<s>
Parallel	B-Application
adoption	I-Application
is	O
a	O
method	O
for	O
transferring	O
between	O
a	O
previous	O
(	O
IT	B-General_Concept
)	O
system	O
to	O
a	O
target	O
(	O
IT	B-General_Concept
)	O
system	O
in	O
an	O
organization	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
entry	O
focuses	O
on	O
the	O
generic	O
process	O
of	O
parallel	B-Application
adoption	I-Application
;	O
(	O
real-world	O
)	O
examples	O
are	O
used	O
for	O
a	O
more	O
meaningful	O
interpretation	O
of	O
the	O
process	O
if	O
necessary	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Moreover	O
a	O
process-data	O
model	O
is	O
used	O
for	O
visualizing	O
the	O
process	O
which	O
is	O
intended	O
to	O
provide	O
a	O
complete	O
overview	O
of	O
all	O
the	O
steps	O
involved	O
in	O
the	O
parallel	B-Application
adoption	I-Application
,	O
but	O
emphasis	O
will	O
be	O
laid	O
on	O
the	O
unique	O
characteristics	O
of	O
parallel	B-Application
adoption	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Besides	O
parallel	B-Application
adoption	I-Application
,	O
three	O
other	O
generic	O
kinds	O
of	O
adoption	O
can	O
be	O
identified	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	B-General_Concept
also	O
opens	O
risks	O
for	O
the	O
system	O
not	O
to	O
be	O
accepted	O
by	O
its	O
users	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Phased	B-Application
adoption	I-Application
(	O
also	O
known	O
as	O
gradual	O
conversion	O
)	O
:	O
In	O
phased	B-Application
adoption	I-Application
implementation	O
,	O
the	O
organization	O
is	O
gradually	O
transferring	O
to	O
a	O
new	O
system	O
in	O
different	O
phases	O
,	O
per	O
module	O
or	O
sub-system	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
systems	O
are	O
incapable	O
of	O
being	O
introduced	O
in	O
pieces	O
as	O
it	B-General_Concept
is	O
too	O
reliant	O
on	O
the	O
whole	O
system	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Using	O
the	O
phased	B-Application
adoption	I-Application
has	O
less	O
risks	O
,	O
but	O
causes	O
the	O
most	O
disruptions	O
due	O
to	O
it	B-General_Concept
taking	O
the	O
most	O
time	O
to	O
transfer	O
from	O
the	O
old	O
system	O
to	O
the	O
new	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
There	O
seem	O
to	O
be	O
little	O
conventions	O
regarding	O
the	O
process	O
of	O
parallel	B-Application
adoption	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
term	O
parallel	B-Application
adoption	I-Application
is	O
denoted	O
in	O
these	O
sources	O
,	O
although	O
consistent	O
per	O
source	O
as	O
:	O
parallel	O
conversion	O
,	O
parallel	O
running	O
,	O
shadow-running	O
,	O
parallel	O
cutover	O
and	O
parallel	O
implementation	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
general	O
,	O
parallel	B-Application
adoption	I-Application
can	O
best	O
be	O
seen	O
as	O
a	O
Systems	O
Engineering	O
method	O
of	O
implementation	O
of	O
a	O
new	O
system	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
principle	O
,	O
the	O
parallel	B-Application
adoption	I-Application
method	O
is	O
different	O
from	O
the	O
decision	O
to	O
change	O
a	O
system	O
in	O
an	O
organization	O
and	O
can	O
be	O
seen	O
as	O
one	O
possible	O
mean	O
to	O
achieve	O
that	O
goal	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
parallel	B-Application
adoption	I-Application
process	O
can	O
not	O
be	O
represented	O
without	O
paying	O
attention	O
to	O
the	O
steps	O
before	O
the	O
actual	O
conversion	O
,	O
namely	O
the	O
construction	O
of	O
a	O
conversion	O
scenario	O
and	O
the	O
identification	O
and	O
testing	O
of	O
all	O
the	O
requirements	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Figure	O
1	O
gives	O
an	O
overview	O
of	O
the	O
parallel	B-Application
adoption	I-Application
