AN ANALYTICAL HIERARCHY PROCESS METHODOLOGY TO EVALUATE IT SOLUTIONS FOR ORGANIZATIONS

AN ANALYTICAL HIERARCHY PROCESS METHODOLOGY TO EVALUATE IT SOLUTIONS FOR ORGANIZATIONS Spiros Vsilkos (), Chrysostomos D. Stylios (),(b), John Groflkis (c) () Dept. of Telemtics Center, Computer Technology Institute & Press Diophntus (b) Dept. of Informtics Engineering, Technologicl Eductionl Institute of Epirus, Art, Greece () vsilkos@westgte.gr, stylios@teiep.gr (b) stylios@westgte.gr, (c) grofl@cti.gr ABSTRACT Nowdys orgniztions continuously updte, dopt or introduce new Informtion Technology Systems within their structure. This requires gret resources in cpitl, stff nd time. Selection nd doption of the proper informtion system nd/or technologies must be performed in wy which will ensure tht the system will meet the requirements nd will fit in the orgniztion s procedures nd structure. This pper proposes methodology for selecting the pproprite solution for n orgniztion mong the vilble options. It describes the requirement nlysis phse where the selection criteri re defined nd the vilble solutions re evluted. For the evlution of the different solutions, the Bipolr Anlytic Hierrchicl Process (BAHP) is proposed. The best solution is selected so s to fulfill the functionl requirements nd the requirements of the orgniztion regrding the mintennce needs nd the cost. The proposed pproch is tested for the cse of the Port Authority of Igoumenits, Greece. Keywords: Informtion Systems, Modeling, Bipolr Anlyticl Hierrchicl Process. INTRODUCTION The ICT infrstructure of ny orgniztion hs gret importnce. It supports the hndling of ny informtion nd determines the effectiveness nd performnce of the orgniztion. The doption or updte of new IT System is n essentil issue tht my led to higher efficiency both in customer services nd in the orgniztion s internl processes. But this selection is complex process with gret importnce nd ny dely or filure to successfully dopt the new IT system within the orgniztion s structure my led to loss of criticl mounts of resources. On the other hnd, ny filure to dpt to new technologies lmost certinly mens loss of competitiveness. Thus, selection of new IT systems for ny orgniztion hs to be done in structured wy. All the prmeters tht ffect the choice of new system must be tken into ccount. These prmeters refer to the funds tht the orgniztion will invest, to the cpbilities tht the system must offer, to the technologies used s well s to how well the system cn dpt to internl procedures nd the philosophy of the orgniztion nd vice vers how some procedures of the orgniztion cn dpt to the cpbilities of the system. In this pper, we present methodology to select the suitble IT technology tht it is tested for the cse of introducing n IT system t the port of Igoumenits, Greece. The first stge of the proposed methodology is the detiled domin nlysis nd requirements specifiction. Then, ll the possible lterntives nd the criteri tht ffect the decision re determined, regrding both the system requirements s well s criteri relted to the orgniztion s specificities. After the phse of lterntives nd criteri recognition, there is the stge of eliminting lterntives tht not fulfill some of the requirements nd criteri required for the finl choice. At the finl stge, n updted version of the Anlyticl Hierrchy Process (AHP) (Sty 990) clled Bipolr Anlyticl Hierrchy Process (BAHP) (Millet nd Schoner 2005) is pplied to prioritize the criteri nd evlute the different lterntive solutions. The rest of the pper is s follows: section 2 describes the problem of IT selection nd the use of AHP in the specific re; section 3 describes the cse study of the port of Igoumenits nd its specificities. Then sections 4 nd 5 describe the implementtion of the proposed methodology nd the results obtined, nd finlly section 6 concludes the pper. 2. IT SELECTION PROBLEM AND AHP 2.. IT System Selection The constnt growth of demnd for better services nd/or products s well s cost reduction nd better customer stisfction, combined with the growth of complexity t ll the opertions of ny orgniztion mkes the doption of new technologies n bsolute necessity. The doption of new IT system by n orgniztion requires high mount of resources both in cpitl investment s well s time for selection, instlltion nd user trining. The phse of doption demnds creful plnning so tht the influences to the business processes re s smooth s possible. IT system selection is Multi Criteri Decision Problem with mny fctors competing ech other. First Proceedings of the Europen Modeling nd Simultion Symposium, 203 593

