System Development
Dr. John Sum
Institute of Electronic Commerce
National Chung Hsing University
2008 FALL
EC Websites Development
1
Reference

K.Laudon and J.Laudon, Management
Information Systems, 9th ed., Prentice Hall,
2006.
2008 FALL
EC Websites Development
2
Business Processes, IS/Websites and IT
2008 FALL
EC Websites Development
3
Example 1: Travelocity.COM
2008 FALL
EC Websites Development
4
Example 1: Travelocity.COM

Services support





Car rental information
Room rate enquiries, on-line hotel room booking
Flight ticket enquires, on-line flight ticket booking
Tour schedule enquires, on-line tour booking
Users




General public (which customer segment)
Administration (which departments, which roles)
Technical support (Webmaster, etc)
Suppliers?
2008 FALL
EC Websites Development
5
Example 2: Global-Trade.COM
2008 FALL
EC Websites Development
6
Example 3: iSteelAsia.COM
2008 FALL
EC Websites Development
7
Example 4: Forbes.COM
2008 FALL
EC Websites Development
8
Website and Information System

A website is simply a part of the company’s
information system

K.Laudon and J.Laudon, Management Information
Systems, 9th ed., Prentice Hall, 2006
Definition: An information system is a set of
interrelated components that collect (or retrieve),
process, store, and distribute information to
support decision making and control in an
organization.
2008 FALL
EC Websites Development
9
Processes, IS and IT

Information technologies provide the infrastructure
and support to build an information system.
Business Processes
Information Systems
Information Technologies
2008 FALL
EC Websites Development
10
2008 FALL
EC Websites Development
11
Information Technologies

Software technologies





Including operating systems and DBMS
MS Words improves the quality of management reports
Window XP controls operation of a computer
JDK provides platform for developing web application
Hardware technologies



Mobile phone support mobile data transfer
802.11 provides the standard for wireless local area
networks
USB flash memory provides an alternative way to store
information
2008 FALL
EC Websites Development
12
Information Technologies

System development




Object-oriented development
Component-based development
Unified modeling language
Other technologies



Artificial Intelligence
Parallel processing architecture
Optimization algorithm
2008 FALL
EC Websites Development
13
Information Technologies








Bar code scanner (IO)
Overhead project (IO)
Camera (IO)
Telephone (IO, Com.)
FAX machine (IO, Com.)
Computer (Terminal)
Calculator (Calculation)
Palm/PDA (IO, DB)
2008 FALL







Mobile phone (Com.)
Optic fibers (Com.)
Virtual private network
(Com.)
Internet (Com)
Web technology (System)
Mobile agent (System)
Rational Rose UML
(Development)
EC Websites Development
14
Information Technologies

Prog. Lang.



Assembly
C/C++
Java







Operating Systems



JavaScript
Java Servlet/Applet
Java Network
Programming

Database System

Visual Basic/VBScript
Perl
HTML/DHTML/XML




2008 FALL
MS Window
Unix
Linux
EC Websites Development
IBM DB2
MS Access
Oracle
Sybase
MySQL
15
Information Technologies

The world is moving. So, many new technologies
are coming.







Mobile computing
Grid computing
P2P networks (BT, Gnutella, SKYPE)
Chinese computing
Biometric
Autonomic computing
Search IBM.COM for more
2008 FALL
EC Websites Development
16
Information Technologies

Mobile Computing



A type of computing model in which the computers
can be networked together even the computers
are moving anywhere.
How to connect? How to share resource?
Autonomic computing

A type of computing model in which the system is
self-healing, self-configured, self-protected and
self-managed.
2008 FALL
EC Websites Development
17
Information Technologies

Each technology has its own limitation







Security problems
Programming difficulties
Training – programmer or user
Version problem – Window 95/98/2000/XP
User account support
Transparency – Window versus Linux
Maintenance and Support
2008 FALL
EC Websites Development
18
Information Technologies


Development team should have enough
knowledge to select the appropriate
technologies for the system.
Does a development team should learn all
these technologies, such as Java, Ajax, RSS
Feed, etc.?
2008 FALL
EC Websites Development
19
Types of Information Systems

