Managing The Systems Development Life Cycle
Managing The Systems Development Life Cycle
Managing The Systems Development Life Cycle
Managing
the Systems
Development
Life Cycle
Objectives for Chapter 13
• Identify the key stages in the SDLC
• How a firm’s business strategy shapes its information
system
• The relationship between strategic systems planning
and legacy systems
• What transpires during systems analysis
• The TELOS model for assessing project feasibility
• Cost-benefit analysis issues related to information
systems projects
• The role of accountants in the SDLC
The Systems Development
Life Cycle (SDLC)
• A logical sequence of activities used to identify
new systems needs and to develop new systems
to support those needs.
• A model for reducing risk through planning,
execution, control, and documentation of key
activities
• The SDLC model may be understood as
comprising five stages.
– We’ll look at the first two in this chapter and the
remaining three in chapter 14.
Systems Development Life Cycle
Legacy Situation
Business Requirements
1. Systems Strategy
-- Assessment
Assessment Feedback:
Feedback:
-- Develop
Develop Strategic
Strategic Plan
Plan User requests for New Systems
System Interfaces, Architecture
and User
User Requirements
High Priority Proposals undergo
Additional Study and Development
2. Project Initiation
-- Feasibility
Feasibility Study
Study
-- Analysis
Analysis
-- Conceptual
Conceptual Design
Design
-- Cost/Benefit
Cost/Benefit Analysis
Analysis Feedback:
Feedback:
User requests for System
Selected System Proposals Improvements and Support
go forward for Detailed
Design
Systems
Strategy
Assessing Strategic
Information Needs
• Strategic systems planning involves the
allocation of systems resources at the macro
level.
– usually a time frame of three to five years
• Key inputs in developing a sound systems
strategy include:
– the strategic business needs of the organization
– the legacy system situation
– user feedback.
Strategic Business Needs
• Vision and mission
– systems strategy requires an understanding of top
management’s vision, which has shaped the
organization’s business strategy
• Industry and competency analysis
– industry analysis: the driving forces that affect the
industry and their organization’s performance, such as
important trends, significant risks, and potential
opportunities
– competency analysis: a complete picture of the
organization’s effectiveness as seen via four strategic
filters: resources, infrastructure, products/services, and
customers
Legacy Systems
• Use legacy components to help develop an
architecture description.
User Feedback…
• involves identifying areas of user needs, preparing
written proposals, evaluating each proposal’s
feasibility and contribution, and prioritizing
individual projects.
• at this point pertains to substantial perceived
problems rather than minor systems modifications
• has five key phases at this point in the SDLC:
– recognizing the problem
– defining the problem
– specifying system objectives
– determining project feasibility
– preparing a formal project proposal
User Feedback:
Recognizing the Problem
• The need for a new, improved information system
is manifested through various symptoms.
– Symptoms may seem vague and innocuous or may go
unrecognized initially.
• The point at which the problem is recognized is
often a function of management’s philosophy.
– reactive management - responds to problems only
when they reach a crisis state
– proactive management - alert to subtle signs of
problems and aggressively looks for ways to improve
User Feedback:
Defining the Problem
• Managers and users should…
– avoid leaping to quickly to a single definition of the problem
– keep an open mind and gather as many facts as feasible
– learn enough to intelligently interact with systems
professionals
• An interactive process between managers/users and
systems professionals is necessary to arrive at an
accurate problem definition.
– The next three stages of the user feedback process involve
this interactive process.
User Feedback:
Specifying System Objectives
• The strategic objectives of the firm and
the operational objectives of the
information systems must be
compatible.
• At this point, the objectives
only need to be defined in
general terms.
User Feedback:
Preliminary Project Feasibility
TELOS
• Technical feasibility - is the technology necessary available?
• Economic feasibility - are the funds available and
appropriate for the system?
• Legal feasibility - does the system fall within legal
boundaries?
• Operational feasibility - can procedural changes be made to
make the system work?
• Schedule feasibility - can the project be completed by an
acceptable time period?
User Feedback:
Preparing a Formal Project Proposal
• A systems project proposal provides
management with a basis for deciding
whether or not to proceed with the project.
• It summarizes the findings of the study and
makes a general recommendation.
• It outlines the linkage between the objectives
of the proposed system and the business
objectives of the firm.
Strategic Systems Plan
• After collecting input, the steering committee and
systems professionals evaluate the pros and cons
of each proposal.
• Assessing each potential project’s:
– benefits
– costs
– strategic impact
• Development will proceed on proposals that show
the greatest potential for supporting the
organization’s business objectives at the lowest
cost.
Relationship between Benefits,
Costs, and Strategic Impact
Create an Action Plan:
the Balanced Scorecard
• The next step is to translate strategy into action
• Many companies have found the balanced
scorecard (BSC) a useful tool for this step.
• The BSC recommends viewing an organization
using four perspectives
– the learning and growth perspective
– the internal business process perspective
– the customer perspective
– the financial perspective
The Balanced Scorecard
Primary objective: capture information on
orthogonal dimensions that are important to
every organization
financial: how do we look to our
shareholders?
customer: how do we look to our
customers?
internal business process: what must we
excel at?
learning and growth: can we continue to
improve?
Second objective: prevent the proliferation of
BSC for On-Line Banking
Phase 2
Project
Initiation
Project Initiation
• The second phase in the SDLC, project
initiation, involves:
– a detailed understanding of the user problem
– proposing multiple alternative solutions
– assessing alternatives in terms of feasibility
and cost-benefit characteristics
– selecting the best option and proceed to the
construct phase
– examining whether the selected option will
require in-house development, a commercial
package, or both
Systems Analysis
• A business problem must be fully
understood before a solution can be
formulated.
– A defective analysis will lead to a defective
solution.
• System analysis is a two-
step process
– survey of the current system
– an analysis of the users’ needs
Survey of Current System
• Advantages
– allows aspects of the old system which
should be kept to be identified
– aids in planning the implementation of the
new system
– may allow conclusive determination of the
cause of the reported problem symptoms
• Disadvantages
– the current physical tar pit
– can stifle new ideas
The Survey Step
• Facts must be gathered regarding:
– data sources and data stores; users;
processes; data flows; controls; transaction
volumes; error rates; resource costs;
bottlenecks and redundant operations
• Fact-gathering techniques:
– observation; task; participation; personal
interviews; reviewing key documents
The Analysis Step
• The systems analysis is an intellectual process
that is commingled with fact gathering.
• A formal systems analysis report, prepared and
presented to the steering committee, contains:
– reasons for system analysis
– scope of study
– problem identified with current system
– statement of user requirements
– resource implications
– recommendations
The Conceptualization Phase