1. Developing Business/IT Solutions
Chapter 10
Developing Business/IT Solutions
McGraw-Hill/Irwin
Copyright © 2010 by the McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

2. Learning Objectives
Use the systems development process outlined in this chapter and the model of IS components from Chapter 1 to help you propose information systems solutions to simple business problems
Describe and give examples to illustrate how you might use each of the steps of the information systems development cycle to develop and implement a business information system

3. Learning Objectives
Explain how prototyping can be used as an effective technique to improve the process of systems development for end users and IS specialists
Understand the basics of project management and their importance to a successful system development effort
Identify the activities involved in the implementation of new information systems

4. Learning Objectives
Compare and contrast the four basic system conversation strategies
Describe evaluation factors that should be considered in evaluating the acquisition of hardware, software, and IS services
Identify several change management solutions for user resistance to the implementation of new information systems

5. IS Development
When the systems approach is applied to the development of an information systems solution to business problems, it is called
Information systems development or
Application development

6. A problem solving technique with a systems orientation
The Systems Approach
A problem solving technique with a systems orientation
Recognize and define the problem or opportunity
Develop an appropriate, feasible solution
Develop and evaluate alternative solutions
Select the solution that best meets your needs
Design the selected solution
Implement the solution
Evaluate the success of the system

7. What is Systems Thinking?
Seeing the forest and the trees in situations
Seeing interrelationships among systems rather than linear cause-and-effect chains
Seeing processes of change among systems rather than discrete snapshots of change
See the system in any situation
Find the input, processing, output, feedback and control components

8. Systems Thinking Example

9. Systems Analysis and Design
SA&D is the overall process by which information systems are designed and implemented
Identification of business problems
Propose an IS solution
Design and implement the proposed solution
Two most common approaches
Object-oriented analysis and design
Life cycle

10. Systems Development Lifecycle (SDLC)

11. Systems Development Process
Systems Investigation
The first step in the systems development process
May involve consideration of proposals generated by a business/IT planning process
Also includes the preliminary feasibility study of proposed information system solutions

12. Systems Development Process
Feasibility Study: a preliminary study to determine…
Information needs of prospective users
Resource requirements
Costs
Benefits
Feasibility
Sometimes unnecessary

13. Operational Feasibility
How well the proposed system will…
Support the business priorities of the organization
Solve the identified problem
Fit with the existing organizational structure

14. Economic Feasibility Assessment of Cost savings Cost/benefit analysis
Increased revenue
Increased profits
Decreased investment requirements

15. Technical Feasibility
Can the following meet the needs of a proposed system and can be acquired or developed in the required time?
Hardware
Software
Network

16. Human Factors Feasibility
Assess the acceptance level of…
Employees
Customers
Suppliers
Management support
Find the right people for the new or revised roles

17. Legal/Political Feasibility
Assess
Possible patent or copyright violations
Violations of antitrust laws
Foreign trade restrictions
Any existing contractual obligations
Changes to existing reporting and power structures

18. Systems Analysis An in-depth study of end user information needs
Produces functional requirements used as the basis for the design of an information system
Typically involves a detailed study
Information needs of a company & end users
Activities, resources, and products of the information systems currently being used
Information system capabilities required to meet the information needs of business stakeholders

19. Organizational Analysis
Study of the organization, including…
Management structure
People
Business activities
Control
Environmental systems
Storage
Processing
Current information systems
Input / output

20. Analysis of the Present System
Before designing a new system, study the system being improved or replaced
Hardware and software
Network
System activities of input, processing, output, storage, and control
People resources used to convert data resources into information products

21. A logical model is a blueprint of the current system
Logical Analysis
A logical model is a blueprint of the current system
Displays what the current system does, without regard to how it does it
Allows an analyst to understand the processes, functions, and data associated with a system, without getting bogged down with hardware and software