of ll, one min fctor is the cpitl investment. The cost of cquisition of ny IT system is not the only fctor tht must be tken into ccount. Costs like mintennce, support nd license must be considered s well. The cpbilities of the product must be lso exmined in detil in order to verify if they fulfill both functionl nd non-functionl requirements of the orgniztion. Non-functionl requirements demnd specil ttention s in mny cses they re qulittive nd cnnot be esily, or re impossible to, be quntified. Finlly, the problem of IT system selection becomes even more complicted when the option to develop the system exists long with the option to select n of the shelf commercilly vilble product. Mny methodologies hve been proposed for the selection of the pproprite IT system. Jdhv nd Sonr (2009) reviewed lrge number of methodologies for softwre selection, evlution techniques nd criteri; mong others AHP, Feture Anlysis, Weighted Averge Sum (WAS) nd Fuzzybsed pproches hve been proposed. A generl selection pproch consists of six steps, beginning from the domin nlysis nd proceeding to grdully decomposing the criteri until quntifible mesures re used (Frnch nd Crvllo 2002). Α set of ctions tht include the determintion of lterntives nd steps for their qulifiction ws proposed by Jdhv nd Sonr (20). Stmelos nd Tsoukis (2003) proposed the ctegoriztion of the softwre selection problem in seven ctegories. 2.2. The Anlytic Hierrchy Process (AHP) nd the Bipolr AHP (BAHP) AHP introduced in the 70s (Sty 980, Sty 990) nd since then it hs found wide doption nd use (Sty 2008, Sty nd Vrgs 202). Especilly t the domin of IT system selection AHP hs been widely pplied (Cebeci 2009; Li, Wong, nd Cheung 2002; Wei, Chien, nd Wng 2005). AHP is Multi Criteri Decision Methodology (MCDM) tht uses hierrchy to formulte the problem. At the top of the hierrchy the gol of the decision is plced. The second level includes the criteri tht re used for comprison. Ech criterion my hve sub-criteri tht re plced t the consequent levels. At the finl level, ll the lterntive choices re plced. A -9 scle is used to determine the reltive importnce between the criteri. Their mening is shown in Tble. Tble : The Rnge from to 9 used in AHP to Determine Reltive Importnce mong Criteri Reltive Importnce Vlue equl moderte 3 strong 5 very strong 7 extreme 9 intermedite vlues 2,4,6,8 For n criteri comprison mtrix the the ij i th A( n xn) is formed. In position of the mtrix the reltive importnce of criterion compred to the nd consequently in the ji j th position the criterion is plced ij vlue is plced. So, reciprocl squre mtrix is formed where vlue is plced in the digonl A = 2 3 n 2 23 3 23 ii n n n n n The reltive weights of the criteri re the normlized eigenvector. v of comprison mtrix A n The sme procedure is followed with the lterntives. So, for m lterntives tht re compred to n criteri mtrix is formed where is the rnking of W (mxn) w, n m lterntive m in reltion to criterion n. The finl rnking of ech lterntive (): ( i : m ) r i is clculted with eqution n r w, v () i j i j When numericl vlues re vilble, then they re used insted of the -9 scle. AHP hve the bility to combine both qulittive nd quntittive criteri. Due to the nture of IT system selection, both kinds of criteri hve to be used, so AHP is used in mny cses (Jdhv nd Sonr 2009). In mny multicriteri problems, long with fctors tht contribute positively to the decision; there my exist fctors tht hve negtive impct. Common fctors of this ctegory cn be cost, time, nd required effort. The strictly positive dditive vlues of eqution () in the finl rnking of AHP mke hndling of such negtive fctors problemtic. The stndrd procedure is to use inversion of these vlues. But inversion of positive number lso leds to positive number, in this wy fctors with gret negtive contribution re treted s fctors with very smll, but still positive, contribution, which my led to incorrect rnking. For these resons, it is preferble the use of BAHP (Millet nd Schoner 2005). BAHP is n extension of AHP tht llows the incorportion of negtive fctors into the AHP clcultions. Fctors tht hve negtive contribution to the decision re treted s negtives in the finl rnking clcultions nd re not inverted. 