Maturity based evaluation of IT systems for maintenance management

摘要

Research shows that investments in IT have a positive correlation to company profitability and competitiveness. Kven though, IT projects often fail to deliver the expected benefits. One reason could be the increased complexity both with respect to project organization and implemented IT solutions. E-maintenance is a concept developed for dealing with this complexity by securing effective information logistics for the maintenance. The quality of the implemented IT system is affected by the quality of the procurement, therefore is of importance to find means to reduce quality problems in the early phases of the total systems life cycle. This paper addresses how the IT maturity of the maintenance organization could be considered in the IT procurement, especially in the evaluation of candidate systems. The proposed method tries to simplify the process by considering IT maturity as a means to define key requirements, and as a basis for evaluation. A model describing three phases of IT maturity within maintenance (IT beginners, medium IT users and IT mature organizations) forms the theoretical basis, and IT functionality required for each level are specified. The applicability of the approach is tested by evaluating 24 IT systems for maintenance management. In conclusion, the method can be used for defining IT requirements in a holistic manner as a means to achieve effective information logistics. The IT maturity model could also help organizations in forming their IT strategy towards the e-maintenance concept.