Lnbip 105 Design of Enterprise Information Systems: Roots, Nature and New Approaches

Enacting Key Features of New Systems Design – Involving Users in Testing a 
Series of Prototypes 
As already discussed, enterprise information systems support management and 
business processes that cut across organizational boundaries. Thereby it stimulates the 
mutual interplay between individuals, sections and departments. The planning process 
and information flow of the systems design may be tested by logical procedures and 
simulation, for example to study the robustness of a planning system. However, 
because the enterprise information system eventually will be used by individuals and 
groups through complex mutual interactions, a real test should involve an enactment 

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Design of Enterprise Information Systems: Roots, Nature and New Approaches 
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of the proposed system among the future users. Following one of the principles of 
agile project management, a series of prototypes should be developed and tested by 
involving users. 
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Case example: A young, small enterprise experienced a rather chaotic 
planning situation. An analysis showed that the production manager and 
planner themselves contributed to the stressful situation. A manufacturing 
vision was developed and visualized by making an analogy to the rules for 
traffic circles. In Denmark until the late 1980s traffic should give way to 
traffic coming from the right. As a result, with heavy traffic a circle would 
quickly be filled up. New rules for traffic circles were passed according to 
which the yielding rules were reversed giving way to traffic already in the 
circle. This meant that cars in traffic circle could easily drive through the 
traffic circle. Realizing that the company actually had followed the old traffic 
rules, the new manufacturing vision would follow the new rules cutting in-
process inventory and through-put times. 
To test the proposed manufacturing vision, a simple company-specific 
game was developed with products and processes taken from the real 
company. It should last at most three hours, and all 45 employees should 
have an opportunity to play the game. One game run could accommodate 15 
players. Methods for estimating the required capacity were introduced, and 
planning principles were tested. Not only did the participants engage 
themselves in trying out new ways of planning and executing production, but 
they were also taking active part in designing elements of the planning and 
information system.