Microcomputers in Development: A Manager's Guide Marcus D. Ingle, Noel Berge, and Marcia Hamilton Kumarianfl P-ress 29 Bishop Road West Hartford, Connecticut 06119 Dedications To Diana who is so special in many ways, Aric who helps me learn, Aaron who makes it fun, and Danika who has it all together. Marcus To my Love and Best Friend - Nancy. Noel I am so grateful for the patience, support and gentle harassment provided by my children, Daniel and Elizabeth, and by my husband Dennis. Marcia Copyright © 1983 by Kumarian Press 29 Bishop Road, West Hartford, Connecticut 06119 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without prior written permission of the publisher. Printed in the United States of America Cover de.ign by Marilyn Penrod This manuscript was prepared on a Kaypro microcomputer using Wordstar and printed on a C. Itoh printer using prestige elite type. Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Ingle, Marcus. Microcomputers in development. Bibliography: p: 1. Microcomputers. 2. Economic development projects ­ Management-Data processing. I. Berge, Noel, 1943- II.Hamilton, Marcia, 1943- III. Title. QA76.5.1445 1983 658.4'038 83-19558 ISBN 0-931816-03-3 ii TABLE OF CONTENTS Table of Contents iii Foreword v[ ( Authors' Pre fac- ix Acknowledgement s xf INTRODUCTION 1 Some Implications 2 What a Microcomputer is Not 2 Who Should Use T~i Guide? 3 The Purpose and Scope of the Guide 5 What the Guide Does and Does Not Do 6 CHAPTER I: THE IMANAGEMENT POTENTIAL OF USER-FRIENDLY MICROCOMPUTERS 9 The Context if Development Management ]I Generic Management Functions 13 The Importance of User-Friendliness in Microcomputer Systems 24 Structured Flexibility 24 User-Friendly Skill. Levels 25 CHAPTER II: IARDWARE AND SOFTWARE: KEYS TO MAINTAINING UTILITY AND DIVERSITY 27 The User-Friendly Microcomputer Hardware System and its Components 29 Central Processing Unit 32 The Keyboard 32 Storage Devices and Memory 33 Operating Systems and Languages 35 Video and T.V. Monitors 35 Printers 36 The Modem 36 User-Friendly Microcomputer Software 40 Types of Software: Custom Versus Packaged 41 Characteristics of User-Friendly Software 41 Common Types of Applications Software Programs 43 Data Base Management 47 Word Processing 48 Electroniz Spreadsheets 49 Statistics and Computation Applications 49 Accounting 50 Work Scheduling and Monitoring 50 Craphics 50 Educational and Personal Development 51 Personal Entertainment 51 Families of Software 51 Microcomputer Users: The Human Element 52 iii TABLE OF CONTENTS (continued) C1'APTER [fI: CHOOSING A MICROCOMPUTER FOR USE IN OVVLOPIENT PROJECTS AND INST[ITIONS 53 Shi ll yolO i ' ,, 56 lob Prfrminc, }Qlh inuianl:L 56 Personal Enjoymen ind Lea rni ng Opportunities 57 Personal Consi lr~utions 57 Assess. nq low Microcompulters Can Be Useful to You I J i!nai:nr 59 Asqess i ,, Your Ioh Noe&s 62 Inst rur ion. 63 Assessment of Job Needs 65 Assessing Microcompnter Related Conditions in Dovo<,1 f' C;0unl r e!s 67 Dirty Pou.r 67 D)ust il hln i ity 68 Mai ntenance und Repair 68 Local Support Network 69 Organizational Setting 69 The Host-Country Perspective 70 Microcomputer Decision Criteria Summary Sheet 72 Selecting a System 74 Software Considerations 74 Hardware Considerations 74 System Descriptions 75 Costs of Systems 80 The Preliminary System Description Sheet 82 A Final Critical Consideration--Current Use in Your Area 83 CHAPTER IV: INSTALLING, USING, AND MAINTAINING MICROCOMPUTERS IN DEVELOPMENT PROJECT AND INSTITUTIONAL SETTINGS 85 Level of Technical Competence 86 Purchasing the Equipment 87 What to Order 87 Before Installation 88 Installation 90 Using the System 91 Using a Microcomputer System in Managing a Development Project 93 Mai ntai fning the System 96 Some Advice 98 Assistance and Technical Assistance 98 Traveling with a Microcomputer 99 )o's and Don'ts 100 iv TABLE OF CONTENTS (continued) CHAPTER V: REPRESENTATIVE APPLICATIONS IN DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS AND INSTITUTIONS 105 Management Applications in Development Projects 105 Project Management Application #i: The Training for Rural Development Project in Tanzania 106 Project Management Application #2: The Agricultural Production Project in Portugal 110 Project Management Application #3: The Application of Microcomputers in Nineteen Development Projects in Nepal 114 Management Applications in Development Institutions 119 Institutional Management Application #1: Microcomputers and Financial Management in Kenya's Ministries of Agriculture and Livestock Development 120 Institutional Management Application #2: USDA's Remote Sensing for Agricultural Activity 124 Institutional Management Application #3: Agriculture Research Management in