1. R McFadyen 10-192.2911 Chapter 10 Selecting the Best Alternative Design Strategy

2. R McFadyen 10-292.2911 Topics Sources of software Generating design strategies Selection strategy Weighting/scoring alternatives In-house development COTS Outsourcing

3. R McFadyen 10-392.2911

4. R McFadyen 10-492.2911 System Design Strategy Three strategies: for high-functionality high-cost solution, for minimum functionality low-cost solution, and for middle-of-the-road

5. R McFadyen 10-592.2911 Generating a Design Strategy Divide requirements into sets of capabilities, categorized by level of necessity: Mandatory Good to have Wish list Enumerate potential implementation environments: Hardware and system software platforms Consider different sourcing possibilities for obtaining the necessary software: In-house Outsource Consultants

6. R McFadyen 10-692.2911 Features are determined from requirements. Constraints pertain to limitations on development efforts. Generating a Design Strategy

7. R McFadyen 10-792.2911 Main Sources of Software –Hardware Manufacturers –Prepackaged Software Producers –Custom Software Producers –Enterprise Solutions Software –In-house Development

8. R McFadyen 10-892.2911 In-house Development If sufficient system development expertise with the chosen platform exists in-house, then some or all of the system can be developed by the organization’s own staff Often, there are a variety of sources that are used, with in- house staff playing a role as well as consultants or ERP vendors

9. R McFadyen 10-992.2911 Evaluating Purchased Software Use a variety of information sources: –Vendor’s proposal –Running software through a series of tests –Feedback from other users of the vendor’s product –Independent software testing services –Articles in trade publications

10. R McFadyen 10-1092.2911 Outsourcing is the practice of giving the responsibility for some or all of an organization’s information systems, applications and operations to an outside firm Outsourcing can produce cost savings for the client, by leveraging the outsourcer’s economies of scale Outsourcing

11. R McFadyen 10-1192.2911

12. R McFadyen 10-1292.2911 Hardware Manufacturers IBM is the leader in software sales and services Hardware manufacturers tend to focus on system software and utilities

13. R McFadyen 10-1392.2911 Prepackaged Software Microsoft is the leader in prepackaged software production. Prepackaged software is commercial off-the-shelf software (COTS software) Often, prepackaged software is turnkey software (i.e., not customizable).

14. R McFadyen 10-1492.2911 Many factors go into selection of off-the-shelf software, many of which are relevant for other software purchases. Vendor support and viability are always among the most important criteria. Off-the-shelf Software

15. R McFadyen 10-1592.2911 Custom Software Producers Firms like Accenture and EDS are leading custom software producers. Consulting firms that develop software to meet the client’s specific requirements Consulting firms are usually called when the client company does not have in-house expertise or manpower available to develop the system.

16. R McFadyen 10-1692.2911 Enterprise Solutions Software Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software – integrates individual traditional business functions modules enabling a single seamless transaction cut across functional boundaries SAP AG is the leading vendor of ERP systems

17. R McFadyen 10-1792.2911

18. R McFadyen 10-1892.2911 (RFP) Request for Proposal (RFP) Request for Proposal – a document provided to vendors to ask them to propose hardware and/or software products or services that will meet the requirements of an organization’s new information system Based on vendor bids, an organization selects the best candidates

19. R McFadyen 10-1992.2911 Hardware and System Software Issues Reasons to stay with old platform –Lower cost installation –Familiarity of IS staff –Ease of integration with existing applications –Less need for data and software conversions Implementation Issues

20. R McFadyen 10-2092.2911 Hardware and System Software Issues (Continued) Reasons to change to new platform –New components may not be compatible with old platform –New platform provides opportunity for organization to improve its technology holdings –New platform serves as impetus for significant business process changes Implementation Issues

21. R McFadyen 10-2192.2911 Example: Pine Valley Furniture System requirements categorized into mandatory, essential, and desired capabilities Constraints established Low-end, high-end, and moderate design strategies are generated and compared Weighted approach used to compare alternative design strategies

22. R McFadyen 10-2292.2911

23. R McFadyen 10-2392.2911 Qualitative measures

24. R McFadyen 10-2492.2911 Alternative C: Server/Object scores the highest Weighted Scoring

25. R McFadyen 10-2592.2911 3-Tier architecture is common: a Web server providing the access via Internet - 1 st tier an application server running the business rules - 2 nd tier corporate databases - 3 rd tier Chosen alternative: 3-Tier architecture

26. R McFadyen 10-2692.2911 BPP (from Ch 4 – see 92.2912) goes through significant update as a result of design strategy generation and selection. 3.0.F updated for the analysis phase, and the next phases will be more detailed –Gantt charts The System Description section is changed the most, and all sections are refined and altered. Baseline project plan