1. Miguel Nunes email: j.m.nunes@sheffield.ac.uk
Information Systems Project Management IS Development Methodologies (2)
Miguel Nunes

2. Aims of this Session
To identify and discuss the nature and role of Information Systems Methodologies.
To present the different types of modern methodologies, namely structured, agile and object oriented methodologies.
To present SSADM as a structured methodology and RAD as an agile iterative methodology.

3. Aims and Objectives Aims
The main aim of this module is to consider the role of information systems within the organisation and to provide an appreciation of the rigorous methods that are needed to manage projects that analyse, design develop, install and maintain these computer based information systems.

4. Information System Definition
An Information System can be defined technically as a set of interrelated components that collect, process, store and retrieve, and distribute information to support decision making, co-ordination and control in an organisation.
An information system is an organisational and management solution, based on information and communication technology, to a challenge posed by the environment.

5. Components of an Information System

6. Information Systems Thinking
The Information System must be developed considering the organisation as a whole rather then for a collection of functions in isolation.
Organisations are open systems and therefore the relationship between the organisation and its environment is important.
Organisations are human activity systems and people often have conflicting objectives, perceptions and attitudes.
Human activity systems constantly evolving and therefore unpredictable. There is no such thing as a repeatable experiment.

7. Information System Definition
A system that assembles, stores, processes and delivers information relevant to an organisation (or socio-technical environment), in such a way that the information is accessible and useful to those who wish to use it as required by their activity practices, including managers, staff, customers, suppliers, other business partners and citizens.
An IS is therefore an human-activity system which may or may not involve the use of IT based systems.

8. Information System Development
A system that assembles, stores, processes and delivers information relevant to an organisation (or socio-technical environment), in such a way that the information is accessible and useful to those who wish to use it as required by their activity practices, including managers, staff, customers, suppliers, other business partners and citizens.
Question here are:
How do we identify the people that use and need the IS?
How do we understand their work practices?
How do we identify their information needs?
How do we respond to all of these questions so that the organisation benefits from the IS?

9. IS Development Methodologies
“ a coherent collection of concepts, beliefs, values and principles supported by resources to help a problem-solving group to perceive, generate, assess and carry-out in a non-random way changes to the information system”
(Avison and Wood-Harper, 1990)
1. Set of methods for tackling the different problems involved.
2. Sound theoretical basis in order to understand why and when to use the methods.

10. IS Development Methodologies
A collection of procedures, techniques, tools and documentation aids that help developers in their efforts to understand users, their socio-technical environment, their work practices and their information needs.

11. USER versus SYSTEMS DEVELOPER
developer needs to understand the users environment;
users often don't know enough about the capabilities of computer systems to specify in an accurate way;
in addition there is the problem of the requirements of the system continually changing throughout the analysis and design process.

12. less extensive but more detailed.
Systems Development ?
discovering detailed business requirements by a detailed analysis of business data;
increasing business understanding since the business is described in terms of simple easy to read diagrams;
enables better negotiation of systems requirements between different user groups and analysts;
provides a framework for identifying and evaluating opportunities to enhance the business- problems identified which were not previously evident;
common framework of concepts and terminology....
less extensive but more detailed.

13. IS Development Methodologies
A collection of procedures, techniques, tools and documentation aids that help developers in their efforts to understand users, their socio-technical environment, their work practices and their information needs.
IS Methodologies consist of phases whish will guide the systems developers in what to do and their choice of techniques that might be appropriate at each stage. Each phase may contain subphases.
These phases (or stages, or main activities) form the IS Project and help manage, control and evaluate the project.

14. IS Development Methodologies
However …….
These 4 stages of start-up, development, completion, and operational may be instantiated in VERY DIFFERENT WAYS depending on the IS Methodology selected.

15. IS Development Methodologies
There are 3 main types of methodologies in use today:
Structured Approaches
Agile Methodologies
Prototyping approaches
Incremental approaches
Object Oriented Approaches

16. Structured Methodologies
Structured Approaches offer a set of techniques and tools to carry out the information systems development work within a defined framework.
The framework defines an overall structure (sequence of phases) that ensures a more consistent and complete approach to the work.
The framework allows the progress of the work to be fully charted and that there are no sudden unconnected and unexplained jumps between phases.

17. Structured Methodologies
Main characteristics of structured methodologies:
Separation of logical and physical analysis;
Emphasis on data (data modelling and data flow modelling);
Diagrammatic Representation;
Documentation reviewed and signed off throughout the analysis, design and development.
Use involvement (but limited);
Compliance to framework;
Long periods of development ….

