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Introduction This Essay embodies the different aspects that affect and are part of information system development. The essay will follow a question and answer layout and tackle mind-picking activities in information system development better known as ISD THEMES. Q2 Apply anyone systems theory aspect to the problem of late isd projects Mutual interaction is a situation where a change in one component induces a change in another component, which then induces a change in the original component (Kuhn, 1974) How this affects late ISD projects: User requirements DO change during systems development and at times this is a fact that developers choose to ignore/ overlook. The result of the users changing/modifying their requirements has an effect on the information system project being delivered late because, as stated above mutual interaction is the aspect of systems theory that states how a change in one component induces a change in another component, which then induces a change in the original component. These changes mean more time needed to actually complete the project. For example, if you are designing a Point of sales system and the user requests a change in the sales user interface of the system the following changes will probably have to be made as well (depending on the new user requirement); changes in the sales table in the linked database, changes in the product/stock table, changes in the salesperson table. These changes will take additional time!

Q3. Main reason BPR projects fail Lack of top level commitment and understanding Business process re-engineering like all other strategic moves in a business requires commitment from management. Many a time these top level decision makers know what they want but at the same time dont really understand a major concept which is easily overlooked; getting everything/everyone involved to work as a unit. (Davenport et al ,1990:12)

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This simply means they fail to concurrently address business, information system, and organizational change together with process change. These 3 entities are interrelated and therefore one influences the other. The information system should adapt to the new business processes, rules and so on. The organizations hierarchy or structure should also be adapted to the new business. Without this unity in the organizations systems the business process re-engineering process will fail. Q4. Information systems strategy that will suit the university The initiation of an IS strategy must be linked with an established business strategy (Atkins 1994; Hatten 1997)

Based on this definition the first step would be to identify the link with universitys academic strategy and its information strategy. What can be deduced from this definition is that Information systems will enable the university to carry out their strategy effectively and efficiently. The universitys strategic vision is: To be a leading research-intensive university in Africa, recognised internationally for its quality, relevance and impact, and also for developing people, creating knowledge and making a difference locally and globally

The global aspect immediately implies a web based information system. The information system strategy should also include the following subsystems in order to tie in with the academic strategy: Central information system including- student access, registration Library information system Online and distance learning system Audio visual information systems including video conferencing

Q5. End user computing vs IT developer computing Originally IT professionals wrote systems on behalf of customers / users who needed help in analysing data, producing reports. Now the end user says - "Ill do it myself!"
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(Sutcliffe and Mehandjiev 2004: 31-37) This has the following benefits over IT developer computing: Creativity and expertise of end users is put to use Users' needs are met in exactly the way they want There is no need to wait for funds to be allocated to upgrade the existing system by a software house Systems tailored to users Enables creative use of IS Generates competitive advantage Overcomes backlog by providing systems that IS could not get round to doing Puts users nearer the information Allows for variety Increases user awareness Relieves work load of IT professionals

Q6. Why has CRM become so important Customer relationship management (CRM) is a widely implemented strategy for managing a companys interactions with customers, clients and sales prospects.(Shaw &Robert, 2000: ) It involves using technology to organize, automate, and synchronize business processesprincipally sales activities, but also those for marketing, customer service, and technical support. The overall goals are to find, attract, and win new clients, nurture and retain those the company already has, entice former clients back into the fold, and reduce the costs of marketing and client service. This is clearly a very essential part of any business. Firstly, because business are currently competing on a global scale, It would be organizational suicide to not follow trends; CRM is a global trend! In addition it is beneficial not only for profitability but to retain your current customer base and reach new customers. Lastly, it is even easier to carry out CRM with social networks which are now available and widely used ; for example twitter , facebook, linkedIn. With these you can constanly have your customers attention. Opportunity for Interaction with customers is at its peak, organizations should take advantage of these enablers that are available. Q7. Should we allow requirements to change in an ISD? YES! Users tend to realize more things that they would like their system to do as the project goes along. The ultimate goal is to afterall satisfy users and
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produce a useful system. Provision for change should be made in the planning process. Agile system development supports this aspect of information systems development. There should be a contingency plan in place: expect the unexpected. As much as allowing requirements to change could be a disadvantage, if planned properly it is a great advantage. If frequent meetings are arranged , showing the user progress as the project is developed each new requirement if any can be documented and implemented as it arises.

