Chapter 12 Systems Development

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Overview of Systems Development

Participants Initiating systems development Information systems planning Establishing objectives for systems development Systems development and the Internet Trends in systems development and enterprise resource planning
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Participants
Stakeholders Individuals/organizations who are beneficiaries of the
systems development effort

Systems analyst Professional who specializes in analyzing and

designing business systems

Users Individuals who interact with the system regularly Programmer Individual responsible for modifying or developing
programs to satisfy user requirements
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Managers

System stakeholders
Programmers

Systems analyst

Users
Vendors and suppliers
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Technical specialists

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Systems Analyst
A programmer or consultant who designs and manages the development of business applications. Typically, systems analysts are more involved in design issues than in day-to-day coding. However, systems analyst is a somewhat arbitrary title, so different companies define the role differently.

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Typical Reasons to Initiate a Systems Development Project

Problems with existing systems
Desire to exploit new opportunities Increasing competition Desire to make more effective use of information Organizational growth Perception of potential benefit by individual capable of initiating change

Systems development process initiated

Merger or acquisition
Change in market or external environment

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Planning
Information systems planning

The translation of strategic and

organizational goals into systems development initiatives

Strategic plan

Creative analysis

The investigation of new

approaches to existing problems

IS planning

Critical Analysis

The unbiased and careful

questioning of whether system elements are related in the most effective or efficient ways ITEC 1010

Systems development initiatives

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Steps in IS Planning
Strategic plan Developing overall objectives Previously unplanned system projects

Identify IS projects Set priorities & select projects Analyse resource requirements Set schedules and deadlines Develop IS planning document

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Establishing Objectives for Systems Development

Performance objectives Quality or usefulness of the output The quality or usefulness of the format of the output The speed at which the output is generated Cost objectives Development costs Costs related to the uniqueness of the system
application Fixed investments in hardware and related equipment On-going operating costs of the system
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Systems Development and the Internet

Applications being moved to the Internet Sales Order placement Product information access Building a static Web site Intranet tools NetDynamics SilverStream Web-Logic Novera Netscape Communications
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Systems Development Life Cycle

Systems investigation Its a Problems and opportunities are identified cycle Systems analysis Existing systems and work processes are studied Systems design Defines how the information system will do what it must do to
solve the problem

Systems implementation System components are assembled and the new or modified
system is placed into operation

Systems maintenance and review Ensures the system operates and is modified to keep up with
business changes
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Systems investigation (understand problem) Systems Analysis (understand solution) Systems design (select and plan best solution)

Systems implementation (place solution into effect)

Systems maintenance and review (evaluate results of solution)

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Cost to make a particular change

Investigation

Analysis

Design

Implementation

Time
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Maintenance and review

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Prototyping
Operational prototype

Accesses real data files, edits input data, makes necessary computations
and comparisons, and produces real output

Non-operational prototype

A mockup or model that includes output and input specifications and

formats

Rapid application development (RAD)

Employs tools, techniques, and methodologies designed to speed

application development, automates source code generation, and facilitates user involvement in design and development activities

Joint application development (JAD)

Involves group meetings in which users, stakeholders, and IS

professionals work together to analyze existing systems, proposed solutions, and define requirements for a new or modified system. ITEC 1010

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Rapid Application Development

A programming system that enables programmers to quickly build working programs. In general, RAD systems provide a number of tools to help build graphical user interfaces that would normally take a large development effort. Two of the most popular RAD systems for Windows are Visual Basic and Delphi. Historically, RAD systems have tended to emphasize reducing development time, sometimes at the expense of generating efficient executable code. Nowadays, though, many RAD systems produce extremely fast code. Conversely, many traditional programming environments now come with a number of visual tools to aid development. Therefore, the line between RAD systems and other development environments has become blurred.
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Prototyping: The Iterative Life Cycle

Iteration 1
Determine requirements Analyse alternatives Specify design Implement design User review

Iteration 2
Determine requirements Analyse alternatives Specify design Implement design User review

Iteration 3 (final)
Determine requirements Analyse alternatives Specify design Implement design Changeover

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General Model of Prototyping

Systems development initiated
Investigate and analyse problem sufficiently to develop workable solution Develop prototype

Put prototype into operation

Refine and modify prototype

Complete component or system

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End-User Systems Development Life Cycle

End-user systems development life cycle Any systems development project in which the
primary effort is undertaken by a combination of business managers and users

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Factors Affecting Systems Development Success

Managing change Requires the ability to recognize existing or potential
problems and deal with them before they become a serious threat to the success of a new or modified system

Use of project management tools Schedule Milestone Deadline Critical path Program Evaluation Review Technique (PERT) Gantt chart
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Selected Project Management Software Packages

Software BeachBox 98 Job Order OpenPlan Project Project Scheduler Super Project
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Vendor NetSQL Partners Management Software Inc. Welcom Microsoft Scitor Corp. Computer Associates
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Use of Computer-Aided Software Engineering (CASE) Tools

CASE tools automate tasks required in a system development effort and enforces adherence to the SDLC Upper CASE tools Tools that focus on activities associated with the early stages of
systems development

Lower CASE tools Tools that focus on the later implementation stage of systems
development

Integrated-CASE (I-CASE) tools Tools that provide links between upper- and lower-CASE
packages, allowing lower-CASE packages to generate program code from upper-CASE package generated designs
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CASE
Short for Computer Aided Software Engineering, a category of software that provides a development environment for programming teams. CASE systems offer tools to automate, manage and simplify the development process. These can include tools for:
Summarizing initial requirements Developing flow diagrams Scheduling development tasks Preparing documentation Controlling software versions Developing program code

Various companies offer CASE software capable of supporting some or all of these activities. While many CASE systems provide special support for object-oriented programming, the term CASE can apply to any type of software evelopment ITEC 1010 Information and Organizations environment.

