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International audience; There has been much research on the design of Groupware, its potential benefits and the methods used to develop systems to support groups. However, in many real life cases, identifying tangible benefits and demonstrating improvements in the quality of decision making after introducing such systems has proven difficult. In this paper, we present the case study of a newspaper firm in order to analyse the impact of a recently introduced collaborative computer system, implemented to support the information search, storage, organisation and dissemination activities of organisational actors. We found that the implementation of the new groupware systems has revolutionised the process of creation of the newspapers and given more time and greater control to the Editorial team. We conclude that when collaborative systems are designed that are closely matched to the needs of the group they serve, tangible benefits should be clearly observable. However, the development of these systems may take much time as the idiosyncratic manner in which specialised groups operate can be very difficult to properly and completely analyse.

Large organisations, in particular multi-national corporations, have been at the forefront of the ERP movement since its origins. They have used these highly integrated systems as a way to achieve greater levels of standardisation of business processes across sites and greater centralisation of IT resources. The most common scenario for an ERP implementation in a large multi-national firm is the phased roll-out, whereby the modules of the application are implemented in all the sites in a series of waves. A standard implementation, as designed by Headquarters, is replicated in each site. This standard implementation uses a base configuration, sometimes referred to as a template or blueprint, which cannot be deviated from in any of the sites. These monolithic implementations can be quite traumatic for individual sites where local practices, sometimes quite well established and rich in organizational learning, must be abandoned. This may lead to large scale organisational problems, which must be ironed out if the full potential of the enterprise-wide system is to be obtained. In an attempt to tease out the issues in the global implementation of ERP systems, we carried out a number of case studies at Irish manufacturing sites of multinational firms where management sought ways to defend their hard won local reputation for excellence and efficiency in the face of changes to the organisation due to a corporate ERP implementation. Our study indicates that local managers are given too little scope and time to adequately adapt the template to their site and that the risk of productivity loss is quite high, at least in the short term. We conclude that mechanisms must be put in place to better understand how to accommodate local specificities whilst enforcing the required level of standardisation.

International audience

The need for an integrated enterprise-wide set of management information pronounced Data Warehousing the ‘hot topic’ of the early-to-mid 1990’s, however, it became unfashionable through the mid-to-late 1990s, with the approach of Y2K and with it the widespread implementation of ERP systems. However, in recent times, the re-emergence of Data Warehousing, to address the limitations and unrealised benefits of ERP systems implementation, provides researchers with a new challenge in understanding the ‘double learning curve’ for an organisation, undertaking in quick succession both an ERP systems project and a Data Warehousing project, in an attempt to finally achieve the benefits expected but never realised.

International audience

La fouille a révélé plusieurs périodes d'occupation. La première concerne une quinzaine de silos et un fossé attribués à l'âge du Fer (Hallstatt D/La Tène A). Après un important hiatus chronologique, le site est à nouveau investi au IXe s. par un habitat rural caractérisé par des fonds de cabane, des fosses et des silos, un four de potier et des sépultures isolées. Cet établissement est occupé sans discontinuité jusqu'à la fin du XVe s. ou au début du XVIe s. Les structures médiévales correspondent à des bâtiments à semelle de fondation en pierres, à des fosses et à des niveaux de remblais. Après l'abandon de l'habitat, le site est remis en culture. Au XVIIe ou XVIIIe, une sablière est exploitée. Elle est à l'origine de la destruction de la partie centrale du site. Après l'abandon de cette dernière, l'ensemble du site est mis en culture ou pâturage.

International audience

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International audience; The work reported in this paper is an attempt to build upon existing research in the DSS area in order to enable the accurate measurement of the degree and extent of DSS usage in organisations. We put forward a framework for the classification of DSS usage which uses two dimensions, the novelty and specifiability of decision situations. This framework can be used by IS researchers to classify DSS applications meaningfully and make comparisons not only across large samples of systems, but also across organisations. In order to prove the validity of our novel approach, we studied and classified 24 Irish organisations based on the extent to which they used DSS for different decision situations using two specific measurements: DSS spread and DSS complexity. The results obtained confirm our initial empirical results (obtained with a smaller sample of organisations). The framework we have developed is a useful vehicle for categorising the extent to which organisations have managed to integrate their DSS staff and DSS applications in the decision making processes of managers at all levels.

National audience; More and more organisations purchase software "off-the-shelf" as an alternative to developing new systems either internally or through outsourcing. This trend, which began with generic software aimed at supporting major organisational processes such as payroll or debtors and creditors ledgers, is now spreading to strategic information systems. This article attempts to investigate the reasons why managers would adopt such an option and seeks to identify the factors which determine the success or failure of such projects. We focused on SOCRATE, the reservation system of the SNCF (the French railroad company). This system is indeed the most famous instance of purchase of a strategic information system to date. On the one hand, we sought to understand the context in which SOCRATE has been implemented and the state of mind of the project leaders. On the other hand, we also sought to identify the risks inherent in such projects. The opposition between the point of view of the leaders of the project and the traditional risk analysis techniques sheds some light on the problems encountered as the project unfolded, but it also indicates a number of ways that the management of such projects could be improved.

International audience

National audience; A critical examination of currently accepted theories in the systems analysis and design area reveals that the great majority of tools and techniques used for the development of information systems have emerged in the 1967 / 1977 decade. The numerous Systems Development Life Cycles (SDLCs) in existence, prototyping, algorithmic decomposition, data hiding and structured analysis techniques such as Data Flow Diagrams and Entity Relationship diagrams all originated in this period. Even the Object Oriented approach can be traced back to this "golden decade". This article presents a number of arguments in favour of a revolution in the development of information systems and pointing to the need for the creation of new development methodologies more suited to the current needs of organisations. Based on a series of interviews with experienced systems developers and a postal survey of Irish organisations, we show how the profile of today's IS projects is now radically different from the projects of the 67/77 period. Finally, we endeavour to explain why both practice and research have not progressed as fast as they should have in the IS area.

International audience