By management level (Conventional
Approach)





Transaction processing system (operational)
Management information system
Decision support system
Executive information system (Strategic)
Education levels and computer usage skills?
2008 FALL
EC Websites Development
20
Types of Information Systems
Figure 2-2
2008 FALL
EC Websites Development
21
Types of IS: Conventional
Figure 213
2008 FALL
EC Websites Development
22
Types of IS: Contemporary
Figure 2-14
2008 FALL
EC Websites Development
23
Types of IS: Contemporary



Where should the “website” (or websites) be
located?
What business process (or processes) should
it support?
Business operations = Business logic =
Business processes. All three terms will be
used interchangeably.
2008 FALL
EC Websites Development
24
Conventional VS Contemporary

Conventional






Designed in a way to fit
in the operations of a
business unit.
Different department will
have a different system.
Scope of the system is
smaller.
Analysis and design are
simpler.
Easy to maintain.
2008 FALL
Contemporary





EC Websites Development
Designed in a way to fit
in the operations of the
whole enterprise.
Processes or services
oriented.
Scope of the system is
huge.
Analysis and design are
complicated ?
Difficult to maintain ?
25
Global Changes
2008 FALL
EC Websites Development
26
Changes in Information Management

Factors leading to the changes





Business environment
Management Practice
Technologies
Disaster
Misc
2008 FALL
EC Websites Development
27
Changes in Information Management

Business environment



Moving towards Asia, then possibly SE Asia and
Latin America
Globalization
Management



Total quality management
Customer satisfaction
Cost-effective
2008 FALL
EC Websites Development
28
Changes in Information Management

Technologies
 Wired to wireless
 Powerful PC, notebook, mobile phone, PDA

Disaster
 911 Attack
 Earthquake
 Tsunami

Misc
 Energy
 Water, Air
 Food
2008 FALL
EC Websites Development
29
Changes in Information Management

Implications

Change in the information requirement



Change in culture and habit of using computer




Hourly data versus daily data
Multiple languages
Hardcopy document versus web document
Fixed line telephone versus Internet phone (Skype)
Change in the volume/speed of information flow
Change in the cost and profit of a company
2008 FALL
EC Websites Development
30
Changes in Information Management

Implications






Customer-oriented thinking (customer controls
everything)
Need of disaster recovery plan
Corporate social responsibility
Technologies are cheaper and cheaper
Profit margin is decreasing (Don’t expect too
much on earning)
Install new system or using new technology is not
for making money, just for surviving in the industry.
2008 FALL
EC Websites Development
31
Business Environment
Suppliers
Manufacturers
Distributors
Retailers
Customers
Cash flow
Product flow
2008 FALL
EC Websites Development
32
Business Environment (80’s – 90’s)
Suppliers
Manufacturers
Distributors
Retailers
Customers
Cash flow
Product flow
2008 FALL
EC Websites Development
33
Business Environment (00’s – 08’s)
Suppliers
Manufacturers
Distributors
Retailers
Customers
Cash flow
Product flow
2008 FALL
EC Websites Development
34
Business Environment (Beyond 2008)
Suppliers
Manufacturers
Distributors
Retailers
Customers
Cash flow
Product flow
2008 FALL
EC Websites Development
35
Business Environment (Beyond 2008)
2008 FALL
EC Websites Development
36
What Have Not Changes?



System is still in a supporting role (not a
decision role) of a company.
System itself does not accounted for making
money, but the products or services that the
company provides.
System itself does not accounted for
profitable, but the business processes that
the system supports.
2008 FALL
EC Websites Development
37
Overview of Systems Development
2008 FALL
EC Websites Development
38
Key Concepts in Systems Development

Initiating a systems development



Participants involved in a SD project
Reasons for having a new system
Information systems planning




High level system requirement
Feasibility analysis (Financially and
technologically)
Selection of system development model
Objectives and schedule for SD
2008 FALL
EC Websites Development
39
Key Concepts in Systems Development

Build the system (System Development)