process	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
pair	O
of	O
overlapping	O
closed	O
rectangles	O
indicate	O
a	O
closed	O
concept	O
which	O
means	O
that	O
it	B-General_Concept
can	O
be	O
subdivided	O
in	O
more	O
concepts	O
,	O
but	O
it	B-General_Concept
is	O
not	O
of	O
further	O
interest	O
for	O
the	O
parallel	B-Application
adoption	I-Application
process	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
diamond	O
shapes	O
figure	O
indicates	O
that	O
the	O
concept	O
linked	O
to	O
it	B-General_Concept
,	O
serves	O
as	O
an	O
aggregate	O
concept	O
and	O
that	O
this	O
concepts	O
consists	O
of	O
the	O
other	O
concepts	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
concept	O
linked	O
with	O
the	O
arrow	O
is	O
the	O
super	O
class	O
of	O
the	O
concepts	O
that	O
are	O
linked	O
to	O
it	B-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
syntax	O
in	O
figure	O
1	O
is	O
according	O
to	O
Unified	B-Language
Modeling	I-Language
Language	I-Language
(	O
UML	B-Language
)	O
standards	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
organization	O
is	O
being	O
prepared	O
and	O
the	O
IT	B-General_Concept
installed	O
on	O
test-machines	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
(	O
Rooijmans	O
,	O
2003	O
,	O
Microsoft	O
,	O
2004	O
)	O
Formulate	O
workaround/rollback	O
planAlso	O
,	O
a	O
workaround	B-Application
plan	O
with	O
a	O
rollback	B-Application
scenario	O
is	O
made	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
(	O
Microsoft	O
,	O
2004	O
,	O
Rooijmans	O
,	O
2003	O
)	O
Perform	O
(	O
segmental	O
)	O
Test	O
conversionIn	O
very	O
complex	O
organizations	O
it	B-General_Concept
can	O
be	O
beneficial	O
to	O
perform	O
a	O
test	O
conversion	O
,	O
before	O
going	O
“	O
live	O
”	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
(	O
Microsoft	O
,	O
2004	O
,	O
Rooijmans	O
,	O
2003	O
)	O
Execute	O
workaround	B-Application
/	O
rollback	B-Application
strategyIf	O
the	O
criteria	O
are	O
not	O
met	O
,	O
the	O
workaround	B-Application
strategy	O
or	O
rollback	B-Application
strategy	O
is	O
performed	O
,	O
depending	O
on	O
the	O
nature	O
of	O
the	O
errors	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
(	O
Microsoft	O
,	O
2004	O
,	O
Rooijmans	O
,	O
2003	O
)	O
Run	O
old	O
systemThe	O
old	O
system	O
runs	O
as	O
a	O
backup	B-Protocol
,	O
for	O
safety	O
purposesRun	O
leading	O
new	O
system(1 )	O
The	O
new	O
system	O
is	O
leading	O
and	O
in	O
full	O
operation	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
options	O
are	O
big	O
bang	O
,	O
phased	O
,	O
parallel	B-Application
adoption	I-Application
,	O
pilot	O
conversion	O
or	O
a	O
combination	O
of	O
those	O
four	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
(	O
Turban	O
,	O
2002	O
,	O
Rooijmans	O
,	O
2003	O
)	O
Implementation	O
scriptRaw	O
version	O
of	O
the	O
actual	O
conversion	O
scenario	O
,	O
consisting	O
of	O
organizational	O
requirements	O
,	O
IT	B-General_Concept
requirements	O
and	O
an	O
initial	O
time	O
planning	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
(	O
Rooijmans	O
,	O
2003	O
)	O
IT	B-General_Concept
requirementsThe	O
information	B-General_Concept
Technology	I-General_Concept
requirements	O
are	O
the	O
software	O
and	O
hardware	O
requirements	O
,	O
platform	O
choices	O
,	O
taking	O
into	O
account	O
budget	O
and	O
existing	O
systems	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Furthermore	O
the	O
conversion	O
scenario	O
consists	O
of	O
a	O
workaround	B-Application
and	O
rollback	B-Application
plan	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
(	O
Rooijmans	O
,	O
2003	O
)	O
Workaround	B-Application
strategyA	O
backup	B-Protocol
plan	O
;	O
strategy	O
taken	O
on	O
,	O
in	O
the	O
conversion	O
scenario	O
to	O
prevent	O
