Ch 8 - Systems Development  (copy)

Participants in systems development:

Development team:

  • Determines objectives of the information system
  • Delivers system that meets objectives

Project:

  • Planned collection of activities that archives a goal

Stakeholders:

  • People who benefit from a project

Users:

  • People who interact regularly with the system

Systems analyst:

  • Professional who specialises in analysing and designing business systems

Programmer:

  • Responsible for modifying or developing programs to satisfy user requirements

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Individual systems developer: person who performs all of the systems development roles

Individual users: acquire applications for both personal and professional use

End-user systems development: describes any systems development project in which business managers and assume the primary effort

Information systems planning and aligning corporate and IS goals:

  • Information systems planning: translating strategic and organisational goals info systems development initiatives

  • Aligning goals and IS goals: critical for successful systems development effort

%%System Development Life Cycles%%:

  1. Traditional systems development life cycle:

  • Systems investigation: identifies problems and identities and considers them in a light of business goals

  • Systems analysis: studies existing systems and work processes to identify strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities for improvement

  • Systems design: defines how the information system will do what it must to obtain the problem’s solution

  • Systems implementation: creates or acquires various system components details in systems design, assembles them, and places new or modified system info operation

  • Systems maintenance and review: ensures the system operates as intended

  • Modifies the system so it continues to meet changing business needs

  1. Prototyping:

  • An iterative approach

  • Requirements and alternative solutions to the problem are identified and analysed

  • New solutions are designed, and a portion of the system is implemented

  • Rapid application development (RAD): employs tools, techniques, and methodologies designed to speed application development

  • Other approaches to rapid development:

  • Agile development

  • Extreme programming (XP)

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Outsourcing and on-demand computing:

Reasons for using outsourcing and on-demand computing approaches

  • Reduce costs
  • Obtain state-of-the-art technology
  • Eliminate staffing and personnel problems
  • Increases technological flexibility

Degree of Change:

Continuous improvement projects vs. reengineering

  • Continuous improvement projects have a high degree of success
  • Reengineering projects have a high risk high benefit

Managing change: essential to recognise and deal with existing or potential problems

Project Management Tools:

  • Project schedule: detailed description of what is to be done

  • Project milestone: critical date for completion of a major part of the project

  • Project deadline: date the entire project is set to be completed and operational

  • Critical path: activities that, if delayed, would delay the entire project

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  1. Object-oriented systems development:

Combines logic of systems development life cycle with power of object-oriented modelling and programming

  • OOSD: identifies potential problems and opportunities
  • Defines what kind of system users require
  • Designing the program
  • Programming or modifying modules
  • Evaluation by users
  • Periodic review and modification

Feasibility analysis:

Assesses:

  • Technical feasibility
  • Economic feasibility
  • Legal feasibility
  • Operational feasibility
  • Schedule feasibility

→ Object-oriented approach is used through all phases of system development

Investigation process: Initiated by a systems request form

Systems analysis: The examination of existing systems

The systems investigation report summarises results of systems investigation

Data modelling: accomplished through the use of entity-relationship (ER) diagram

Activity modelling:

  • Accomplished through the use of data-flow diagrams
  • DFDs: describe the activities that fulfils a business relationship or accomplish a business task

Requirements analysis: determines user, stakeholder, and organisational needs

\n System Design:

Logical design: describes functional requirements of a system

Physical design: specifies the characteristics of the system components necessary to put the logical design into action

Purpose of systems design: To prepare the detailed design needs for a new system or modifications to an existing system

Environmental design: Involves systems development efforts that slash power consumption and take less physical space

Request for proposal (RFP): document that specifies required resources such as hardware and software in detail

Purpose of systems implementation: To install a system and make everything, including users, ready for its operation

IS vendor: Company that offers hardware, software, telecommunications systems, databases, IS personnel, or other computer-related resources

Software: Can be purchased from external vendors or developed in house

Systems operation: The use of a new or modified system \n \n \n