Lecture 9

Systems Implementation

Abdisalam Issa-Salwe

Department of Computer Science

Faculty of Information Science and Technology
East Africa University

Topic list
 Post-implementation review
 Systems maintenance
 End-user development and user groups

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Post-implementation review

 It should be established whether the

objectives and targeted performance
criteria have been met
 In appraising the peroration of the new
system immediately after the changeover.
It will include:
 Consideration of throughout speed
 Use of computer storage
 The number of type of error/queries
 Cost of processing
East Africa University, Faculty of Information Science and3Technology, Department of Computer Science

Post-implementation review (cont…)

 Report:
A summary of their finding should be
provided, emphasising any area where the
system has been found unsatisfactory
 A review of system performance should be
provided
 A cost-benefit review comparing the forecast
costs and benefits
 Recommendations to be made as to any
further action or steps which should be taken
to improve performance.
East Africa University, Faculty of Information Science and4Technology, Department of Computer Science

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Systems maintenance
 Types of maintenance:
 Corrective
 Perfective
 Adaptive

East Africa University, Faculty of Information Science and5Technology, Department of Computer Science

Systems maintenance (cont…)

 Corrective Maintenance:
 This type of maintenance refers to changes made to
repair design defects and programming errors.
 It usually occurs in the early stage of installation of
the system and they need to correct them as soon
as possible because it may interrupt company's
operations.
 This type of maintenance has no extra value or
benefit to the system but merely just to correct
defects and errors.
 This maintenance is highly performed immediately
after implementation and during the later operational
life.
East Africa University, Faculty of Information Science and6Technology, Department of Computer Science

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Systems maintenance (cont…)
Adaptive Maintenance
 Without a doubt, the system will need
changes due to evolving needs and
requirements. It usually happens in the mid to
late stages of the system.
 Adaptive maintenance is not urgently
required, but it provides an improved
functionality and enhancement to the system.
 This maintenance is performed during the
early, middle and later operational life.

East Africa University, Faculty of Information Science and7Technology, Department of Computer Science

Systems maintenance (cont…)

 Perfective Maintenance
 Perfectivemaintenance relates to more
enhancement issues than adaptive
maintenance.
 For example, a company may acquire to new
version of Windows and Microsoft Office or
improvement processing performance and
interface designs.
 Highly performed during the middle of
operational life of a the system.

East Africa University, Faculty of Information Science and8Technology, Department of Computer Science

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 East Africa University, Faculty of Information Science and9Technology, Department of Computer Science

Cause systems maintenance

 Errors:
 However carefully and diligently the systems
development staff carry out systems testing
and program testing, it is likely that bugs will
exist in a newly implemented system,
 Constraints:
 cost constraints may have meant that certain
requested features were not incorporated

East Africa University, Faculty of Information Science and10Technology, Department of Computer Science

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Cause systems maintenance
 Change in requirements:
 Although users should be consulted at all
stages of systems development, problems may
arise after a system is implemented because
users may have found it difficult to express
their requirement
 Poor documentation:
 If
old systems are accompanied by poor
documentation, or even a complete lack of
documentation, it may be very difficult to
understand their programs

East Africa University, Faculty of Information Science and11Technology, Department of Computer Science

Systems maintenance lifecycle

 Corrective and adaptive maintenance should be
carried as and when problem occur, but perfective
maintenance may be carried out on amore
scheduled system-by-system basis.
 If maintenance requires major changes to
bespoke software, this will involve all the tasks
included in the software development and testing
cycle
 System should be built with certain amount of
flexibility that allows changes to be made in the
future

East Africa University, Faculty of Information Science and12Technology, Department of Computer Science

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End-user development
 End-user development is the direct, hands-
on development of computer systems by
users
 Accounts staff designing and using complex
spreadsheet models
 Users who develop their own applications
have little or no formal training in
programming, consequently their programs
may extremely crude and virtually
incomprehensible
 While these programs may work they will be
difficult to modify

