Creating an Information Factory

"Q: How many interpretations of systems				environment
development are there?				(5W), thereby synchronizing the flow of work. Within
A: How many analysts and programmers have you				the phasesof the methodology, a variety of tools and
got?"				techniques may bedeployed defining HOW the work is
- Bryce's Law				to be performed.
INTRODUCTION				Resource Management (Materials Management) -
Back in the early 1980's, Japan's MITI (Ministry of				identifies andclassifies information resources, thereby
International				promoting the sharingand re-using of resources. It also
Trade & Industry) coordinated a handful of Japanese				ensures they are collected,stored and retrieved in a
computermanufacturers in establishing a special				timely manner.
environment for producingsystem software, such as				Project Management (Production Control) - used to
operating systems and compilers. Thiseffort came to				plan, estimate,schedule, report, and control project
be known as Japanese "Software Factories"				work.
whichcaptured the imagination of the industry. Although				Why an "Information Factory" as opposed to a
the experimentended with mixed results, they				"Software Factory"? Oneof the key failures in the
discovered organization and disciplinecould dramatically				Japanese "Software Factories" experimentwas its
improve productivity.				limited scope. It failed to address all of the
Why the experiment? Primarily because the Japanese				informationresources of an enterprise, especially
recognizedthere are fundamentally two approaches to				business processes,administrative procedures, manual
manufacturinganything: "one at a time" or mass				files, printed reports,human and machine resources,
production. Both are consistentapproaches that can				business functions, etc. all ofwhich are essential to a
produce a high quality product. The differenceresides in				total systems solution. The term
the fact mass production offers increased volume				"Information Factory," therefore, is an admission there
atlower costs. In addition, workers can be easily trained				is more toinformation resources than just software.
and put intoproduction. On the other hand, the "one at				THE NEED FOR INDUSTRIAL ENGINEERING
a time" approach isslower and usually has higher costs.				The mechanics and infrastructure of an "Information
It requires workers to beintimate with all aspects of the				Factory" arefairly easy to grasp, but it requires a
product. Which is the most appropriateapproach for a				special kind of person toimplement: an Industrial
development organization to take? That depends on				Engineer.
theorganization's perspective of systems development.				The American Heritage Dictionary of the English
ART VERSUS SCIENCE				Language (Third Edition)defines Industrial Engineering
There are those who believe systems development to				as: "The branch of engineering that isconcerned with
be some sortof art-form requiring peculiar knowledge				the efficient production of industrial goods as
and skills to perform. Thereare significant differences				affectedby elements such as plant and procedural
between an "art" and a "science." An "art"depends on				design, the management ofmaterials and energy, and
an individual's intuitive instincts about a particular				the integration of workers within the overallsystem."
subject. Suchintuition is difficult to teach and apply in a				An Industrial Engineer considers the products to be
consistent manner. An art-form,by definition, implies				build andemploys work study techniques in order to
non-conformity and represents an expression				improve productivity. Sucha group of people is critical
ofpersonal style and taste. In contrast, a "science" is				to the implementation of any massproduction facility,
based on provenprinciples and, as such, can be taught				including an "Information Factory." The
and applied in a uniform manner bymany people.				Industrial Engineer has to be one part engineer and one
In order for systems development to move from an				part socialscientist, studying the behavior of people (e.g.,
art to a science, a bodyof knowledge has to be				why they work inthe manner they do). This is another
defined in terms of proven concepts and				element missed by the Japanese
standardterminology. Unfortunately, this is where the				"Software Factories."
industry has beenwallowing for the last 30 years. The				In an "Information Factory" the Industrial Engineer is
Japanese example reveals itis not necessary to invent				responsiblefor:
any new theories of management, but ratherto re-use				1.
existing management principles that have already been				Defining the infrastructure of the factory
provenover time. By doing so, they are attempting to				(methodologies to be used,resource management, and
move the industryfrom an art to a science.				project management). This includes the progressionand
FIVE BASIC ELEMENTS OF MASS PRODUCTION				synchronization of work, along with the tools and
Assuming we want to establish an environment of				techniques to beused (5W+H).
mass production todevelop our information resources,				2.
it is necessary to understandits fundamental nature. As				Establishing the types of people needed to perform
any introductory text book on manufacturingcan				the work, alongwith the required skill sets (and how to
explain, there are five basic elements of mass				evaluate performance). Thisalso includes specifying the
production:				types of training required to do the job.
1.				3.
Division of Labor - to break the production process				Reviewing work products (work sampling) in order to
intoseparate tasks performed by specialists or				evaluateproduct quality and production problems,
craftsmen. Such divisionspecifies the type of skills				thereby triggering the needfor improvement.
required to perform the work.				4.
