Managing Client/Server Implementations: Today's Technology, Yesterday's Lessons
通过三个案例研究，发现客户/服务器实施的成功因素与以往信息技术项目相似，如高层支持、流程再造、用户参与等，提醒管理者不必抛弃旧经验。
Client/server computing is quickly becoming the computing architecture of choice in the 1990s. However, like many advances in information technology, public sources, such as trade journals and newspapers, portray client/server as a completely new paradigm which will transform our profession. But is it? We are conducting multiple case studies on organizations that have adopted client/server technology in order to extract managerial prescriptions for best practices in evaluating, developing and implementing effective client/server systems. Thus far, we have completed three case studies. Many of the lessons we are uncovering – the need for top management support, redesigning business processes before automation, user participation, phased implementation strategies and buying-in vendor skills to transfer learning – have been identified by previous researchers in other information technology contexts. Thus, although client/server is being touted as a radical change in information technology, practitioners need not discard the lessons from the past. Although there are some unique technical skills required to deploy client/server systems effectively, confirming project management lessons from the past is consoling to practitioners and academics alike. While the context of information technology changes rapidly, the organizational, administrative and policy practices are proving robust.