22. Functional Requirements
This systems analysis step is one of the most difficult
Determine what type of information each business activity requires
Determine the information processing capabilities required for each system activity
The goal is to identify what should be done, not how to do it

23. Examples of Functional Requirements
User Interface
Automatic entry of product data and easy-to-use screens for Web customers
Processing
Fast, automatic calculation of sales totals and shipping costs
Storage
Fast retrieval and update of data from product, pricing, and customer databases
Control
Signals for data entry errors and quick confirmation to customers

24. Three Areas of Systems Design Focus

25. Prototyping
Prototyping is the rapid development and testing of working models
An interactive, iterative process used during the design phase
Makes development faster and easier, especially when end user requirements are hard to define
Enlarged the role of business stakeholders

26. Prototyping Life Cycle

27. Frequently a prototyping process
User Interface Design
Focuses on supporting the interactions between end-users and their computer-based applications
Designers concentrate on the design of attractive and efficient forms of user input and output
Frequently a prototyping process
Produces detailed design specifications for information products, such as display screens

28. Checklist for Corporate Websites
Remember the customer
Aesthetics
Broadband content
Easy to navigate
Searchability
Incompatibilities
Registration forms
Dead links

29. System Specifications
User interface methods and products
Processing procedures
Formalizing the design of
Database structures
Control procedures

30. Examples of System Specifications

31. End-User System Development
IS professionals play a consulting role, while users do their own application development
Consultants may be available to help with analysis, design, and installation
Other support
Application package training
Hardware and software advice
Help gaining access to organization databases

32. Focus on IS Activities
End-user documentation should focus on the fundamental activities of an information system
Input
Processing
Output
Storage
Control

33. Focus of End-User Development

34. End-User Application Development
Application development capabilities are often built into software packages
Makes it easier for users to develop their own solutions
To encourage end-user Web development
Look for tools that make sense
Spur creativity
Set some limits
Give managers responsibility
Make users comfortable

35. Object-Oriented Analysis and Design
Object-oriented programming (OOP)
Uses objects to design applications
Employs inheritance, modularity, polymorphism, encapsulation
Popular OOP programming languages
C++, Delphi, Java, JavaScript, Perl, PHP, RealBasic, Ruby, VB.Net, Visual FoxPro

36. Object-Oriented Analysis and Design
Object-oriented analysis (OOA)
Aims to model the problem domain by developing an object-oriented system
Does not take into account implementation constraints, nor how the system will be built
Produces a description of what is to be built, using concepts and relationships between concepts

37. Object-Oriented Analysis and Design
Object-oriented design (OOD)
Designers look for logical solutions to solve a problem using objects
Takes the conceptual model from OOA and adds implementation constraints
Concepts in the conceptual model are mapped to
Concrete classes and abstract interfaces
Roles that objects take in various situations

38. Implementing New Systems
The systems implementation stage involves
Hardware and software acquisition
Software development
Testing of programs and procedures
Conversion of data resources
Conversion alternatives
Education/training of end-users and specialists who will operate the new system

39. Implementation Process

40. Sample Implementation Process

41. Project Management
The skills and knowledge necessary to be a good project manager will translate into virtually any project environment
The people who have acquired them are sought after by most organizations

42. What is a Project? Every project has
A set of activities with a clear beginning and end
Goals and objectives
Tasks
Limitations or constraints
A series of steps or phases
Managing a project effectively requires
Process
Tools
Techniques

43. Phases of Project Management

44. Evaluating Hardware, Software, Services
Establish minimum physical and performance characteristics for all hardware and software
Formalized in an RFP/RFQ
Send RFQ to appropriate vendors
Evaluate bids when received
All claims must be demonstrated
Obtain recommendations from other users
Search independent sources for evaluations
Benchmark test programs and test data

45. Hardware Evaluation Factors
Performance
Cost
Reliability
Compatibility
Technology
Ergonomics
Connectivity
Scalability
Software
Support

