The Royal Institute of Technology (KTH)

Strategic use of IT in Organization: the case of Svenska Resenatverket

By

Imran Ali imrania@kth.se

Sajjadul Robin technovicebd@gmail.com

Umar Shah ufshah@kth.se

Yigezu Balcha Jorro jorro@kth.se

(Group #21)

For the Partial fulfillment of the Requirement for the Course Strategic Management IT (SMIT/IV2031)

August 25, 2010

Stockholm, Sweden

0

Table of Contents Page

Acknowledgement----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------3

Executive Summary---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------4

CHAPTER ONE---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------5

1. Introduction------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------5

1.1 Background--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------5

1.2 Research Questions----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------6

1.3 Purpose of the Study---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------6

1.4 Audience of the Study-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------7

1.5 Scope of the Study----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------7

1.6 Limitation of the Study-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------7

CHAPTER TWO-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------8

2. Research Methodology---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------8

2.1 Case Study Research---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------8

2.2 Data Collection---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------10

2.3 Analysis and Presentation-------------------------------------------------------------------------------11

2.4 Validation of Results-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------11

CHAPTER THREE-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------12

3. Literature Review---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------12

3.1 The Role of IS/IT in Business and organizational Strategy-----------------------------------12

3.2 Business IT Alignment---------------------------------------------------------------------------------13

3.3 Impact of IT on Business and Strategy-------------------------------------------------------------15

3.3.1 Impact of IT on Business Operations---------------------------------------------------------16

3.3.2 Impact of IT on Strategy-------------------------------------------------------------------------16

CHATER FOUR--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------19

4. Results and Analysis and Presentation of results----------------------------------------------------19

4.1 Overview of the Case Company: Svenska Resenatverket ---------------------------------------19

4.2 Results------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------19

1

4.3 Analysis and Presentation-------------------------------------------------------------------------------20

4.3.1 Role of IS/IT in Business and organizational Strategy in Svenska

Resenatverket --------------------------------------------------------------------------------20

4.3.2 Business IT Alignment in Svenska Resenatverket----------------------------------------21

4.3.3 IT impact on business operations and business strategies in Svenska

Resenatverket-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------27

4.3.4 IT Applications Critical for Business Strategy in Svenska Resenatverket----------28

CHAPTER FIVE--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------29

5. Conclusions and Recommendations---------------------------------------------------------------------29

5.1 Conclusions-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------29

5.2 Recommendations----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------29

6. References--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------31

7. Appendixes------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------33

7.1 Appendix A: Information about the case Company-----------------------------------------------33

7.2 Appendix B: The Questionnaire used for Interview-----------------------------------------------33

7.3 Appendix C: Transcription of the Interview (Questions and Answers)-----------------------35

7.4 Appendix D: Contributions of each team Member-----------------------------------------------41

2

Acknowledgement

First of all we would like to acknowledge the course teaching team: Dr. Lazar Rusu, Mohamed

EL-Mekawy, Georg Hodosi and Haleh Mardanian for their inspiration and guidance when we are

doing on this project. They have been at our disposal for every help and advices we need. We

like to use this opportunity to thank you all.

We want to extend our thanks to Mickeal Robertson, CEO and the IT project manager, Björn

Höglind, of Svenska Resenatverket for taking their time and willingly answering our Interview

questions.

Group 21 Members

3

Executive Summary

The roles that IT is playing are dramatically increased in every walk of life. It has already

changed the ways individuals communicate, educate, entertain, make businesses, etc. This also

applies as IT has already changed the ways organization design their business processes,

structures, strategies and missions which are supported and sometimes even driven by IT

applications. To harvest this and many more benefits from the IT/IS, organizations are aligning

their business strategies with their IT strategies and develop and maintain critical IT application

to this end.

This study is done as an academic exercise to investigate Strategic use of IT in an

organization: the case of Global Text using case study research methodology. The Study

revealed that IT is not only support for the business of the case company but a driver and they

have already developed the understanding that they can’t exist with out the use of IT.

Descriptors: IT Management, Use of IT, Strategic Management, IT in Organizations, IT and Business Alignment 4

Chapter One

1. Introduction

1.1Background

The application of IT in business processes in day-to-day activities have dramatically

changed and are changing the business landscape [2], [7] to the extent that we can say it has

revolutionized every aspects of human being these days. It has already changed the way we

communicate, educate, entertain, conduct business, etc [1]. There is no area that has not been

affected by the development of the IT/ICT sector.

Organizations in general and Government service offering in particular is changed as a

result of the development where many countries of the world are changed their services from

the traditional one to e-service with the application of IT/ICT in different business processes

and IT as a result has got Strategic importance at individual, organizational, national and

international levels. It has helped in speeding up the business processes which in turn results in

saving the time spent by customers to get a given services among others.

To reap these benefits and many others that IT is offering, companies need to develop IT

strategy that goes with the Business Strategy. That is to say that IT strategy in a given company

needs to be aligned with the business strategy in such a way that IT enables the business

processes achieves their intended goals.

This study, therefore, is aimed at identifying how IT is of strategic importance in Svenska

Resenatverket. It will answer questions: what are the Stratgic uses of IT in Svenska

Resenatverket? What business processes in Svenska Resenatverket are supported by IT? How IT 5

functionalities are managed in Svenska Resenatverket? What impacts IT has got in the business

operations of Svenska Resenatverket? How IT and Business Srategies are aligned, etc among

others.

The report is structured into five chapters where chapter one is introduction, chapter

two is the part where we defined the methodology we employed in conducting the study,

chapter three is the literature review, Chapter four is Analysis and presentation of study

results. Conclusions are made and recommendations are also forwarded in chapter five of the

report.

1.2 Research Questions

The following are the research questions that we intended to answer.

1. What are the roles that IS/IT play in support of the Business and Organizational strategy?

2. How is Business and IT are aligned?

3. What are the Impacts of IT on business Operations and Strategies?

4. What are the IT applications that are critical for business strategies?

5. How those IT applications support the business strategy?

1.3 Purpose of the Study

To answer the aforementioned research questions, the general purpose of the study is

to investigate the Strategic use of IT in organizations with the case of Svenska Resenatverket.

The specific objectives include:

To Analyze the role that IS/IT is playing in support of business and organizational

strategy in Svenska Resenatverket (using Information Systems Strategy Triangle from

Pearlson and Saunders (2009));

To Asses the business-IT alignment (using the strategic alignment model of Luftman

(2000));

To Analyze the IT impact on business operations and business strategies of Svenska

Resenatverket (using McFarlan strategic grid (1983)).

