Development practices for executive information systems: findings of a field study

Abstract

A field survey of 43 organizations was conducted to explore how the initial version of executive information systems (EISs) are developed. The data provide interesting insights into EIS development practices. The motivations for developing EISs tend to be internal in nature with providing easier, faster access to information being the most important. EISs are expensive to develop with an average cost of $325,000 for hardware, software, development personnel, and training. Developing an EIS often requires enhancements to the computing infrastructure with improving existing databases requiring the most attention. While a variety of developmental methodologies are used, 80 percent of the firms employed an evolving approach rather than the traditional linear systems development life cycle. The sequencing of the phases in developing an EIS varies considerably among firms; however, the more successful development efforts include an initiation, definition of systems objectives, and feasibility analysis. Depending on the phase, the key decision maker may be the executive sponsor, executive users, or IS. The IS group is the primary provider of expertise and the driving force for all of the phases. Most EISs contain a variety of features, with drill-down and colour screens included in virtually all systems. The major problems in developing an EIS are getting accurate data and identifying executives' information requirements.