Question

The natural evolution for technology is that it becomes obsolete or not as effective overtime compared to its initial introduction. Cradle to grave is a typical lifecycle for any given application. The useful life of a particular application will vary based on advancements in a given discipline. It is critical to continuously seek and identify new ways to adapt technology. Describe in detail the process to evaluate alternative or replacement applications for existing technologies and explain at what point in the lifecycle should this process be initiated

Answer 1

Ans)  The process to evaluate alternative or replacement applications for existing technologies and explain at what point in the lifecycle should this process be initiated can be as mentioned under:

1) Putting Customer Value first- For every investment to take place it becomes important to know what the end user i.e. a customer is looking for as the primary goal for any industry is to deliver a value hence articulate with clarity and precision , how each facet of the new IT system will contribute hence the key measurements such as customer retention , sales, user experience, productivity and recruiting.

2) Simplification in Architecture -As the companies get older the IT applications gets complicated with the coding fuctions over the years hence instead of assuming a trade -off between the simpler processes and the features one need look for the system that give you both which many modern system can combine simplicity at the back end with enhanced funcyionality at the front end.

3) Design that supports flexibility and speed - modern organization Era have a constant need to adapt within a ever changing environment , requiring contoinuous innovation in products, services and practices hence to assess the fitness of new IT system or upgrades , adopt a minimum viable product approach, which consists of a bare bones installation, which are necessary to demonstrate the system's value.

4) Engaging  with your Workforce and culture and Adopting a service mindset : Engaging users of the new technology , encouraging them to play an active role in the transformation effort making users feel as the comntributor are part of the process by giving them roles to play in implementation and providing regular updates on the delivered benefits, hence as a result employees who used the system felt invested in the outcomes , engagements on that scale is not easy but is essential.Adopting a service mindset also promotes a more open approachin sharing value with service providers hence by using the providers as ongoing partners in innovation one can shift the terms from negotiating terms to collaboratively generating results.

5) Plotting the journey before initiating and Organizing by capabilities - when an organization is embarking on this journey , ensure up -front buy-in from key senior stakeholders , though itb is planned that the organixzation IT modernization shouln't be rigid hence set it up as a self correcting journey hence in each step larnongs from previous iteration and discussion could be done better next time. Organize by capabilities hence there is no worry about the different layers of the technology stack, they are all in scope and can help accelerate a digital transformation by applying principles such a mobile access, API based design, microservices cloud-based infrastrcture and modular IT structure.

6)Being Agile and User centric - Establish a disciplined and consistent approach to user centicity , which enables you to track people's behaviour on ypur system by monitooring keystrokes through surveys, or through direct obserbvation of users struggling with the prompts on their screens or smartphones hence adapting a system iteratively and building your own capacity for inbterpreting user feedback, Adopt a continuous improvement mind set hence it helps in looking for opportunities to leran and make system better therefore seize those opportunities.

7)Invest in resources that make the change stick and partner based on shared values and trust- Developing a plan for funding to decommision and retire the old system , and to move people to the new one including funding for learning and developmemt.

Hence considering the above mentrioned process the point at which life cycle process be initiated right from the time of receiving and evaluating users feedback and recommendations