6

To Identify the IT applications that are critical for business strategy and how these IT

applications are supporting business strategy in Svenska Resenatverket.

1.4 Audiences of the Study

This Study is done as part of academic exercise but the output from the study could be

used by the case organization in their endeavors of making use of IT in their different business

processes and help them improve the already existing ones. They could be considered as the

audiences of our study as the output could help them at the end of the day. Of course, as

academic exercise, the course instructors and supervisors are our audiences as they evaluate it

from different perspectives; fellow classmates could also be considered our audiences as the

output will be presented to them and they might learn from this study or further enrich it.

1.5 Scope of the Study

The scope of the study is limited only to exploring strategic use of IT in the case

company, Svenska Resenatverket. We limited our study only to Svenska Resenatverket to make

the project manageable within the time framework of the study. Otherwise, we firmly believe

that studying Strategic use of IT in diversified organizations could help to investigate thoroughly

how organizations are using IT and for what purpose, how it varies from organization to

organization, etc.

1.6 Limitations

We believe that this is a big project of great importance where by students can get

hands on experience of research in IT. It is our firm belief that it needs to be done in large

organizations to get well informed information about the subject areas that need to be covered

in the project. One of the limitations that we faced is that the interviewees are not up-to-date

of those book terminologies which we must have to use in our interview questions which have

got impact on the amount of information we got from the interview. Thanks to the

methodology we use, we manage to clarify issues on the spot to get the required information.

The other limiting factor worth mentioning here is the mobility of members from the

group which forced us start working after some time. This has got its own limitations in the

phases of the projects like submission of progress report.

7

Chapter Two

2. Study Methodology

We used Qualitative research method as our main scientific method on which we based

our study. Qualitative research is a field of inquiry applicable to many disciplines and subject

matters [3]. It is used to collect data that prove there is potential problem and is a means to

explain based on the attributes of source of data [4]. It provides results that are detailed

appreciation of the phenomena under study and can tell researcher what people feel and what

they think but not aimed at addressing how many people think that way [4]. Our aim in this

study is not to identify how many people think what the Strategic use of IT are in their business

process but identifying how it has been used, what applications are there, what are the

challenges, their business and IT alignments, etc. It is because of the aforementioned strengths

of qualitative research method and our objective of the study that we chose it over other

research methods. Specifically we employed case study research method as we limit ourselves

to only one company due to time limitations.

2.1 Case Study Research Methodology

Case Study Research Methodology is employed when the central aim of the research is

to answer questions such as how, why and what [9]. “From a research strategy point of view,

the case study methodology is a way of establishing valid and reliable information or findings

which add to the accumulated knowledge of the processes by which business and many other

organizations functions” [9].

Different authors gave different types of case study research that one need to choose

from based on the purpose of the research. In the list of different types of case study research

are: Explanatory, Exploratory, Descriptive, and Multiple, Intrinsic, Instrumental and collective

case study research [10]. “Yin categorizes case studies as explanatory, exploratory, or

descriptive. He also differentiates between single, holistic case studies and multiple-case

8

studies while Stake identifies case studies as intrinsic, instrumental, or collective” [10].

Definition of what each of these types mean is given in table 1 below.

Table 1: Definitions of Different Types of Case Studies [10].

No. Case Study Type Definition

1. Explanatory This type of case study would be used if you were seeking to answer a

question that sought to explain the presumed causal links in real-life

interventions that are too complex for the survey or experimental

strategies. In evaluation language, the explanations would link program

implementation with program effects Yin (2003) in [10]

2. Exploratory This type of case study is used to explore those situations in which the

intervention being evaluated has no clear, single set of outcomes Yin

(2003) in [10]

3. Descriptive This type of case study is used to describe an intervention or phenomena

the real-life context in which it occurred Yin (2003) in [10].

4. Multiple-case

studies

A multiple case study enables the researcher to explore differences within

and between cases. The goal is to replicate findings across cases. Because

comparisons will be drawn, it is imperative that the cases are chosen

carefully so that the researcher can predict similar results across cases, or

predict contrasting results based on a theory Yin (2003) in [10].

5. Intrinsic Stake (1995) in [10] uses the term intrinsic and suggests that researchers

who have a genuine interest in the case should use this approach when

the intent is to better understand the case. It is not undertaken primarily

because the case represents other cases or because it illustrates a

particular trait or problem, but because in all its particularity and

ordinariness, the case itself is of interest. The purpose is NOT to come to

understand some abstract construct or generic phenomenon. The purpose

is NOT to build theory.

6. Instrumental Is used to accomplish something other than understanding a particular 9

situation. It provides insight into an issue or helps to refine a theory. The

case is of secondary interest; it plays a supportive role, facilitating our

understanding of something else. The case is often looked at in depth, its

contexts scrutinized, its ordinary activities detailed, and because it helps

the researcher pursue the external interest. The case may or may not be

seen as typical of other cases Stake (1995) in [10].

7. Collective Collective case studies are similar in nature and description to multiple

case studies Yin (2003) in [10].

From the aforementioned lists of case study research methodology, this study fall under

the descriptive case study type as the objective is to know the Importance of IT in their Business

processes, how their IT and Business strategies are aligned, what IT applications they possess to

support their business, etc and present them in a descriptive way.

2.2 Method of Data Collection

Primary Sources

Interview Questionnaire is used to collect data from the case company, Svenska

Resenatverket. We used open format questions as major data collection technique from the

concerned personnel in the sections mainly from the CEO, who is also in charge of the Business

processes of the company and the CTO. This gives the respondent the opportunity to express

their feelings and opinion which we believe helped us get true, insightful and even unexpected

suggestions.

Interview Questions are used to collect data about what IT applications are there in the

company, how IT is used in their business processes, how they manage IT functionalities,

Strategic use of IT, Problems they face in the use of IT, Business and IT alignment, etc.

Secondary Sources

10

We made desktop research on the general issues of IT, IT applications in organizations,

IT and organizational Strategy, Business IT alignments, Impact of IT on Business operations and

Strategies, etc. Printed materials; books, Journal Articles, conference proceedings, and Internet

sources are used to know the subject area in depth.

