Planning and

Developing
Business/IT Solutions
Management Information Systems
Learning Objectives
 Use the systems development process outlined in
this chapter and the model of IS components from
Chapter 1 as problem-solving frameworks to help
you propose IS solutions to simple business
problems
 Describe and give examples to illustrate how you
might use each of the steps of the IS development
cycle to develop and implement a business IS
 Explain how prototyping can be used as an
effective technique to improve the process of
systems development for end users and IS
specialists
2
Learning Objectives
 Understand the basics of project management
and their importance to a successful system
development effort
 Identify the activities involved in the
implementation of new IS
 Compare and contrast the four basic system
conversation strategies
 Describe several evaluation factors that should
be considered in evaluating the acquisition of
hardware, software, and IS services

3
IS Development
 When the systems approach is applied to
the development of an information systems
solution to business problems, it is called
information systems development or
application development

4
The Systems Approach
 A problem solving technique that uses a systems
orientation to define problems and opportunities and
develop appropriate and feasible solutions
 Analyzing a problem and formulating a solution
involves these interrelated activities:
 Recognize and define a problem or opportunity
using systems thinking
 Develop and evaluate alternative system solutions
 Select the solution that best meets your
requirements
 Design the selected system solution
 Implement and evaluate the success of the system

5
What is Systems Thinking?
 Seeing the forest and the trees in any situation
 Seeing interrelationships among systems
rather than linear cause-and-effect chains
 Seeing processes of change among systems
rather than discrete snapshots of change
 See the system in any situation
 Find the input, processing, output, feedback
and control components

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Systems Thinking Example

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Systems Analysis and Design
 SA&D is the overall process by which IS are
designed and implemented
 Includes identification of business problems
 Two most common approaches
 Object-oriented analysis and design
 Life cycle

8
Systems
Development
Lifecycle
(SDLC)

9
Systems Development Process
 Systems Investigation
 The first step in the systems development
process
 May involve consideration of proposals
generated by a business/IT planning process
 Also includes the preliminary feasibility study
of proposed information system solutions

10
Systems Development Process
 Feasibility Studies: a preliminary study to
determine the
 Information needs of prospective users
 Resource requirements
 Costs
 Benefits
 Feasibility
 In some cases, a feasibility study is unnecessary

11
Operational Feasibility
 How well the proposed system will
 Support the business priorities of the
organization
 Solve the identified problem
 Fit with the existing organizational structure

12
Economic Feasibility
 An assessment of
 Cost savings
 Increased revenue
 Decreased investment requirements
 Increased profits
 Cost/benefit analysis

13
Technical Feasibility
 Determine the following can meet the needs of a
proposed system and can be acquired or
developed in the required time
 Hardware
 Software
 Network

14
Human Factors Feasibility
 Assess the acceptance level of
 Employees
 Customers
 Suppliers
 Management support
 Determine the right people for the various
new or revised roles

15
Legal/Political Feasibility
 Assess
 Possible patent or copyright violations
 Software licensing for developer side only
 Governmental restrictions
 Changes to existing reporting structure

16
Systems Analysis
 An in-depth study of end user information needs
 It produces the functional requirements used as
the basis for the design of an IS
 It typically involves a detailed study of the
 Information needs of a company and end users
 Activities, resources, and products of one or
more of the information systems currently being
used
 Information system capabilities required to
meet the information needs of business
stakeholders
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Organizational Analysis
 Study of the organization, including…
 Management structure
 People
 Business activities
 Environmental systems
 Current information systems
 Input, processing, output, storage, and

control

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Analysis of the Present System
 Before designing a new system, it is important to
study the system to be improved or replaced
 Hardware and software
 Network
 People resources used to convert data
resources into information products
 System activities of input, processing,
output, storage, and control

19
Logical Analysis
 A logical model is a blueprint of the current
system
 It displays what the current system does,
without regard to how it does it
 It allows an analyst to understand the
processes, functions, and data associated
with a system without getting bogged down
with hardware and software

20
21
22
Functional Requirements
 This step of systems analysis is one of the most
difficult
 Determine what type of information each
business activity requires
 Try to determine the information processing
capabilities required for each system activity
 The goal is to identify what should be done,
not how to do it

23
Examples of Functional
Requirements
 User Interface: automatic entry of product
data and easy-to-use data entry screens for
Web customers
 Processing: fast, automatic calculation of sales
totals and shipping costs
 Storage: fast retrieval and update of data from
product, pricing, and customer databases
 Control: signals for data entry errors and quick
e-mail confirmation for customers