3. METHODOLOGY DESCRIPTION For ny IT system selection there re two min options either to choose mong vilble commercil systems or to develop n IT system from scrtch when there re not vilble commercil systems tht fulfill ll j Proceedings of the Europen Modeling nd Simultion Symposium, 203 594

requirements. Thus, here we include both of these options. The proposed methodology is nlyticl nd precise, but lso flexible enough so tht it is ble to dpt to vriety of scenrios (Figure ). Figure : UML Activity Digrm describing the Sequence for IT system Selection Methodology The first step for every IT system selection is to perform detiled domin nlysis. Sometimes, this is n overlooked step, but it is of high importnce. The domin of interest must be nlyzed so tht to describe in detil ll the procedures tht the system hs to support. The nlysis must be done in mny perspectives, covering ll the spectrum of user ctegories. Overlooking this step nd considering the procedures description nd nlysis s trivil cn led to unpredicted situtions nd to the selection of n IT system tht does not fulfill ll the requirements nd procedures within the orgniztion. Next step is the description of the requirements, both functionl nd non-functionl. The term functionl requirements describes specific tsks tht the IT system hs to perform. There re includes the intended behvior of the system tht is expressed s tsks nd/or behviors. Non-functionl requirements re used to describe criteri nd gols of the system rther thn certin behvior nd cn be qulittive ttributes. The next two steps cn be performed in prllel. The first one is the selection of lterntives nd the second one is the determintion of comprison criteri. There re two min lterntives either to select existing commercil IT system or to develop of new IT system. In the second cse, there re some more subctegorized lterntives regrding the technologies to be used.. In ddition to this, the different criteri for the comprison of the lterntives hve to include ll spects of the system s implementtion, usge nd functionlity. These criteri cn be divided into four ctegories: i) mngeril, ii) user-relted, iii) technology-relted nd iv) vendor-relted. Mngeril criteri re mostly relted to cost nd to required implementtion time of the project. Userrelted criteri refer to the cpbilities of the system (whether it stisfies the functionl nd nonfunctionl requirements) s well s the ese of use nd lerning cycle of the IT system. Technology-relted criteri refer to technologies used by the system, both softwre- nd hrdwre-relted. Finlly, vendor-relted criteri refer to the vendor s reputtion, expertise nd stbility. After the selection of lterntives nd criteri, the phse of elimintion follows. Firstly, the existing lterntives re compred to n initil set of criteri. These criteri do not regrd the functionlity of the system, since ll the lterntives must fulfill the system requirements. The initil set of criteri is usully relted to mngement, nd we nme them hrd criteri, they re mostly constrints tht re used to eliminte lterntives from the set of choices nd not to compre them. Such criteri cn be cost or time of delivernce nd ny other criteri tht impose certin restrictions to prticulr project. For exmple, ll lterntives up to certin cost re mong the cndidtes for selection nd the cost will be clculted s criterion in the finl decision, but lterntives exceeding certin cost re uncceptble nd re eliminted from the selection procedure. The criteri elimintion procedure is the following: criteri tht hve the sme vlue mong different lterntives re eliminted. The elimintion of lterntives nd criteri is importnt s it reduces the mount of required clcultions nd furthermore it elimintes the potentil to choose n uncceptble lterntive. The finl step is the rnking of lterntives using Multi Criteri Decision Methodology (MCDM). As forementioned, we use the Bipolr Anlytic Hierrchicl Process (BAHP). BAHP hs the min dvntge to use negtive vlues in the rnking clcultion for criteri tht hve negtive impct on the finl decision. The BAHP tht hs described bove forms hierrchy, with the four criteri nd their subcriteri t lower levels of the hierrchy nd it is shown t Figure 2. Proceedings of the Europen Modeling nd Simultion Symposium, 203 595

