Challenges in development and implementation of Information systems in ad hoc landing and Over-flight clearances in the Kenyan airspace

Abstract

Information Systems are computer based infrastructures, organizations, people and components that pull together, process, store, transmit, present, disseminate and act on information. Use of information systems in many organizations has increased across all industries. Information systems have evolved over the years to match up with changes in organizational challenges from being simply operational tools to being used for strategic purposes. Governments are also embracing information systems by using them to deliver quality services and give access to important information. However, despite usage of information systems, their implementation faces many challenges which vary from context to context. These challenges have contributed to high failure rate in development and implementation of information systems. The failure rate is higher is Government institutions. Nevertheless, the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA) successfully implemented the Advanced Air Transport Information System (AATIS) which fully automated the processing of landing and overflight clearances within the Kenyan Airspace. The objective of this study was to establish the challenges that were faced during the development and implementation of the AATIS. The main instrument of data collection was a structured questionnaire that was administered to officers who were involved in the development and implementation of the AATIS. Out of the 32 questionnaires administered, 29 were responded to giving a response rate of 91%. The data was analyzed using descriptive statistics and content analysis to help in drawing comparisons and conclusions. It was established that the key challenges in the development and implementation of the AATIS were bureaucracies in Government projects, organizational politics, slow procurement processes, schedule overruns, poor change management practices, poor requirements management, inability to retain technical staff, poor attitudes towards quality improvement, poor IT infrastructure specifically in internet services, WAN connectivity and computers, conflicts between user departments and regulatory frameworks. Effective implementation of the performance contracts between the Ministry of Transport and the KCAA Board of Directors and its cascading to the individuals resolved these challenges. The study drew vi the following conclusions; proper implementation and evaluation of performance contracts between parent ministries and the heads of Government Institutions will increase the levels of automation in Kenyan Government institutions. In aviation regulation, incorporating computerized information systems in audits from international bodies like ICAO and FAA will increase the levels of automation in KCAA and other CAAs.