Skip to main content

Lund University Publications

LUND UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES

IS/ICT Outsourcing Decision Project in a Large Public Organization: A Case Study

Carlsson, Sven LU and Johansson, Björn LU (2011) In Journal of Decision Systems 20(2). p.137-162
Abstract
We describe and discuss an outsourcing decision project, in which a large public organisation decided to outsource its ICT and IS. Different phases and critical steps in the project are highlighted, and some critical issues are identified. First, it is clear that there were different definitions of “hosting” and these different definitions made it unclear what the project was about. The desired project outcome thus became unclear, which affected commitment during the project as well as commitment to the outcome of the project. It also led to the project plan having to be rescheduled and the project costs increased. Second, our analysis also shows that there were unclear descriptions of how hosting was currently made in the organisation.... (More)
We describe and discuss an outsourcing decision project, in which a large public organisation decided to outsource its ICT and IS. Different phases and critical steps in the project are highlighted, and some critical issues are identified. First, it is clear that there were different definitions of “hosting” and these different definitions made it unclear what the project was about. The desired project outcome thus became unclear, which affected commitment during the project as well as commitment to the outcome of the project. It also led to the project plan having to be rescheduled and the project costs increased. Second, our analysis also shows that there were unclear descriptions of how hosting was currently made in the organisation. This resulted in several problems in the project, in particular, in making proposals from potential providers hard to evaluate. But, also some positive results, such as a clearer picture of what resources existed, was gained. The study suggests that, had there been, at the outset of the project, a clear understanding of (1) what the project was really about, (2) the project’s role in increasing control and decreasing costs, and (3) how the hosting was to be implemented, a lot of the difficulties could have been avoided. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Outsourcing, Sourcing Project, Outsourcing Decision, Case Study.
in
Journal of Decision Systems
volume
20
issue
2
pages
137 - 162
publisher
Taylor & Francis
external identifiers
  • scopus:80955155496
ISSN
2116-7052
DOI
10.3166/jds.20.137-162
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
16963d16-4000-439b-83d2-5684822a1363 (old id 2061476)
date added to LUP
2016-04-01 10:52:53
date last changed
2022-01-26 03:23:29
@article{16963d16-4000-439b-83d2-5684822a1363,
  abstract     = {{We describe and discuss an outsourcing decision project, in which a large public organisation decided to outsource its ICT and IS. Different phases and critical steps in the project are highlighted, and some critical issues are identified. First, it is clear that there were different definitions of “hosting” and these different definitions made it unclear what the project was about. The desired project outcome thus became unclear, which affected commitment during the project as well as commitment to the outcome of the project. It also led to the project plan having to be rescheduled and the project costs increased. Second, our analysis also shows that there were unclear descriptions of how hosting was currently made in the organisation. This resulted in several problems in the project, in particular, in making proposals from potential providers hard to evaluate. But, also some positive results, such as a clearer picture of what resources existed, was gained. The study suggests that, had there been, at the outset of the project, a clear understanding of (1) what the project was really about, (2) the project’s role in increasing control and decreasing costs, and (3) how the hosting was to be implemented, a lot of the difficulties could have been avoided.}},
  author       = {{Carlsson, Sven and Johansson, Björn}},
  issn         = {{2116-7052}},
  keywords     = {{Outsourcing; Sourcing Project; Outsourcing Decision; Case Study.}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{2}},
  pages        = {{137--162}},
  publisher    = {{Taylor & Francis}},
  series       = {{Journal of Decision Systems}},
  title        = {{IS/ICT Outsourcing Decision Project in a Large Public Organization: A Case Study}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.3166/jds.20.137-162}},
  doi          = {{10.3166/jds.20.137-162}},
  volume       = {{20}},
  year         = {{2011}},
}