Detail analysis – Precise system requirements
(user accepted), a list of user acceptance tests
System design – modules, interfacing amongst
modules, hardware requirements, programming
language, OS
Coding
In-house testing – unit test, system test, stress
test
User acceptance test
2008 FALL
EC Websites Development
40
Participants in Systems Development
2008 FALL
EC Websites Development
41
Participants in Systems Development

Stakeholders


Users


Individuals who interact with the system regularly
System Analyst


Individuals who either themselves or through the
organization are beneficiaries of the systems development
effort.
Professional who specializes in analyzing and designing
business systems.
Programmers

Individual responsible for modifying or developing
programs to satisfy user requirements.
2008 FALL
EC Websites Development
42
Management
Team
Application
of IT
Business
Process
Staff,
Clients
Suppliers
Business
Process
2008 FALL
EC Websites Development
43
Reasons to Initiate a Development Project
2008 FALL
EC Websites Development
44
Planning
Information Systems Planning
The translation of strategic and
organizational goals into systems
development initiatives.
Creative Analysis
The investigation of new
approaches to existing problems.
Critical and difficult task
2008 FALL
EC Websites Development
45
Planning
Critical Analysis
The unbiased and careful
questioning of whether
system elements are
related in the most
effective or efficient ways.
Critical and
difficult task
2008 FALL
One approach,
not universal
EC Websites Development
46
Planning

Design objectives

Performance objectives



Quality or usefulness of the output
The speed at which the output is generated
Cost objectives




2008 FALL
Development costs
Costs related to the uniqueness of the system
application
Fixed investments in hardware and related equipment
On-going operating costs of the system
EC Websites Development
47
Planning

Challenges


We would like to have a website for IEC.
We would like to have a website for IEC, which is
similar to the following:





www.ucla.edu
www.anderson.ucla.edu
www.cism.kingston.ac.uk
www.igec.umbc.edu
We would like to have a website for IEC, with
design, outlook and functions similar to the above.
2008 FALL
EC Websites Development
48
System Development Model






Waterfall model
Spiral Model
Component-based Development
Prototyping
Rapid Application Development
Others
2008 FALL
EC Websites Development
49
Waterfall Model
Systems Investigation
Problems and opportunities are identified
Systems Analysis
Existing systems and work processes are studied
Systems Design
Defines how the information system will do
what it must do to solve the problem.
2008 FALL
EC Websites Development
50
Waterfall Model
Systems Implementation
System components are
assembled and the new or
modified system is placed
into operation.
Systems Maintenance and Review
Ensures the system operates and is
modified to keep up with business
changes.
2008 FALL
EC Websites Development
51
Spiral Model
2008 FALL
EC Websites Development
52
Spiral Model
2008 FALL
EC Websites Development
53
Component-based Model
2008 FALL
EC Websites Development
54
Prototyping
Operational Prototype
Accesses real data files, edits input
data, makes necessary computations
and comparisons, and produces real
output.
Nonoperational Prototype
A mockup or model that includes
output and input specifications and
formats.
2008 FALL
EC Websites Development
55
Rapid Application Development
2008 FALL
EC Websites Development
56
Factors Affecting System Development








Resource Constraint Analysis
Project Schedule and Tracking
Systems Configuration Management
Selected Project Management Software Packages
Use of Computer-Aided Software Engineering (CASE) Tools
Systems Investigation
Requirements Analysis
Systems Analysis
2008 FALL
EC Websites Development
57
Project Schedule and Tracking

Use of project management tools






Schedule
Milestone
Deadline
Critical path
Program Evaluation Review Technique (PERT)
Gantt chart
2008 FALL
EC Websites Development
58
Gantt Chart
2008 FALL
EC Websites Development
59
Systems Investigation


Identify potential problems
and opportunities and
consider them in light of
the goals of the company.
It is the second round
analysis. The first round
analysis has been
conducted during system
planning.
2008 FALL
EC Websites Development
60
Systems Investigation

