Problems Organisations Face in Relation to End-User Development - Example

ADMI11 – Managing Information in Organisations End-User Development Applications Student Name and ID Date of Submission Table of Contents Table of Contents 2 ExecutiveSummary 3 Introduction 3 Motivation of End-User Development 3 Early End User Development 4 Problems Organisations Face in Relation to End User Development 6 Problems in the Creation of Excel Spreadsheets 8 Strategies Employed to Control End-User Problems 9 Conclusion and Recommendations 10 References 11 ExecutiveSummary End-User Development (EUD) applications are very important in todays’ businesses. This is because they play a vital role in management as well as other major business operations. EUD have been found to make work easier, save time and help in carrying out operations effectively and efficiently as it is going to be discussed in this report. However, there are several risks that are associated with the development of the EUD as indicated in this report. These risks are such wastage or company scarce resources, unintended errors while preparing spreadsheets among others. In addition several control measures to these problems have also been pointed out. Introduction End-user development is part of end-user computing that refers to the set of tools and techniques which permits end-users to make or alter a software application without having to be conversant with programming languages. End-users are described as persons who are not categorized as information system professionals and include: command level users such as those who execute uncomplicated queries to create reports for personal use and end-user programmers such as those who create or alter a software application. For instance, spreadsheets permit end-users who are not conversant with programming languages to write programs such as what if analysis that uses the spreadsheet tools for complex data items without having to learn a lower-level programming language. (Danado & Paternò 2012; p.86) Motivation of End-User Development End users are developing user-friendly applications as they use computation to attain objectives in their field of expertise that are not associated with software development. The unique requirements of each profession make it difficult for professional programmers to develop applications that are customized to each profession as they lack the necessary expertise in various professions and may be too sluggish in meeting the dynamic user needs (Danado & Paternò 2012; p.86). In addition, the professionals may not articulate with ease to the professional programmers the customization that they need for the software application that is imperative in executing various tasks in their professions. Consequently, user-friendly software applications have been developed such as the Microsoft Office Suite. Early End User Development The introduction of mass markets for personal computing that had Graphical User Interface (GUI) and tools that enhanced individual productivity created a requirement for the provision of environments that would permit persons who are not conversant with a programming to make their own software applications. The initial environment created was HyperCard for Apple Macintosh. It was the debut successful hypermedia system before the introduction of World Wide Web. HyperCard had a combination of database features that led to its extensive utilization in various roles. It was easily programmable and had database capabilities. (Subashini & Kavitha 2011; p. 9) Programming-by-example was the other programming technique made that permits the user to make an application by carrying out the steps to show how to execute tasks. The user shows an example of how a task is to be executed and the programming environment makes a deduction to create a generalized application that is in support of the desired outcome. There are two categories of programming-by-example systems: those systems that are capable of making inferences for the whole program and those that make inferences of what they are able to execute and pose questions to the user to offer assistance for the other remaining tasks(Subashini & Kavitha 2011; p. 9). The limitation of programming-by-example is that users have to use visual languages in the presentation of the final program in a meaningful manner or evaluate the program. The idea of end users making modifications in the environments was introduced byGrammel and Storey (2010).The creation and the alteration of applications in the environment were simplified making it possible for end users to modify systems to permit them to execute functions that professional programmer did not envision. The idea was later turned into the idea of meta-design which permits users to be designers offering them flexibility.(Subashini & Kavitha 2011; p. 9) The introduction of customization methods created interest among users because it helped in the formulation of applications that were tailored to meet their needs. Tailoring is achieved through the customizing, integrating, and extending functions in applications by end users. . (Lizcano et al. 2011; p.102) The idea of visual programming in simplifying development is to utilize two-dimensional graphical presentations. Dataflow visual language links icons to sophisticated functionalities that are vital for the experts in their area of specialization. (Grammel & Storey 2010; p. 140) Problems Organisations Face in Relation to End User Development As discussed earlier EUD applications are mainly developed by non-professional IT personnel who develops the application to meet the demands of the organisation or the company. Recently the use of EUD applications has drastically been increasing in the corporate sector(Auer, Pölz & Biffl 2009; p. 12). Most companies are employing these applications in order to ease their business operations and save on time while attending to certain duties in the company. In most cases end-user –developed applications such as the spreadsheet and databases are employed by organisations so as to meet various critical management needs. The fact that end-user applications are developed, implemented, and controlled by users and not IT professionals they tend to be very risky(Danado & Paternò 2012; p.86). Some of the common risksthat result from end-user applications revolve around management decision making as well as risks related to financial reporting. The following is a review of various problems that organisations face in relation to End User Development. Strategies for internal controls will also be discussed under this topic so as to find out some of the solutions to the risks that result from EUD.