Functions in the control of work

One distinguishes in the Maîtrise from Work (MOA) several roles or functions:

• the strategic building owner (MOAS);
• the architect trade;
• the deputy building owner (MOAD);
• the sponsor;
• the operational building owner (MOAO);
• the assistant with control of work (AMO or AMOA);
• the expert trade;
• the user, with the service of which all the other functions are;
• the coordination of the controls of work.

The strategic building owner (MOAS)

With the head of any entity a leader is: Chairmen (general President-director) or DG (Managing director) for the Undertaken, DGA (Executive vice president) or director for a management of the firm, department head for the units which constitute the direction, etc There too, names vary from a Entreprise with the other, but refer to the organization Hiérarchique.

The leader of the entity, the owner, it is the “owner building strategic ” (MOAS). It is him which makes the important decisions concerning the MOA, which referee disagreements between his collaborators, who signs the Contrat with the Maîtrise of work (MOE), which takes part in (or even it chairs -) the Steering committee or the management committee of the project. As the Information system (IF) is, under the majority of the companies, at the same time the concretization of the Stratégie and the condition of its implementation, the Décision S Essentielle S are taken by the MOAS (in particular for the launching of the great projects and the programs of company).

However the MOAS is not, in general, a Expert as regards Information system. Even if it could be an expert in the past, its Responsabilité S does not enable him to keep up to date with the state with Article This is why it is made assist by a deputy building owner (MOAD) to which it delegates (it is the direction even of the expression) the care of the expertise in the field of the Information system.

The principle which underlies this Organization, it is the separation of the expertise and the Décision. The expert does not have to carry the weight of the Décision, but it prepares it by providing to the Décideur the elements of Information necessary; the decision maker does not have to keep up to date with the state of the art, but it is attentive at the priorities of the company, vigilant as for the Perception of the environment, and it can thus arbitrate between the various possible solutions by replaçant the Information S which the expert in a broader context provides.

The role of the MOAS is to make sure of the good adequacy between

• on the one hand the Stratégie “trade” of the Entreprise or the organization: objective S, the Stake X, registered in their context, opportunities and threats, as well as the forces and weaknesses (Vulnerability S) (see Risk and SWOT).
• and in addition the Information system which must be put at the service of this strategy.

It is what is called sometimes: the strategic alignment of the information system or alignment trade , the information system must gradually evolve/move to conform to the strategy of the company.

This phase can be the subject of a step of Urbanisation of the information system, which must integrate the concerns of Sécurité in the broad sense, and an analysis of the Risque S.

The architect trade

To contribute to alignment trade of the information system of the Arbitrage S are to be returned between different the Projet S from evolution, candidates to the implementation: it is what one calls the Gestion of wallet of projects (in English: Project Portfolio Management or PPM).
The control of work can resort to the expertise of a “architect trade” (the equivalent for the control of work, of the applicatif architect of the control of work), sometimes also called town planner trade. This architect contributes to give a vision trade (or functional ) of the information system, considered under the angle of the strategy of the company and not a technical sight of the applicatif computing system division. The architect trade is also able to define plans of progressive evolution of the information system, reconciling the short-term requirements and a vision longer-term: they are plans of urbanization.

The deputy building owner (MOAD)

The “deputy building owner” (MOAD) is a person, either only, or with the head of a team if the entity is important. He assists the MOAS of which he is one of closest collaborators the. Its function is to take care of the quality of SO of the entity, as well for the design as for the way in which it is used. It assists the MOAS while providing him, the elements necessary to the catches of décisions.
It can represent the MOAS with the Steering committee, even at the management committee of projet.
In certain cases of figure, the deputy building owner plays the part of a Directeur of project.

The MOAD is, within the entity, the person in charge of the quality of the methods used for the Expression of the needs, the selection of the priorities, the realization of the prior studies or the schedules of conditions, the Project control and the final receipt. Its natural interlocutors within the entity are the department heads and the MOAO (see below). Its natural interlocutor within the data-processing direction is the person in charge of field (see Fonctions in the control of work).

The MOAD ensures a “day before IF”: it is held informed of what do as regards evolution of IF the entities comparable with his to make sure that this one does not take delay compared to the state of the art, with the market evolution or competition, or to even formulate suggestions which will enable him to take lead.

The MOAD is not a data processing specialist (it is rather a Méthodologue), but it is good that it has enough knowledge in data processing to be, vis-a-vis the data-processing direction, a “qualified customer”, a customer which can be rendered comprehensible and which includes/understands what one exposes to him.

