1. Chapter 10: Systems Development
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Objectives
Describe the systems development life cycle, who participates in it, and why it is important
Discuss systems development tools
Understand how systems development projects are investigated
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3. Objectives (continued)
Describe how an existing system can be evaluated
Discuss what is involved in planning a new system
List the steps to implement a new or modified system
Describe the importance of updating and monitoring a system
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4. An Overview of Systems Development
Systems development process
Typically called a systems development life cycle (SDLC)
Systems investigation and analysis
Looks at the existing system and determines if it can and should be improved
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5. An Overview of Systems Development (continued)
Systems design and implementation
Modifying an existing system or developing a new one
Maintenance and review
Makes sure that the new or modified system is operating as intended
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7. Participants in Systems Development
System stakeholders
Individuals who will benefit from systems development project
Users
Individuals who will be interacting with the system on a regular basis
Managers
People most capable of initiating and maintaining change
Systems analyst
Specializes in analyzing and designing systems
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9. Why Start a Systems Development Project?
Creative analysis
Investigating new approaches to existing problems
Critical analysis
Being skeptical and doubtful
Questioning whether or not the current computer system is still effective and efficient
Systems development process
Begins with gathering information on users’ needs
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10. End-User Systems Development
The development of computer systems by
Individuals outside of the formal computer systems planning and departmental structure
Systems developed by end users
Range from the very small to those of significant organizational value
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11. Tools and Techniques for Systems Development
Systems development tools
Can greatly simplify the systems development process
Include
Computer-aided software engineering tools
Flowcharts, decision tables
Project management tools, prototyping,
Outsourcing, and object-oriented systems development
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12. Computer-Aided Software Engineering
Employs computer-aided software engineering (CASE) tools
CASE tools
Automate many systems development tasks
Allow more than one person to work on the same system at the same time via a multiuser interface
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Flowcharts
Reveal the path from a starting point to the final destination
Can display various amounts of detail
When developing a system
General flowchart describes the overall purpose and structure of the system
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Decision Tables
Can be used as an alternative to or in conjunction with flowcharts
In general, a decision table displays
The various conditions that could exist
The different actions that the computer should take
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19. Project Management Tools
Purpose is to plan, monitor, and control necessary development activities
Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT)
Creates three time estimates for an activity
The shortest possible time
The most likely time
The longest possible time
Gantt charting
A grid that lists activities and deadlines
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Prototyping
The creation of a preliminary model or version of a major subsystem
Iterative approach to systems development
Each phase of the SDLC is repeated several times (iterated)
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Outsourcing
Use of outside company to take over portions of its workload
Guidelines to make outsourcing a success
Keep tight controls on the outsourcing project.
Treat outsourcing companies as partners
Start with smaller outsourcing job
Create effective communications channels between the organization and the outsourcing company
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23. Object-Oriented Systems Development
An extension of object-oriented programming
Can be used during all phases of systems development
Organizations
Have saved time and money using the object-oriented approach to systems development
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24. Systems Investigation
Overall purpose
Determine whether objectives of existing system satisfy the goals of the organization
Attempts to answer the following questions
What primary problems might a new or enhanced system solve?
What opportunities might a new or enhanced system provide?
What are the potential costs?
What are the associated risks?