Q8. Can traditional development (in contrast to agile) be used for any type of development project? Traditional development is a structured linear way of tackling systems development, while agile is the more adaptable non linear way of developing a system. Traditional development includes lots of planning and documentation and generally works on the assumption that requirements will NOT change. That is the ideal, but in the real world THEY DO. Traditional development would only be suitable for a client that is working on a tight budget / time schedule and therefore does not want the project to take longer than it would due to changing requirements. Furthermore this client would want to see everything a documented, in terms of the EXACT time and budget. (Heitzman,2007) Q9 What are the two major issues in IS security? Information system security- the practice of ensuring information is only read, heard, changed, broadcast and otherwise used by people who have the right to do so" (Source: UK Online for Business) The two major problems in Information systems security are Prevention and detection! Prevention : what can be done to prevent security accidents, errors and breaches? Physical security controls are a key part of prevention techniques, as are controls designing to ensure the integrity of data
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Detection: Spotting when things have gone wrong is crucial; detection needs to be done as soon as possible - particularly if the information is commercially sensitive. Detection controls are often combined with prevention controls (e.g. a log of all attempts to achieve unauthorised access to a network).

Q10. Write an argument for enforcing open source software in an organisation : Open source software can be used for great benefit in an organization. Firstly its can save on the cost of getting tailor made software from a vendor. In addition it is actually faster to obtain upgrades and bug fixes because there is a large number of developers working on it, in the sense that it is open to anyone. Moreover OSS is actually reliable because any code that is sent in as a modification/upgrade is thoroughly checked before it is implemented into the software. Lastly Oss allows the organization flexibility and freedom to adapt it to their specific needs. (United Kingdom, Department of science and technology, 2001)

Q11. To Whom it May concern With the current shortage of qualified developers in the country, we have assessed alternatives and come up with a very lucrative solution; outsourcing and offshoring. Outsourcing involves delegating our development tasks to another company and offshoring involves delegating our programming tasks to a company in another country. Our bank would benefit from this strategic move in the sense that we could save costs by perhaps outsourcing and offshoring to countires with cheaper labour costs. In addition a major benefit would be the time factor, if we offshored to countries that have different time zones, we could strategically pick these countries such that development is on going for 24hrs. ( Clairvolex, 2010)

Conclusion

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ISD themes are inter related and are a great area of interest, debate and research. There will continue to be controversial issues regarding them, due to the evolving nature of technology.

BIBLIOGRAPHY DAVENPORT, THOMAS & SHORT, J. (1990), the New Industrial Engineering: Information Technology and Business Process Redesign, in: Sloan Management Review, summer 1990, p 12 Focus and strategy in Offshoring, Clairvolex, Jan25,2010[online] Available: http://www.clairvolex.com/articles.php HEITZMAN C agile methodology vs. traditional software development [online] Available: http://ezinearticles.com/?Agile-Methodology-VS-TraditionalSoftware-Development&id=6583388 [cited 26 September 2011]

KUHN, A. 1974. The Logic of Social Systems. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass

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SHAW A, ROBERT C, 2000 Measuring and Valuing Customer Relationships: Business Intelligence

SUTCLIFFE,A & MEHANDJIEV,N .2004. End User Development Communications of the ACM 47 p( 31-32)

United Kingdom, Department of science and technology. 2001. Open source software policy United Kingdom Focus and strategy in Offshoring, Clairvolex, Jan25,2010[online] Available: http://www.clairvolex.com/articles.php