2.3 Analysis and Presentation of Results

Results of the study are presented in a way of addressing areas of IT use in their

Business Processes, Roles, Business IT alignments, Impacts of IT on Business operations, and

Business strategy, IT application that are critical for Business strategy and how they are

supporting business strategy are each described specific to the case company, Svenska

Resenatverket. The study results are presented in a descriptive manner addressing each of the

aforementioned areas and of course where ever we deem necessary we used literature to

further explain the results.

2.4 Validation of Study Result

To validate our study results, we employed Triangulation Method [5], where we

crosschecked the result of our analysis of data collected vis-à-vis Strategic uses of IT in other

organization from literature as part of verification. Because one of our group mates is working

with the case company, we used the knowledge of him as one of the means of validation of

results as well.

Chapter Three

11

3. Review of Literature

This part of the study report is where we reviewed different secondary sources, internet,

and printed materials to better understand the study areas before we go into assessments of

the issues in the case company, Svenska Resenatverket .

3.1Role of IS/IT in Business and organizational Strategy

We are living in the age where information is the only source for taking decisions in any

organization for making it successful. IT is playing an important role in designing different

business models. “Designing a business process is largely a matter of diligence and creativity.

Emerging It technology however are beginning to facilitate the process of process design some

computer aided systems engineering (CASE) products are design primarily to draw process

model”[13]. Business study drive both information and organization strategy and for successful

business strategy both organizational and IS should be strong. The firms’ IT infrastructure

support their organizational structure; the software, hardware, and the network design they

implement will unilaterally decide whether they will be able to get market competitive

advantage or not.

Figure 1:Information Systems strategy Triangle [15]

“Information Technology is having impact on all trade industries and businesses, in

service as well as in manufacturing. It is affecting workers at all levels of organizations, from the

executives to middle management and clerks. Information technology is increasingly becoming

12

a basic factor of all types of technologies such as craft, engineering, routine, and non-routine”

[2]. Information technology getting greater use in all department of business; it has become

more easier for managers to monitor the overall performance of company and individual and at

the lower level it also has share in making basic infrastructure of the company.

Integration between these three edges of the triangle makes an organization successful in

getting its competitive advantages. The best information strategy makes a superb combination

only if suitable hardware, software and network are applied.

3.2 Business IT Alignment

“Strategic alignment focuses on the activities that management performs to achieve

cohesive goals across the IT and other functional organizations (e.g., finance, marketing, H/R,

manufacturing)” [6]. Business IT alignment is the application of IT in a given business processes

in harmony with the business goals, objectives and needs, which addresses two fold questions:

the question of how IT is aligned with business and how the business could and should be

aligned with IT [6].

As IT is becoming curial and decisive in every day life especially in business, its linkage

with business operations is also growing through time. Companies that reap maximum benefits

out of IT applications in their business strongly link their IT systems strategy with their business

strategy. Others that understood IT brought such a fundamental change are leapfrogging to link

their IT systems with their business operations. Accordingly, there is a model to assess how IT

and Businesses in a given company is aligned which helps to “measure how well the technical

and business organizations work together or it can be used to assess alignment within the IT

department itself” [8]. This assessment model has got six dimensions which include

Communication maturity, Competency/Value-measurement maturity, Governance maturity,

Partnership Maturity, scope and architecture maturity, and Skill Maturity [8]. These are the

components that one needs to take into consideration when assessing business IT alignment in

a given company. Based on these components, company’s IT Business alignment can be placed

at different level of maturity, level 1 through level 5, where obviously level 1 is the lowest and 13

level 5 is the highest level of maturity showing the different behaviors in each of the

assessment criteria as depicted in figure 1 below.

Figure 2: Strategic Alignment Maturity Summary [6]

Level 5

Level 4

Level 3

Level 2

Level 1

Level 1

According to Luftman (2000), companies whose business-IT alignment is judged to this level is

said to have the lowest level of Strategic alignment maturity.

14

Optimized Processes

•COMMUNICATIONS: Informal, pervasive•COMPETENCY/VALUE: Extended to external partners•GOVERNANCE: Integrated across the org & partners•PARTNERSHIP: IT-businessco-adaptive•SCOPE & ARCHITECTURE: Evolve with partners•SKILLS: Education/careers/rewards across the organization

Improved/Managed Processes

•COMMUNICATIONS: Bonding, unified•COMPETENCY/VALUE: Cost effective; some partner value; Dashboard managed•GOVERNANCE: Managed across the organization•PARTNERSHIP: IT enables/drives business strategy•SCOPE & ARCHITECTURE: Integrated with partners•SKILLS: Shared risk & rewards

Established/Focused ProcessesCOMMUNICATIONS: Good understanding; Emerging relaxed•COMPETENCY/VALUE: Some cost effectiveness; Dashboard established•GOVERNANCE: Relevant process across the organization•PARTNERSHIP: IT seen as an asset; Process driver•SCOPE & ARCHITECTURE: Integrated across the organization•SKILLS: Emerging value service provider

Committed Processes•COMMUNICATIONS: Limited business/IT understanding•COMPETENCY/VALUE: Functional cost efficiency•GOVERNANCE: Tactical at Functional level, occasional responsive•PARTNERSHIP: IT emerging as an asset; Process enabler•SCOPE & ARCHITECTURE: Transaction (e.g., ESS, DSS)•SKILLS: Differs across functional organizations

Initial/Ad-Hoc Processes•COMMUNICATIONS: Business/IT lack understanding•COMPETENCY/VALUE: Some technical measurements•GOVERNANCE: No formal process, cost center, reactive priorities•PARTNERSHIP: Conflict; IT a cost of doing business•SCOPE & ARCHITECTURE: Traditional (e.g., acctng, email)•SKILLS: IT takes risk, little reward; Technical training

Level 2

Companies that achieved the maturity level of committed process are recognized as having

committed to begin the process for strategic alignment maturity (Luftman, 2000). It can’t be

said that companies at this level of maturity meet business-IT alignment for it requires for the

business and IT folks to be fully aware of the different uses of IT in business (Luftman, 2000).

Level 3

Companies that meet this level of maturity achieve an established and focused Strategic

alignment maturity which focuses on specific business objectives (Luftman, 2000).

Level 4

This level of maturity is where companies have a managed strategic alignment maturity. The

improved/managed process level of maturity requires firms to have a managed strategic

alignment maturity which shows good governance and services (Luftman, 2000). The roles that

IT plays at this maturity level firm are to support the enhancements of business process to

attain sustainable competitive advantage and to contribute to business success in an innovative

and imaginative ways (Luftman, 2000).