Feasibility Analysis
2008 FALL
EC Websites Development
61
Systems Investigation

Systems Investigation Report



2008 FALL
A report that summarizes the results of the
systems investigation and the process of
feasibility analysis and recommends a course of
action.
The investigation is usually conducted by a
system investigation team and a steering
committee.
Steering committee is an advisory group
consisting of senior management and users from
the IS department and other functional areas.
EC Websites Development
62
Systems Investigation
2008 FALL
Table of Contents for a Systems
EC Websites Development
Investigation Report
63
Requirement Analysis

Requirements Analysis
 It is the third round analysis.
 An assessment used to determine the need
of the users, the stakeholders, and the
organization.
 Converting organizational goals into systems
requirements
2008 FALL
EC Websites Development
64
Systems Analysis




External and
Internal Sources of
Data
It is the forth and
the last round
analysis.
The analysis must
be very precise.
The results will be
used in system
design.
2008 FALL
EC Websites Development
65
Systems Analysis

Data Collection


To understand what
exactly the users
needs
What data/information
should be processed
in the system, and
what sort of interface
design the users
expect.
Steps in Data Collection
2008 FALL
EC Websites Development
66
Systems Analysis

Techniques





Structured Interview
Unstructured
Interview
Direct Observation
Questionnaires
Statistical Sampling
Steps in Data Collection
2008 FALL
EC Websites Development
67
Systems Analysis

Data Analysis

Manipulating the collected data so that it
is usable for the development team
members who are participating in
systems analysis.
Data Modeling
A commonly accepted approach to modeling organizational
objects and associations that employ both text and graphics.
Activity (Process) Modeling
A method to describe related
objects, associations, and
activities.
2008 FALL
Data Flow Diagram
A diagram that models objects, associations, and
activities by describing how data can flow
between and around them.
EC Websites Development
68
Entity-Relationship Diagram (ERD)
Data Flow Diagram (DFD)
Semantic
Description of a
Business Process
2008 FALL
EC Websites Development
69
Application Flowchart
Application Flowcharts
Charts that show relationships among applications or systems.
2008 FALL
EC Websites Development
70
Grid Charts
Grid Charts
A table that shows relationships among the various aspects of a
systems development effort.
2008 FALL
EC Websites Development
71
User
Interface
2008 FALL
EC Websites Development
72
User
Interface
2008 FALL
EC Websites Development
73
User
Interface
2008 FALL
EC Websites Development
74
Systems Analysis Report




Strength and weaknesses of existing system
from stakeholders’ perspective.
User/stakeholder requirements for the new
system.
Organizational requirements.
Description of what new information systems
should do to solve the problem
2008 FALL
EC Websites Development
75
Systems Analysis Report
2008 FALL
EC Websites Development
76
Remarks on System Development
2008 FALL
EC Websites Development
77
Major Problems in SD

Communication gaps between the user (nonIT) and the developer (IT)





No common language
Lack of IT knowledge (non-IT)
Lack of business sense (IT)
Lack of mutual trust
Lazy
2008 FALL
EC Websites Development
78
Solutions

User and developer should have a common
ground knowledge




General and essential IT knowledge
General and essential business knowledge
Patient
Quality assurance process
2008 FALL
EC Websites Development
79
Technically How?


Spend more time on
requirement analysis
Documentation








Project schedule
User manual
Maintenance manual
Project plan
Quality plan
Analysis model
Design model
Testing plan
2008 FALL
EC Websites Development
80
Who?

Requirement/System analysis


System design


Department manager, IT manager & programmer
System Implementation


Director, department manager, operational staff,
IT manager & programmer
Department manager, operational staff, IT
manager & programmer
System Maintenance & Review

Operational staff & programmer
2008 FALL
EC Websites Development
81
Road map (1)

Service model



Define the products or services to be provided by
the company.
Identify target customers
Identify suppliers
2008 FALL
EC Websites Development
82
Road map (2)

Revenue model



Evaluate the size of the customer bases for each
product or service.
Expected earning of each product or service
Might need to analysis the cumulative figures and
presented in quarterly or yearly basis.
2008 FALL
EC Websites Development
83
Road map (3)

