MIS staff planning in a state government agency

This paper reports a case study to evaluate work content and recommend staffing levels for the Management Information Systems (MIS) division of a state government agency. Given the non-repetitive nature of work and rapidly changing technology, measuring work content in the MIS area is difficult. A combination of approaches is employed including an evaluation of work logs, modeling and analysis using standard queuing theory and the use of benchmark information. The paper is based on the experiences gained while performing an actual project. The management of the organization has accepted the final recommendations of the study.