Managing Information Systems

Seventh Canadian Edition

Laudon, Laudon and Brabston

CHAPTER 13
Developing Information Systems

Copyright © 2015 Pearson Canada Inc. 13-1

 Learning Objectives

After reading this chapter, you will be able to answer the following questions:

1. How does developing new information systems produce organizational

change?
2. What are the core activities in the information systems development
process?
3. What are the principal methodologies for modelling and designing
systems?
4. What are the alternative methodologies for developing information
systems?
5. What are new approaches for information systems development in the
digital firm era?

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 Systems as Planned Organizational Change

When designing a new Information System

• We are re-designing the organization

System developers must understand

• How a system will affect specific business process and
the organization as a whole

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 Systems as Planned Organizational Change

Information Technology can promote various degrees of organizational

change
• From incremental to far-reaching

There are four kinds of structural organizational change enabled by

information technology inclusive of,
1. Automation
2. Rationalization
3. Business redesign
4. Paradigm shifts
Each of these carry different risks and rewards

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 Systems as Planned Organizational Change

Degrees of organizational change

Automation:
• Mechanizing procedures to speed up the performance of existing
tasks
• Increases efficiency
• Replaces manual tasks

Rationalization of Procedures:
• The streamlining of standard operating procedures
• Often found in programs for making continuous quality
improvements; e.g. TQM, Six Sigma

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 Systems as Planned Organizational Change
(cont.)
Degrees of organizational change (cont.)

Business Process Redesign:

• Redesign of business processes to reorganize workflows and reduce
waste and repetitive tasks
• Analyze, simplify, and redesign business processes
• Reorganize workflow, combine steps, eliminate repetition

Paradigm shift:
• Radical re-conceptualization of the nature of
• both the business and the organization

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 Business Process Redesign

Many businesses use Information Technology to improve their

business processes.
•To deal with these changes, firms are turning to Business Process
Management (BPM)
BPM
•Provides a variety of tools and methodologies to
– analyze existing process
– Design new processes
– Optimize those process
•BPM is never concluded because process improvement requires
continual change

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 Business Process Redesign

Businesses practicing Business Process Management go

through the following steps:
1. Identify processes for change
2. Analyze existing processes
3. Design the new process
4. Implement the new process
5. Continuous measurement

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 Business Process Redesign

• Identify and document existing processes; identify inefficiencies

• Create models of improved processes
• Capture and enforce business rules for performing processes
• Integrate existing systems to support process improvements
• Verify that new processes have improved
• Measure impact of process changes on key business performance
indicators

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 Overview of Systems Development

The activities that go into producing an info system solution to an

organizational problem are called Systems Development
• a structured kind of problem solving with distinct activities such as:

1. Systems analysis
• Establishing information requirements
2. Systems design
• Describes how the system will meet information requirements
3. Completing the systems development process
• Programming
• Testing
• Conversion
• Production and Maintenance

Copyright © 2015 Pearson Canada Inc. 13-13

 Systems Analysis

The analysis of a problem that the organization will try

to solve with an information system would include:
• Feasibility study:
• determine whether the solution is achievable,
given the organization’s resources and
constraints
• Establish information requirements:
• who needs what information, where, when, and
how

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 System Design

System Design shows

• how an information system will fulfill the objectives
determined during systems analysis

• The role of end users:

• Users must have sufficient control over the
design process
• to ensure that the system reflects their business
priorities and information needs

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 Completing the Systems Development Process

Programming:
• Translating the system specifications prepared
during the design stage into program code

Testing:
• Determine whether the system produces the
desired results under known conditions

Continued …
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 Completing the Systems
Development Process (cont.)

Testing would include:

• Unit testing (program testing): Testing each program
separately in the system

• System testing: Testing the information system as a whole to

determine if discrete modules function together as planned

• Acceptance testing: Provides the final certification that the

system is ready to be used in a production setting

Continued …
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 Completing the Systems Development Process
(cont.)

Next comes…
Conversion:
• Moving from the old system to the new system
• Parallel Strategy
• Direct Cutover Strategy
• Pilot Study
• Phased Approach

Production and Maintenance

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 Completing the Systems Development Process
(cont.)

Conversion Strategies:

Parallel Strategy;
• Running the old with the new until everyone is assured that the new one
functions correctly

Direct Cutover Strategy;

• Replaces the old system with the new on a particular day
• This is risky a can potentially be more costly than running two systems in
parallel if serious problems are found

Copyright © 2015 Pearson Canada Inc. 13-19

 Completing the Systems Development Process
(cont.)

