations.

• Quality of output of products and services has become widely recognized as one of the most important means—probably the single most important means—for companies and organizations to win success in their respective marketplaces, and to retain that success.

• Companies and organizations that seek success must constantly focus on achieving high quality in their products and services .


To Succeed—Aim High!

Documents

GSLIS - The University of Texas at Austin LIS 387.5, Systems Analysis and Evaluation LIS 387.5 Systems Analysis and Evaluation Introduction to Concepts