provide the required sclbility for the storge nd processing of lrge mount of dt nd the tools to monitor nd tune the dtbse. Figure 2: The Hierrchy formed for IT system Selection 4. CASE STUDY 4.. Problem Description The port of Igoumenits is very importnt trnsport hub of Northwestern Greece. It connects Greece to Itly nd minly provides ship docking, pssenger nd vehicle trffic services. It focuses on pssenger trffic through ferry connections to domestic nd foreign destintions, while goods re trnsported minly by trucks. It serves high mount of vehicle nd pssengers in reltion to its size. In 202, it served totl of.436.239 pssengers, 338.355 privte vehicles nd 79.84 trucks for domestic destintion nd 79.84 pssengers, 20.409 privte vehicles nd 68.702 trucks for brod destintions (OLIG S.A. 203). Our tem collbortes with Igoumenits Port Authority (OLIG) within the Generlized Automtic Exchnge of Port Informtion Are project (GAIA). We provide OLIG with consulting services by describing the functionlity nd orgniztion for n Integrted Informtion System which will supply the Port Authority with the desired functionlity for pssenger, vehicle nd uthorized personnel trfficking in the port res nd lso the itinerries to nd from the port. Every pssenger, in order to enter the port fcilities, is supplied with bording crd. These crds will be edited by the shipping gents to the customers nd they will contin ll the necessry informtion llowing the pssengers to pss ny security checks. Similr procedure will be followed for vehicles. The uthorized personnel nd their vehicles will mke use of security crds in order to ccess the port re. In ddition, the different IT systems of the shipping gents, responsible for the tickets/bording psses editing, will communicte with the overll port s system in order to provide the required dt. The Integrted Informtion System will be ble to process nd store dt regrding ll procedures of the port opertions relted to the itinerries nd pssenger nd vehicle trffic. Also Dtbse Mngement System (DBMS) will be included in the system tht will 4.2. Approch nd Criteri Selected 4.2.. Methodology Used For the selection of the pproprite technology, detiled domin nlysis ws initilly performed. This phse involved interviews with the interested prties/stkeholders tht re somehow influencing the system, such s stff of Port Authority, of Shipping Compnies, of Customs Office nd of the Cost Gurd. After this domin nlysis, the user min ctegories were identified. Regrding, Port Authority, two ctegories exist: one from mngeril perspective nd one from users perspective. The first ctegory is interested more in fctors regrding the cost of the system nd its vlue s long-term investment. The second ctegory ws minly concerned bout the userfriendliness of the system nd its cpbilities regrding its everydy usge nd dministrtion. The Shipping compnies, in order to provide the necessry dt, will connect to the system through their opertionl IT systems. Their min concern ws bout the comptibility of the system nd the ese of the interconnection implementtion. Pssengers re the finl beneficiries s they will use the system to enter the port re nd during their bording procedure. Their min concerns were bout the speed nd the user friendliness of the system. At the next stge, the functionl nd non-functionl requirements were described. In ddition to this, the rchitecturl description of the system ws described, including the system s functionlity, the ctors of the system, the components nd their interctions. After this phse, the min criteri regrding ll the spects of the system s implementtion, usge nd