Impact of the New MyPassword System for Students and Staff at the University of Tasmania - Literature review Example

Name Instructor Course Code Date An Investigation into the Impact of the new MyPassword System for Students and Staff at the University of Tasmania Introduction Research studies are useful in giving insights into new aspects within learning and general life situations. According to Carcary (16), the mode of acquiring information greatly determines the authenticity and reliability of the final data acquired. Thus, carrying out effective research studies is premised in the most reliable designs and methods of data collection. Successful implementation of any new project brings about dynamic change, and subsequently improves the operations within the settings. This study critically investigates the impact of the new MyPassword project at the University of Tasmania targeting the institution’s information system. The new MyPassword project is an information technology security measure undertaken at Tasmania University, and this study utilises it as a case to outline the aspect of qualitative research methods. The study aims at increasing understanding of the skills required in the collection, analysis and interpretation of qualitative data; increase understanding of the relationship between data collection, data analysis and interpretation in respect to qualitative research systems of research. Finally develop skills and competence in the carrying out of qualitative information system research. The tool utilised in this research study involves an in-depth interview, which is a primary tool of collecting qualitative data termed as Background Information Qualitative research methods are mainly preferred in information and communication technology (ICT) studies to give crucial data for certain study interpretation. According to Van Maanen (9), qualitative research incorporates “an array of interpretative techniques which seek to describe, decode, and translate or otherwise come to terms with the meaning; not the frequency of some more or less naturally occurring phenomena in the social world.” Qualitative research approaches are very useful in the sense that the researcher engages the respondents directly tapping from the ability of human beings to talk and express given ideas (Jabar 48). The method brings about first hand information which is fundamental for the research and helps researchers to understand people, as well as their social and cultural context. Further, the tool avails the opportunity for observation by the researcher and thus, be able to determine the genuineness of the information given by the respondents. This is critical to the whole research process in the aspect of ensuring acquiring reliable findings. Consequently, the researcher through interaction is able to frame questions to fit the intended perspective of the research with presence of corrections and seeking for more clarification being present (Golden-Biddle 88). Scientific research involves the pursuit of truth via a study, observation experiment or comparison approach (Jabar 49). It involves a systematic approach that involves articulating the problem, formulating objectives, data collection and analysing data to come up with conclusions supporting the research problem. The field of ICT has been faced with increased growth and development which calls for more research to come up effective findings to support dynamic change and transition (Golden-Biddle 43). Technological changes may present some challenges to the users at the onset of the implementation but there is need to establish effective ways of overcoming such challenges in the future through research studies. As information and communication technologies evolve, the roles of human context with which IT are situated have continued to be understood (Golden-Biddle 96). This has resulted to the need for appropriate research methods aimed at studying ICTs in their context of use. The IT business partner, the member of staff and the students interviewed are the human subjects in this context aimed at giving the human view of the project, its role and the overall achievement in the realisation of IT security. The use of qualitative methods has been termed as the most important approach to evaluate concepts behind IT project implementation and assessing their performance (Carcary 22). Through engaging users and experts, crucial information is obtained for research study purposes. Methodology Research methodologies are crucial in the realisation of data for interpretation to meet study objectives. To effectively come up with data for research study, it is necessary to come up with a clear outline of carrying out the research. Jabar (47) outlines a methodology as dealing with methods and principles behind the conducting of a study to come up with data for interpretation. This research study utilises the qualitative research method to critically look into the implementation of the project MyPassword at University of Tasmania. By utilising an interview research tool, the researcher outsources crucial information from the IT Business partner working with IT services in conjunction with a team to offer IT support to the entire institution. Further, the researcher engages other respondents within the institution to assess their perspective on the impact made by the new project. The target field revolves the security IT systems within the systems where individuals are expected to change their passwords and maintain the change strategy with regard to minimising security breaches from hacking. The project also involves introducing a system that detects any form of unauthorised access to the institution’s server system. According to Jabar (48), qualitative research methods focus on the qualities of phenomena that is being investigated but not on