McGraw-Hill/Irwin

10-1 Copyright © 2007 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
 Chapter
10
Developing Business/IT Solutions

Systems Development Life Cycle

Prototyping
End User Development
Project Management
Change Management
McGraw-Hill/Irwin Copyright © 2007 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
 Learning Objectives
1. 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 information systems solutions to
simple business problems.
2. Describe and give examples to illustrate how you
might use each of the steps of the information
systems development cycle to develop and
implement a business information system.

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 Learning Objectives
3. Explain how prototyping can be used as an
effective technique to improve the process of
systems development for end users and IS
specialists.
4. Understand the basics of project management and
their importance to a successful systems
development effort.
5. Identify the activities involved in the
implementation of new information systems.

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 Learning Objectives
6. Compare and contrast the four basic system
conversion strategies.
7. Describe several evaluation factors that should be
considered in evaluating the acquisition of
hardware, software, and IS services.
8. Identify several change management solutions for
end user resistance to the implementation of new
information systems.

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 Case 1: In-House Development is
Alive and Well
 Proprietarysoftware can give companies an
competitive edge
 But in-house development isn’t cheap
 H&R Block, Morgan Stanley and others still choose
in-house development
 When and why?

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 Case Study Questions
1. Jeff Brandmaier, senior VP and CIO at H&R Block
Inc., describes in-house developed applications as
“the stuff that gives you competitive advantage.”
Why do you think he feels this way?
2. Can a modern organization be competitive without
developing any applications in-house? Why or
why not?
3. The case points out that despite the use of vendor
applications, there is “still a lot of manually
intensive work that goes on in the development
process.” Why do you think vendor applications
still require in-house developers?
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 Real World Internet Activity
1. Despite all the media coverage concerning the loss
of jobs in IS/IT, there is still a strong and growing
need for in-house developers. Using the Internet,
 See if you can find examples, beyond those discussed
in the case, of companies that are doing their
development in-house.
 Are they using the SDLC or some other method?

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 Real World Group Activity
 In-housedevelopment is costly, to be sure. Yet many
companies believe that their core applications require
personal attention by their developers. In small
groups,
 Discuss how an organization determines what
applications to buy from a vendor and what
applications to develop in-house.
 What are the criteria for making the decision?

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 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 the
following interrelated activities:
1. Recognize and define a problem or opportunity using
systems thinking
2. Develop and evaluate alternative system solutions
3. Select the system solution that best meets your
requirements
4. Design the selected system solution
5. Implement and evaluate the success of the designed system

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 What is Systems Thinking?
 Seeing the forest and the trees in any situation by:
 Seeing interrelationships among systems rather than
linear cause-and-effect chains whenever events occur
 Seeing processes of change among systems rather than
discrete snapshots of change, whenever changes occur

 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
 Overall
process by which IS are designed and
implemented within organizations
 Two most common approaches to SA & D
 Object-oriented
analysis and design
 Systems Development Life Cycle

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 Systems Development Lifecycle
(SDLC)

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 Systems Investigation Stage
 Do we have business opportunities?
 What are our business priorities?
 How can information technologies provide
information systems solutions that address our
business priorities?

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 Feasibility Study
A preliminary study where
 the information needs of prospective users
 the resource requirements, costs, benefits,
 and feasibility of a proposed project
 are determined

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 Feasibility Categories
 Operational Feasibility
 Economic Feasibility
 Technical Feasibility
 Human Factors Feasibility
 Legal/Political Feasibility

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 Operational Feasibility
 How well the proposed system
 supports the business priorities of the organization.
 solves the identified problem.
 fits within the existing organizational structure.
 Schedulefeasibility – can we solve the problem in a
reasonable period

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 Economic Feasibility
 Assess:
 Cost savings
 Increased revenue
 Decreased investment requirements
 Increased profits
 Cost/benefit analysis

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 Cost/Benefit Analysis
 Costs versus Benefits
 Tangible costs and benefits can be quantified with a
high degree of certainty
 Example: decrease in operating costs
 Intangible costs and benefits are harder to estimate
 Example: improved customer service

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 Technical Feasibility
 Determine if reliable hardware and software capable
of meeting the needs of a proposed system can be
acquired or developed by the business in the
required time
 Hardware
 Software
 Network

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 Human Factors Feasibility
 Assess
 Employee, customer, supplier acceptance
 Management support
 The right people for the various new or revised roles

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 Legal/Political Feasibility
 Assess
 Possiblepatent or copyright violations
 Software licensing for developer side only
 Governmental restrictions
 Changes to existing reporting structure

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 Systems Analysis
 An in-depth study of end user information needs
 That produces functional requirements that are used
as the basis for the design of a new information
system

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 Systems Analysis
 Detailed study of
 The information needs of a company and end users.
 The activities, resources, and products of one or more
of the present information systems being used.
 The information system capabilities required to meet
information needs of users and stakeholders
 Endusers are important members of the
development team

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 Organizational Analysis
 Study of the organization including:
 Management Structure
 People
 Business Activities
 Environmental Systems
 Current Information Systems
 Document input, processing, output, storage and control

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 Logical Analysis
 Constructionof a logical model of the current system
 Logical model
A blueprint of what the current system does

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 Functional Requirements Analysis
and Determination
 Determine specific business information needs
1. Determine what type of information each business
activity requires.
2. Determine the information processing each system
activity is needed to meet these needs.

