© 2013, published by Flat World Knowledge Chapter 10 Understanding Software: A Primer for Managers 10-1

© 2013, published by Flat World Knowledge Introduction Computing hardware: Physical components of information technology which includes the computer and its peripherals – Storage devices – Input devices – Output devices Software: Computer program or collection of programs – Precise set of instructions that tells hardware what to do 10-2

© 2013, published by Flat World Knowledge Software Operating system: Software that controls the computer hardware – Establishes standards for developing and executing applications Applications: Desktop applications, enterprise software, utilities, and other programs that perform specific tasks for users and organizations 10-3

© 2013, published by Flat World Knowledge Figure The Hardware/Software Layer Cake 10-4

© 2013, published by Flat World Knowledge Operating Systems Provides a common set of controls for managing computer hardware – Makes it easier for users to interact with computers and for programmers to write application software User interface: Mechanism through which users interact with a computing device 10-5

© 2013, published by Flat World Knowledge Firmware and Embedded Systems Software store on nonvolatile memory chips Firmware Special-purpose software designed and included inside physical products Embedded systems 10-6

© 2013, published by Flat World Knowledge Application Software Performs the work that users and firms are directly interested in accomplishing Platform: Products and services that allow for the development and integration of software products and other complementary goods Desktop software: Applications installed on a personal computer, typically supporting tasks performed by a single user 10-7

© 2013, published by Flat World Knowledge Enterprise Software Applications that address the needs of multiple users throughout an organization or work group – Software package: Software product offered commercially by a third party – Enterprise resource planning (ERP): Software package that integrates the many functions of a business Sales and inventory Manufacturing and purchasing Human resources Order tracking and decision support 10-8

© 2013, published by Flat World Knowledge Enterprise Software Systems used to support customer-related sales and marketing activities Customer relationship management (CRM) Systems that can help a firm manage aspects of its value chain Through delivery of finished products and services at the point-of-consumption Supply chain management Systems that use data created by other systems to provide reporting and analysis for organizational decision making Business intelligence (BI) systems 10-9

© 2013, published by Flat World Knowledge Database Management System Software for creating, maintaining, and manipulating data – Referred to as database software Stores and retrieves the data used by the other enterprise applications Firms with common database systems and standards benefit from increased organizational insight and decision-making capabilities 10-10

© 2013, published by Flat World Knowledge Figure Database Management System 10-11

© 2013, published by Flat World Knowledge Distributed Computing Form of computing where systems in different locations communicate and collaborate to complete a task Server: Program that fulfills the requests of a client – Hardware context - Computer that has been configured to support requests from other computers – Software context - Program that fulfills requests Client: Software program that makes requests of a server program 10-12

© 2013, published by Flat World Knowledge Distributed Computing Software that houses and serves business logic for use and reuse by multiple applications Used by more advanced distributed environments Application server Small pieces of code that are accessed via the application server which permit interoperable machine-to-machine interaction over a network Web services Programming hooks, or guidelines, published by firms that tell other programs how to get a service to perform a task such as send or receive data Application programming interfaces (APIs) Set of Web services built around an organization’s processes and procedures Service-oriented architecture (SOA) 10-13

© 2013, published by Flat World Knowledge Figure Multitiered Distributed System 10-14

© 2013, published by Flat World Knowledge Formats to Facilitate Sharing Data Set of standards for exchanging messages containing formatted data between computer applications EDI (electronic data interchange) Tagging language that can be used to identify data fields made available for use by other applications New generation of more-flexible technologies Extensible markup language (XML) 10-15

© 2013, published by Flat World Knowledge Writing Software Provides the standards, syntax, statements, and instructions for writing computer software Programming language Application that includes an editor, debugger, and compiler, among other tools IDE will also compile a programmer’s code Compile: Program code written in a language that humans understand is converted into a form that can be understood and executed by a microprocessor Integrated development environment (IDE) 10-16

© 2013, published by Flat World Knowledge Total Cost of Ownership All of the costs associated with a software system – Design – Development – Testing – Implementation – Documentation – Training – Maintenance 10-17

© 2013, published by Flat World Knowledge Why Do Technology Projects Fail? Unrealistic or unclear project goals Poor project leadership and weak executive commitment Inaccurate estimates of needed resources and badly defined system requirements Allowing feature creep during development Poor reporting of the project’s status Poor communication among customers, developers, and users 10-18

© 2013, published by Flat World Knowledge Why Do Technology Projects Fail? Use of immature technology Unmanaged risks Inability to handle the project’s complexity Sloppy development and testing practices Poor project management Stakeholder politics Commercial pressures 10-19