Level 5

Companies that reach Level 5 maturity level is defined as having an optimally aligned strategic

alignment maturity (Luftman, 2000). Companies or firms that achieved this level of maturity

often achieve integration between the IT strategic planning process and the strategic business

process through a sustained governance process (Luftman, 2000).

3.3 Impact of IT on Business and Strategy

In a successful organization business strategy, IS and organizational process are

compatible. Each is affected by others. So IT needs to be aligned with business and strategy.

Successful business model will provide value to all stake holders. It’s achieved by alignment

among environment, strategy and capabilities. Lot of investment for IT is observed right now in

the market. It was estimated that IT market will reach $621 billion in 2005 [11]. Based on our

literature, “The Strategic Grid” [12], impact of IT on business and strategy is described below:

15

McFarlan’s “The Strategic Grid” assists executives to analysis their organization’s project

portfolio. This analysis provides project priorities and resource requirement. Fulfilling priorities

and resources tightly will achieve goals and performance targets. So, project portfolio is an

important issue for organizational formation. McFarlan suggests that project portfolio can be

assessed with two key dimensions: 1. the impact on business operations 2. the impact on

strategy. Depending on the alignment of IT to strategy and business, organization can be placed

in one of four quadrants: a. support b. factory c. turnaround d. strategic

3.3.1 Impact of IT on Business Operations

This dimension assesses the impact of IT on business operation. This impact depends on

the type of business and its requirement of IT alignment. Some business needs zero-defect

operation. That means if IT fails, the company will face severe loss. The organization can’t live

without flawless IT stream in their business. This situation can be happened in stock exchange,

global shipment, airways etc.

Again, in some organizations IT just plays the role of support. IT helps to expand

business. IT failure for even few hours has no effect for the business. For example, law firms

don’t require IT so enormously in business operation. They mainly focus on expanding legal

professionals, new market and legal services. IT decisions are taken rarely in board level

3.3.2 Impact of IT on Strategy

This dimension assesses the impact of IT on strategy. IT innovations lead strategy

evolution and is related to the firm’s existence. In some firms IT is very much linked up with the

strategy of the company. All the IT development activities are decided in the board room.

Personnel assigned with assuring business success and survival takes decision for IT. On the

contrary there are some firms where IT affects strategy very low. In this firm, improvement of IT

is required for incremental and operational improvements. It is needed to improve a firm’s cost

profile but small impact in the whole industry.

16

The strategic grid use two dimensions to define four categories of IT impact: Support,

factory, turnaround, strategic. Project in support quadrant has little impact on organization’s

strategy. IT specialist work with local end users often to design and implement this support type

project. Projects within factory quadrant reduce costs and improve performance of the core

operations of an organization. Project goal is targeted toward cost and quality benefits. Projects

within turn around phase are designed to exploit emerging strategic opportunities. Business

executives are often involved in designing, implementing and managing these projects.

Technology partners may be added too to the team for bringing required technology expertise.

IT projects within strategic quadrant involve IT in both core operations and core strategy. IT

initiatives are often defined, managed in board meeting of the corporation.

The strategic grid use two dimensions to define four categories of IT impact: Support, factory,

turnaround, strategic.

Figure 3: McFarlan’s Strategic Grid [12]

In the X axis, CIO plot IT project if it has an impact on the strategy. In another way, the CIO tries

to assess the project offering to the firm. In short, what does this project offer the firm by way

17

of affecting one of Porter’s five forces in the company’s favor? [17]. The project may affect the

position in the market, affect bargaining power of supplier, and raise barriers to entry into the

market. The project may introduce new products or service into the market.

In the Y axis, CIO plot project if it has an impact on the IT operations. The project that exists

high on the graph improves the efficiency. It can improve the quality of existing system and

business processes or lower their costs.

Project in support quadrant has little impact on organization’s strategy. IT specialist work with

local end users often to design and implement this support type project.

Projects within factory quadrant reduce costs and improve performance of the core operations

of an organization. Project goal is targeted toward cost and quality benefits. Projects within

turn around phase are designed to exploit emerging strategic opportunities. Business

executives are often involved in designing, implementing and managing these projects.

Technology partners may be added too to the team for bringing required technology expertise.

IT projects within strategic quadrant involve IT in both core operations and core strategy. IT

initiatives are often defined, managed in board meeting of the corporation.1K. Hale, et al., “2Q03 Update: IT services Forecasts, 2002-2005,” Gartner Group Research, july

20032 URL: http://visual.placodermi.org/2009/01/14/toolkit-mcfarlans-strategic-grid/ , accessed in

May 08, 2010

Chapter Four

4. Results and Analysis and Presentations18

Under this part of the report, we presented the study result and the analysis of the

results. These are the findings that we got as a result of the Interview we made with the CIO

and CTO of the company. Before we go into this, of course the company’s historical background

is presented.

4.1 Svenska Resenatverket: Company Background

Svenska Resenatverket is working with IT projects. Their products are mostly related to travel

websites. They have travel guide for different countries. They are running websites like:

http://flightradar24.com which has more than 6000 visitors daily. During flight scheduling

problem, it increased to 1.5 million hits daily. They are maintaining their server in an efficient

way to handle this large traffic. Besides those travelling websites, they have some websites of

different tastes like: http://www.bikten.nu (you can confess here online), http://www.sms.se

(Swedish largest sms websites), and comparing prices of flights, cars and hotels etc.1 They are

working with Google adwords to be successful in their business.

4.2 Results

The following are the findings from our interview:

The company has got IT and Business Strategy.

The CEO is responsible for the defining the IT Strategy.

The knowledge of the IT People is the main factor based on which they define what

technology to use.

The company is operating in Sweden but has got basis in Britain.

IT plays a vital role as they don’t exist without IT.

IT decisions are made daily.

Most of the IT costs of the company are advertisement on Google.

There is quite good understanding between the IT and the Business folks.

There is good communication between the company and other partners.

They make decisions all together.

19

There is no defined ways of evaluating projects after completion.

IT supports the business Strategy.

The staff has got the required skills.

The IT and Business Staff has got very good understanding of each other.