East Africa University, Faculty of Information Science and13Technology, Department of Computer Science

End-user development (cont…)

 Other disadvantages:
 The risk from the elimination of the separation
of the function of user and analysts
 The risk from limited on user ability to identify
correct and complete requirements for an
application
 The risk from lack of user knowledge and
acceptance of application quality assurance
procedures for development and operations

East Africa University, Faculty of Information Science and14Technology, Department of Computer Science

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End-user development (cont…)

 The risk from unstable user systems

 The risk from encouraging private
information systems
 The risk from permitting unstructured
information systems development

East Africa University, Faculty of Information Science and15Technology, Department of Computer Science

User groups
 A user group is a forum for users of
particular hardware or, more usually,
software, so that they can share ideas and
experience
 User groups usually are either set up by the
software manufacturers themselves or by
groups of users.
 Users of particular package can meet, or
perhaps exchange views over the Internet to
discuss solutions
 Sometime users are set-up within individual
organisations
East Africa University, Faculty of Information Science and16Technology, Department of Computer Science

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Evaluation
 In most systems there is constant need to
maintain and improve applications and to
keep up to date with technological
advances and changing users requirement
 The system should have been designed
with clear objectives
 These must be criteria to evaluate
 Cost-benefit evaluation

East Africa University, Faculty of Information Science and17Technology, Department of Computer Science

Evaluation (cont…)
 Efficiency and effectiveness
 Efficiency can be measured by considering
the resources inputs into, and the outputs
from, a process or an activity.
 Effectiveness is a measurement of how well
the organisation is achieving its objectives.
 Effectiveness is more subjective concept that
efficiency

East Africa University, Faculty of Information Science and18Technology, Department of Computer Science

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Evaluation (cont…)
 Metrics:
 Metrics are quantified measurements used to
measure system performance
 Metrics enables systems quality to be
measured
 Metric should be devised that suit the system
in question

East Africa University, Faculty of Information Science and19Technology, Department of Computer Science

Computer-based monitor
 Hardware monitors:
 Devices which measure the presence or
absence of electrical signals is selected
circuits in the computer hardware
 Measuring idle time or level of activity in the
CPU (computer processing unit)
 A program then will analyse the data and
produce an analysis of findings as output

East Africa University, Faculty of Information Science and20Technology, Department of Computer Science

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Computer-based monitor (cont…)
 Software monitors:
 Computer programs which interrupt the
application in use and record data abut it
 They might identify, for example, excessive
waiting time during program execution
 System logs:
 Many Computer systems provide automated
log details, example, job start and finish time.

East Africa University, Faculty of Information Science and21Technology, Department of Computer Science

East Africa University, Faculty of Information Science and22Technology, Department of Computer Science

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East Africa University, Faculty of Information Science and23Technology, Department of Computer Science

East Africa University, Faculty of Information Science and24Technology, Department of Computer Science

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System performance
 Performance measure:
 Itis not possible identify and isolate every
consequence of a project and the impact of
each on organisational effectiveness.
 To achieve some approximation to a complete
evaluation:
 Significant takes relevant attempts to observe the
result system use
 The willingness of users to pay might give an
indication of value
 System logs may give an indication of the value of
the system
 User information satisfaction

East Africa University, Faculty of Information Science and25Technology, Department of Computer Science

System performance
 Improving performance:
 Computer systems efficiency audits are
concerned with improving outputs from the
system and their use and/or reducing the costs
of system input.
 More outputs of some value could be produces
by the same input resources
 Outputs of little value could be eliminated from
the system
 The timing of outputs could be better

East Africa University, Faculty of Information Science and26Technology, Department of Computer Science

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Group Discussion
 Group 1:
 Discuss Input how computer used
this technology to
 Group 2:
 Discuss Output how computer used
this technology to

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East Africa University, Faculty of Information Science and Technology, Department of Computer Science

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