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 Functional Requirements
 End user information requirements that are not tied
to the hardware, software, network, data, and people
resources that end users presently use or might use
in the new system
 What the system must do
 Functional Requirement categories
 User Interface
 Processing
 Storage
 Control

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 Systems Design
 Modify the logical model until it represents a blueprint for what
the new system will do
 Physical design:
 How the system will accomplish its objectives

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 Prototyping
 The rapid development and testing of working
models
 Used in design phase
 Especially useful when end user requirements are
hard to define

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 Prototyping Life Cycle

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 Prototyping
 Can be used for small and large systems
 But if system is large, usually prototype just parts
 Develop quickly
 Refine until acceptable

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 User Interface Design
 Focuses on supporting the interactions between end
users and their computer-based applications
 Frequently prototype the user interface

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 Checklist for Corporate
Websites
 Remember the customer – successful websites are
built solely for the customer, not to make company
vice presidents happy
 Aesthetics – successful designs combine fast-loading
graphics and simple color palettes for pages that are
easy to read
 Broadband Content – the Web’s coolest stuff can’t be
accessed by most Web surfers; don’t make it the
focus of a site

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 Checklist for Corporate
Websites
 Easy to navigate – make sure it’s easy to get from one
part of site to another
 Searchability – make sure to have a useful search
engine
 Incompatibilities – test site with target web browsers
 Registration forms – short registration forms are a
useful way to gather customer data
 Dead links – be sure to keep links updated

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 System Specifications
 Formalize design of
 User interface methods
 Products
 Database structures
 Processing
 Control procedures
 Specifications for hardware, software, network, data,
and personnel

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 End User Development
 ISprofessional plays a consulting role
 End user does his/her own application development

 Contrast in traditional life cycle:

 End user is customer
 IS profession does development

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 End User Development

Source: Adapted from James N. Morgan, Application Cases in MIS, 4th ed. (New York: Irwin/McGraw-Hill, 2002), p. 31.
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 Encouraging End User Web
Development
 Look for tools that make sense
 Spur creativity
 Set some limits
 Give managers responsibility
 Make users comfortable

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 Case 2: Implementation Success or
Failure
 Success orfailure is in the eye of beholder
 At Indiana University, implementation of PeopleSoft
ERP
 Leftstudents without access to promised financial aid
 Problem was not with software

 What was the problem?

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 Case Study Questions
1. As with any story, there are always two sides.
Indiana University sees the problem as a surprise;
outside observers see the problem as predictable
and preventable. What do you think? Why?
2. Is it possible that some implementation problems
cannot be easily foreseen or prevented? Give some
examples.
3. What could Indiana University have done
differently to prevent this unfortunate event from
occurring? Is there evidence to suggest that they
learned from this experience?
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 Real World Internet Activity
1. In many cases, we tend to hear about
implementation failures more often than
implementation successes. Using the Internet,
 See if you can find some examples of implementation
success stories.
 Why were they successful?

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 Real World Group Activity
 Theproject described in the case was an example of a
large-scale software deployment of vendor software.
In small groups,
 Discuss the differences between implementing vendor-
supplied software and in-house developed software.
 Should an in-house project be implemented differently
than a vendor supplied application? Why or why not?

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 Systems Implementation
 Hardware and software acquisition
 Software development
 Testing of programs and procedures
 Conversion of data resources
 Conversion alternatives
 Education and training of end users and specialists
who will operate a new system

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 Implementation Process

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 Project Management
 ITand business unit managers
 enforce a project plan which includes
 job responsibilities,
 time lines for major stages of development, and
 financial budgets

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 Sample Implementation Process
Plan

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 Project
A project
 Is a set of activities with a clear beginning and end
 Each project has
 Goals
 Objectives
 Tasks
 Limitations

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 Managing a project
 To manage a project need:
 Process
 Tools
 Techniques

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 Five phases of project
management
1. Initiating/defining
 State the problems/goals
 Identify the objectives
 Secure resources
 Explore costs/benefits in feasibility study

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 Five phases of project
management
2. Planning
 Identify and sequence activities
 Identify the “critical path”
 Estimate time and resources needed for completion
 Write a detailed project plan
3. Executing
 Commit resources to specific tasks
 Add additional resources/personnel if necessary
 Initiate project work

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 Five phases of project
management
4. Controlling
 Establish reporting obligations
 Create reporting tools
 Compare actual progress with baseline
 Initiate control interventions if necessary

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 Five phases of project
management
5. Closing
 Install all deliverables
 Finalize all obligations/commitments
 Meet with stakeholders
 Release project resources
 Document the project
 Issue final report

