Fundamentals of Information

Systems, Fifth Edition

Chapter 8
Systems Development
 Principles and Learning Objectives

• Effective systems development requires a team

effort of stakeholders, users, managers, systems
development specialists, and various support
personnel, and it starts with careful planning
– Identify the key participants in the systems
development process and discuss their roles
– Define the term information systems planning and
discuss the importance of planning a project

Fundamentals of Information Systems, Fifth Edition 2

 Principles and Learning Objectives
(continued)
• Systems development often uses different
approaches and tools such as traditional
development, prototyping, rapid application
development, end-user development, computer-
aided software engineering, and object-oriented
development to select, implement, and monitor
projects
– Discuss the key features, advantages, and
disadvantages of the traditional, prototyping, rapid
application development, and end-user systems
development life cycles
Fundamentals of Information Systems, Fifth Edition 3
 Principles and Learning Objectives
(continued)
– Discuss the use of computer-aided software
engineering (CASE) tools and the object-oriented
approach to systems development
• Systems development starts with investigation and
analysis of existing systems
– State the purpose of systems investigation
– Discuss the importance of performance and cost
objectives
– State the purpose of systems analysis and discuss
some of the tools and techniques used in this phase
of systems development
Fundamentals of Information Systems, Fifth Edition 4
 Principles and Learning Objectives
(continued)
• Designing new systems or modifying existing ones
should always be aimed at helping an organization
achieve its goals
– State the purpose of systems design and discuss the
differences between logical and physical systems
design
– Discuss the issues involved in environmental design
– Define the term RFP and discuss how this document
is used to drive the acquisition of hardware and
software

Fundamentals of Information Systems, Fifth Edition 5

 Principles and Learning Objectives
(continued)
• The primary emphasis of systems implementation
is to make sure that the right information is
delivered to the right person in the right format at
the right time
– State the purpose of systems implementation and
discuss the various activities associated with this
phase of systems development

Fundamentals of Information Systems, Fifth Edition 6

 Principles and Learning Objectives
(continued)
• Maintenance and review add to the useful life of a
system but can consume large amounts of
resources, so they benefit from the same rigorous
methods and project management techniques
applied to systems development
– State the importance of systems and software
maintenance and discuss the activities involved
– Describe the systems review process

Fundamentals of Information Systems, Fifth Edition 7

An Overview of Systems Development

• Corporations and nonprofit organizations

– Use systems development to achieve their goals
• First Health of the Carolinas
– Upgraded old imaging system to slash costs and
provide better health care for patients
– Reduced costs by more than 30 percent
– Offered doctors better radiological images to
improve patient care

Fundamentals of Information Systems, Fifth Edition 8

 Participants in Systems Development
• Development team
– Project managers
– Stakeholders
– Users
– Systems analysts
– Programmers

Fundamentals of Information Systems, Fifth Edition 9

 Participants in Systems Development
(continued)

Fundamentals of Information Systems, Fifth Edition 10

 Information Systems Planning and
Aligning Corporate and IS Goals
• Information systems planning
– Translating strategic and organizational goals into
systems development initiatives
• Aligning corporate and IS goals
– Critical for any successful systems development
effort
– IS plan should guide development of the IS
infrastructure over time

Fundamentals of Information Systems, Fifth Edition 11

 Information Systems Planning and
Aligning Corporate and IS Goals
(continued)

Fundamentals of Information Systems, Fifth Edition 12

 Systems Development Life Cycles

• The systems development process is also called

systems development life cycle (SDLC)
• The life of the system continues as it is maintained
and reviewed

Fundamentals of Information Systems, Fifth Edition 13

The Traditional Systems Development
Life Cycle
• Systems investigation
• Systems analysis
• Systems design
• Systems implementation
• Systems maintenance and review

Fundamentals of Information Systems, Fifth Edition 14

 The Traditional Systems Development
Life Cycle (continued)

Fundamentals of Information Systems, Fifth Edition 15

 Prototyping

• Takes an iterative approach to the systems

development process
• Begins with creating a preliminary model of a major
subsystem or a scaled-down version of the entire
system

Fundamentals of Information Systems, Fifth Edition 16

 Prototyping (continued)