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Feasibility Analysis
Technical feasibility
Concerned with whether or not hardware/software can be acquired or developed to solve the problem
Economic feasibility
Determines if the project makes financial sense
Legal feasibility
Determines whether laws or regulations may prevent or limit a systems development project
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26. Feasibility Analysis (continued)
Operational feasibility
Measure of whether or not the project can be put into action or operation
Schedule feasibility
Determines if the project can be completed in a reasonable amount of time
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Systems Analysis
Attempts to understand how the existing system helps solve the problem identified in systems investigation
Overall emphasis
To gather data on the existing system and the requirements for the new system
To consider alternative solutions to the problem and the feasibility of the solutions
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28. General Analysis Considerations
Formalized analysis procedure involves
Collecting appropriate data
Analyzing the data
Determining new system requirements and project priorities
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Collecting Data
Purpose
To seek additional information about problems identified during systems investigation
Techniques
Interviews
Direct observation
Outputs
Questionnaires
Other Data Collection Methods
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32. Requirements Analysis
Purpose
To determine user, stakeholder, and organizational needs
Tools and techniques
Asking Directly
Critical Success Factors
Joint Application Development
Rapid Application Development
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Systems Design
Overall purpose
To select and plan a system that meets the requirements needed to deliver the problem solution
Results
A new or modified system
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34. Generating Systems Design Alternatives
First step of design
Investigate alternatives for all components
Request for information (RFI)
Asks a computer systems vendor to provide information about its products or services
Request for quotes (RFQ)
Asks a computer systems company to give prices for its products or services
Request for proposal (RFP)
Generated during systems development
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35. Systems Implementation
Includes
Hardware acquisition
Software acquisition or development
User preparation
Hiring and training of personnel
Site and data preparation
Installation, testing, startup, and user acceptance
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Acquiring Hardware
Most people and organizations acquire hardware and computers by
Purchasing, leasing, or renting computer resources from a computer systems vendor
“Pay as you go computing”
Organization pays only for the computer power it uses
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38. Selecting and Acquiring Software: Make, Buy, or Rent
Program specification
Description of what the software must accomplish
Algorithm
Step-by-step sequence of computer instructions
Syntax errors
Errors in the use of the programming language syntax
Logic errors
Errors in the programming logic
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39. Acquiring Database and Telecommunications Systems
A database is one of the most important parts of system development
Many projects involve a database
May require both hardware and software acquisition
Telecommunications is one of the fastest growing business applications
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User Preparation
Readying users and stakeholders for the new or modified system
Can include
Marketing
Training
Documentation
Support
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Site Preparation
Location of the new system needs to be prepared
For a small system
May mean rearranging the furniture
Larger systems
May require special wiring and air conditioning
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Data Preparation
Converting manual files into computer files
Data conversion
May be required to transform the existing computerized files into the proper format
Permanent data
Must be placed on a permanent storage device
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Installation
Placing computer equipment on the site and making it operational
For a small systems development project
May require making room on top of a desk for a new PC
Plugging it into a wall outlet
Following the manufacturer’s instructions to turn it on
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Testing
Unit testing
Developing test data that will force the computer to execute every statement in the program
System testing
Requires the testing of all programs together
Volume testing
Ensures that entire system can handle a large amount of data under normal operating conditions
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Testing (continued)
Integration testing
Ensures that new programs can interact with other major applications
Acceptance testing
Ensures that new or modified system is operating as intended
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Startup
Direct conversion
Stopping the old system and starting the new one on a given date
Phase-in approach
New system is slowly phased in, while old one is slowly phased out
Pilot startup
Running a pilot or small version of the new system along with the old
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48. User Acceptance and Documentation
User acceptance document
Agreement signed by user that a phase of the complete system is approved
Documentation
Includes all materials that describe the new or modified system
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49. User Acceptance and Documentation (continued)
Systems documentation
Describes the technical aspects of the new or modified system
User documentation
Describes how the system can be used by noncomputer personnel
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50. Systems Maintenance and Review
Final steps of systems development
Involves checking, changing, and enhancing the system
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51. Reasons for Maintenance
New requests from stakeholders, users, and managers
Bugs or errors in the program
Technical and hardware problems
Corporate mergers and acquisitions
Governmental regulations that require changes in programs
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52. The Financial Implications of Maintenance
For older programs
Cost of maintenance can be up to five times greater than cost of development
Average programmer
Can spend from 50% - over 75% of his/her time maintaining programs
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Systems Review
Final phase of the systems development life cycle
Analyzing systems to make sure that they are operating as intended
Two types of review procedures
Event-driven review
Time-driven review
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Summary
Phases of the SDLC
Investigation, analysis, design
Implementation, maintenance, review
Common system development tools and techniques
CASE tools
Flowcharts
Decision tables
Systems investigation
First step in the development of a new or modified computer system
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Summary (continued)
Systems analysis
The examination of existing systems
Systems design
Prepares detailed design needs for new system or modifications to the existing one
Systems implementation
Includes hardware acquisition, software acquisition or development, and user preparation
Systems maintenance
Involves checking, changing, and enhancing the system
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