the numeric measurement. By carrying out a qualitative research, this study targets following the approach of coming up with diverse ideas from individuals directly involved with the implementation, as well as use of the new MyPassword Project. Due to the need of establishing the impact made by the new MyPassword project at the University of Tasmania, this research study utilises an in-depth interview to achieve information from one of the subjects involved in the implementation of the project, and subsequently on the subjects utilising the implemented system. Generally, qualitative research studies offers in-depth examination of given phenomena, makes use of subjective data and is not limited to flexibly definable variables. Further, it examines difficult questions that appear difficult in quantitative methods and explore new areas of research (Van Maanen 10). Qualitative research methods are very effective in acquiring first hand data for analysis pertaining to the research study. The interviewee has the opportunity to seek clarification and subsequently judge the genuineness of the information given by the respondent. To effectively come up with conclusive data for the research study, a two-way approach is undertaken to survey and investigate the impact of the new MyPassword project at the University of Tasmania among students and staff. The data sources involve the Tony Gray’s interview in conjunction with a second survey to the users of the project. The Gray’s interview will compose the first research approach surveying impact of the project as understood by the team involved in rolling down the project. The second approach involved an interview of one member of staff and two students carried out precisely to get the perspective of the project’s impact from the user’s point of view. The respondents were sampled randomly, but strategically selected to ensure achieving the study objective of investigating the impact of the new my password. The interview tool for Tony sought to establish the role of the implementation team, the anticipated outcome of the project, procedure of implementation and finally the integration of the MyPassword into the University’s IT system. From this research tool, the initial aims of the projects comes out clearly and will be compared with the second approach from users on the eventual realisation of the project objective. The second approach assessed three respondents using a qualitative in-depth interview with four aspects; the new changes experiences in their daily exercises, benefits realised, any challenges in the integration and finally any recommendations to make the project more favourable or effective from the users point of view. Implementation Qualitative research approaches are credible within ICT sector in providing detailed evaluations into the reasons and manner of implementing systems in educational settings to enhance services (Jabar 52). The implementation of MyPassword in the University of Tasmania was aimed at coming up with an effective way of safeguarding the institutions system as indicated by Tony Gray’s interview. With increased growth and development of the field of science, information and technology, the need to understand the role of human contexts in respect to state of information technology has increased (Carcary 23). The application and eventual evaluation of the role has been conducted from the subjects involved in the implementation process, as well as the subjects utilising the system. With the new MyPassword project at the University of Tasmania, the study evaluates its effective implementation by interviewing subjects behind the process. Increased discussions have been put in place evaluating the most effective research methods and designs to carry out IT studies. Qualitative methods have grown prominence due to the fact that they are premised to offer crucial research opportunities for such studies. The implementation stage of a project involves various attributes and models with leadership being on top of the strategic management and improvement. Creating a project as an idea involves great efforts; nevertheless, the eventual actualisation of the project comes into play and determines the level of success. Effective implementation of projects within organisations and institutions requires management and leadership roles that are directed by reliable sources (Robertson and Howells 560). For effective implementation of the project, it is evident that the institution outsourced an IT business partner to effectively roll out the project as a team, and effectively ensure every entity is integrated and every user made aware of the new changes. Amid the greater emphasis for change, challenges are inevitable with one in this context being the locking of accounts after the new system detecting wrong passwords probably from a user trying to log in with an old password. The implementation of MyPassword project has been premised from the need for securing IT systems within the university. Thus, the project consisted of a team of experts with skills to critically look into the most effective ways of implementing and actualising the project for IT security measures. The interview process in the case study presents the research tools utilised in qualitative research studies. The interview process presents the opportunity for the interviewer to come to face-to-face with the respondents and ask relevant queries for data findings. The approach helps the researcher to plan and pursue study objectives in the most effective and efficient way to realise credible and reliable results. Growing consensus has been discussed that qualitative methods of research present crucial opportunities for information system studies (Golden-Biddle 20). The utilisation of qualitative research methods in this regard followed an informed path to