Fundamentals of Information Systems, Fifth Edition 17

Rapid Application Development, Agile
Development, Joint Application
Development, and Other Systems
Development Approaches
• Rapid application development (RAD)
– Employs tools, techniques, and methodologies
designed to speed application development
• Joint application development (JAD)
– A process for data collection and requirements
analysis
– Originally developed by IBM Canada in the 1970s

Fundamentals of Information Systems, Fifth Edition 18

 The End-User Systems Development

• Any systems development project in which

business managers and users assume the primary
effort
• Managers and other users can get the systems
they want without having to wait for IS
professionals to develop and deliver them

Fundamentals of Information Systems, Fifth Edition 19

 Outsourcing and On-Demand
Computing
• Reasons for using outsourcing and on demand
computing:
– Reducing costs
– Obtaining state-of-the-art technology
– Eliminating staffing and personnel problems
– Increasing technological flexibility

Fundamentals of Information Systems, Fifth Edition 20

 Use of Computer-Aided Software
Engineering (CASE) Tools
• Computer-aided software engineering (CASE) tools
– Automate tasks required in a systems development
effort and encourage adherence to the SDLC
• Upper-CASE tools
– Focus on activities associated with the early stages
of systems development
• Lower-CASE tools
– Focus on the later implementation stage of systems
development

Fundamentals of Information Systems, Fifth Edition 21

 Use of Computer-Aided Software
Engineering (CASE) Tools (continued)

Fundamentals of Information Systems, Fifth Edition 22

 Use of Computer-Aided Software
Engineering (CASE) Tools (continued)

Fundamentals of Information Systems, Fifth Edition 23

 Object-Oriented Systems
Development
• Combines the logic of the systems development life
cycle with the power of object-oriented modeling
and programming
• Follows a defined systems development life cycle,
much like the SDLC

Fundamentals of Information Systems, Fifth Edition 24

 Object-Oriented Systems
Development (continued)
• Object-oriented systems development typically
involves:
– Identifying potential problems and opportunities
within the organization that would be appropriate for
the OO approach
– Defining the kind of system users require
– Designing the system
– Programming or modifying modules
– Evaluation by users
– Periodic review and modification

Fundamentals of Information Systems, Fifth Edition 25

 Systems Investigation

• What primary problems might a new or enhanced

system solve?
• What opportunities might a new or enhanced
system provide?
• What new hardware, software, databases,
telecommunications, personnel, or procedures will
improve an existing system or are required in a
new system?
• What are the potential costs (variable and fixed)?
• What are the associated risks?
Fundamentals of Information Systems, Fifth Edition 26
 Initiating Systems Investigation

• Systems request form

– Document filled out by someone who wants the IS
department to initiate systems investigation
– Helps rationalize and prioritize the activities of the IS
department

Fundamentals of Information Systems, Fifth Edition 27

 Feasibility Analysis
• Technical feasibility
– Hardware, software, and other system components
• Economic feasibility
– Predicted benefits vs. cost and time
• Legal feasibility
– Limitations of laws and regulations on project
• Operational feasibility
– Logistical and motivational considerations
• Schedule feasibility
– Completion of project in reasonable amount of time

Fundamentals of Information Systems, Fifth Edition 28

Object-Oriented Systems Investigation

• Use case diagram

– Part of the Unified Modeling Language (UML) used
in object-oriented systems development
– Actors represent objects
– Use cases represent events

Fundamentals of Information Systems, Fifth Edition 29

Object-Oriented Systems Investigation
(continued)

Fundamentals of Information Systems, Fifth Edition 30

 The Systems Investigation Report

• Primary outcome of systems investigation

• Steering committee
– Advisory group consisting of senior management
and users

Fundamentals of Information Systems, Fifth Edition 31

 The Systems Investigation Report
(continued)

Fundamentals of Information Systems, Fifth Edition 32

 Systems Analysis

• Answers the question:

– “What must the information system do to solve the
problem?”
• Overall emphasis of systems analysis
– Gathering data on the existing system
– Determining requirements for the new system
– Considering alternatives within these constraints
– Investigating the feasibility of the solutions