functionlity nd the vilble lterntives were determined. Then, there is the first phse of the selection, where we followed the elimintion procedure, i.e. ny choice tht did not cover certin criteri ws eliminted. Also criteri whose vlues were the sme mong the lterntives were eliminted. In the second phse of the selection procedure the lterntives were rnked ccording to the remining criteri bsed to the BAHP. 4.2.2. Evlution Criteri The evlution criteri re divided into four min ctegories: i) Mngeril, ii) User-relted, iii) technology-relted, iv) vendor-relted. The mngeril criteri include mostly cost-relted criteri nd the implementtion time of the project. The selected criteri re: cost of the project which includes development cost, mintennce cost, support cost, hrdwre cost, usge of lredy existing equipment nd delivery time of the system. User-relted criteri minly regrd the cpbilities of the system (whether it would stisfy the functionl nd nonfunctionl requirements) s well s ese of use nd lerning curve of the system. The ctors relted to these criteri re the bck end users tht monitor the trffic in the port, retrieve dt nd reports nd perform Proceedings of the Europen Modeling nd Simultion Symposium, 203 596

dministrtive tsks. The criteri for this ctegory re: fulfillment of requirements, user-friendliness for opertors, user-friendliness for pssengers, lerning curve for opertors, nd ccessibility from different devices. Technology-relted criteri refer to the technologies tht will be used to implement the system or tht the commercilly vilble system uses, both softwre- nd hrdwre-relted. The min ctors concerned with these criteri re the compny tht will develop the system, the shipping compnies whose IT systems will interct with the system, nd both the mngement nd users of the Port Authorities regrding softwre/hrdwre support nd wrrnties. The criteri for this ctegory re: relibility, speed, dtbse cpbilities, security, ese of upgrde nd mintennce, hrdwre comptibility, ese of integrtion with other systems nd support nd wrrnty. Finlly, vendor-relted criteri concern the choice of the cndidte vendors nd include vendor expertise, experience nd stbility. The criteri for every ctegory re shown in tble. Tble : Selection Criteri for ech ctegory Ctegory Criteri Sub-criteri development cost; mintennce cost; support cost; Mngeril Cost hrdwre cost; softwre (DBMS) cost; use of existing equipment Delivery time Fulfillment of requirements User-relted Technologyrelted Vendorrelted Userfriendliness Accessibility from different devises Cpbilities Support nd Wrrnty Expertise Experience Stbility user-friendliness for opertors; userfriendliness for pssengers; lerning curve for opertors Relibility; Speed;, dtbse cpbilities; security; ese of upgrde nd mintennce; hrdwre comptibility; ese of integrtion with other systems 4.2.3. Alterntives Four min lterntives were considered: i) cquisition of n existing commercil system ii) updting the existing IT system tht does not meet the functionl nd non-functionl requirements iii) design nd develop the system from scrtch using proprietry technologies nd softwre nd iv) develop n new system using free/open source technologies nd softwre. 4.2.4. Elimintion of Alterntives nd Criteri In this phse, the different lterntives were exmined. The cquisition of n existing system ws excluded, s none of the vilble systems fully covered the requirements nd the cquisition cost ws significntly higher thn the cost of the other three lterntives. Also difficulties would rise in using existing hrdwre equipment consisted of brcode/rfid reders, license plte recognition cmers nd the cquisition of new would further increse the cost. This choice would be delivered in quite short period of time, but this dvntge by itself is not so importnt to consider this lterntive s choice. Regrding the criteri, the fulfillment of requirements ws eliminted s it is prerequisite, since the requirements of the system were described nd the finl developed system will cover ll the requirements. Also user-friendliness for the pssengers ws removed from the list since in ll cses, the pssengers will interct with the system in the sme wy regrdless the used