International+Truck+Assignment

//Contributions after 11:59 PM on April 1 will not be considered. Refer to the case details on page 216-217 of our Information Systems Essentials text to answer the questions.//
 * International Truck** ​


 * This assignment is based on Closing Case Study One on page 216-217 of the Haag text, questions 3 – 5 entitled, “International Truck Makes A Huge Bet On A Service-Oriented Architecture”. **


 * Recall software development methodologies that focus on component-based development such as RAD, XP, and agile as discussed in Chapter 6. How is International Truck able to integrate new software modules with existing ones? **

By determining which software needed to be purchased, and having the in-house IT specialists write others from scratch, International Truck addressed and customized the necessary components for implementing a SoA. As an example, the text explains how International Truck, "uses a data integration tool from SSA Global to extract information from their own Baan ERP system"*. This in turn joins the internal software to the order management system. Using this XP methodology is a critical part of making International Truck's business successful and fixes existing problems. They are able to integrate new software modules with old ones by using the "software library" and finding blocks of code that can be reused across new applications, like plug and play. By integrating the new software with older versions that employees are already familiar with, they can make the business boom. It is a lot easier than "plunging" directly into a new software system that can cause a lot of unwanted problems.


 * What key infrastructure-centric metrics could International Truck use to justify its movement toward a service-oriented architecture?**
 * For each that you identify, provide a short description of why the metric is important.**

One of the metrics that could be used would be system availability. International Truck's previous IT systems didn't share information easily. The SoA allowed information to flow much easier to and from different departments and systems, resulting in less problems and errors in areas such as manufacturing.

Another key infrastructure-centric metrics that could be used by International Truck to justify an SoA scalability, accuracy, system availability, and through put. These would be justified by the problem in shortfalls in inventory, excessive defects and returns, more timely information on assembly-plant problems, and the lack of easily shared information by their current system,.

They are using scalability because their new system they put in place has now increased their demands. Customers have more access to the products at hand. It has also made it cheaper and has saved them over three million dollars.

**How important is it for International Truck to have a good business continuity plan in place?**

As with most companies, it's extremely important for International Truck (IT) to have a good business continuity plan that encompasses all areas of the business. IT is a very large company with hundreds of dealers, several vehicle models and state of the art technology. Having a business continuity plan that detailed what to do in a disaster situation would help save the company millions of dollars in recovery costs. Having a good business continuity plan in place serves as the basis for getting back up to speed after a downfall or halt of production. It is necessary and important to have it or else no one will know what to do.


 * What key IT systems and other IT resources do you believe would be at the top of the list for quick recovery? Why? **

Having a predetermined hot site or a cold site to go to would be paramount. Insuring that vendors, dealers and other stakeholders are kept aware of the status of the situation is vital. Having the ERP system, the Common Vehicle Tracking system and the Service-oriented architectures (SoAs) up and running as quickly as possible is important. It needs to track truck production to start flagging anything that is going wrong. The GPS systems in their trucks would be on the list for quick recovery to make sure deliveries are being made on time and to the right location. Also, customer orders would be on the top of the list to ensure that orders already placed are not forgotten.

All of the company's IT systems would need to employ fast and effective backup and recovery solutions. Any system down-time would result in lost productivity and increased costs. The company servers should always have an up to date backup of all important data. The recovery solution would need to be able to quickly recover the IT systems and data to minimize down-time.

A quick recovery needs a high-speed software system that can integrate with others to get back up to speed with the entire company and get business booming again.


 * Information Systems Essentials (2009)