Fundamentals of Information Systems, Fifth Edition 33

 Data Collection

• Identifying sources of data

– Internal and external sources
• Collecting data
– Tools and techniques include interviews, direct
observation, and questionnaires

Fundamentals of Information Systems, Fifth Edition 34

 Data Collection (continued)

Fundamentals of Information Systems, Fifth Edition 35

 Data Collection (continued)

Fundamentals of Information Systems, Fifth Edition 36

 Data Analysis

• Manipulation of collected data so that systems

development team can use the data
• Data modeling
– Often accomplished through the use of entity-
relationship (ER) diagrams
• Activity modeling
– Often accomplished through the use of data-flow
diagrams

Fundamentals of Information Systems, Fifth Edition 37

 Requirements Analysis

• Overall purpose
– To determine user, stakeholder, and organizational
needs
• Techniques
– Asking directly: Best for stable systems
– Critical success factors: Ask for critical factors in
interviewee’s area
– IS plan: Translates strategic plan into initiatives
– Requirements analysis tools: CASE tools

Fundamentals of Information Systems, Fifth Edition 38

 Requirements Analysis (continued)

Fundamentals of Information Systems, Fifth Edition 39

 Object-Oriented Systems Analysis

• Problems or potential opportunities are identified

during object-oriented analysis
• Key participants are identified
• Data is collected

Fundamentals of Information Systems, Fifth Edition 40

 Object-Oriented Systems Analysis
(continued)

Fundamentals of Information Systems, Fifth Edition 41

 The Systems Analysis Report

• Systems analysis report should cover:

– Strengths and weaknesses of the existing system
from a stakeholder’s perspective
– User/stakeholder requirements for the new system
(also called the functional requirements)
– Organizational requirements for the new system
– Description of what the new information system
should do to solve the problem

Fundamentals of Information Systems, Fifth Edition 42

 The Systems Analysis Report
(continued)

Fundamentals of Information Systems, Fifth Edition 43

 Systems Design

• Answers the question:

– “How will the information system solve a problem?”
• Two key aspects of systems design:
– Logical and physical design

Fundamentals of Information Systems, Fifth Edition 44

 Logical and Physical Design

• Logical design
– Describes the functional requirements of a system
• Physical design
– Refers to how the tasks are accomplished, including
how the components work together and what each
component does

Fundamentals of Information Systems, Fifth Edition 45

 Object-Oriented Design

• Design key objects and classes of objects in the

new or updated system
– Consider the problem domain, the operating
environment, and the user interface
– Consider the sequence of events that must happen
for the system to function correctly
• Sequence of events
– Can be diagrammed in a sequence diagram

Fundamentals of Information Systems, Fifth Edition 46

 Object-Oriented Design (continued)

Fundamentals of Information Systems, Fifth Edition 47

 Environmental Design Considerations

• Environmental design
– Also called green design
– Involves systems development efforts that:
• Slash power consumption
• Require less physical space, and r
• Result in systems that can be disposed in a way that
does not negatively affect the environment

Fundamentals of Information Systems, Fifth Edition 48

 Generating Systems Design
Alternatives
• Request for proposal (RFP)
– Specifies in detail required resources such as
hardware and software
• Evaluating and selecting a systems design
– Preliminary evaluation
• To dismiss unwanted proposals
• Begins after all proposals have been submitted
– Final evaluation
• Detailed investigation of the proposals offered by the
vendors remaining after the preliminary evaluation

Fundamentals of Information Systems, Fifth Edition 49

 Generating Systems Design
Alternatives (continued)

Fundamentals of Information Systems, Fifth Edition 50

 The Design Report

• Reflects decisions made and prepares the way for

systems implementation
• Technical description details
– System outputs
– Inputs
– User interfaces
– Hardware

Fundamentals of Information Systems, Fifth Edition 51

 The Design Report (continued)

Fundamentals of Information Systems, Fifth Edition 52

 Systems Implementation

• Includes:
– Hardware acquisition
– Programming and software acquisition or
development
– User preparation
– Hiring and training of personnel
– Site and data preparation
– Installation
– Testing, start-up
– User acceptance