ISO 9000
An international standard used by IS departments to ensure quality standards exist and are maintained in their products and services

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Systems Investigation
Identify potential problems and opportunities and consider them in light of the goals of the company The investigation team Managers and stakeholders IS personnel Task Undertake feasibility analysis Establish system development goals Select system development methodology Prepare system development report
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Feasibility Analysis
Technical feasibility Can the hardware, software, and other system components be
acquired or developed to solve the problem?

Operational feasibility Can the project be put into action or operation? Schedule feasibility Can the project be completed in a reasonable amount of time? Economic feasibility Does the project make financial sense? Net present value The preferred approach for ranking competing projects and
determining economic feasibility
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The Systems Investigation Report

A report that summarizes the results of the systems investigation and the process of feasibility analysis and recommends a course of action Steering committee An advisory group consisting of senior
management and users from the IS department and other functional areas
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Systems Analysis
Typical table of contents from a systems investigations report:
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.
ITEC 1010 Table of Contents Executive summary Review of goals and objectives System problems and opportunities Project feasibility Project costs Projects benefits Recommendations

Information and Organizations

Sources of Data
Internal Sources Users, stakeholders, managers Organization charts Forms and documents Procedure manuals and policies Financial reports IS manuals External Sources Customers

Suppliers
Stockholders Government agencies Competitors Outside groups Journals, etc. Consultants

Other measures of business processes

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Data Collection
Structured Interview Unstructured Interview Direct Observation Questionnaires Statistical Sampling
Identify data sources

Data collection

Follow-up & clarification

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Data Analysis
Data analysis Manipulating collected data so that it is usable for the
development team members participating in systems analysis

Data modeling A commonly accepted approach to modeling organizational

objects and associations that employ both text and graphics E.g, ER (entity relationship) diagrams

Activity modeling A method to describe related objects, associations, and activities Data flow diagram A diagram that models objects, associations, and activities by
describing how data can flow between and around them
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ER Example
MID

Member

Play

Game of Golf

Name

Address

Date paid

MID

Date

Time

Score

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Data Flow Diagram

Schematic description of business processes Premise: for every activity there is some
communication, transference, for flow that can be described as a data element DFDs show logical sequences (not physical processes)

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Entity symbol

Data-flow line

Process symbol Assign Tee time

Data-flow line

Data store

Tee time

Available times

Member
Reservation request

Schedule
Group information

Course access

Member
Member ID

Check member in

Member tee time

Member card
Date

Score card

Member

Sort scores

Score card

Scores

Handicap

Calculate handicap

Tee time

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Application Flowchart
Charts that show relationships among applications or systems
Order processing application Inventory control application Invoicing application

Marketing analysis application

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Grid Charts
A table that shows relationships among the various aspects of a systems development effort
Database applications Order processing applications Inventory control application Marketing analysis application Customer database Inventory database Supplier database Accounts receivable database

X X X

X X

Invoicing application

X X

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Requirements Analysis
An assessment used to determine user, stakeholder, and organizational needs

Goals and mission of the organization

Strategy translation

Systems requirements

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Screen Layout Charts

May be tailored for Frequent users who require little descriptive
information, or Infrequent users who require more descriptive information

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For frequent users

ORDER ENTRY ORDER NO. XXXXX CUSTOMER NO. XXXXX SALES PERSON XXXXX NET DOLLARS XXXXX

REGION
XXX

COMMISSION
XXX

ITEM NO. XXXXXXX XXXXXXX XXXXXXX

QTY XXXX XXXX XXXX

UNIT XX XX XX

PRICE XXXXX XXXXX XXXXX

DOLLARS XXXXXX XXXXXX XXXXXX

DISCOUNTS XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX

XXXXXXX
XXXXXXX XXXXXXX XXXXXXX

XXXX
XXXX XXXX XXXX

XX
XX XX XX

XXXXX
XXXXX XXXXX XXXXX

XXXXXX
XXXXXX XXXXXX XXXXXX

XX XX XX
XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX

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For infrequent users

Which online option would you like to perform? (Please enter an X to make a selection) _DATA ENTRY Enter transaction and report requests for later processing Review online information from the database: bill of materials, where-used, routing, item data

_RETRIEVALS

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The Systems Analysis Report

Strength and weaknesses of existing system from a stakeholders perspective User/stakeholder requirements for the new system Organizational requirements Description of what new information systems should do to solve the problem
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Typical Table of Contents for a Report on an Existing System

Johnson & Flores, Inc. Systems Analysis Report

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Background Information Problem or Need Statement Data Collection Data and Requirements Analysis Recommendations Appendixes of Documents, Tables, and Charts Glossary of Terms

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End of Chapter 12
Chapter 13
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