Instructional Case: The Implementation of a New Financial Applications System for the El Camino School District: A Teaching Case to Expose Students to the Vagaries of Software Selection During New Systems Development Projects.

In new systems development projects, software and hardware acquisition typically occurs between the general systems analysis and the detailed systems design steps. This crucial decision stage follows a detailed analysis of the organization's logical and physical requirements and serves as an input to the design of a proposed system. AIS texts present this step as part of the Systems Design phase of the Systems Development Life Cycle. While students learn of the academic importance of software and hardware selection, they do not always gain an appreciation for the true vagaries of this selection process in a dynamic organizational environment. This case provides an example of how organizational behavior and professional relationships within the organization can affect this major decision-making process. In this case, software selection becomes a medium for organizational power plays between powerful and vested interests-with disastrous consequences for the organization.