Often, the MOAD is a former data processing specialist: the data processing specialist, with the open-minded necessary, assimilates in little time the essential characteristics of the trade in which it has to evolve/move (it would be more difficult with an expert of the trade to be acclimatized to data processing). Often the MOAD will be the right-hand man of the MOAS: placed at its sides, he knows well the various activities of the entity. According to its competence, the MOAD can have vocation to become MOAS.

The sponsor

When the function of control of work is implied in the project, one speaks sometimes about “sponsor”. One finds in this name the origins of the vocabulary of control of work: the sponsor is that which “pays”.
When the project is of great scale and that it brings into play many directions trades within the company or of the organization, the deputy building owner is elected by the principal direction of the company (head office,…) - in this case, the MOAD can be pressed on relays within the various directions trade of the company: they are “sponsors”.
In both cases, the sponsor (S) supervises (NT) the work of the experts trades and ratifies (NT) the decisions, arbitrations and options taken.

The operational building owner (MOAO)

The “operational building owner” (MOAO) is, in the entity, an expert who knows perfectly one of the great processes of the trade. When IF is organized in applications, the MOAO is that which knows the application perfectly. It knows, when one wants to make new things, if it will be possible to reach that point while modifying Paramètre S, or if one needs a significant development; he knows the referential used, the rules of management, the treatments in Batch (known as batch processings), the exchanges and interfaces with the other applications, etc.
He can play the part of Accompagnateur of the change.

He collects the user's needs and establishes or supervises the general specifications. He has as a natural interlocutor with the data-processing direction the “Project manager MOE” with which he maintains a permanent relation (see Fonctions in the control of work). Too much often, the MOAO is a person alone who has an invaluable expertise. The situation can be catastrophic if it falls ill, or when it takes its retirement. Not enough companies thinks of this type of risk, but often the MOAO itself is not inclined to share its knowledge.

The MOAD takes care of the good use of the methods by the MOAO, like of the quality of their relations with their Project manager MOE.

The assistant with control of work (AMO or AMOA)

Work that a MOAD or a MOAO must carry out comprises periods of overload when should be specified, to follow or to commission an important evolution of the information system; when it is necessary to conceive or set up new methods; when it is necessary to implement an expertise which the entity does not have pas.
In these cases, the entity appeals, to complete work reserved for the control of work, external consulting or people whom the company placed at its disposal: they write the specifications or methodological documents, hold up to date the instrument panels, etc One calls these people “assistants with control of work” (AMO or AMOA).
They assist MOA in the accompaniment of the change.

The expert trade

To guarantee the relevance of IF, i.e. its adequacy with the professional practice, it is necessary to collect detailed information on the practical conditions of daily work. The MOAO associates for this purpose of “experts trade” come from the ground who contribute to the work of specification and receipt. The indications provided by these experts trade are essential but they should be interpreted: the experts are not best placed to define the priorities, to distinguish the essence of the secondary.

The user

The finality of IF, it is to be an effective tool between the hands of the end user. However the population of the users often too many, is dispersed too much to take part in the design of IF. She will be represented in this task by the experts trade.

The users must receive a formation little time before the new product is not brought into service; their opinions must be collected during the deployment of the product, and also at the time of its current exploitation, while proceeding to periodic investigations.

The coordination of the controls of work

The control of work, such as we defined it, concerns each trade of the company: will be building owners the commercial department, the direction of the production, the technical direction, the direction of research, and - we saw it - the data-processing direction itself, which is in addition project superintendent compared to the other directions.

However the information system relates to each taken trade not separately, but the whole of the company. Its coherence requires that the various trades use the same reference frame for the identification of the people of the company, products and customers, like for the organization. Some process forward from one trade to another, which implies exchanges of information. The methods to be used by the various controls of work are similar. The work station, the data processing of communication are shared by all. Lastly, the management of the applicatif wallet of the company supposes an ultimate arbitration to select, among the projects presented by each trade, those which will be actually carried out.

These various questions concern the responsibility for the managing director, who is thus the supreme MOAS of the company. It is assisted by a specific MOAD, responsible for the coordination and animation of the various MOA. It assists the DG by its opinions, its expertises, and it has the duty to alert it when risks or opportunities occur.

Essential decisions concerning IF are taken at meetings of the steering committee general, in a specific configuration which one baptizes “Committee Information system” (CSI). The CSI is composed of MOAS (i.e. DG and owners of the various trades of the company, DGA or directors. Each MOAS is accompanied with the CSI by its MOAD which serves to him as “sherpa”: the MOAD does not have decision-making power at the meetings of the CSI, but its expertise is expressed.

Reference

• part of this article is resulting from the article “Functions in the control of work”, of Michel Volle (2002), under free License of documentation GNU.
• Of Data processing: To know to live with the automat , Michel Volle, Economica, 2006, ISBN 2717852190 (bond towards the full text)

See too

• Control of work