Sylnovie Merchant, Ph.D. MIS 161 Spring 2005 MIS 161 Systems Development Life Cycle II Lecture 6: System Changeover Issues

Sylnovie Merchant, Ph.D. MIS 161 Spring 2005 Changeover Process Scheduling process –Weekends, nights, or holidays Notification to customers –external –internal Activity phase-down –only priority transactions

Sylnovie Merchant, Ph.D. MIS 161 Spring 2005 Elements of a Scheduling

Sylnovie Merchant, Ph.D. MIS 161 Spring 2005 Scheduling Process What activities will be performed when and by whom –Technical aspects Installing hardware and software Converting data –Organizational aspects Training users on the system Motivating employees to use the new system to aid in their work Change management

Sylnovie Merchant, Ph.D. MIS 161 Spring 2005 Changeover Process File conversion –download old system –upload new system System changeover New system priming –start feeding transactions

Sylnovie Merchant, Ph.D. MIS 161 Spring 2005 Parallel Cut-Over NEW SYSTEM ParallelPeriodParallelPeriod OLD SYSTEM For a time both old and new systems are used. The old is abandoned when the new is proven fully capable

Sylnovie Merchant, Ph.D. MIS 161 Spring 2005 Direct (Crash) Changeover OLD SYSTEM NEW SYSTEM Cut-over Date DateCut-over The new system instantly replaces the old

Sylnovie Merchant, Ph.D. MIS 161 Spring 2005 Staged Changeover O L D N E W The system is converted in stages

Sylnovie Merchant, Ph.D. MIS 161 Spring 2005 Changeover Factors Costs System criticality User computer experience System complexity User resistance Time

Sylnovie Merchant, Ph.D. MIS 161 Spring 2005 Institutionalization of the System Provide support –Assistance in using the system Provide maintenance –Repair or fix discovered bugs or errors –Add minor enhancements to provide added value Assess the project –Analyze what was done well –Discover what activities need improvement in the future

Sylnovie Merchant, Ph.D. MIS 161 Spring 2005 Types of System Support On-demand training at time of user need Online support –Frequently asked questions (FAQ) Help desk –Phone service for known issues –Level 2 Support

Sylnovie Merchant, Ph.D. MIS 161 Spring 2005 Training New system training must be performed Analysts must consider –Who needs to be trained –Who will train them –Objectives of training –Methods of instruction to be used –Sites –Materials

Sylnovie Merchant, Ph.D. MIS 161 Spring 2005 Sources of Training Possible sources of training for users of information systems include –Vendors –Systems analysts –External paid trainers –In-house trainers –Other system users

Sylnovie Merchant, Ph.D. MIS 161 Spring 2005 Maintaining/Modifying the System Problem reports from the operations group Requests for enhancements from users Requests from other systems development projects Change requests from senior management

Sylnovie Merchant, Ph.D. MIS 161 Spring 2005 Project Assessment Important for continued project improvement Especially important for junior personnel to improve quickly

Sylnovie Merchant, Ph.D. MIS 161 Spring 2005 Project Team Review Each member prepares 2-3 page document regarding her or his actions during the project Focus on improvement not penalties Excellent behaviors are acknowledged and diffused to others Team leader summarizes and distributes lessons learned

Sylnovie Merchant, Ph.D. MIS 161 Spring 2005 System Review Examine the extent to which the costs and benefits of the system are realized Use this information to help in more accurately estimating costs and benefits for future projects