Writing checks for amounts greater than a full year’s salary
Fortunately, payroll was still installed on time, and only 1.5% of the checks had to be manually reissued every payday until the problem was solved. Other problems were that no one had made sure the new system was compatible with the existing payroll database, and there appeared to be no formal transition between the development of the project and the implementation of the project. The system was never run in parallel. Although the programming manager lost his job, the payroll problems helped raise awareness of the company’s growing dependence on IT. Lacking a major problem, there was a perception that the information system did not affect operations.
a. What does “the system was never run in parallel” mean?
Running in parallel refers to operating the old and new systems simultaneously for a period. A company processes all transactions with both systems, compares the output, reconciles the differences, and corrects problems. The old and new systems are run in parallel until the new system proves itself and the organization is certain that the new system is functioning properly.
b. If the company had run the system in parallel, what should have occurred? Parallel processing protects companies from errors, but it is costly and stressful because the same set of transactions and activities must be processed twice. This places a significant burden on the company, a burden many companies are not willing to undertake. However, because companies often experience problems during conversion, parallel processing has gained widespread popularity.
If the company had operated the new and old systems in parallel, they should have been able to use the paychecks produced by the old system until all errors were detected and corrected.
