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Assessing the Risks of IT Infrastructure – A Personal Network Perspective

Assessing the Risks of IT Infrastructure – A Personal Network Perspective. Daniel J. Hinz Jochen Malinowski. Summary. Information technology (IT) management for end-user computing systems like desktop computers is of high importance, especially the availability of these systems

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Assessing the Risks of IT Infrastructure – A Personal Network Perspective

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  1. Assessing the Risks of IT Infrastructure – A Personal Network Perspective Daniel J. Hinz Jochen Malinowski

  2. Summary • Information technology (IT) management for end-user computing systems like desktop computers is of high importance, especially the availability of these systems • Users are a vital part of these systems, and any user incident renders the system unavailable until the incident is resolved • Classical approaches consider only measurable user incidents, eg. number of helpdesk calls • Integrating personal network characteristics may give a more realistic view of user incident behaviour HICSS 39 4. Oktober 2014

  3. IT infrastructure management is a hot topic for more than 15 years now SIM survey 1990 "IT infrastructure" appears for the first time in the top 10 issues identified by the survey • Survey to identify the most critical issues in IS management • Conducted regularly by the Society for Information Management (SIM), supported by the MIS Research Center (MISRC) • Among their members consisting of top executives as well as IS researchers 1995 "Building a responsive infrastructure" was ranked number one challenge "IT infrastructure management" ranked third in these two informal surveys 2000 2001 "Infrastructure developments" ranked second in the category of top application and technology developments 2003 Source: [Niederman, Brancheau, Wetherbe 1991], Brancheau, Janz, Wetherbe 1996], [Luftmann, McLean 2004] HICSS 39 4. Oktober 2014

  4. End-user computers are a central component of IT infrastructure Findings from the literature • End user computers are a central component, as they are influenced by all other infrastructure components • Availability is a major aspect [Niessink and Van Vliet, 1998] Potential causal model for desktop availability Users may have major effect on desktop availabilityIf the user is lost, the system is inoperational, although all hardware and software is working HICSS 39 4. Oktober 2014

  5. 52 And users are a vital part HICSS 39 4. Oktober 2014

  6. What would you do, if …. … You want to order a Canon MP730 printer in the online purchasing platform of your company, but cannot find it in the printers section? • Keep on searching? (perhaps it's listed as "input device") • Call the helpdesk? • Ask the colleague next door, who just got his new Canon last week? • Order a different model? • Give up? ? HICSS 39 4. Oktober 2014

  7. Classical approaches focus on "official" incidents, but they are only one part Situation Classical approaches measure mostly official incidents (e.g., helpdesk calls) [Niessink and Van Vliet, 2000] Complication • Not all incidents are reported but instead solved by asking co-workers or known experts • How can those aspects be considered to get a more realistic number of incidents? HICSS 39 4. Oktober 2014

  8. Social network characteristics may have an influence on problem solving behavior Social network characteristics may influence problem solving behavior… … and Social Network Analysis (SNA) may offer a promising solution to address them[Wassermann and Faust 1994; Scott 2000] • The problem solving capability of the social network of co-workers influences the number of ‘unofficial’ user incidents • The problem solving capability of the helpdesk influences the number of ‘official’ user incidents • Focus on the relations between individuals • Body of qualitative measures of network structures • Widely applied in sociology and organizational studies HICSS 39 4. Oktober 2014

  9. The density of the social network has an influence on problem solving Ego-Centric Density (ECD)of the helpdesk [Scott 2000] Socio-Centric Density (SCD)of the network of co-workers [Barnes 1974] Based on expert interviews, two SNA measures to influence problem solving were chosen HICSS 39 4. Oktober 2014

  10. SCD and ECD can be used to get a more realistic number of user incidents The ratio of both densities can be used to predict the unkown number of total user incidents (UI) from the number of known incidents (CHD) Example UI: User incidents CHD: Calls that reach the helpdesk α: Scaling factor HICSS 39 4. Oktober 2014

  11. The initial model has to be extended to reflect these findings Helpdesk quality and social network density now determine the user action upon an incident HICSS 39 4. Oktober 2014

  12. Further research • Validation of the model with real-life data • Evaluation of the applicability of other SNA measures • Consideration of multiple hops • Consideration of dynamic aspects HICSS 39 4. Oktober 2014

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