Fundamentals of Information Systems, Fifth Edition 53

Acquiring Hardware from an IS Vendor

• IS vendor
– Company that offers hardware, software,
telecommunications systems, databases, IS
personnel, and/or other computer-related resources

Fundamentals of Information Systems, Fifth Edition 54

 Acquiring Software

• Make-or-buy decision
– Whether to obtain software from external or internal
sources
• Software as a Service (SaaS)
– Allows businesses to subscribe to Web-delivered
application software by paying a monthly service
charge or a per-use fee

Fundamentals of Information Systems, Fifth Edition 55

 Acquiring Database and
Telecommunications Systems
• Virtual databases and database as a service
(DaaS)
– Popular way to acquire database capabilities
• Telecommunications
– One of the fastest-growing applications for today’s
organizations

Fundamentals of Information Systems, Fifth Edition 56

 User Preparation

• Process of readying managers, decision makers,

employees, other users, and stakeholders for new
systems
• Provide users with proper training

Fundamentals of Information Systems, Fifth Edition 57

 IS Personnel: Hiring and Training

• Personnel that might be needed for the new system

– IS manager
– Systems analysts
– Computer programmers
– Data-entry operators

Fundamentals of Information Systems, Fifth Edition 58

 Site Preparation

• Preparation of the location of a new system

• Making room for equipment
• Special wiring and air conditioning
• Security system
• Additional power circuits

Fundamentals of Information Systems, Fifth Edition 59

 Data Preparation

• Also called data conversion

• Ensures all files and databases are ready to be
used with new computer software and systems

Fundamentals of Information Systems, Fifth Edition 60

 Installation

• Physically placing the computer equipment on the

site and making it operational
• Someone from the organization (usually the IS
manager) should oversee the process

Fundamentals of Information Systems, Fifth Edition 61

 Testing

• Forms of testing:
– Unit testing
– System testing
– Volume testing
– Integration testing
– Acceptance testing

Fundamentals of Information Systems, Fifth Edition 62

 Start-Up

• Process of making the final tested information

system fully operational
• Approaches
– Direct conversion
– Phase-in approach
– Pilot start-up
– Parallel start-up

Fundamentals of Information Systems, Fifth Edition 63

 User Acceptance

• User acceptance document

– Formal agreement signed by the user that states that
a phase of the installation or the complete system is
approved
– Legal document that removes or reduces IS vendor’s
liability

Fundamentals of Information Systems, Fifth Edition 64

 Systems Operation and Maintenance
• Systems operation
– Use of a new or modified system
– Help desk provides support
• Systems maintenance
– Checking, changing, and enhancing the system to
make it more useful in achieving user and
organizational goals
– Difficult and costly for legacy systems

Fundamentals of Information Systems, Fifth Edition 65

 Systems Review

• Process of analyzing systems to make sure that

they are operating as intended
• Often compares:
– The performance and benefits of the system as it
was designed with the actual performance and
benefits of the system in operation

Fundamentals of Information Systems, Fifth Edition 66

 System Performance Measurement

• Monitoring the system

– The number of errors encountered
– The amount of memory required
– The amount of processing or CPU time needed
– Other problems
• System performance products
– Software that measures all components of the
computer-based information system

Fundamentals of Information Systems, Fifth Edition 67

 Summary

• Systems development team

– Stakeholders, users, managers, systems
development specialists, and various support
personnel
• Five phases of the traditional SDLC:
– Investigation, analysis, design, implementation, and
maintenance and review
• Prototyping
– Iterative development approach

Fundamentals of Information Systems, Fifth Edition 68

 Summary (continued)

• Systems request form

– Initiates the investigation process
• Purpose of systems design
– To prepare the detailed design needs for a new
system or modifications to an existing system
• Environmental design
– Also called green design
• Purpose of systems implementation
– To install a system and make everything, including
users, ready for its operation
Fundamentals of Information Systems, Fifth Edition 69
 Summary (continued)

• Software
– Can be purchased from external vendors or
developed in-house (make-or-buy decision)
• Systems maintenance
– Checking, changing, and enhancing the system to
make it more useful in obtaining user and
organizational goals
• Systems review
– Analyzing systems to make sure that they are
operating as intended

Fundamentals of Information Systems, Fifth Edition 70