Dr Zijad Pita

Position

Lecturer

School / Work Unit

Business Information Technology

Contact Details

+(61 3) 9925 5830

zijad.pita@rmit.edu.au

Location

Building: 108
Level: 17
Room: 13

City Campus

Portfolio

Business

"Photo of Zijad Pita"

Qualifications

PhD - Thesis: Strategic Information System Planning (SISP) in Australia: Assessment and Measurement (RMIT).

MBIT - Thesis: Strategic Information System Planning (SISP) The Major Obstacles to Successful SISP Implementations (RMIT)

Bachelor in Organisational Science

Over 20 years of experience in Europe and Australia, working in Banking, Metal, Chemical, Petro-Chemical and Pharmaceuticals Industry in Information Systems Management, Systems Analysis and Design (Using Oracle tools) and Systems Implementation.

Research Interests

IS Project Management, Strategic Information Systems Planning (SISP), Business Process Modelling, Business Intelligence, Decision Support Systems, Systems Analysis and Systems Design, Object Oriented Analysis and Design, Analytical Analysis.

Course Coordination

Current Semester

Postgraduate Program

Undergraduate Program

Previous Semester

Postgraduate Program

Undergraduate Program

Thesis: Strategic Information Systems Planning (SISP) in Australia: Assessment and Measurement

Strategic Information Systems Planning (SISP) is the process of identifying a portfolio of computer-based applications that will assist an organization in executing its business plans and realizing its business goals. It is an important activity for helping Chief Information Executives (CIOs) and top management identify strategic applications and align Information Technology (IT) with business needs. However, like all strategic planning, SISP produces many benefits that are intangible such that measuring how well SISP is done and how planning is improving over time. Measurement of these intangibles is a complex exercise. There have been few efforts undertaken in the Information Systems (IS) literature to formally develop a model for assessing and measuring SISP effectiveness.

In this study, two models were proposed: a five-stage SISP maturity model for measuring the degree of SISP maturity and another one for assessing the degree of SISP maturity. The five SISP maturity levels were defined as: Rudimentary Planning, Ineffectual Planning, Attainable Planning, Sustainable Planning, and Adaptable Planning. To model the level of SISP maturity, an ‘Integral SISP Engineering’ approach was established and the Analytic Network Process (ANP) theory was used. The study is a novel approach in using ANP to synthesize the measures of the various SISP constructs into a single overall measure of SISP maturity level.

A survey was performed and data collected from 260 Australian organisations to examine the degree of SISP maturity and the relationships among SISP constructs. Structural equation modelling (SEM) was used to test the goodness of fit between the hypothesized model and the survey data. The models were applied on the data collected and the findings suggested defining SISP maturity levels through eight first-order dimensions termed as Form and Content, Collaboration, Policies, Stakeholders’ Designation, Knowledge Bank, Technology, Time Dimension, and Viability. The first-order constructs were grouped into three second-order constructs, namely Effectiveness, Efficiency and Manoeuvrability, which ultimately characterise the level of SISP maturity.

While Effectiveness and Efficiency are well recognised planning constructs, Manoeuvrability as a measure of planning dynamics is not acknowledged in the literature as an equally important construct. This study confirmed a strong correlation between Manoeuvrability and SISP success and found it to be more important than the Efficiency construct. The empirical data did not confirm the existence of the Rudimentary and Ineffectualplanning levels of SISP maturity Australia-wide. SISP maturity in the majority of Australian organisations is at Sustainable and Attainableplanning levels. A small percentage of the surveyed organisations have actually reached the highest planning level (Adaptable planning).

Publications

Conferences Papers/Publications

Z. Pita, F. Cheong and B. Corbitt (2008) “Analytical Thinking Approach: an Application in Assessment and Measurement of Strategic Information Systems Planning”, 19th Australasian Conference on Information System (ACIS 2008)

Z. Pita, F. Cheong and B. Corbitt (2008) “Approaches and methodologies for Strategic Information Systems Planning: an Empirical study in Australia”, 19th Australasian Conference on Information System (ACIS 2008)

Z. Pita, F. Cheong and B. Corbitt (2006) “A Model for Assessing SISP Maturity Using the Analytic Network Process”, in Strategic Information Management-Challenges and Strategies in Managing Information Systems (Edited by Galliers, B.P. & Leidner, D. E.), Accepted.

Z. Pita, F. Cheong and B. Corbitt “A Model for Assessing SISP Maturity Using the Analytic Network Process”, 17th Australasian Conference on Information System (ACIS 2006)