Case 17: What Does IT Take To Go Mobile

1)​ What management, organization and technology issues need to be addressed when building mobile application?

The introduction of a new information system involves much more than new hardware and software. A mobile strategy involves much than selecting mobile devices, operating system and applications. It also includes changes in business process, changing the way people work, skills, and the way a firm interacts with its customers. System builders must understand how a system will affect specific business processes and the organization as a whole.

1. Management

A.      Decision to select new mobile application – management should know what benefits to company and customers are before developing mobile application.

Decker Corporation

·         Streaming process

·         Make company more portable

>        Customer able to look at a product on his or her mobile and see the same information on that        device.

USAA

·         Increase efficient process.

·         Eliminates the labor and expense of processing paper check.

·         Keep customers engage.

>        Provide mobile technology to its business process and provide simpler and more powerful ways for customers to interact with the company.

Ryland Homes

·         Able to engage customers

·         Increase sales.

>       Help potential customer to finds its locations, looks at this products and register with the company.

B.      Examine business process

Before firms go to mobile – Management should identify what the process, tasks and improvement that they want go to mobile that most affected by tablets or smartphones.

Example:

a)      Focus on customer engagement field enablement and employee productivity.

b)      Identify where physical and historical context can drive faster task completion.

C.      Select the right device, software and application.

Management should decide what is the right device, software and application that can support their mobile technology business process. For example what software or application that capable to handle the customization work requires integrating with the process such as capabilities for creating, viewing and managing customer information online.

D.     Monitor and control

Develop own apps and apps store – monitor and control. Manage mobile enterprise access through own in-house IT. Involve security system.

2. Organization

The key element, of an organization is its people, structure and business process.

Redesign business process

• Procedure/ SOP that can drive faster task completion.
• Redesign processes to skip or accelerate those tasks.

Redesign job

• Changing the way people work – focus on task orientation
• Change the way in which workers interact with core business system.

Train employees

• Provide training to staff – helps staff take the next step in whatever process scenario they are operating in at the time.
• Need to adopt to new method of process.

Technology

Technology is one of many tools that firms can use to cope with change. To support firms new business process, firms should select the right technology and application that consists of CRM & SCM.

Decker Outdoor Corporation

Technology such as touch interfaces, location and mapping features, alerts texting, cameras and video functionality.

USAA

• Dedicated 100 mobile developers writing apps for devices using iPhone, iPad, Android OS, Blackberry and Windows Phone 7.
• Apps able to send geographic information system (GIS) data to a towing service and display nearby car rental locations.
• Apps support photo deposits: customer can capture an image of a cheque with a smartphone & automatically submit to the bank. The money is instantly deposited in the customer’s account.
• Apps display loan and credit card balances, shopping service & auto insurance policy information.

Ryland Homes

• jQuery mobile software : to create variation of the site that were appropriate for different smartphone or tablet models.
• Focused on features communities, clickable phone numbers and brief online registration

2) How does user requirement definition for mobile application differ from that in traditional system analysis?

• Customer wants to be able to look at product on his or mobile device and see the same information on that device as that person would obtain in the store, plus some additional information such as consumers review.
• Mobile technology can streamline processes, make the device more portable and enhance them with capabilities such as touch interface, location and mapping features, alerts, texting, cameras and video functionality.
• The technology can also create less efficient process or fail to deliver benefits if the mobile application is not properly designed.

3) Describe the business process changed by USAA’s mobile application were deployed.

• USAA launched its Web in 1997 and went mobile 10 years later, with about 90% of its interactions with customers taking place on these two self service channels.
• In 2001, USAA handle 183 million customer contacts through mobile channel alone, and expect the mobile channel will its primary point of contact with customers in next two years.
• USAA has 100 dedicated mobile developer writing apps for device using iPhone, iPad and Android systems, along with apps Blackberry and Windows Phone 7.

1. Accident report and claims application

-enable customer to snap a photo and submit claim differently from the site of an accident.

-send geographic information system (GIS) data to a towing service and display nearby car rental location.

2. Photo deposit and application.

-capture an image of a check with a smartphone and automatically submit to the bank.

-the money is instantly deposited in the customer’s account.

3. Other application.

-loan and credit cards balances.

-shopping services.

-homeowners.

-auto insurance policy information.

-home circle and auto circle buying service.