Chapter 3
Systems Considerations in the
Design of an HRIS: Planning for
Implementations
HRIS CUSTOMERS/USERS
• Employees
• Nonemployees
– Managers
– Analysts (power users)
– Technicians (HRIS
experts)
– Clerical employees
– Organizational
employees
– Job seekers
– Sourcing partner
organizations
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CATEGORIES OF DATA
• Information about people
• Information about the organization
• Data that are created as a result of the
interaction of the first two categories
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TWO-TIER (CLIENT–SERVER)
ARCHITECTURE
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THREE-TIER ARCHITECTURE
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N-TIER ARCHITECTURE
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HRIS ARCHITECTURE
• One-tier architecture (Mainframe)
– All software functionality accessed via the
mainframe
• Two-tier architecture (client–server)
– Spread of low-powered processing power through
PCs and high-powered processing through
mainframe
– Separation of application technology from
database technology
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HRIS ARCHITECTURE
• Three-tier architecture (middleware)
– Middleware is a software that manages data and
transactions prior to being saved to the database
• N-tier architecture
– Expandable to multiple Web and application
servers that can be geographically dispersed for
load balancing and worldwide access
– Additional print servers and process schedulers
Kavanagh, Human Resource Information Systems 4e.
SAGE Publications, 2018.
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CLOUD COMPUTING
External
Web
Services
• “Server cloud” operated off-site – Applications are
delivered or accessed over the Web, anyplace,
anytime, with multiple choices of devices, especially
iPhone and iPad
• Cloud computing technology allows businesses to
use applications without having to install software
• Cloud computing can be sold on demand, by the
minute or the hour, and is elastic—meaning that an
enterprise can consume as much or as little of a
service as it wants at any given time.
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SAGE Publications, 2018.
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CLOUD COMPUTING
External
Web
Services
• There exist three general service categories
commonly recognized in cloud computing.
– Infrastructure as a service (IaaS)
– Platform as a service (PaaS)
– Software as a service (SaaS)
• Reduces software and equipment capital
outlays
• Evaluation process must include a thorough
security analysis
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SAGE Publications, 2018.
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BEST OF BREED
• Architecture that combines products from
multiple vendors
• Plug-and-play technology based on universally
agreed guidelines and common computer
language
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SAGE Publications, 2018.
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SECURITY
• Top priority for any HRIS
• Must be maintained on a variety of levels (i.e.,
VPN, firewall, column level, and row level)
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SAGE Publications, 2018.
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BEST OF BREED
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SAGE Publications, 2018.
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PLANNING SYSTEM
IMPLEMENTATION: ROLES
•
•
•
•
•
Project manager
Steering committee/project charter
Implementation team
Project scope
Management sponsorship
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SAGE Publications, 2018.
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PLANNING SYSTEM
IMPLEMENTATION: KEY ACTIVITIES
• Management
sponsorship
• Process mapping
• Software
implementation
• Customization
•
•
•
•
Change management
Go live!
Project evaluation
Potential pitfalls
PROJECT MANAGER OPTIONS
• Hire a consultant to be the project manager
• Hire a full-time project manager who has
presumably been certified by the project
management institute
• Select someone who is involved in the project
and temporarily move him or her into a
project management role
Pros and cons of each option!
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“GO LIVE!”
• Option 1: Immediate Conversion
• Option 2: Parallel Conversion
• For both options: Critical to have support for
training and software in place
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SAGE Publications, 2018.
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POTENTIAL PITFALLS
• Poor planning
• Incomplete steering committee or steering committee
without top-management support
• Implementation team problems or incomplete
implementation team
• Failure to assess the politics of the organization adequately
• Insufficient process mapping
• Scope creep
• Poor implementation of or insufficient change management
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