errors	O
in	O
the	O
conversion	O
process	O
and	O
attempt	O
to	O
work	O
around	O
them	O
,	O
so	O
that	O
the	O
implementation	O
can	O
still	O
be	O
successful	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
(	O
Rooijmans	O
,	O
2003	O
)	O
Rollback	B-Application
planPlan	O
that	O
facilitates	O
in	O
reversing	O
the	O
direction	O
of	O
the	O
replication	O
in	O
order	O
to	O
go	O
back	O
to	O
the	O
old	O
system	O
without	O
loss	O
in	O
data	O
or	O
information	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
control	O
system	O
is	O
very	O
broad	O
and	O
is	O
the	O
central	O
command	O
system	O
of	O
converting	O
the	O
old	O
system	O
and	O
managing	O
the	O
new	O
one	O
during	O
the	O
parallel	B-Application
adoption	I-Application
process	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
(	O
ISO	O
9000	O
)	O
Catch	O
upsCatch	O
ups	O
consist	O
of	O
automatically	O
or	O
non-automatically	O
created	O
back-ups	B-Protocol
of	O
the	O
system	O
using	O
the	O
old	O
system	O
,	O
to	O
be	O
translated	O
in	O
the	O
new	O
system	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
parallel	B-Application
adoption	I-Application
is	O
preceded	O
with	O
determining	O
the	O
implementation	O
strategy	O
,	O
which	O
is	O
not	O
unique	O
for	O
parallel	B-Application
adoption	I-Application
,	O
but	O
can	O
be	O
seen	O
as	O
part	O
of	O
the	O
change	B-Application
management	I-Application
process	O
that	O
an	O
organization	O
enters	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
reason	O
for	O
an	O
organization	O
to	O
choose	O
for	O
parallel	B-Application
adoption	I-Application
in	O
favour	O
of	O
a	O
pilot	O
conversion	O
,	O
big	O
bang	O
or	O
phased	B-Application
adoption	I-Application
is	O
often	O
a	O
trade-off	O
between	O
costs	O
and	O
risk	O
(	O
Andersson	O
,	O
Hanson	O
,	O
2003	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Parallel	B-Application
adoption	I-Application
the	O
most	O
expensive	O
adoption	O
method	O
(	O
Chng	O
,	O
Vathanopas	O
,	O
2002	O
,	O
Microsoft	O
,	O
2004	O
,	O
Anderson	O
et	O
al.	O
,	O
2003	O
)	O
,	O
because	O
it	B-General_Concept
demands	O
from	O
the	O
organization	O
that	O
two	O
systems	O
run	O
parallel	O
for	O
a	O
certain	O
period	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
When	O
it	B-General_Concept
is	O
necessary	O
for	O
the	O
new	O
system	O
to	O
be	O
implemented	O
following	O
a	O
big	O
bang	O
approach	O
,	O
the	O
risk	O
of	O
failure	O
is	O
high	O
(	O
Lee	O
,	O
2004	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
When	O
the	O
organization	O
demands	O
heavily	O
on	O
the	O
old	O
(	O
legacy	O
)	O
system	O
to	O
be	O
changed	O
,	O
the	O
trade-off	O
between	O
extra	O
involved	O
costs	O
for	O
a	O
less	O
risky	O
parallel	O
approach	O
,	O
should	O
be	O
in	O
favour	O
of	O
those	O
extra	O
costs	O
(	O
Lee	O
,	O
2004	O
)	O
,	O
despite	O
this	O
,	O
we	O
see	O
that	O
ERP	O
adoption	O
follows	O
a	O
big	B-Application
bang	I-Application
adoption	I-Application
in	O
most	O
cases	O
(	O
Microsoft	O
,	O
2004	O
,	O
Yusuf	O
,	O
2004	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
means	O
that	O
an	O
organization	O
should	O
think	O
clearly	O
about	O
their	O
implementation	O
strategy	O
and	O
integrate	O
this	O
decision	O
in	O
their	O
Risk	O
management	O
or	O
Change	B-Application
management	I-Application
analysis	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
To	O
prepare	O
the	O
organization	O
properly	O
a	O
requirements	O
analysis	O
of	O
both	O
IT-requirements	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
organizational	O
requirements	O
is	O
necessary	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
More	O
information	O
on	O
requirements	O
analysis	O
and	O
change	B-Application