realise credible data for effective interpretation. Equipped with qualitative research methods, studies within ICT ought to come up with findings to make information systems for efficient, as well as enhance effective utilisation by the users. With the fact of presenting real-world phenomena, the subjective content of the study comes out clearly with effective study findings (Carcary 15). Results and Discussion The research study aimed at evaluating the impact of the new MyPassword project at the University of Tasmania and utilised two approaches of qualitative in-depth interview to acquire data. From the IT Consultant, it is evident that the project will have a positive impact into the overall service delivery and the security of data within the University. The project aimed at bringing an overhaul into the way students and staff utilised the information system at University of Tasmania. Changes within the ICT sector are inevitable with increased growth and development in the sector brings up new and advanced information systems. Through analysis Mr Gray’s interview, the implementation process was a success but various challenges like locking of accounts due to server detecting old passwords as hacking attempts. From the second qualitative approach, the users incorporating of one member of staff to represents sentiments from staff and two students to air views of learners gave various impressions on the project. The member of staff indicated an increased confidence in data security and stated the main objective of the project was to enhance data security within the institution. Students’ perspective to the project was positive, but some concerns came up pertaining to some hitches observed and inconveniences caused with the new restrictions and the new system overhaul. The users also identified the new project as rather demanding due to the new dynamics and the new requirements of changing the password after 90 days. Nevertheless, one respondent was quick to point out the advantage if the new measures to ensure safeguarding the institution’s information, as well as that of the staff and students. However, the overall impact of the project has increased efficiency and improved in security of data within the University’s system. Increased growth and development in the ICT sector has brought about a paradigm shift with new ideas and implementation following (Jabar 54). The implementation of any given project requires a dynamic perspective and overall focus on the objective of the exercise. Thus, understanding the key objective of the project gives a clear focus of evaluating the impact of the project to the institution and users at large. The impacts of the new MyPassword project have been shown to greatly bring new dynamic moves in the operations of information technology at the University of Tasmania information system. At the onset, the project brought about challenges with regard to users account being locked due to the changes in password. The system had been designed to detect any changes in the authentication codes or password utilised by users and determines any form of hacking and locks unauthorised usage. The problem was identified to emanate from users having multiple sites of accessing the University servers and after password change failed to align all devices to the new password. Any log in attempt detected a wrong password locking the account since the server assumed the attempt as coming from an illegal user. Project implementations are sensitive undertakings involving procedural and strategic measures to effectively realise success. For effective implementation of ICT projects, it is evident from the case analysis to effectively utilise experts in the overall realisation of success. Strategic measures and leadership roles necessary in the implementation of the project Conclusion In conclusion, utilisation of qualitative research in IT studies has been shown to give crucial data for improvement and development of systems and infrastructure. The approaches undertaken brought about effective realisation of crucial data for analysis to come establish the effectiveness of the new MyPassword project. The research study has enabled understanding the dynamics involved with students and staff of Tasmania in the context of social aspect and the information system implementation. The researcher through the qualitative aspect was able to identify critical findings and meet study objectives. From the findings, it is evident that the new MyPassword has brought about new changes in the University of Tasmania information system. The security aspect has been enhanced with increased awareness being made pertaining to password change to ensure data reliability and security. However, it is prudent to recommend that future implementation of such projects in institutions of learning be implemented in phases to prevent the challenges of hitches like account locks due to system alerts. Further, concerted efforts should be made to ensure all subjects to be affected by the change are equally aware of the change and subsequent implications. Work Cited Carcary, Marian. “The Research Audit Trial- Enhancing Trustworthiness in Qualitative Inquiry.” The Electronic Journal of Business Research Methods. 7.1 (2009): 11- 24. Print. Golden-Biddle, Karen and Karen Locke. Composing qualitative Research. 2nd ed. London: Sage Publications, 2007. Print. Jabar, Marzanah. “An Investigation into Methods and Concepts of Qualitative Research in Information System Research.” Computer and Information Science. 2.4 (2009): 47-54. Print. Robertson, Judy and Cathrin Howells. “Computer Game Design: Opportunities for Successful Learning.” Comput. Educ. 50.2 (2008): 559-578. Print. Van Maanen, John. (Ed.). Qualitative Methodology. Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publication, 1983. Print. Read More