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Typescript (photocopy). / Digitized by Kansas Correctional Industries

This study set out to ascertain whether or not Telkom's SAP Rl3! process modification adaptation strategy resulted in improved supply chain performance. For Telkom who have struggled, at great expense and with great frustration, with incompatible information systems and inconsistent operating practices, the promise of an off-the-shelf solution, in the form of SAP R3, to solve its problem of supply chain integration was too great to resist. There are two alternative approaches to implementation of packaged software: Package adaptation to organisational needs and organisational adaptation to the package. This research revealed that typically, Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) vendors recommend process adaptation and discourage ERP adaptations for the fear of potential performance and integrity degradation as well as maintenance and future upgrade difficulties - however, enterprises often find reasons to stray from that directive. Telkom decided to use the process modification and enhancement ERP adaptation strategy for its SAP Rl3 implementation, because management believes that by enhancing the speed and effectiveness of business processes before implementing SAP Rl3, the full benefits SAP Rl3 will be realised. Telkom redesigned 489 processes to take full advantage of the new system's capabilities, in particular its ability to simplify the flow of information. Taking a broad look at the results and comments made regarding Telkom's SAP Rl3 implementation, it was found that Telkom's SAP Rl3 implementation strategy resulted in quick achievements of a positive return on investment (ROI) when comparing pre- and postimplementation performance. Inventory levels, receivables, operating costs, order cycle times, stock turns, labour and distribution expenditures have all improved. On the other hand, fifty percent of the peer group benchmark baselines were not matched or exceeded by Telkom's measured post-implementation performance. It was found that Telkom's supply chain performance is tightly related to three areas of concern identified in this research: Problems with SAP and c-commerce integration, SAP's forecasting ability remains at a disadvantage, and the issue of Telkom not benchmarking their supply chain performance. It was also found that process improvement emerged as the principal element that enabled Telkom to realise the measured benefits of its ERP implementation. I SAP Rl3 stands for Systems, Applications and Products, Real time, 3-tier architecture. / Thesis (M.B.A. -University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2003.

The purpose of this project was to analyze six companies in various industries that are currently using systems, applications, and products in data processing (SAP)'s R/3. It outlines the history of SAP and gives background on the companies including what they used before R/3, why they chose R/3, and some of the challenges involved with the changing over to R/3. The companies that were analyzed are Allegran Pharmaceuticals, Pacific Communications, Varian Incorporated, Northop-Grumman, Sempra Energy, and Goodrich. A comparison of the companies is done along with analysis on strategic motivators behind the change to R/3.

Thesis (MBA)--Stellenbosch University, 2012. / Governance Risk and Compliance (GRC) software applications are designed to facilitate the GRC process. GRC software inherently faces the same implementation challenges as any other Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software. The design and usability of GRC software contribute substantially to how much value is added to the GRC process and as GRC is still in its infancy; it is likely to keep evolving as this process matures. Due to the inconstant nature of the GRC process, GRC software applications require a large amount of customisation to meet the special requirements of each organisation. The objective of this research was to establish the extent to which GRC software applications add value to the GRC process. The researcher also tried to establish whether organisations, that are currently using GRC software applications, gain more value from the GRC process than before they implemented GRC software applications. He conducted the research by presenting research questions, in the form of a questionnaire, to the risk executives of three Western Cape companies. The author of this research paper collected the responses from each company by conducting one-on-one interviews with each of the executives concerned and then reviewed and analysed the interview results of each company. Finally, the author completed a cross case analysis, by comparing GRC software application dimensions and characteristic ratings across the three companies concerned. The research indicated that there is not a great difference in importance between the five GRC design dimensions because they all received high performance ratings. There were some differences, however, in the perceived performance of each dimension, when analysing the dimension characteristics ratings. The research showed that the greatest benefit, of the use of GRC software applications, is the ability to add structure and consistency to the GRC process.

Thesis (MTech (Business Information Systems))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2018. / Many software organisations using iterative software development approach use practices that relate to quality management. However, the quality management process has been inadequate. Despite many research studies conducted on quality management in iterative software product development none have adequately addressed the challenges and mitigation techniques to have an adequate process that leads to a quality software product. The objective of this study was to determine factors that affect the quality management process in iterative software development. The research followed a qualitative approach, a case of software organisation SasTech in Cape Town, South Africa. 22 interviews were conducted on three roles actively involved in the software product development process. These are product management, quality assurance and software developers. Themes were drawn from results and were tabulated. The duality of technology theory was used as a theoretical lens to data analysis. Several factors were identified to influence the software quality management process. These include planning, documentation, process ownership, technologies, testing, timelines and management support. Through the general proposed framework, facilities (human resources and technologies), interpretive schemes (architecture) and norms (practices) of software quality management can be institutionalised leading to adequate and effective quality management in iterative development for SasTech as well as other organisations in the same industry.

A budget allocation and planning algorithm was developed for the economic evaluation of interdependent projects. Projects may be characterized by discrete point estimates or by continuous functions. The unique approach of this algorithm is that, if continuous functions are used, the analyst may specify a functional relationship between costs and returns. Budget planning techniques were incorporated into the algorithm to aid the decision maker in planning for future budgetary needs and in influencing the budget determination process. The algorithm utilizes a future worth of net return criterion in conducting the analyses. All projects under consideration need not have the same life; unequal-lived projects may be considered. The algorithm was coded in BASIC on an IBM Personal Computer. Two versions of the algorithm were developed; one which utilizes discrete point estimates to characterize projects, and one which utilizes continuous functions. The algorithm identifies the optimal combination of projects, given a budget profile and various project interdependencies. After the optimal portfolio of projects is identified, four sensitivity analyses may be run to analyze the effect of any uncertainty in the decision environment. An example is provided to illustrate the capabilities and limitations of the algorithm. / M.S.