Systems Development

Chapter 08
Chapter 08
 Participants in Systems Development
Participants in Systems Development
• Development team: 
– users, managers, systems development specialists, 
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various support personnel and other stakeholders.
– Determines objectives of new system and delivers 
Determines objectives of new system and delivers
a system that meets the objectives.
– Project manager: coordinates.
Project manager: coordinates
• Project: planned collection of activities that achieves a 
goal has a defined start and end and has a set budget
goal, has a defined start and end and has a set budget.
 IS Planning and Aligning Organization and 
IS Goals
• Translating strategic and organizational goals 
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into systems development initiatives.
• Proper IS planning ensures that specific 
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systems development objectives support 
organizational goals.
• Aligning organizational goals and IS goals is 
Aligning organizational goals and IS goals is
critical for successful systems development 
efforts.
efforts
• Long range view of IS use in the organization.
 Common SDLCs
Common SDLCs
• Traditional SDLC
• Prototyping
• RAD, Agile, JAD
• End‐User SDLC
• Outsourcing and on‐demand
Outsourcing and on demand computing
computing
• CASE tools
The Traditional System Development Life Cycle
Systems Investigation
Understand the problem

Analysis
Systems analysis
Determines what must be done to 
solve the problem
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SSystems Design
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Design
The solution is planned out

Systems Implementation
The solution is built or bought, and 
replaces the old system
replaces the old system
Implementatio
n
Systems Maintenance and review
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The new system is evaluated
 Traditional Systems Development Life Cycle
Traditional Systems Development Life Cycle

• Waterfall approach
Advantages Disadvantages

Formal review at the end of each phase  Users get a system that meets the needs as 
allows maximum management control. 
g understood by the developers; this might 
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not be what is really needed.
Creates considerable system  Documentation is expensive and time 
documentation
documentation. consuming to create
consuming to create
Formal documentation ensures that system  Often, users needs go unstated or are 
requirements can be traced back to stated  misunderstood.
business needs.
It produces many intermediate products  Users cannot easily review intermediate 
that can be reviewed to see whether they
that can be reviewed to see whether they  products and evaluate whether a particular
products and evaluate whether a particular 
meet the needs and conform to standards. meets their business requirements.
 Prototyping
• Evolutionary life cycle.
• Iterative approach.
Iterative approach.
• P297 Figure 8.4
 Rapid Application Development, Agile Development, 
Joint Application Development and Other systems
Joint Application Development and Other systems 
Development Approaches
• RAD
– Employs tools, techniques and methodologies 
designed to speed application development.
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– Reduces paper based documentation.
– Automatically generates source code.
– Facilitates user participation in design and 
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development.
– Makes use of JAD
– Table 8.2 p300
• Agile
– Allows system to change while it is being developed.
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– XP
 The End‐User Systems Development Life 
Cycle
• Managers and users assume the primary 
effort. – IS Personnel encourage them and 
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provide guidance and support.
• Some end‐users don
Some end users don’tt have the training to 
have the training to
effectively develop and test a system. 
Expensive mistakes can be made.
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 Outsourcing and On Demand Computing
Outsourcing and On‐Demand Computing

Hiring outside consulting firm or computer 
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company that specializes in systems 
development to take over some or all of its 
development and operations activities
development and operations activities.
Advantages Disadvantages
• Reducing costs •Internal expertise can be lost
•Obtaining state‐of‐the‐art technology •Loyalty can suffer under an 
•Eliminating staff and personnel  outsourcing arrangement
problems •Difficult to achieve a competitive 
•Increasing technological flexibility advantage
•Security concerns
 Use of Computer‐Aided Software 
Engineering
CASE tools: 
Automating many of the tasks required in a SDLC
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Instills high degree of rigor and standardization of the 
development process
development process
• Table 8.4 p302
• EE.g.:
– Oracle designer
– Visible analyst
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– Rational Rose
 Phase 1: Systems Investigation
Phase 1:  Systems Investigation
• Identify
Identify potential problems and consider them 
potential problems and consider them
in light of organizational goals.
– What primary problems is the new system to solve?
– What opportunities might a new or enhanced system 
provide?
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– What new hardware, software, data bases, 
telecommunications personnel or procedures will
telecommunications, personnel, or procedures will 
improve an existing system or are required in a new 
system?
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– What are the potential costs?
– What are the associated risks?
What are the associated risks?
 Phase 1: Systems Investigation
Phase 1:  Systems Investigation
• Initiating Systems Investigation
– Systems request form:
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• Problems or opportunities
• Objectives of systems investigation
Objectives of systems investigation
• Overview of proposed system
• Expected costs and benefits
Expected costs and benefits
 Phase 1: Systems Investigation
Phase 1:  Systems Investigation
• Feasibility Analysis
– Technical, economic, legal, operational, and 
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schedule feasibility