24
Systems Design
 Systems design focuses on three areas

25
Prototyping

26
Prototyping
 Prototyping is the rapid development and
testing of working models
 An interactive, iterative process used during
the design phase
 Makes development faster and easier,
especially when end user requirements are
hard to define
 Has enlarged the role of business
stakeholders

27
Prototyping
Life Cycle

28
 User Interface Design
 Focuses on supporting the interactions
between end users and their computer-
based applications

 Designers concentrate on the

design of attractive and efficient
forms of user input and output

 Frequently a prototyping process

 Produces detailed design

specifications for information
products, such as display screens
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Checklist for Corporate Websites
 Remember the customer
 Aesthetics
 Easy to navigate
 Searchability
 Incompatibilities
 Registration forms
 Dead links

30
System Specifications
 Formalizing the design of
 User interface methods and products
 Database structures
 Processing procedures
 Control procedures

31
Examples of System Specifications
User interface Use personalized screens that welcome repeat Web
specifications customers and that make product recommendations
Database Develop databases that use object/relational database
specifications management software to organize access to all
customer and inventory data and to multimedia product
information
Software Acquire an e-commerce software engine to process all
specifications e-commerce transactions with fast responses, i.e.,
retrieve necessary product data and compute all sales
amounts in less than one second
Hardware Install redundant networked Web servers and sufficient
and network high-bandwidth telecommunications lines to host the
specifications company e-commerce website
Personnel Hire an e-commerce manager and specialists and a
specifications webmaster and Web designer to plan, develop, and
manage e-commerce operations
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What is a Data Flow Diagram?
 A data flow diagram (DFD) is a
graphical representation of the
movement of data between external
entities, processes and data stores within
a system.

 Simply put, DFD’s show how data

moves through an information system.

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DFD Symbols

34
35
End User Development
 IS professionals play a consulting role, while
user do their own application development
 A staff of user consultants may be available
to help with analysis, design, and installation
 Other support
 Application package training
 Hardware and software advice
 Help gaining access to organization
databases

36
Focus on IS Activities
 End user development should focus on the
fundamental activities of an IS
 Input
 Processing
 Output
 Storage
 Control

37
Focus of End User Development

38
Doing End User Development

 Application development capabilities built into

software packages make it easier for end users
to develop their own solutions

39
Encouraging End User Web
Development
 Look for tools that make sense
 Some are more powerful or costly than needed
 Spur creativity
 Consider a competition among departments
 Set some limits
 Limit what parts of a web page or site can be changed and
who can do it
 Give managers responsibility
 Make them personally responsible for content
 Make users comfortable
 Training will make users more confident
 It can save the IT department the trouble of fixing problems
later on
 It can limit the need for continuous support

40
Implementing New Systems
 The systems implementation stage involves
 Hardware and software acquisition
 Software development
 Testing of programs and procedures
 Conversion of data resources
 Conversion alternatives
 Education/training of end users and
specialists who will operate the new system

41
Implementation Process

42
Implementation Activities

43
Completing the Systems
Development Process
 Conversion
 Process of changing from old system to new system
 Four main strategies
 Parallel strategy
 Direct cutover
 Pilot study
 Phased approach
 Requires end-user training
 Finalization of detailed documentation showing how
system works from technical and end-user standpoint
Conversion

45
Obstacles

46
Key Dimensions of Change Management

47
48
 What is a Project?
 Every project has
 A set of activities with a clear beginning and end
 Goals
 Objectives
 Tasks
 Limitations or constraints
 A series of steps or phases
 Managing a project effectively requires
 Process
 Tools
 Techniques

49
Project Life Cycle
Project Life Cycle & Management
Process
Phases of Project Management
 There are five phases in most projects
 Initiating/Defining
 Planning
 Executing
 Controlling
 Closing

52
Initiating/Defining Phase
 Example activities
 State the problem(s) and/or goal(s)
 Identify the objectives
 Secure resources
 Explore the costs/benefits in the feasibility
study

53
Project Priority
 Primary job of a
project manager to
manage trade-offs
among time,
cost and
performance

 Define & understand

nature of priorities of
project
Project Priority
 Constrain. The original parameter is fixed. The project must
meet the completion date, specifications and scope of the project, or
budget.

 Enhance. Given the scope of the project, which criterion should

be optimized? In the case of time and cost, this usually means taking
advantage of opportunities to either reduce costs or shorten the
schedule. Conversely, with regard to performance, enhancing means
adding value to the project.

