CASE STUDY 3

CHAPTER 12 :BUILDING INFORMATION SYSTEMS AND MANAGING PROJECTS

SUMMARY

When it comes to business mobility, many IT components are in play: devices, operating systems, security management tools, app development platforms, wireless networks, and so on. But as the old adage goes, the whole is more than the sum of its parts. That is, the real power lies in the convergence of the technologies and in how each organization applies them to redefine the way it works. While the chief information officer will lead the charge here, the rest of the leadership team will want to understand the choices and issues that pertain to the following technology building blocks.

Question 1: what people, organization and technology issues need to be addresses when building mobile applications?

What is most important is a seamless interaction. The customer wants to be able to look at a product on his or her mobile device and see the same information on that device as that person would obtain in the store, plus some additional information, such as consumer reviews.

Question 2 : how does user requirement definition for mobile applications differ from that in traditional systems analysis

The user experience on a mobile device is fundamentally different from that on PC. There are special features on mobile devices such as location-based services that give firms the potential to interact with customers in meaningful new ways. Firms need to be able to take advantage of those features while delivering an experience that is appropriate to a small screen. There are multiple mobile platforms to work with, including iOS, Android, and Windows 8, and a firm may need a different version of an application to run on each of these. They can’t just port a Web site or desktop application to a smartphone or tablet.

Question 3 : Describe the business process changed by USAA’s mobile applications before and after the applications were deployed.

•      USAA launched its Website in 2007, and went mobile ten years later, with about 90 of its interactions with customers taking place on these two self-services channels.

•      In 2011, USAA handled 183 million customer contacts through the mobile channel alone, and expects the mobile channel will be its primary point of contact  with customers in he next two years.

•      USAA has 100 dedicated mobile developers writing apps for devices using the iPhone, iPad and Android operating systems, along with apps for the BlackBerry and Windows Phone.

conclusion

A mobile strategy involves much more than selecting mobile devices, operating systems, and applications. It also involves changes to business processes, changing the way people work and the way firm interacts with is customers. Mobile technology can streamline processes, make them more portable and enhance them with capabilities such as touch interfaces, location and mapping features, alerts, texting , cameras and video functionality. The technology can also create less efficient processes or fail to deliver benefits if the mobile application is not properly designed.