18. Agile Methodologies
Agile Methodologies are known as lightweight development methods based on rapid development cycles and flexible response to changes in requirements.
Based on one basic idea: Requirements are so difficult to define that they must evolved during the period of development. This is based on 80:20 Pareto principle.

19. Agile Methodologies
Agile Methodologies are also based on the following principles:
Individuals and interactions over processes and tools;
Working software over comprehensive documentation;
Customer collaboration over contract negotiation;
Responding to change over following a plan.

20. Agile Methodologies
There are two types of agile methodologies based on two types of evolutionary development:
Iterative
Evolutionary approach based on
repetitive cycles of development
and successive revision of requirements
during each iteration.
Based on the principle of prototyping.
Incremental
Evolutionary approach that involves
breaking the application down into
small components which are then
implemented and delivered in sequence. C1 C3 SW
App C2 C4

21. Object Oriented Methodologies
Waterfall, Structured Approaches and many of the early Prototyping methodologies were based on the concept of function.
Functions represent work practices, i.e. what people do and what data they need to do it. That is data models:
Order Line
Sales Person
Customer
Sales Order
Product
made of
part of
order for
ordered by
takes
taken by
placed by
places

22. Understanding Object Orientation

23. Object Orientation (OO)
Object orientation is a mind-set
think in terms of objects
objects represent something in the real world
Differs from other models such as process and data modelling
involves modelling data and processes (functionality), but in a different way
data and functionality encapsulated into an object (not treated separately)

24. What “things” can you see in this picture
What “things” can you see in this picture? What characteristics and behaviour do these have?

25. Object Orientation (OO)
“Object-oriented programming is a method of implementation in which programs are organised as a co-operative collection of objects, each of which represents an instance of some class, and whose classes are all members of a hierarchy of classes united via inheritance relationships.”
(Avison & Fitzgerald, 2003: 241)

26. Objects and entities
An Object is an abstract representation of an instance of an Entity. It is something to which actions are directed.
Objects have
identity – the name of the object
state – names of properties that describe an object (attributes) and values of those attributes at some point in time.
behaviour - the set of operations which represent the behaviour of the entity. The procedure that implements an operation is called a method.
Objects are like entities but also exhibit behaviour

27. Objects and classes Class collection/categorisation of similar objects
classes are templates for making objects
classes have attributes but no values
classes define behaviour in terms of operations
an object is an instance of a class
Person
name
age
addr
height
eat()
sleep()
walk()
goToWork()
talk()
attributes
operations
INF Information Systems Modelling

28. Inheritance Classes can be organised into a hierarchy
Animal
Amphibian
Mammal
Reptile
Lion
Classes can be organised into a hierarchy
some types are more general/specific than others
child “is a kind of” parent
Specific types can inherit characteristics of more general types
Objects can be instances of many types simultaneously
UML also refers to this as generalisation
INF Information Systems Modelling

29. Encapsulation Processing/ operations Data Interface
Egg structure of an object
Internal processing and details of data are hidden (information hiding)
Interface presents “face” to outside world.

30. Message passing
In a system, objects work together by sending messages to each other
Passing messages
sending object requests to perform an operation
receiving object knows what to do and performs operation
messages passed through interfaces
TV remote messages include
change channel
increase volume
????
INF Information Systems Modelling

31. Message passing A network of objects make up a system or program
begins with event from outside which triggers an object
that object initiates another object …
Event
Message A B C E D F

32. Main OO concepts Abstraction Inheritance Polymorphism Encapsulation
Message sending
Associations
Aggregation
3 “pillars” of OO

33. IS Development Methodologies
“ a coherent collection of concepts, beliefs, values and principles supported by resources to help a problem-solving group to perceive, generate, assess and carry-out in a non-random way changes to the information system”
(Avison and Wood-Harper, 1990)
1. Set of methods for tackling the different problems involved.
2. Sound theoretical basis in order to understand why and when to use the methods.

34. This module’s question:
“We know why projects fail, we know how to prevent their failure -- so why do they still fail?“ Cobb (1995)
Old question!???

35. Project Management What needs to be done ? What has happened ?
What is happening ?
What is going to happen ?
What needs to be done ?
How are we going to do it ?
When are we doing it ?
Who is going to do it ?
What is the quality of our work (product) ?
What are the risks involved ?

36. Project Management Planning and Organising Estimating
(What and How)
Estimating
( When and Who)
Scheduling and Monitoring
( awareness of progression, remediation action, quality assurance)

37. Planning and Organising
(What and How)
Understanding requirements;
Selecting a methodology;
Determining deliverables and milestones;
Determining verification and validation checks.

38. To Sum up ... What needs to be done ?
IS Methodologies support Project Managers in understanding what needs to be done and avoid frustration at the end of project.
What needs to be done ?