 Accept. For which criterion is it tolerable not to meet the original

parameters? When trade-offs have to be made, is it permissible for
the schedule to slip, to reduce the scope and performance of the
project, or to go over budget?
Project Priorities
 Priority Matrix (to identify which criterion is
constrained, which should be enhanced & which
is accepted)
Creating Work Breakdown Structure
 WBS is defined as: “a
deliverables-oriented
depiction of the work
involved in a project that
defines the total scope of
the project”.
Subdividing the
project work into
smaller work
elements
 WBS- Map of the
Project giving different
levels of detail
WBS Development
 Define the project end item
 List of deliverables necessary to develop end
item
 List down sub deliverables for each deliverable
 Each sub deliverables requires work packages
that is to be completed by the assigned
organizational unit
WBS Development
• WORK PACKAGE
– Defines work (what)
– Identifies time to complete a work
package (how long)
– Identifies a time-phased budget to
complete a work package (cost)
– Identifies resources needed to
complete a work package (how
much)
– Identifies a single person
responsible for units of work (who)
– Identifies monitoring points for
measuring progress (how well)
Integration
Integrationofof
WBS
WBSandandOBS
OBS
 Responsibility Matrix
 Responsibility Matrix (RM)

 Also called a linear

responsibility chart.
 Summarizes the tasks to be
accomplished and who is
responsible for what on the
project.
Responsibility Matrix for a Market Research
Project
Planning Phase
 Example activities
 Identify and sequence activities
 Identify the “critical path”
 Estimate the time and resources needed for
project completion
 Write a detailed project plan
 Tools: CPM, PERT and GANTT Chart

65
Critical Path Methods (CPM)

66
Developing the Project
Network
 The Project Network
 A flow chart that graphically depicts the sequence,
interdependencies, and start and finish times of the project job plan
of activities that is the critical path through the network.
 Provides the basis for scheduling labor and equipment.
 Enhances communication among project participants.
 Provides an estimate of the project’s duration.
 Provides a basis for budgeting cash flow.
 Identifies activities that are critical.
 Highlights activities that are “critical” and can not be delayed.
 Help managers get and stay on plan.
Constructing a Project Network
 Terminology
 Path: a sequence of connected, dependent
activities.
 Critical path: The path which connect the
different activities and if any activity is
delayed on this path, the whole project will
be delay.
C

A B D
Basic Rules to Follow in
Developing
Project Networks
1. Networks typically flow from left to right.
2. An activity cannot begin until all preceding connected
activities are complete.
3. Arrows indicate precedence and flow
and can cross over each other.
4. Each activity must have a unique identify number that
is greater than any of its predecessor activities.
5. Looping is not allowed.
6. Conditional statements are not allowed.
7. Use common start and stop nodes.
Network Information
Project Network
What is CPM?
 CPM calculates
 The longest path of planned activities to the end of the
project
 †The earliest and latest that each activity can start
and finish without making the project longer
 …Determines “critical” activities (on the longest path)
 …Prioritize activities for the effective management and to
shorten the planned critical path of a project by:
 †Pruning critical path activities
 †“Fast tracking" (performing more activities in parallel)
 †“Crashing the critical path" (shortening the durations
of critical path activities by adding resources)
6–74
GANTT Chart

6–76
Activity
GANTT Chart

78
The Risk Event Graph
Risk Management’s Benefits
 A proactive rather than reactive
approach.
 Reduces surprises and negative
consequences.
 Prepares the project manager to take
advantage
of appropriate risks.
 Provides better control over the future.
 Improves chances of reaching project
performance objectives within budget
and on time.
 The Risk
Management
Process

FIGURE 7.2
7–81
Risk Assessment

7–82
 Managing Risk (cont’d)
 Risk Response Development
 Mitigating Risk
 Reducing the likelihood an adverse event

will occur.
 Reducing impact of adverse event.
 Avoiding Risk
 Changing the project plan to eliminate the

risk or condition.
 Transferring Risk
 Paying a premium to pass the risk to

another party.
 Retaining Risk
 Making a conscious decision to accept the

risk.

7–83
Risk Response Matrix

FIGURE 7.8
7–84
Execution Phase
 Example activities
 Commit resources to specific tasks
 Add additional resources and/or personnel
if necessary
 Initiate work on the project

85
86
Controlling Phase
 Example activities
 Establish reporting obligations
 Create reporting tools
 Compare actual progress with baseline
 Initiate control interventions, if necessary

87
88
Closing Phase
 Example activities
 Install all deliverables
 Finalize all obligations and commitments
 Meet with stakeholders
 Release project resources
 Document the project
 Issue a final report

89