technologies. Both the progrmming lnguge nd the DBMS in the three cses re comptible with the mjority of hrdwre, so the criterion of comptibility ws removed. Finlly, in our cse-study, the vendorrelted criteri were lso removed, s only one vendor ws finl cndidte. Tble 2 shows the criteri fter the elimintion phse. Tble 2: Criteri used fter the Elimintion of the Criteri tht would not ffect the selection Ctegory Criteri Sub-criteri development cost; mintennce cost; support cost; Mngeril Cost hrdwre cost; softwre (DBMS) cost; use of existing equipment User-relted Userfriendliness Technologyrelted Delivery time Cpbilities Support nd Wrrnty user-friendliness for opertors; lerning curve for opertors Relibility; Speed;, dtbse cpbilities; security; ese of upgrde nd mintennce; ese of integrtion with other systems Proceedings of the Europen Modeling nd Simultion Symposium, 203 597

Figure 3 illustrtes digrm with the remining, fter the elimintion, criteri nd their hierrchy. whether the contribution to the decision hs positive or negtive ffect. Tble 4: The Weights of the Criteri nd Sub-criteri in Percentge Vlues nd Positive or Negtive Contribution of the Criteri Mngeril Criteri Contribution % delivery time negtive 9 development negtive 6,65 mintennce negtive,80 support negtive,44 hrdwre cost negtive 3,78 softwre cost negtive 2,6 use of existing equipment positive 2,6 Totl Cost percentge 7,98 Totl percentge of mngeril criteri 27 Figure 3: The hierrchy of the criteri fter the elimintion phse 5. CALCULATIONS AND RESULTS 5.. Clcultions The vlues nd priorities regrding the criteri were cquired by the Port Authority stff tht cted s the domin experts. They explined the importnce of ll criteri nd, fter brief explntion of the BAHP methodology, they suggested their estimtions bout the reltive weights for ech fctor. In this cse, mostly qulittive criteri were used. In tble 3 the comprison mtrix between the min criteri is shown nd figure 4 illustrtes chrt with the clculted importnce of ech criterion. Technologyrelted Technologyrelted Tble 3: Vlues mong Min Criteri Mngeril Userrelted Mngeril 5 0,333 User-relted 0,2 0,25 3,000 8 Figure 4: The percentge weight of ech of the three min fctors Due to spce restrictions, we cnnot present ll the tbles tht hve been formed nd the clcultions performed for ech of the sub-criteri. The finl weights of ll sub-criteri re presented in Tble 4, s well s User-Relted Criteri Contribution % User-friendliness for opertors positive 4,66 lerning curve for opertors positive 2,33 Totl percentge of userrelted criteri 7 Technology-relted Criteri Contribution % support positive 2,98 relibility Positive 6,70 speed Positive 2,07 DB cpbilities Positive 7,9 security Positive 7,9 ese of upgrde nd mintennce Positive 3,52 ese of integrtion with other systems Positive 5,85 Totl cpbilities criteri 43,96 Totl percentge of technology relted criteri 66 Moreover, there were sked experts from vendors to estimte the time of development nd experts from Computer Technology Institute & Press estimted the softwre nd hrdwre cpbilities of the specific technologies. In ddition, the costs nd ctul prices of DBMS licenses nd support, s well s the mintennce cost were estimted. After the estimtion of the corresponding criteri, the clcultion of the lterntives rnking ws performed. Tble 5 presents the scores of the three lterntives regrding the vilble support for ech solution. Tble 5: The scores of the lterntives regrding the support criterion Updte of existing system 27% Development with proprietry technologies 60% Development with open-source 3% technologies Proceedings of the Europen Modeling nd Simultion Symposium, 203 598