the Philippines 129 Summary of Major Lessons from Project Management and Institutional Management Applications 132 Some Common Lessons Learned 134 Future Trends 135 A Final Word 135 Appendices 137 A. How to Provide 110 Volts for Apple Operation A-I B. Survey of Microcomputers in Developing Countries B-I C. Major Manufacturers and Houses of Hardware and Software C-I D. Periodicals about Microcomputers D-I E. Bibliography E-I F. Glossary F-I v Figures of the Guide 4 Figure 1: Graphic Representation of the Audience Figure 2: Range of Computing Capability and Potential Applications for Different Types of Computer 28 Equipment 30 Figure 3: Prototypical Microcomputer Configuration Figure 4: Ordering the Technical Factors Involved in 54 Institutionalization of the Use of Microcomputers Tables Table 1: Generic Management Functions, Related Management Tasks, Typical Microcomputer Uses, and 14 Microcomputer Products Table 2: Microcomputer Hardware Components, Uses, Pros 38 and Cons Table 3: Common Types of Microcomputer Software, Special Purpose Software Packages, and Typical Development 45 Management Applications Table 4: Considerations in Microcomputer Acquisition in 60 Development Settings 78 Table 5: Hardware Used in Development Project Situations 80 Table 6: Approximate Costs of Microcomputer Systems 88 Table 7: Four Major Problems in Field Use 89 Table 8: Some Solutions to Power Problems and their Costs Table 9: Do's and Don'ts of Acquisition, Installation and Use of Microcomputers 100 117 Table 10: Program Applications in Nepal Table 11: Cost of a Two-User North Star System in Remote 125 Sensing Applications Table 12: Type and Length of Microcomputer Training for 128 Remote Sensing Staff vi FOREWORD The Development Project Management Center (DPMC) is pleased to see a revision of our publication, "Acquiring and Using Microcomputers in Agricultural Development: A Managers' Guide" published by Kumarian Press. The response to our publication has been gratifying. We see the microcomputer playing a vital role in improving and sustaining effective management in developing countries. Microcomputers can help managers by providing quick access to informatioa they need to make decisions; saving time in handling many office functions; and assisting with complicated (and heretofore not feasible) appraisals and analyses. We see management as a human process in which resources are mobilized arid productively combined to accomplish meaningful results under constantly changing conditions. We see it as a periodic cycle of planning and replanning in which managers and staff work together to track expenditures and progress against planned results, unexpected changes, and lessons from experience. In both planning and replan­ ning, a continuous stream of information must be gathered, processed, and acted upon. The potcntial of microcomputer technology is that it can provide a means for managers to gather, process, and analyze this information more quickly. It can, if appropriately used, be highly practical, inexpensive, and effective. DPMC is a research, development, and dissemination unit of the Technical Assistance Pivision Office of International Cooperation and Development of the United States Department of Agriculture, partially supported by the Science and Technology Bureau of the Agency for International Development. DPMC's prime responsibility is to expand the appropriate use of management concepts and techniques in the planning and implementation of development policies, programs, and projectm, to support development in LDCs through provision of technical assistance. DPMC carries out action-training I/ and applied research on management around the world. We are now providing assistance to development efforts in seven countries of the Sahel, Portugal, and the Caribbean. DPMC sees this manager's guide as a major contribution to the available information on the use of microcomputers in the third world. It represents an interim milestone in DPMC's research on "Microcomputers and Management". Since then, DPMC has explored actual and potential applications of microcomputers as tools for improving project and institutional management in developing countries. 1/ Action training is the process in which working groups simultaneously learn concepts, techniques and skills that are relevant fo)" their assigned tasks and have an opportunity to apply these newly learned capabilities to their assignment. vii is evolving at a We are very aware that microcomputer development mutually-reinforcing phenomenal rate. Some very far-reaching the desk-top computer even developmenLs are emerging that will make more useful to the manager. Such developments are: external memory, making - Less costly