Systems Approach to Information Systems Development: Creating Effective Business Solutions

1. Chapter12 Developing Business/IT Solutions

2. 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.

3. 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

4. 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

5. Systems Thinking Example

6. Systems Development Lifecycle (SDLC)

7. 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

8. Prototyping Process

9. 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?

10. 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

11. 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

12. 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

13. Feasibility

14. Cost/Benefit Analysis • Tangible – costs or benefits that can be quantified • Intangible – costs or benefits that can not be quantified

15. 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

16. Systems Analysis

17. 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.

18. Organizational Analysis • Study of the organization including: • Management Structure • People • Business Activities • Environmental Systems • Current Information Systems

19. 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

20. Functional Requirement Categories • User Interface • Processing • Storage • Control

21. Systems Design Definition: • Design activities that produce system specifications satisfying the functional requirements that were developed in the systems analysis process

22. Systems Design

23. System Design Categories

24. User Interface Design Definition: • Focuses on supporting the interactions between end users and their computer-based applications

25. 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

26. 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

27. 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

28. 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

29. End User Development Definition: • IS professional plays a consulting role, while end user does his/her own application development

30. End User Development

31. Encouraging End User Web Development • Look for tools that make sense • Spur creativity • Set some limits • Give managers responsibility • Make users comfortable

32. 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

33. 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

34. Implementation Process

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

36. Quality Efficiency Flexibility Security Connectivity Maintenance Documentation Hardware Software Evaluation Factors

37. Developing a company website Installation Conversion Employee training Hardware maintenance System design Contract programming Consulting services System integration IS Services

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

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

40. 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

41. 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.

42. 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.

43. 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

44. 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

45. 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

46. Conversion Methods

47. Systems Maintenance Definition: • Monitoring, evaluating, and modifying of operational business systems to make desirable or necessary improvements

48. Systems Maintenance

49. 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

50. Postimplementation Review Definition: • Periodic review or audit of a system to ensure that it is operating properly and meeting its objectives