Business process model




Interaction amongst customers, your company
and the suppliers
Identify the roles (persons) who will take part in
each operation, such as data entry staff, customer
service staff, clerk, department manager, and so
on.
Optimize the business processes
Refine IS requirement model if necessary
2008 FALL
EC Websites Development
84
Road map (4)

IS requirement model



Identify which tasks within these operations can
be replaced by using IT
Refine business model if necessary
Identify the users of the system
2008 FALL
EC Websites Development
85
Road map (4)

Cost model




Investment on the entire project
Staff salary, rental fee, electricity & water bills,
insurance/pension
IT equipments, leased line subscription fee,
maintenance cost
Might need to analysis the cumulative figures and
presented in quarterly or yearly basis.
2008 FALL
EC Websites Development
86
Road map (6)

Profit & Lost analysis


In quarterly or yearly basis
Identify when is the break-even point
2008 FALL
EC Websites Development
87
Road map, why?


Traceable analysis model
If there is any change on the service model,
IS requirement model, the effects can easily
be identified.
2008 FALL
EC Websites Development
88
Effort Estimates
Planning
Industry
Standard
For Web
Applications
Time
Required
in Person
Months
2008 FALL
15%
4
Analysis
Design
20%
5.33
EC Websites Development
35%
9.33
Implementation
30%
8
89
Exemplar Website Development
2008 FALL
EC Websites Development
90
An eBay-like website for on-line auction
2008 FALL
EC Websites Development
91
eBay-like website for on-line auction
2008 FALL
EC Websites Development
92
eBay-like website for on-line auction
2008 FALL
EC Websites Development
93
eBay-like website for on-line auction
2008 FALL
EC Websites Development
94
eBay-like website for on-line auction
User Interface
Seller
Module
Bidder
Module
Search
Engine
Calculation
Engine
Administration
Module
Database
Manager
JVM
Tomcat
J2SE
OS
Server
Network
2008 FALL
EC Websites Development
95
Do you really understand!
2008 FALL
EC Websites Development
96
Review Questions




Select one website from Travelocity.COM, GlobalTrade.COM, iSteelAsia.COM and Forbes.COM and
describe the underlying information technologies
being used to build that website.
What is the definition of an information systems?
What are the differences between a website and an
information systems?
What are the roles of “network technologies” playing
in business information system?
2008 FALL
EC Websites Development
97
Review Questions

Describe in your own words




(1) why development team should have enough knowledge
to select the appropriate technologies for the system, and
(2) should a development team learn all the latest
technologies?
With an aid of diagrams, explain the differences
between an information system that is followed by
conventional and contemporary design approaches.
Describe what Asia business environment has been
changing since 1980’s, and its affect on the
requirement of an information system.
2008 FALL
EC Websites Development
98
Review Questions



Describe in details the roles and
responsibilities of each participant in a
system development project?
Describe the purposes, the similarities and
differences amongst creative analysis, critical
analysis, feasibility analysis, requirement
analysis, system analysis.
Describe what is waterfall model and the
limitation of such development approach.
2008 FALL
EC Websites Development
99
Review Questions



With an aid of diagrams, describe in detail
any 3 development approaches, and state
their differences.
State any five reasons to initiate a
development project.
With an aid of diagrams, describe the
relationships amongst business processes,
information systems and information
technologies.
2008 FALL
EC Websites Development
100
Review Questions


In system analysis, data are collected for further
analyzed. Describe in detail the techniques for which
the data are collected, and in what situations the
techniques can be applied. If necessary, you can
add examples to help your discussion.
Data flow diagram is an analysis model describing
the how data is processed.


Describe, with an example, what are the four components
in a DFD.
Describe in detail, step by step, how data flow diagrams
are obtained.
2008 FALL
EC Websites Development
101
Review Questions



DFD, application flowchart, grid charts and screen
layouts are four analysis models obtained after
system analysis. Describe what are the purposes to
obtain such models.
Describe what are the tentative contents that should
be included in the System Investigation Report and
the System Analysis Report.
In the Road Map for system development, describe
in detail what are the six issues that a system
developer could follow in order to achieve a
traceable analysis model.
2008 FALL
EC Websites Development
102