management	I-Application
can	O
be	O
found	O
elsewhere	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
parallel	B-Application
adoption	I-Application
,	O
the	O
most	O
important	O
IT	B-General_Concept
requirement	O
(	O
if	O
applicable	O
)	O
is	O
attention	O
for	O
running	O
the	O
two	O
systems	O
simultaneously	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
More	O
information	O
about	O
IT	B-General_Concept
requirements	O
can	O
be	O
found	O
in	O
Software	B-General_Concept
Engineering	I-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
Besides	O
the	O
IT-requirements	O
,	O
the	O
organizational	O
requirements	O
require	O
Human	O
Resource	O
Management	O
issues	O
like	O
,	O
the	O
training	O
of	O
personnel	O
,	O
deal	O
with	O
a	O
perhaps	O
changing	O
organizational	O
structure	O
,	O
organic	O
organisation	O
or	O
Mechanistic	O
organisation	O
characteristics	O
of	O
the	O
organization	O
(	O
Daft	O
,	O
1998	O
)	O
and	O
most	O
importantly	O
:	O
Top	O
management	O
support	O
(	O
Brown	O
,	O
Vessey	O
,	O
1999	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
parallel	B-Application
adoption	I-Application
process	O
is	O
very	O
stressful	O
and	O
requires	O
well	O
prepared	O
employees	O
that	O
can	O
deal	O
with	O
mistakes	O
that	O
are	O
being	O
made	O
,	O
without	O
conservatively	O
eager	O
to	O
the	O
old	O
system	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	B-General_Concept
is	O
very	O
important	O
to	O
have	O
a	O
detailed	O
plan	O
of	O
conducting	O
the	O
new	O
system	O
in	O
an	O
organization	O
(	O
Lee	O
,	O
2004	O
,	O
Eason	O
,	O
1988	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	B-General_Concept
can	O
be	O
very	O
beneficial	O
also	O
to	O
work	O
with	O
clearly	O
defined	O
milestones	O
(	O
Rooijmans	O
,	O
2003	O
)	O
,	O
similar	O
to	O
the	O
PRINCE2	O
method	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
IT	B-General_Concept
and	O
(	O
if	O
possible	O
)	O
organizational	O
requirements	O
that	O
were	O
made	O
should	O
be	O
tested	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
tests	O
can	O
be	O
run	O
where	O
the	O
organizational	O
responsibilities	O
can	O
be	O
evaluated	O
(	O
Rooijmans	O
,	O
2003	O
)	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
the	O
IT-requirements	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Here	O
it	B-General_Concept
is	O
also	O
again	O
important	O
to	O
have	O
top-management	O
support	O
and	O
involvement	O
(	O
Eason	O
,	O
1988	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
there	O
are	O
two	O
topics	O
that	O
did	O
not	O
yet	O
get	O
the	O
attention	O
they	O
deserve	O
in	O
the	O
parallel	B-Application
adoption	I-Application
scope	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Workaround	B-Application
strategy	O
/	O
Rollback	B-Application
plan	O
:	O
Being	O
distinct	O
from	O
the	O
other	O
adoption	O
scenarios	O
,	O
also	O
integrated	O
in	O
the	O
conversion	O
scenario	O
is	O
the	O
workaround	B-Application
or	O
contingency	O
strategy	O
with	O
a	O
rollback	B-Application
plan	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
workaround	B-Application
strategy	O
is	O
defined	O
in	O
a	O
broader	O
scope	O
in	O
another	O
entry	O
,	O
but	O
in	O
this	O
context	O
it	B-General_Concept
indicates	O
as	O
defined	O
in	O
the	O
above	O
table	O
:	O
A	O
backup	B-Protocol
plan	O
;	O
strategy	O
taken	O
on	O
,	O
in	O
the	O
conversion	O
scenario	O
to	O
prevent	O
errors	O
in	O
the	O
conversion	O
process	O
and	O
attempt	O
to	O
work	O
around	O
them	O
,	O
so	O
that	O
the	O
implementation	O
can	O
still	O
be	O
successful	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
rollback	B-Application
plan	O
,	O
as	O
being	O
one	O
possible	O
workaround	B-Application
strategy	O
,	O
is	O