The Most critical Application is flightradar24.com

The IT Business alignment maturity level of the company is at level 3+

4.3. Analysis and Presentations

Here under, a descriptive presentation of the real situation in the case company,

Svenska Resenatverket, is made by classifying issues around the four themes of the project:

Role of IS/IT in Business and organizational Strategy, Business IT Alignment, the IT impact on

business operations and business strategies and IT applications that exists in the company in

support of their business objectives. Where ever found important, further clarification of the

topics under discussion has also been made from literatures.

4.3.1 Analysis of IS/IT in Business and organizational Strategy in

Svenska Resenatverket

For questions we raised as part of assessing the role of IT/IS in the business and

organizational Strategy at Svenska Resenatverket, the CEO explained that the company is based

on IT and their very existence depends on IT. Accordingly, IT is not only supporting their

business but also driving their business. It is found out that the company has got a structure

which they are satisfied of in that it helps them achieve their business objective. The IT strategy

emanates from the business strategy in the sense that it supports the company’s business goal.

4.3.2 Analysis of Business IT Alignment in Svenska Resenatverket

We have posed questions to both the CEO and CTO to know how their IT and Businesses are

aligned in a way of addressing the 6 components that are used to measure business IT

20

alignment stated by Luftman (2000). Here under, before presenting the analysis, we found it

important to refresh what these 6 components are and show the elements that are under each

component that directly or indirectly helps us measure the IT-Business alignment maturity level

of a firm. What is really there at our case company, Svenska Resenatverket? But before we go

into the specific situation at Svenska Resenatverket, it is necessary to show up the pictorial

dipction of the elements in each component and see how they interact.

Figure 2: Strategic Alignment Maturity Criteria (Luftman, 2000)

Being described by these components highlighted in the picture above, it is possible to describe

where a given company is with regards to the level of IT-Business Alignment maturity it has

achieved.

21

COMMUNICATIONS

Understanding of Business By IT

Understanding of IT by Business

Inter/Intra-Organizational Learning

Protocol Rigidity

Knowledge Sharing

Liaison(s) effectiveness

COMPETENCY/VALUE MEASUREMENTS

IT Metrics

Business Metric

Balanced Metric

Service Level Agreements

Benchmarking

Formal Assessments/ reviews

Continues Improvement

GOVERNANCE

Business Strategic Planning

IT Strategic Planning

Reporting/ Organization Structure

Budgetary Control

IT Investment Management

Steering Committee(s)

Prioritization Process

PARTNERSHIP

Business Perception of IT Value

Role of IT in Strategic Business Planning

Shared Goals, Risk, Rewards/Penalties

IT Program Management

Relationship/Trust Style

Sponsor/Champion

ion(s) effectiveness

SCOPE & ARCHITECTURE

Traditional Enabler/Driver, External

Standards Articulation Architectural Integration:

-Functional Organization

-Enterprise

-Inter-enterprise

Architectural Transparency

Flexibility Managing Emerging Technology

SKILLS

Innovation, Entrepreneurship

Locus of Power

Management Style

Change Readiness

Career crossover

Education, Cross-Training

Social, Political Trusting Environment

SIX IT BUSINESS ALIGENMENT MATURITY CRITERIA

SIX IT BUSINESS ALIGENMENT MATURITY CRITERIA

A. Communication Maturity

One of the parameters to measure in assessing the business IT alignment maturity level is

communication. It is meant to measure how well the companies business and IT folks

understand each other, how frequently they connect to each other and how effectively they

communicate their organizational outputs or information with the counterparts and others that

they are working with either in the form of informing or to make decision upon [8]. Here under

is the description of what the different elements that one should look into look like at our

company as part of assessing its overall communication maturity level.

Understanding of Business By IT

At our case company, according to the CEO, there is a strong understanding between the IT and

Business folks in the sense that the company’s IT people understands their business functions

well as the business is totally based on IT. This means that the company’s IT folks know their

business and the potential impact or importance of IT for their functionalities. The Business

people also understand the potential use of IT for their Business.

Inter/Intra-Organizational Learning

There is a strong both Inter/Intra organizational learning at Svenska Resenatverket as they

meet daily to either initiate projects, discuss on the progress of the already started once or

tackle problems they face in their daily operations. Communication is done either informally in

person, through internal telephone or email.

Knowledge Sharing

There a high intention and value for knowledge sharing at Svenska Resenatveket but there is no

established formal forums to do that.

Liaison(s) effectiveness

22

According to the CEO, it seems that Svenska Resenatveket is effective with accomplishing its

business objectives.

From the aforementioned descriptions we rated the communication maturity to be 4-.

B. Competency/Value-Measurement Maturity

This is one of the 6 parameters that one needs to look into during assessing companies for their

IT business alignment. It is a parameter to measure how well companies measure its

performance and projects [8]. Here under are the description of different elements based on

which the competency/value measurement Maturity is measured specific to Svenska

Resenatverket.

IT Metrics, Business Metrics, and Balanced Metrics

IT is the driving force of the Business at Svenska Resenatverket and the business processes are totally

dependent on the IT. This means that there is a good balance of the two metrics.

Formal Assessments/ Reviews

In this line, at Svenska Resenatverket, though they are evaluating their day to day operations,

they didn’t evaluate it in the form of projects. The reason for this, according to CEO, is that they

started a project 3 years back but it is still going on and as a result they didn’t evaluate it.

Continues Improvement

At Svenska Resenatverket, they believe in continuous improvements to get acquainted with the

ever changing IT development. This is simply because their business depends and driven by IT

and if not update and make improvements accordingly they believe that they will be knocked

out of the business.

We rated maturity level for Competency /Value measurement to be at 3+ and the company

should perform continuous assessment and evaluations of their businesses functionalities and

projects to achieve higher level

23

C. Governance Maturity

The third parameter that is taken into consideration while measuring IT business alignment

maturity is governance maturity. “This dimension deals with how well the company connects its

business strategy to IT priorities, technical planning, and budgeting” [8]

Business Strategic Planning

It is learned that the CEO is in charge of designing and managing the Business strategic

directions and we felt that it is not well coordinated and participatory. Such people like

Business managers and IT managers need to be involved for a company to have a full-fledged

Business Strategic Plan.

IT Strategic Planning

At Svenska Resenatverket, the IT Manager and the CEO are the main people who are in charge

of designing the IT Strategic Plan. As the company’s business is based and derived by IT, we feel

that the IT Manager having a lion share of impact but as CEO is the main person planning the

business strategic plan it is the CEO who is ultimately responsible for the IT Strategic plan as

well.