• Systems Investigation Report
– Summary of results
– Recommended course of action
– Steering committee reviews report
 Phase 2: Systems Analysis
Phase 2: Systems Analysis
What must the IS do to solve the problem?

Data Collection and Analysis :
1 2 3
Identify data  Verification:
sources: Data Collection:
•Show results 
•Internal •Interviews to those 
•External •Questionnaires involved
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•Observation

Data Analysis:
Data Analysis
• Manipulating the collected data so that the development team 
members can use the data.
• Data and process modelling
 Phase 2: Systems Analysis
Phase 2: Systems Analysis
• Requirements analysis:
– To determine the user, stakeholder, and 
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organisational needs.
– CASE tools
CASE tools
• Determine the Critical Success Factors
• The IS Plan:
– Translates strategic and organizational goals into 
Translates strategic and organizational goals into
systems development initiatives
 Phase 2: Systems Analysis
Phase 2: Systems Analysis
• Object‐Oriented Systems Analysis:
Object‐Oriented Systems Analysis:
– Alternative method using different models, but is still used 
to:
• Identify problems or potential opportunities
• Identify key participants
• Collect data

• The systems analysis report:
– Strengths and weaknesses of existing system
Strengths and weaknesses of existing system
– User/stakeholder requirements for new system
– Organizational requirement for new system
O i ti l i tf t
 Phase 3: Systems Design
Phase 3:  Systems Design
How will the information system solve the problem?
How will the information system solve the problem?

• Outcome:  Technical design that details:
– System inputs and the processing required to 
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produce outputs.
– User interfaces.
User interfaces
– Hardware, software, databases, 
telecommunications personnel and procedures
telecommunications, personnel, and procedures, 
and shows how these components are related.
 Phase 3: Systems Design
• Logical Design:
– What will the system do.
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– Describes the functional requirements of a 
system.
– Planning the purpose of each system element 
independent of technology. 
• Physical Design:
Physical Design:
– How the tasks are accomplished, including how 
the components work together and what each
the components work together and what each 
component does.
– Specifies the characteristics of the system 
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components to put the logical design into action.
 Generating Systems Design Alternatives
Generating Systems Design Alternatives
• The
The development team will want to generate 
development team will want to generate
different designs.
• Cheap solution.
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• Top‐of‐the range solution
• Mix solution
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• If new hardware and software needs to be acquired 
one can issue a RFP.
• Evaluating and Selecting a systems design.
Evaluating and Selecting a systems design
• System Design Report: System specifications
Phase 4:  Systems Implementation
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• Acquiring hardware from an IS vendor. (rent, 
purchase or lease) Table 8 5 p312
purchase or lease) Table 8.5 p312
• Acquiring software: Make or buy?
• Acquiring database and telecommunications 
systems.
systems
• User preparation
• IS Personnel: Hiring and Training
• Site preparation
Site preparation
• Data Preparation
• Installation
Phase 4: Systems Implementation
Phase 4:  Systems Implementation
• Testing
– Unit, system, volume, integration, acceptance, 
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alpha, and beta testing.
• Start‐up
Start up
– Direct conversion
– Phased
– Pilot 
– Parallel
• User acceptance
User acceptance
 Phase 5:  Systems Operation and 
Maintenance
• Systems operation: Use of a new or modified 
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system.
• Systems maintenance:  ensures that the 
system operates as intended and modifies the
system operates as intended and modifies the 
system so that it continues to meet changing 
business needs.
 Phase 5: Systems Review
Phase 5: Systems Review
• Making sure that the system operates as is 
intended.
• Event‐driven review:  Event triggered by a 
problem or opportunity
problem or opportunity.
• Time‐driven review: Review performed after a 
specified amount of time.