initiated	O
if	O
something	O
goes	O
wrong	O
in	O
the	O
conversion	O
phase	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Since	O
the	O
two	O
systems	O
run	O
simultaneously	O
,	O
in	O
a	O
parallel	B-Application
adoption	I-Application
,	O
the	O
rollback	B-Application
plan	O
indicates	O
that	O
the	O
database	O
or	O
other	O
system	O
that	O
handles	O
the	O
transactions	O
should	O
be	O
fully	O
retraceable	O
in	O
the	O
legacy	O
system	O
(	O
Microsoft	O
,	O
2004	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
fact	O
the	O
parallel	B-Application
adoption	I-Application
provides	O
per	O
definition	O
this	O
rollback	B-Application
plan	O
due	O
to	O
its	O
nature	O
of	O
a	O
leading	O
system	O
and	O
a	O
(	O
non-leading	O
)	O
backup	B-Protocol
system	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
redefined	O
IT	B-General_Concept
and	O
organizational	O
requirements	O
are	O
being	O
transferred	O
into	O
measurable	O
components	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
When	O
the	O
criteria	O
are	O
not	O
being	O
met	O
in	O
the	O
test	O
conversion	O
,	O
the	O
workaround	B-Application
strategy	O
should	O
be	O
deployed	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
catch	O
ups	O
that	O
are	O
part	O
of	O
the	O
workaround	B-Application
strategy	O
are	O
the	O
back	B-Protocol
ups	I-Protocol
of	O
the	O
old	O
system	O
and	O
provide	O
the	O
means	O
for	O
reliability	O
engineering	O
and	O
data	B-Application
recovery	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
If	O
applicable	O
a	O
remote	B-General_Concept
backup	I-General_Concept
service	I-General_Concept
can	O
be	O
deployed	O
as	O
well	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
benefit	O
of	O
an	O
automated	O
system	O
is	O
that	O
it	B-General_Concept
is	O
fast	O
and	O
accurate	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	B-General_Concept
takes	O
a	O
considerable	O
amount	O
of	O
extra	O
time	O
,	O
to	O
transfer	O
the	O
catch	O
ups	O
manually	O
and	O
it	B-General_Concept
is	O
more	O
vulnerable	O
for	O
small	O
human	O
errors	O
(	O
Rooijmans	O
,	O
2003	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
When	O
the	O
system	O
that	O
will	O
be	O
changed	O
affects	O
the	O
general	O
public	O
and	O
it	B-General_Concept
is	O
not	O
only	O
an	O
internal	O
system	O
that	O
is	O
being	O
changed	O
,	O
there	O
are	O
some	O
more	O
pressures	O
that	O
influence	O
the	O
organization	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	B-General_Concept
is	O
suggested	O
that	O
if	O
the	O
system	O
is	O
politically	O
sensitive	O
,	O
more	O
attention	O
should	O
be	O
paid	O
to	O
the	O
conversion	O
method	O
and	O
preferably	O
parallel	B-Application
adoption	I-Application
is	O
opted	O
,	O
since	O
there	O
is	O
less	O
risk	O
involved	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
they	O
seem	O
to	O
fit	O
perfectly	O
with	O
the	O
issues	O
mentioned	O
for	O
a	O
generic	O
parallel	B-Application
adoption	I-Application
process	O
,	O
based	O
on	O
a	O
combination	O
of	O
scientific	O
work	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
There	O
are	O
also	O
at	O
least	O
two	O
difficulties	O
with	O
parallel	O
conversion	O
that	O
may	O
make	O
its	O
use	O
impractical	O
in	O
the	O
21st	O
century	O
,	O
though	O
it	B-General_Concept
was	O
a	O
staple	O
of	O
industry	O
practice	O
when	O
inputs	O
consisted	O
of	O
decks	O
of	O
punched	O
cards	O
or	O
reels	O
of	O
tape	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	B-General_Concept
is	O
impractical	O
to	O
expect	O
end	O
users	O
,	O
be	O
they	O
customers	O
,	O
production	O
line	O
workers	O
or	O
nearly	O
anyone	O
else	O
,	O
to	O
enter	O
every	O
transaction	O
twice	O
via	O
different	O
interfaces	O
.	O
</s>