Organizational Structure

Svenska Resenatverket has got flat organizational structure. It is not a centralized decision

making approach that they follow; departments have got the power to make decisions at their

level. These they believe help them achieve their business objectives.

The maturity Level for Governance is 3-

D. Partnership Maturity

24

The fourth parameter to measure the maturity level of IT and business alignment is partnership

maturity. It is to measure the partnership that exists between the IT department and the

Business units in a given company in a way of meeting the business goal of the company [8].

Business Perception of IT Value

As mentioned in the other part of the report, at Svenska Resenatverket the business is IT driven

in that it is totally based on IT application. We can say that IT is both an enabler and driver of

business functionalities in the company. As a result, there is a good Business perception of IT

values.

Role of IT in Strategic Business Planning

Business Planning is mainly based on the Roles that IT plays and the changing faces of IT and

the company changes their Strategic Business plans depending on the changes in IT.

Shared Goals, Risk, Rewards/Penalties

According to the CEO of Svenska Resenatverket, they share risks and rewards as they do things

with discussions and sharing experiences and knowledge both informally and formally.

Sponsor/Championing(s) effectiveness

It is learned that the company has no problem with regard to sponsoring IT initiatives as

Businesses in the company are totally based on the investments made on IT projects that

support the business goals.

We rated the level for partnership to be 4+

E. Scope and Architecture Maturity

This is a parameter that looks into how IT helps the company to grow and compete and also

whether it is only giving business support or is more things.

25

Traditional Enabler/Driver

In Svenska Resenatverket IT is both an enabler and driver of the Business and the company.

Standards Articulation Architectural Integration

Though the company doesn’t have well defined own standards and architectural design to

follow when implementing IT projects, they stick to the already existing business and other

international standards.

Flexibility Managing Emerging Technology

According to the CEO of our case company, IT is more than a business support in the sense that

with out IT they can’t survive i.e. it is IT which helps them grow, compete and profit. Therefore,

there is a relative flexibility in adopting and managing emerging technologies.

The maturity level for Scope and Architectural Maturity is 3-

F. Skills Maturity

The last issue to consider when measuring business IT alignment is skill Maturity. It looks into

Management style, readiness for change, etc.

Management Style

The company follows a decentralized decision making approach and open and transparent

management style.

Change Readiness

There is a good outlook for change but there is a sense of sticking to a technology they have

already knowledgeable of such as PHP. There is a lack of readiness in the sense that their

employees who are developing applications for example are experts in one area and not in

some tools such as java.

Social, Political Trusting Environment

There is a good social and trusting situations that exists among the employees and the

management where they share knowledge and experiences freely.

26

The Skill maturity Level is 3+.

Lastly, there is a need to determine where the company lay in terms of Business-IT alignment.

From the aforementioned assessment of basic measurement parameters and elements

discussed as per the interview’s response, Svenska Resenatverket is at the level of

Established/Focused Processes, which is level 3+. This means that the company is Moderate fit,

or the company is moderately effective according to [8].

4.3.3 Analysis of IT impact on business operations and business

strategies in Svenska Resenatverket according to McFarlan

Svenska Resenatverket runs all IT projects in their company. They develop websites in house

mostly. Their critical product is http://flightradar24.com. If IT fails, the site will go down and

the company will suffer a huge loss. Again, this site is an opportunity for advertisement. That

will bring revenue for them. They develop and use IT for marketing to compete in the market.

Success in existing product leads them to develop more websites. According to McFarlan’s , if a

company has IT project that influences the business and reduce cost fall in factory. So

Resenatverket has moved to factory quadrant. Again, IT related decisions are also taken in

board level meeting besides daily meeting. Their products replace competitor’s one. They are

pioneer in travelling business in the market. So, their products have better strategy to put

barrier for competitors in the market. As they are ranked highly, they can easily bargain with

suppliers of various information and resources. In that way IT has impact on strategy too. As a

whole, Resenatverket actually is in strategic quadrant.

27

Figure 4: Svenska Resenatvarket’s presence in McForlan’s Strategic Grid

4.3.4 Analysis of IT Applications Critical for Business Strategy in

Svenska Resenatverket

As already mentioned in the company background section of this report, Svenska

Resenatverket is a company which basically provides service for comparing different last

minutes flights (www.charter.se) and the real time information about the flight data

(www.flightradar24.com). The company is operating through the internet to provide services all

over the world. The company uses the following IT applications and services:

Web 2.0

Java

PHP

Prototype

Automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast (ADS-B)

The Web2.0 is the most critical application for the business strategy as their strategy is

to provide the customers all over the world flight data and last minutes flight and now a day’s

web 2.0 is the backbone of the internet other than this Java, PHP, prototype and ADS-B are the

28

application used for developing the different programs so these are also the important

applications for the business.

The applications discussed above other than ADS-B are the basic requirement for any

business which want to be launched on the internet; without these application they will not be

able to sustain or carryon their business. Svenska Resenatverket is the typical example of the

company which is using only these basic IT applications to develop programs and websites and

these program and websites are carrying their business goals and through these program and

websites they achieve their business goals and objective and they are quite successful in that as

per the CEO of the company. The company is using in-house development mechanism which

allows them to save cost and the uniqueness. During the flight crises due to volcano eruption in

Iceland they got a highest numbers of visitors on their sites and they worked 24/7 to make

information available for the customers.

When a question about the company’s sustainability without IT is asked the CEO simply

answered that they can’t even think it. Our future is linked with the IT.

29

Chapter Five

5. Conclusions and Recommendations

5.1 Conclusions

It is found that our case company, Svenska Resenatverket, has recognized the role that

IT is playing in their business to the extent that they believe with out IT they can’t exist. IT is the

driver of their business. The company falls in the Strategic grid according to the MacForlan’s

Strategic Grid and is at Level 3+ according to Luftman’s IT Business Strategy. The Critical

application is flightradar24.com which is based on Web2.0, php, prototype and ADS-V.

5.2 Recommendations

As IT is playing a critical role in these days every aspect of business, companies like

Svenska Resenatverket need to keep updating their IT strategies to cope up with the

dynamically changing technology. For this to be met proper management of components such

as Budget, human skill and the technology should be enhanced so as to stay competitive in the

business.

30

6. References

[1]. Banny Batt, Rajesh Sreenivasan and Abhishek Singh “Issues for the region ICT 4D in Asia

pacific: an overview of emerging issues,” Digital Review of Asian Pacific. [Online].