2.				Constantly looking for new tools and techniques to
Assembly Line - describing the units of work along				improve the process. Itis generally agreed techniques
with thedependencies between the steps thereby				and tools will come and go, and willevolve over time.
defining the progressionand synchronization of product				As such, the Industrial Engineer is a student ofthe
development.				industry.
3.				EFFECT ON CORPORATE CULTURE
Precision Tooling - for mechanical leverage in				The mechanics of the "Information Factory" are easy
developing products.				to assimilate andimplement. The real problem lies in
4.				changing the behavior andattitudes of people,
Standardization of Parts - for interchangeability of				specifically, the corporate culture. The goalof an
parts betweenproducts, thereby lowering costs and				"Information Factory," as it is with any mass
shortening development time, andallowing assembly by				productionfacility, is to develop a homogeneous
unskilled and semi-skilled workers.				development environment
5.				(as opposed to a heterogeneous environment where
Mass Demand - this represents the impetus for mass				everyone isallowed to develop products as they see
production;customers demanding standardized and				fit).
reliable products at lowercosts. In the IRM world this is				To counter the "Tower of Babel" effect found in most
represented by end-users who requirestandard and				developmentorganizations, the "Information Factory"
reliable systems at lower costs to support				seeks consistency andquality through uniformity and
theirinformation needs.				standardization. It is not uncommonfor the concept of a
The rationale behind mass production is improved				factory-like environment to strike fear in thehearts of
productivity;producing more quality products at less				software developers as they may see it as a threat
cost. Most people fallaciouslyequate productivity with				to theirfree-spirited individuality. Such an environment
efficiency, which simply gauges how fast we				need not sacrificefreedom of expression or creativity.
canperform a given task. Effectiveness, on the other				It is simply a means to channelsuch creative energies
hand, validates thenecessity of the task itself. There is				in a uniform manner.
nothing more unproductive than todo something				The biggest problem though rests in reorienting people
efficiently that should not have been done at all.				to believe theyare in the business of building products,
Anindustrial robot, for example, can efficiently perform				not just writing code. Acceptanceof the "Information
tasks such aswelding. However, if it welds the wrong				Factory" environment can be achieved if
thing or at the wrong time,then it is counterproductive. It				peopleunderstand the overall process, where they fit in
therefore becomes important in theproduction of any				it,what is expected of them, and how their work
product to define WHO is to perform WHAT work,				affects others. We havefound most people prefer
WHEN,				organization and discipline as opposed tochaos. Further,
WHERE, WHY, and HOW (we refer to this as				they can achieve superior results when standardsare
"5W+H").				imposed; such discipline results in uniform and
We therefore have long touted the following formula:				predictablework products,
Productivity = Effectiveness X Efficiency				CONCLUSION
It is our belief improved productivity can be instituted				It is possible to employ the same concepts and
byimplementing the five elements of mass production				techniques asused in mass production towards the
and devising amanufacturing facility whereby are				development of informationresources. But creating a
found:				"factory"-like development environmenttakes more
Assembly Lines - increments of work sequenced in				than simply calling yourself one. It is a
such a way todevelop products. Along the assembly				significantreorientation effort. Fortunately, it is not
line, a series of tools andtechniques will be deployed,				without precedentand the concepts have already
some implemented by the human being,others through				been introduced to devise an
automated assistance, such as robots.				"Information Factory" based on other engineering
Materials Management - the business function				manufacturingdisciplines.
concerned withstandardizing parts so they may be				The benefits of an "Information Factory" are no
shared and re-used in variousproduct assemblies.				differentthan any other mass production environment:
Further, it is concerned with collecting,storing and				standardization,improved productivity, reduced costs,
retrieving parts (inventorying) in the most				better change control, fasteremployee start-up and
efficientmeans possible (e.g., JIT - "Just In Time").				more effective use of human resources. However,the
Production Control - oversees the assembly lines				impact of implementing such an environment should
andmaterials management, looking for unanticipated				definitely not beunderestimated. It affects people's
delays oraccelerations of production schedules.				perceptions regardingdevelopment and ultimately
Consequently, correctiveaction can be taken as				affects the corporate culture.
required to resolve problems.				In order to move from an art to a science, it is
These three components establish a "checks and				necessary todefine and standardize our terminology
balances" inmanufacturing and can also be utilized to				and concepts for developinginformation resources.
develop an "Information				Only when this happens can we teach itto others in a
Factory" to develop an organization's information				uniform manner and gain the legitimacy as aprofession
resources,whereby are found:				that has long eluded developers.
Methodologies (Assembly Lines) - defines the work

Clawar

Creating an Information Factory