The finl clcultions were performed using the BAHP nd Tble 6 presents the score for ech lterntive. Tble 6: Scores of ech of the lterntives Alterntive Score Updte of existing system 0,054 Development with proprietry technologies 0,32606 Development with open source technologies 0,5386 5.2. Result Anlysis The lterntive of improving the existing system received the lowest rnking. The min dvntge of this solution ws the utiliztion of the existing equipment. But it would require updting the existing progrmming code produced by non-up-to-dte progrmming lnguge. Moreover, the existing system did not met the requirements so it would require more development time tht introduce further risk for the finl system not to meet the functionl requirements. Poor project plnning is recognized s one of the min resons for softwre projects filure (Hn nd Hung 2007, Whittker 999). Incorrect or incomplete system requirements re nother one of the top five resons for softwre projects filure (Bccrini, Slm, nd Love 2004, Hn nd Hung 2007). Since the existing system did not fulfill the requirements, ttempt to use code tht hs not been properly developed nd ws poorly designed in the first time is likely to require more development time or even to project filure. Also, since the used progrming lnguge is not-up-to-dte, it lcked from the two other solutions in qulity chrcteristics. The development with proprietry technologies scored highest nd ws recommended s the pproprite solution. Development with open source solution hd lower cost, minly relted to the lck of license costs. Also regrding some qulity chrcteristics, it is equl nd better thn the proprietry solution. However, the development with proprietry technologies hs the dvntge of support nd gurnties tht come long with the use of proprietry solutions. The lck of stndrd support in the cse of using open source technologies could potentilly led to greter cost when n updte of the system would be required or in cse of system mlfunction. This is very criticl for the cse under study, becuse OLIG hs not qulified nd experienced IT tem to support nd mintin the system. Our results come in ccordnce with other reserches results; ctully, the success of open source technologies doption from n orgniztion gretly depends on the orgniztion s IT cpbilities nd its experience in using open source softwre (Lin 2008; Goode 2005; Spinellis nd Ginniks 202). Also, the lck of relible technicl support is recognised s one of the resons tht Open Source Softwre is rejected (Goode 2005). 6. CONCLUSION This pper describes procedure for the selection of pproprite technologies for the development of n IT system regrding the pssenger, vehicle nd uthorized personnel in Greek port. After the determintion of the functionlity requirements, the possible solutions nd the corresponding criteri were identified. A two-stge procedure ws followed. At first stge, solutions tht did not meet certin requirements nd criteri tht would not ffect the selection (hving the sme chrcteristics mong the remining solutions) were eliminted. Commercil vilble system ws removed from the cndidte solutions, becuse its price exceeded the vilble budget of the project nd in ddition to this not ll the requirements were met. For the selection of the pproprite solution, the Bipolr Anlytic Hierrchicl Process (BAHP) ws implemneted so tht criteri with negtive impct would be incorported. From the exmined solutions, the further development of n erlier non-functionl system received the lowest score. The solutions with the higher scores were the development of the system from the beginning with proprietry or with open source technologies. Although the cpbilities nd chrcteristics of the technologies hd high impct on the finl results, chrcteristics relted to the softwre gurnties nd support plyed fundmentl role in the finl selection of the proprietry solution. Our results re similr to other studies nd point out tht lck of experienced IT tems is one of the fctors for which orgniztions prefer proprietry solutions, even if open source solutions with similr cpbilities re vilble. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This work ws supported by the project Generlized Automtic Exchnge of Port Informtion Are - GAIA, Code I.22.0, implemented within the frmework of the Europen Territoril Coopertion Progrmme Greece-Itly 2007-203, co-funded by the Europen Union (ERDF) nd by Ntionl Funds of Greece nd Itly. REFERENCES Bccrini D., Slm G., Love P.E.D., 2004. Mngement of risks in informtion technology projects. Industril Mngement & Dt Systems 04 (4):286-295. Cebeci U., 2009. Fuzzy AHP-bsed decision support system for selecting ERP systems in textile industry by using blnced scorecrd. Expert Systems with Applictions 36 (5):8900-8909. Frnch, X., Crvllo, J.P., 2002. A qulity-model-bsed pproch for describing nd evluting softwre pckges. Proceedings of IEEE Joint Interntionl Conference on Requirements Engineering, 04-. 9 3 September 2002, Essen, Germny Goode S., 2005. Something for nothing: mngement rejection of open source softwre in Austrli s top firms. Informtion & Mngement 42 (5):669-68. Proceedings of the Europen Modeling nd Simultion Symposium, 203 599