Available: http://www.digital-review.org [Accessed April 15, 2010]

[2]. The Impact of IT on Organizations. [Online] available at:

http://www.skyrme.com/insights/5itorg.htm accessed April 15, 2010

[3] “Qualitative Research method” [Online) Available:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qualitative_research. (Accessed April 15, 2010]

[4].“Qualitative Research Method”. [Online]. Available:

http://www.cdc.gov/dhdsp/CDCynergy_training/Content/activeinformation/

toolscontent/qualitativemethods.htm. [April 15, 2010]

[5] “Triangulation (Social Science) “[Online]. Available:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triangulation_(social_science) [accessed April 15, 2010]

[6]. Luftman, Jerry. Assessing Business-IT Alignmnet Maturity IN Communications of AIS,

Volume 4, and Decmber 2000. [Online]. Available at: www.cioindex.com/nm/.../2779-IT

%20 Alignment %20 Maturity %20Model.pdf Accessed April 17, 2010

[7]. Azab, Nahed A. Investigating IT-Business Alignment in an Egyptian Medium-Sized Enterprise

(Case Study). [Online]. Available at: www.iseing.org/emcis/EMCIS2005/pdfs/12.pdf

Accessed April 17, 2010

[8]. Luftman, Jerry. Measure Your Business-IT Alignment: The longstanding business-IT gap can

be bridged with an assessment tool to rate your efforts. [Online]. Availabe at:

www.alternative.biz/.../Measure%20Your%20IT%20%20 Business _1. doc Accessed April 17, 2010.

31

[9]. Lubbe, Sam. “The Development of a Case Study Methodology in the Information

Technology (IT) Field: A Step by Step Approach” [online] Available at:

www.acm.org/ubiquity/views/v4i27_lubbe. pdf Accessed May 2, 2010

[10]. Baxter, Pamela and Jack, Susan (2008). “Qualitative Case Study Methodology: Study

Design and Implementation for Novice Researchers” in The Qualitative Report Volume 13,

Number 4 December 2008. PP.544-559. [Online]. Available at:

http://www.nova.edu/ssss/QR/QR13-4/baxter.pdf accessed May 2, 2010

[11]. K. Hale, et al., “2Q03 Update: IT services Forecasts, 2002-2005,” Gartner Group Research,

July 2003

[12]. McForlan’s Strategic grid. Accessed from the course page:

http://vle.dsv.su.se/course/view.php?id=249

[13]. OPERATION MANAGEMENT VOLUM III [online]. Available at: http://www.google.com/books?

hl=en&lr=&id=p6vuyWD8I30C&oi=fnd&pg=PA97&dq=information+technology+in+business&ots=9C

3lBIJaI4&sig=tD3J40rGnGTfobxh7Uxm0ekhTe0#v=onepage&q=information%20technology%20in

%20business&f=false. Accessed April 30, 2010.

[14]. Role of Information Technology in Growth of Business. [Online]. Available at:

http://ezinearticles.com/?Role-of-Information-Technology-in-Growth-of-Business&id=344198. Accessed

April 30, 2010.

[15]. Pearlson and Saunders. Managing and Using Information system: A strategic Approach 2nd ed.

(2009)

32

7. Appendices

7.1. Appindix A: Information about the Case Company

A. Name of the company: Svenska Resenatverket

Adress: Svenska Resenätverket AB. Kungsgatan 48. 111 35 Stockholm.

Website: http://www.resenatverket.se/

B. Information about the Interview

Date of the Interview:

Place of the Interview: Kungsgatan 48. 111 35 Stockholm.

Interviewees: Mickeal Robertson (CEO) and, Björn Höglind (IT Project Manager)

Telephone: 08 - 558 015 00

Fax number: 08 - 558 015 01

Email: internetkonsult@gmail.com

7.2 Appendix B: The Questionnaire used for Interview

A. For Business Manager or Chief executive Officer to assess Business IT alignment

1. How well do the IT and business folks connect easily and understand each other?

2. Does your company communicate effectively with consultants, vendors, and partners?

How?

3. Does it disseminate organizational learning internally?

4. How well does your company measure its own performance and the value of its projects

before and after the completion?

5. Do you improve your internal processes so the next project will be better?

6. Do the projects you undertake flow from an understanding of the business strategy? Do

they support that strategy?

7. Do you think the business and IT departments have true partnerships based on mutual

trust and sharing risks and rewards?

8. Does the staff have the skills needed to be effective?

33

9. How well does the technical staff understand business drivers and speak the language of

business?

10. How well does the business staff understand relevant technology concepts?

B. For Business Manager or Chief executive Officer to Assess Impact of IT on Business

and Strategy

1. Does IT play a vital role in your business or it’s an extra cost?

2. Do you need zero-defect of IT operation?

3. Do you take decision related to IT in your business meeting?

4. Do you think IT reduces your business cost? How much is your investment in IT?

5. Do you have local business manager? Do they have control over your IT systems?

C. For Business Manager or Chief executive to Assess Role of IT on Business and

Organization Strategy

1. Who is responsible for It management in your organization

2. What are your criteria for choosing new technologies?

3. How you will define your company's It architecture?

4. Are you satisfy with your current IT structure

5. Is your company Architecture is global?

6. Your architecture and programmers are ready to adopt new changes?

D. For CEO and IT Project Manager to assess the critical IT Application for Business

Strategy

1. What are the key critical IT applications of the business and what is the impact of those

applications on your business and without them what sort of an output you have?

2. Do you think that because of these IT applications you have a market advantage?

3. How you can say that you are having the advantage?

4. What you think of your business without these IT application and languages what impact it

made on your business?

5. What approaches you use while purchasing or making these application (cost or Quality)?

34

7.3 Appendix C: Transcription of the Interview (questions and answers)

Interviewer 1:

Q1 who is responsible for It management in your organization

CEO: it me as CEO

Interviewer 1:

Q2. What are your criteria for choosing new technologies?

CEO: we are mostly working with PHP java script and some flash because programners are working with

these languages since a long time

Interviewer 1:

Q3 how you will define your company's It architecture?

CEO. We just talk before doing anything and this we think is enough because we have logic that help us

lot

Interviewer 1:

Q4 are you satisfy with your current IT structure

CEO: No actually we need PHP programmers and we are searching.