46. Software Evaluation Factors
Hardware evaluation factors apply to software, as do these…
Quality
Efficiency
Flexibility
Security
Connectivity
Software that is slow, hard to use, bug-filled, or poorly documented is not a good choice at any price
Maintenance
Documentation
Hardware

47. Evaluating IS Services
Examples of IS Services
Developing a company website
Installation or conversion of hardware/software
Employee training
Hardware maintenance
System design and/or integration
Contract programming
Consulting services

48. IS Service Evaluation Factors
Performance
Systems development
Maintenance
Conversion
Training
Backup facilities and services
Accessibility to sales & support
Business position & financial strength
Hardware selection and compatibility
Software packages offered

49. Other Implementation Activities
The keys to successful implementation of a new business system
Testing
Data conversion
Documentation
Training
System testing involves
Testing and debugging software
Testing website performance
Testing new hardware
Review of prototypes

50. Data Conversion
There is no standard format for a job description, but most include…
Data conversion to new database
Correcting data errors
Filtering out unwanted data
Consolidating data from multiple databases
Organizing data into new data subsets
Improperly organized and formatted data is a major cause of implementation failures

51. Documentation User Documentation Systems Documentation
Sample data entry screens, forms, reports
System operating instructions
Systems Documentation
Method of communication among those developing, implementing, and maintaining a computer-based system
Detailed record of the system design
Extremely important when diagnosing problems and making system changes

52. Training
End users must be trained to operate a new business system or its implementation will fail
May involve only activities, such as data entry, or all aspects of system use
Managers and end-users must both understand how the new technology impacts business operations
System training should be supplemented with hardware device and software training

53. Major System Conversion Strategies

54. Direct Conversion Simplest conversion strategy
Most disruptive to the organization
Sometimes called slam dunk or cold turkey
Highest risk of failure
Turns off old system, turns on new one
May be only solution in emergency implementations, or if old and new system can’t coexist

55. Parallel Conversion
Old and new systems run simultaneously until everyone is satisfied that
The new system functions correctly, and the old system is no longer needed
Conversion cutover can be single or phased
Lowest risk, but highest cost
Up to 4 times more than using old system
Best choice where an automated system is replacing a manual one

56. Pilot Conversion Scenarios best suited to a pilot conversion
Multiple business locations
Geographically diverse locations
Advantages of single location conversion
Can select a location that best represents the conditions across the organization
Less risky in terms of loss of time or delays in processing
Can be evaluated and changed before further installations

57. Phased Conversion Phased or gradual conversion
Takes advantage of both the direct and parallel approaches
Minimizes the risks involved
Allows new system to come online as logically ordered functional components
Most disruptive to the organization over time
Disadvantages
Takes the most time

58. Post-Implementation Activities
The single most costly activity
Correcting errors or faults in the system
Improving system performance
Adapting the system to changes in the operating or business environment
Requires more programmers than for application development
May exist for years

59. Systems Maintenance Categories
Preventive
Corrective
Adaptive
Perfective
There are four basic categories of system maintenance
Corrective: fix bugs and logical errors
Adaptive: add new functionality
Perfective: improve performance
Preventive: reduce chances of failure

60. Post-Implementation Review
Ensures that the newly implemented system meets the established business objectives
Errors must be corrected by the maintenance process
Includes a periodic review/audit of the system, as well as continuous monitoring

61. Implementation Challenges

62. User Resistance and Involvement
Solving User Resistance Problems
Education and training
User involvement in organizational changes, IS development
End-user participation before new system is implemented
Involvement, commitment of top management and all business stakeholders

63. Key Dimensions of Change Management

64. Change Management People are a major focus of change management
Involve as many people as possible in e-business planning and application development
Make constant change an expected part of the culture
Tell everyone as much as possible about everything, as often as possible, in person
Make liberal use of financial incentives and recognition
Work within the company culture, not around it

65. Change Management Process

66. Implementation Process
Acquisition
Conversion
New system implementation process
Software development
Documentation
Data conversion
Testing
Training