Hn W.M., Hung S.J., 2007. An empiricl nlysis of risk components nd performnce on softwre projects. Journl of Systems nd Softwre 80 ():42-50. Jdhv A.S., Sonr R.M, 20. Frmework for evlution nd selection of the softwre pckges: A hybrid knowledge bsed system pproch. Journl of Systems nd Softwre 84 (8):394-407. Jdhv A.S., Sonr R.M., 2009. Evluting nd selecting softwre pckges: A review. Informtion nd Softwre Technology 5 (3):555-563. Li V.S., Wong B.K., Cheung W., 2002. Group decision mking in multiple criteri environment: A cse using the AHP in softwre selection. Europen Journl of Opertionl Reserch 37():34-44. Lin L., 2008. Impct of user skills nd network effects on the competition between open source nd proprietry softwre. Electronic Commerce Reserch nd Applictions 7 ():68-8. Millet I., Schoner B., 2005. Incorporting negtive vlues into the Anlytic Hierrchy Process. Computers & Opertions Reserch 32 (2):363-373. OLIG S.A., 203. Pssenger Port Sttistics. Igoumenits Port Authority S.A. Avilble from: http://www.olig.gr/?q=en/node/443 [Accessed 3 My 203] Sty T.L., Vrgs L.G., 202. Models, Methods, Concepts & Applictions of the Anlytic Hierrchy Process. 2 nd ed. New York: Springer. Sty, T.L., 980. The Anlytic Hierrchy Process. New York: McGrw Hill Sty, T.L., 990. How to mke decision: The nlytic hierrchy process. Europen Journl of Opertionl Reserch 48 ():9-26. Sty, T.L., 2008. Decision mking with the nlytic hierrchy process. Interntionl Journl of Services Sciences ():83-98 Spinellis D., Ginniks V., 202. Orgniztionl doption of open source softwre. Journl of Systems nd Softwre 85 (3):666-682. Stmelos I., Tsoukis A., 2003. Softwre evlution problem situtions. Europen Journl of Opertionl Reserch 45 (2):273-286. Wei C.C., Chien C.F., Wng M.J.J., 2005. An AHPbsed pproch to ERP system selection. Interntionl Journl of Production Economics 96 ():47-62. Whittker B., 999. Wht went wrong? Unsuccessful informtion technology projects. Informtion Mngement & Computer Security 7 ():23-30. Anlysis, Decision Support Systems nd Multicriteri Decision Methodologies. Chrysostomos D. Stylios is n Associte Professor t Dept. of Informtics Engineering, TEI of Epirus; he is senior resercher t Telemtics Center Deprtment of Computer Technology Institute & Press. He received his Ph.D from the Dept. of Electricl & Computer Engineering University of Ptrs (999) nd diplom in Electricl & Computer Engineering from the Aristotle University of Thessloniki (992). He hs published over 00 journl nd conference ppers nd book chpters. His min scientific interests include: Fuzzy Cognitive Mps, Soft Computing, Computtionl Intelligence Techniques, Neurl Networks, Knowledge Hierrchicl Systems nd Decision Support Systems John Groflkis, born in 959, obtined his Ph.D. from the Deprtment of Computer Engineering nd Informtics (CEID), University of Ptrs, Greece, in 990, nd his Diplom on Electricl Engineering from the Ntionl Technicl University of Athens, Greece, in 983. He is currently Professor in CEID nd mnger of the Telemtics Center Deprtment t the Reserch nd Acdemic Computer Technology Institute of Greece. His reserch interests include performnce evlution, distributed systems nd lgorithms, Internet technologies nd pplictions. He hs published over 00 ppers in vrious journls nd refereed conferences nd is uthor of severl books nd lecture notes in the Greek lnguge. AUTHORS BIOGRAPHY Spiros Vsilkos is reserch collbortor t Computer Technology Institute & Press Diophntus. He received his diplom from the Deprtment of Computer Engineering & Informtics, University of Ptrs. His scientific interests include: System Modeling nd Proceedings of the Europen Modeling nd Simultion Symposium, 203 600