Conversion Strategies:
Pilot Study;
• Introduces new system to only a limited area of the firm ex. Single
department or operating unit
• When this pilot version is complete and working smoothly
• It is then installed throughout, simultaneously or in stages

Phased Approach
• Introduces new system in stages
• By function or organizational units

After the new system is installed and conversion is complete

• The new system is said to be in Production and Maintenance

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 Modelling and Designing Systems

There are alternative methodologies for modelling and

designing systems

The most prominent being;

• Structured methodologies
• Object-oriented development

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 Modelling and Designing Systems

Structured Methodologies
• Structured: Techniques are step-by-step,
progressive
• Process-oriented: Focusing on modeling
processes or actions that manipulate data
• Separate data from processes
• Using a Data Flow Diagram (DFD)
• Structure chart

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 Data Flow Diagram

Data Flow Diagram

•Primary tool for representing system’s
• component processes and
• flow of data between them

•Offers logical graphic model of information flow

•High-level and lower-level diagrams can be used to break

processes down into successive layers of detail

•Data dictionary: Defines contents of data flows and data stores

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 Object-Oriented Development

Continued …

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 Object-Oriented Development (cont.)

Object-oriented modeling based on concepts of class

and inheritance
• Objects belong to a certain class and have
features of that class

• May inherit structures and behaviors of a more

general, ancestor class

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 Computer-Aided Software Engineering (CASE)

Computer Aided Software Engineering (CASE)

•Software tools to automate development and reduce repetitive work,

including
• Graphics facilities for producing charts and diagrams
• Screen and report generators, reporting facilities
• Analysis and checking tools
• Data dictionaries
• Code and documentation generators
•Support iterative design by automating revisions and changes and
providing prototyping facilities
•Require organizational discipline to be used effectively

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 Alternative System-Development Approaches

• Traditional Systems Life Cycle

• Prototyping

• End-User Development

• Application Software Packages

• Outsourcing

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 Traditional Systems Life Cycle

Traditional Systems Life Cycle

•Is the Oldest method for building information systems

•Phased approach - divides development into formal stages

• Follows “waterfall” approach: Tasks in one stage finish before
another stage begins

•Maintains formal division of labour between end users and information

systems specialists

•Emphasizes formal specifications and paperwork

•Still used for building large complex systems

•Can be costly, time-consuming, and inflexible

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 Prototyping

Prototyping
•Building experimental system rapidly and inexpensively for end
users to evaluate
•Prototype: Would be a working, but preliminary, version of
information system
•Steps in prototyping include:
1. Identify user requirements
2. Develop initial prototype
3. Use prototype
4. Revise and enhance prototype

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 Advantages and Disadvantages of Prototyping

Advantages
• Useful if some uncertainty in requirements or
design solutions
• Often used for end-user interface design
• More likely to fulfill end-user requirements
Disadvantages
• May gloss over essential steps
• May not accommodate large quantities of data or
large number of users
• May not undergo full testing or documentation

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 End-User Development

End-User Development
• Uses fourth-generation languages to allow
• end-users to develop systems with little or no help
from technical specialists
Fourth generation languages: Meaning less procedural
than conventional programming languages

Continued …

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 End-User Development (cont.)

End-User Development continued…

Advantages:
• More rapid completion of projects
• High-level of user involvement and satisfaction
Disadvantages:
• Not designed for processing-intensive applications
• Inadequate management and control, testing, documentation
• Loss of control over data
Managing end-user development
• Require cost-justification of end-user system projects
• Establish hardware, software, and quality standards

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 Application Software Packages and Outsourcing

Application Software Packages and Outsourcing

•Saves time and money
•Many packages offer customization

•Evaluation criteria for systems analysis include:

• functions provided by the package
• flexibility
• user friendliness
• hardware and software resources
• database requirements
• installation and maintenance efforts
• documentation
• vendor quality
• cost
Continued …

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 Application Software Packages and Outsourcing
(cont.)

• Request for Proposal (RFP)

• Detailed list of questions submitted to packaged-

software vendors;

• used to evaluate alternative software packages

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 Outsourcing

Continued …

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 Outsourcing (cont.)

Outsourcing
Advantages
• Allows organization flexibility in IT needs

Disadvantages
• Hidden costs, e.g.
• Identifying and selecting vendor
• Transitioning to vendor
• Opening up proprietary business processes to third party

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 Rapid Application Development (RAD)

Rapid Application Development (RAD)

•Process of creating workable systems in a very short period of
time
•Utilizes techniques such as:
• Visual programming for building graphical user interfaces
• Iterative prototyping of key system elements
• Automation of program code generation
• Close teamwork among end users and information systems
specialists

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 Agile Development

Agile Development
•Focuses on rapid delivery of working software by
• breaking large project into several small sub-projects
•Subprojects
• Treated as separate, complete projects
• Completed in short periods of time using iteration and
continuous feedback
•Emphasizes face-to-face communication over written
documents,
• allowing collaboration and faster decision making

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 Component-Based Development and Web
Services
Component-Based Development and Web Services
•Groups of objects that provide software for common functions (e.g.,
online ordering) and can be combined to create large-scale business
applications

•Web services
• Reusable software components that use XML and open Internet
standards (platform independent)
• Enable applications to communicate with no custom programming
required to share data and services
• Can engage other Web services for more complex transactions

Copyright © 2015 Pearson Canada Inc. 13-47

 Managing Information Systems
Seventh Canadian Edition

Laudon, Laudon and Brabston

CHAPTER 13
Developing Information Systems

Copyright © 2015 Pearson Canada Inc. 13-48