(Lizcano et al. 2011; p.102) End User Development results to applications such as spreadsheets, data extraction queries, specialized reports, databases and websites. Spreadsheets specifically, are very vital to the operations and processes of a business. About 70% of all the companies in the world depend on spreadsheets to conduct various business processes (Auer, Pölz & Biffl 2009; p. 12). However, a recent survey reveals that spreadsheets are the most popular end-user application but 90% of them usually have errors. The errors in these spreadsheets may result to poor decision making by organisation managers or unnecessary costs. For example Barclays Capital made some spreadsheet errors while determining the assets that it was supposed to buy due to Lehman Brothers’ bankruptcy (Grammel & Storey 2010; p. 140). The error made the firm to loose several million dollars. Moreover the end user development application may also result to financial reporting errors. Generally end user applications results into four main problems that are related to financial reporting and poor decision making by organisation management. These problems can be classified as unintentional errors that leadto inaccurate financial reports as well as poor decision making. Another problem is inadequateresources both time and finances that will be needed when developing the application. The thirdrisk is that, some end userapplication may be prepared with an aim to propagate fraud or losses. Lastly, EUD applications may lead to the occurrence of data breaches. (Pipek et al. 2009) In most organisations that employ the EUD applications, such problems as the ones discussed above are quite common in their operations. For example the unintended errors in the spreadsheets are normally committed by company accountants thus leading to poor decision making by the managers of the companies in question.Such errors if not noted early enough, ends up causing business failure. Other errors such misstatement or intentional manipulation of financial reports leads to losses (Grammel & Storey 2010; p. 140). There are many cases that have been reported concerning fraudthat has resulted from perpetration of fraud through the manipulation of spreadsheets by the employees so as to suit their duplicitous actions in bid to steal from the company. Before the establishment of the Sarbanes Oxley Act; the law that calls for formal control for the implementation of EUDs, most companies would innocently undergo losses as a result of risks that were caused by the use of EUD applications. For example the risk of data breach has been very common in the corporate world where employees freely reveal company information to its competitors and other unauthorised parties. Data breach results to the leakage of confidential information from the organisations, thus leading to company’s insecurity. In some instances data breach has resulted to leakage of customers’ personal information causing them to lose confidence in the company or organisation especially in the health sector. (Grammel & Storey 2010; p. 140) Another critical problem with the end user development application is the wastage of company’s scarce resources such as finances and employee’s time. The development of these applications requires time as well as money in order to facilitate their implementation. Even though most of these end user developmentapplications are developed by persons who are not IT gurus, their development requires a lot of funds. To cater for this, the company ends up using a lot of its scarce resources in the implementation of the application. Sometimes the company may incur such costs only to find that there is such software that exists. Problems in the Creation of Excel Spreadsheets Human errors are the main problems in the creation of excel spreadsheet. End users and professional programmers commit mechanical errors that are caused by fatigue, mental overload, and carelessness. Programmers commit errors of omission when they accidentally or as a result of being uninformed forget to set something in the model(Mehandjiev et al. 2011; p. 415). Logical errors are committed by end users such as when they overwrite formulas in the cells with the anticipated outcome for the cell in the event of not succeeding in getting the desired result or when they apply a wrong algorithm in problem solving. A human error is costly overtime as it leads to a degraded and error prone spreadsheet that is problematic in maintaining. Strategies Employed to Control End-User Problems Some of the measures that a company can employ to control these problems include establishing full control during the development of the application or the company examining the end user application itself. Exercising control over the development of the application will entail policies on end-user application, communication, and training on which software to develop. (De Angeli et al. 2011; p. 246) Companies should introduce a policy concerning the implementation and the use of the end-user application. The policy should then be communicated to the employees so as to ensure there is consistency in the development of the application as well as some form of control on its implementation. By so doing unintentional errors would be avoided. The policy put in place should include a well-described process in which the developer should follow while creating the application. Another way of controlling the end-user application problems is by communicating various important issues pertaining to the development of the application. Communication during the development of the end-user application helps in eliminating wastage of resources. This is because the communication will help in avoiding duplication or overlapping of end-user applications.(De Angeli et al. 2011; p.246) Training on the other hand is very important in developing the end-user application because it helps in eliminating the wastage problem. If the user is well trained on how to implement the application, time and other resources are saved during the whole process. Conclusion and Recommendations As it has been discussed in this report end user development applications are very important in todays’ businesses. This is because they play a vital role in management as well as other major business operations. EUD have been found to make work easier, save time and help in carrying out operations effectively and efficiently. However, there are several risks that are associated with the development of the EUD as indicated in this report. These risks are such wastage or company scarce resources, unintended errors while preparing spreadsheets among others. In addition several control measures to these problems have also been pointed out. The companies are highly recommended to put in place the relevant control measures so as to ensure that the problems that are resulting from the EUD applications do not negatively affect the firm.For instance measures such as communicating various important issues pertaining to the development of the application so as to avoid wastage of resources. Companies should introduce a policy concerning the implementation and the use of the end-user application. The policy should then be communicated to the employees so as to ensure there is consistency in the development of the application as well as some form of control on its implementation. By so doing unintentional errors would be avoided. References Auer, M., Pölz, J., & Biffl, S. (2009, May). End-user Development in a Graphical user Interface Setting. In ICEIS (5) (pp. 5-14). Danado, J., & Paternò, F. (2012, September). A prototype for EUD in touch-based mobile devices. In Visual Languages and Human-Centric Computing (VL/HCC), 2012 IEEE Symposium on (pp. 83-86). IEEE. De Angeli, A., Battocchi, A., Chowdhury, S. R., Rodriguez, C., Daniel, F., & Casati, F. (2011). End-user requirements for wisdom-aware eud. In End-User Development (pp. 245-250). Springer Berlin Heidelberg. Grammel, L., & Storey, M. A. (2010). A survey of mashup development environments. In The smart internet (pp. 137-151). Springer Berlin Heidelberg. Lizcano, D., Alonso, F., Soriano, J., & López, G. (2011, January). End-user development success factors and their application to composite web development environments. In ICONS 2011, The Sixth International Conference on Systems (pp. 99-108). Mehandjiev, N., De Angeli, A., Wajid, U., Namoun, A., & Battocchi, A. (2011). Empowering end-users to develop service-based applications. In End-User Development (pp. 413-418). Springer Berlin Heidelberg. Pipek, V., Rosson, M. B., de Ruyter, B., & Wulf, V. (Eds.). (2009). End-User Development: 2nd International Symposium, IS-EUD 2009, Siegen, Germany, March 2-4, 2009, Proceedings (Vol. 5435). Springer. Subashini, S., & Kavitha, V. (2011). A survey on security issues in service delivery models of cloud computing. Journal of Network and Computer Applications, 34(1), 1-11. Read More