Interviewer 1:

Q5. Is your company Architecture is global?

CEO. Yes we are working two countries Sweden and In Britain.

Interviewer 1:

Q6 your architecture and programmers are ready to adopt new changes ?

CEO: yes we are ready for these changes

Interviewer 2:

Q 1. Does IT play a vital role in your business or it’s an extra cost?

CEO: No. It’s a necessary part of my company.

Interviewer 2:

Q2. Do you need zero-defect of IT operation?

CEO: Obviously. Without IT for few moments, the business will suffer a huge loss.

Interviewer 2:

Q3: Do you take decision related to IT in your business meeting?

35

CEO: Yes, there is always a daily meeting. Critical decisions are taken in board meeting. Everybody

from business and IT is aware of the decision. IT and business are related strongly in this company.

Interviewer 2:

Q4. Do you think IT reduces your business cost? How much is your investment in IT?

CEO: Yes, IT reduces business cost. In a gross amount, 60-70% of total investment is in IT.

Interviewer 2:

Q5. Do you have local business manager? Do they have control over your IT systems?

CEO: No, there is no other branch of the company, so no local business manager for other branches.

But there are developers from outside of the company. They are aware of all the IT decisions.

Interviewer 3:

Q.1 how well does the IT and business folks connect easily and understand each other?

CEO: I think we all work with IT and there is a good understanding.

Interviewer 3:

Q2. Does your company communicate effectively with consultants, vendors, and partners?

How?

CEO: Yes we do.

Interviewer 3:

Q3. Does it disseminate organizational learning internally?

CEO:Yes we are all working and make decisions together and we exchange information daily.

Interview 3:

Q4. How well does your company measure its own performance and the value of its projects

before and after the completion?

CEO Many of our projects are in progress which has been running for three years and we are

still working on it. So it is not a finished project and is a continuous work. So we can’t say we

started it here and finished it there as we are still working on.

Interview 3:

Q5. Do you improve your internal processes so the next project will be better?

CEO

Interview 3: definitely yes

36

Q6. Do the projects you undertake flow from an understanding of the business strategy? Do

they support that strategy?

CEO: Yes, it is

Interview 3:

Q7. Do you think the business and IT departments have true partnerships based on mutual

trust and sharing risks and rewards?

CEO: Yes we do

Interview 3:

Q8. Does the staff have the skills needed to be effective?

CEO: yes, we have a very good understanding; everyone knows what to do, and how to do as

well

Interview 3:

Q9. How well does the technical staff understand business drivers and speak the language of

business?

CEO:

Interview 3:

Q10. How well does the business staff understand relevant technology concepts?

CEO: the understanding is very good

Interviewer 1:

Q1. Who is responsible for It management in your organization

CEO: it me as CEO

Interviewer 1:

Q2 what are your criteria for choosing new technologies?

CEO: we are mostly working with PHP java script and some flash because programmers are working

with these languages since a long time

Interviewer 1:

Q3 how you will define your company's It architecture?

CEO: we just talk before doing anything and this we think is enough because we have logic that help us

lot

37

Interviewer 1:

Q4 are you satisfied with your current IT structure

CEO: No actually we need PHP programmers and we are searching.

Interviewer 1:

Q5 Is your company Architecture is global?

CEO: yes we are working in two countries: Sweden and In Britain.

Interviewer 1:

Q6 Is your architecture and programmers are ready to adopt new changes?

CEO: yes we are ready for these changes

Interviewer 1:

What are the key critical IT applications of the business and what is the impact of those

applications on your business and without them what sort of an output you have?

Impact of those IT applications on business.

CEO:

We have the web applications which are developed in PHP and .Net and we know only

them and it is not possible for us to survive without them.

Interviewer 1:

Now days there are many WebPages that you can easily draw in flash or something like

that?

CEO:

It’s not possible for us to use these new technologies for us because our system

required the PHP and .Net platform.

Interviewer 1:

Do you think that because of these IT applications you have a market advantage?

CEO:

Yes we are getting the market advantage.

Interviewer 1:

38

How you can say that you are having the advantage?

CEO:

We have the better understanding of the how the web works, how the Google works,

search engine customization so I think the pages we produce are better than the other

companies. Our understanding is better than the others.

Interviewer 1:

What you think of your business without these IT application and languages what

impact it made on your business?

CEO:

We cannot survive without these, PHP etc..

Interviewer 1:

What approaches you use while purchasing or making these application (cost or

Quality)?

CEO:

As we are three person and we basically working on the PHP so this is our only choice

and we have the quality in mind to provide the best product to our customers.

Interviewer 1:

We are done. Thanks for your time

39

Email Interview Response from the IT Project Manager

----- Forwarded message ----------

From: björn höglind <bjorn.hoglind@gmail.com>

Date: 2010/5/3

Subject: Re: IT related question

To: Md Sajjadul Farooque Robin <technovicebd@gmail.com>

1. Who is responsible in the management of IT Strategies?

Shared respnsibility, or dependant on what it is referring to. Different specialitys =

different responsiblility.

2. What are your criteria for choosing the new technologies?

Speed, effectiveness, ease of implementation/learningcurve.

3. What is the company’s IT architecture?

Expanding, simple,

4. What is your IT organizational structure?

Flat organization, (network-organization?)

5. Are you satisfying with the current IT organizational structure in your

organization serves the best? Can it be improved, how?

i am satesfied, but it can and should be improved, especcialy if growth of company is

achieved

6. is your IT organizational structure global or it differs from country to country?

Not appliable

7. Is your organizational structure flexible enough to adapt the market and

competitive changes? If yes, than how?

Yes it is, because it is small, hence flexible.

Robin

40

7.4 Appendix D: the Contribution of each Team members

Parts of the Parject

Members of the Group

Imra

n

Ali

Sajja

dul

Robi

nU

mar

Shah

Yige

zu

Balc

ha

Jorr

o

Defining the Project Time table in line with the course time table X X

Perparation of Pregress reports X X

Looking for Companies and arranging Interview dates X X

Preparation of Background research X X X X

Literature review X X X X

Interview questionnaire X X X X

Interview X X X

Title page X

Summary X

Acknowledgments X

Table of contents X

Introduction X X

Defining Research methodology X X X X

Analysis, Transcription of Interview results X X X X

Conclusions X X

References X X X X

Appendices X X

Final Report Compilation and editings X X

Percentage contribution 25% 25% 25% 25%

41