Chapter
12
Developing Business/IT
Solutions
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Why Study IS Development?
• When the systems approach to problem
solving is applied to the development of
information systems solutions to business
problems, e-business systems and
applications can be developed that meet
the business needs of a company and its
employees and stakeholders.
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What is the Systems Approach?
• A problem solving technique that uses a
systems orientation to define problems and
opportunities and develop solutions.
• Analyzing a problem and formulating a solution
involves the following interrelated activities:
• Recognize and define a problem or opportunity using
systems thinking
• Develop and evaluate alternative system solutions
• Select the system solution that best meets your
requirements
• Design the selected system solution
• 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
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Systems Thinking Example
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Systems Development Lifecycle (SDLC)
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Prototyping
Definition:
• The rapid development and testing of
working models, or prototypes, of new
applications in an interactive, iterative
process that can be used by both IS
specialists and business professionals
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Prototyping Process
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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
Definition:
• A preliminary study where the information
needs of prospective users and the
resource requirements, costs, benefits,
and feasibility of a proposed project are
determined
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Feasibility Categories
• Organizational – how well a proposed
system supports the strategic business
priorities of the organization
• Economic – whether expected cost
savings, increased revenue, increased
profits, reductions in required investment,
and other types of benefits will exceed the
costs of developing and operating a
proposed system
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Feasibility Categories
• Technical – 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
• Operational – willingness and ability of the
management, employees, customers,
suppliers, and others to operate, use, and
support a proposed system
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Feasibility
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Cost/Benefit Analysis
• Tangible – costs or benefits that can be
quantified
• Intangible – costs or benefits that can not
be quantified
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Systems Analysis
Definition:
• 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
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What does Systems Analysis Study?
• 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 those of
other business stakeholders that may use the
system.
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Organizational Analysis
• Study of the organization including:
• Management Structure
• People
• Business Activities
• Environmental Systems
• Current Information Systems
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Functional Requirements
Definition:
• 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
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Functional Requirement Categories
• User Interface
• Processing
• Storage
• Control
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Systems Design
Definition:
• Design activities that produce system
specifications satisfying the functional
requirements that were developed in the
systems analysis process
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Systems Design
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System Design Categories
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User Interface Design
Definition:
• Focuses on supporting the interactions
between end users and their computerbased applications
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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 fastloading 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 – include a useful search
engine
• Incompatibilities – test site with target web
browsers
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Checklist for Corporate Websites
• 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
Definition:
• Hardware, software, network, data, and
personnel specifications for a proposed
system that formalize the design of an
application’s user interface methods and
products, database structures, and
processing and control procedures
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End User Development
Definition:
• IS professional plays a consulting role,
while end user does his/her own
application development
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End User Development
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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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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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Project Management
Definition:
• IT and 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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Implementation Process
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Hardware Evaluation Factors
• Performance
• Ergonomics
• Cost
• Connectivity
• Reliability
• Scalability
• Compatibility
• Software
• Technology
• Support
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Software Evaluation Factors
• Quality
• Connectivity
• Efficiency
• Maintenance
• Flexibility
• Documentation
• Security
• Hardware
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IS Services
• Developing a
company website
• System design
• Installation
• Contract
programming
• Conversion
• Employee training
• Consulting services
• System integration
• Hardware
maintenance
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IS Services Evaluation Factors
• Performance
• Backup
• Systems
development
• Accessibility
• Business Position
• Maintenance
• Hardware
• Conversion
• Software
• Training
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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 affected by new
application
• 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 frequently reported to be one of the
major causes of failures in implementing
new systems.
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Importance of Documentation
• Documentation serves as a method of
communication among the people
responsible for developing, implementing,
and maintaining a computer-based
system.
• Documentation is extremely important in
diagnosing errors and making changes,
especially if the end users or systems
analysts who developed a system are no
longer with the organization.
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Training
• Data entry
• All aspects of the proper use of a 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 Methods
• Parallel – both old and new systems are
operating until the project development
team and end user management agree to
switch completely to the new system
• Plunge – no overlap of old and new
system
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Conversion Methods
• Phased – only parts of a new application
or only a few departments at time are
converted
• Pilot – One department serves as a test
site
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Conversion Methods
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Systems Maintenance
Definition:
• Monitoring, evaluating, and modifying of
operational business systems to make
desirable or necessary improvements
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Systems Maintenance
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Learning Curve
Definition:
• Personnel who operate and use the
system will make mistakes simply
because they are not familiar with it;
though such errors usually diminish as
experience is gained with a new system
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Postimplementation Review
Definition:
• Periodic review or audit of a system to
ensure that it is operating properly and
meeting its objectives
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Chapter
12
End of Chapter
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