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 Evaluating Hardware, software and
services
 Must acquire hardware, software
 How do we evaluate and select it?
 Companies may ask suppliers to present bids and
proposals
 May score different products
 Determine evaluation factors
 Assign each product points on each factor
 May require benchmark tests
 Simulate processing of task and evaluates the
performance

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 Hardware Evaluation Factors
 Performance
 Cost
 Reliability
 Compatibility
 Technology
 Ergonomics
 Connectivity
 Scalability
 Software
 Support

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 Software Evaluation Factors
 Quality
 Efficiency
 Flexibility
 Security
 Connectivity
 Maintenance
 Documentation
 Hardware

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 Examples of IS Services
 Developing a company website
 Installation or conversion of hardware or software
 Employee training
 Hardware maintenance
 System integration
 System design
 Contract programming
 Consulting services

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 IS Services Evaluation Factors
 Performance
 Systems development
 Maintenance
 Conversion
 Training
 Backup
 Accessibility
 Business Position
 Hardware
 Software

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 System Testing
 Testing and debugging software
 Testing website performance
 Testing new hardware
 Review of prototypes of displays, reports and other
output

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 Data Conversion
 Converting data elements from old database to new
database
 Correcting incorrect data
 Filtering out unwanted data
 Consolidating data from several databases
 Organizing data into new data subsets

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 Importance of Data Conversion
 Improperly organized and formatted data is major
causes of failures in implementing new systems.

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 Documentation
 User documentation
 Sample data entry screens, forms, reports
 Systems documentation
 Communication among people responsible for
developing, implementing and maintaining system
 Important in diagnosing errors and making changes

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 Training
 End users must be trained to operate new system
 Educate managers and end users in how the new
technology impacts the company’s business
operations and management

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 Conversion
 Conversion from use of present system to operation
of new system

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 Four major forms of conversion

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 Direct Conversion
 Turn off old system
 Turn on new system

 Direct is least expensive method

 Riskiest method

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 Parallel Conversion
 New and old systems run simultaneously
 until end users and project coordinators are satisfied
that the new system is functioning correctly

 Low risk
 Highest cost method: perform all functions with
both systems

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 Pilot Conversion
 When new system is installed in multiple locations
 Convert to new system in single location
 Once complete in pilot location,
 Evaluate and make any necessary changes

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 Phased Conversion
 Incremental approach to conversion
 Bring in new system as a series of functional
components

 Lower risk
 Takes the most time

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 Systems maintenance
 Corrective: fix bugs and logical errors
 Adaptive: add new functionality to accommodate
changes in business or environment
 Perfective: improve performance
 Preventive: reduce chances of failure

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 Post-implementation review
 Ensure new system meets the business objectives
 Periodic review or audit

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 Implementation Challenges
 New system involves major organizational change
 Manage changes to
 Businessprocesses
 Organizational structures
 Managerial roles
 Work assignments
 Stakeholder relationships

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 User Resistance
 New way of doing things generates resistance
 Key to solving is
 User involvement in organizational changes and
development of new systems
 User involvement
 End users on systems development teams
 End user ownership of new system

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 Reasons for User Resistance to
Knowledge Management Systems

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 Change Management Dimensions

Source: Adapted from Grant Norris, James Hurley, Kenneth Harley, John Dunleavy, and John Balls, E-Business and ERP:
Transforming the Enterprise, p. 120. Copyright @2000 by John Wiley & Sons Inc. Reprinted by permission.
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 Change Management
 Involve as many people as possible in planning and
application development
 Make constant change an expected part of the culture
 Tell everyone as much as possible about everything
as often as possible
 Make liberal use of financial incentives and
recognition
 Work within the company culture, not around it

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 Process of Change Management

Source: Adapted from Martin Diese, Conrad Nowikow, Patric King, and Amy Wright, Executive’s Guide to E-Business: From Tactics
to Strategy, p. 190. Copyright @ 2000 by John Wiley & Sons Inc. Reprinted by permission.
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 Case 3: There’s Nothing Like a Good
Process
 Nothing derails an IT development project faster
than sloppy project management
 Process management is the art and science of creating
and continuously improving the process of
developing and delivering systems
 Best practices in process management:
 Industry best practices
 Within-the-company best practices

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 Case Study Questions
1. What is process management? How does it differ
from project management or traditional
development methodologies like the SDLC?
2. Is the SDLC an example of good process
management?
3. What is meant in the case by the phrase:
“implementing a standard approach to systems
development helps experienced staff and new hires to
be more productive, because they spend less time
wondering how to do something and more time
doing it?”
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 Real World Internet Activity
1. We know that good project and process
management are keys to successful systems
development and implementation projects. Using
the Internet,
 See if you can find examples of companies that
subscribe to the tenets set forth in the case.
 Is there evidence to suggest that such companies are
realizing competitive benefits as a result?

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 Real World Group Activity
 We discussed issues related to user resistance,
involvement, and change management in this
chapter. In small groups,
 Discuss how these issues relate to good process
management.
 What specific change management approaches are
involved in ensuring high quality process
management?

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