Chapter 6 SYSTEMS DEVELOPMENT Phases, Tools, and Techniques

1. Chapter 6 SYSTEMS DEVELOPMENTPhases, Tools, and Techniques

2. STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES Define the traditional systems development life cycle (SDLC) - describe the 7 major its phases. Describe the self-sourcing process as an alternative to the traditional SDLC. Discuss the importance of prototyping within any systems development methodology Describe the outsourcing environment and how outsourcing works.

3. SAVING LIVES THROUGH SYSTEMS DEVELOPMENT Centers for Disease Control (CDC) tracks a wealth of information Antimicrobial-resistant infections in hospitals Influenza outbreaks Terrorist biochemical attacks Bacteria counts in rivers and stagnant ponds, etc Unfortunately, most of that information is stored in separate IT systems that do not communicate with each other

4. SAVING LIVES THROUGH SYSTEMS DEVELOPMENT The CDC is using a service-oriented architecture (SoA) to integrate all those systems and information An SoA treats every component of an IT system – a database file, a server, a CRM software solution, etc – as a building block Within an SoA, those building blocks can be “plugged and played” so that everything works together in an integrated fashion

5. SAVING LIVES THROUGH SYSTEMS DEVELOPMENT Questions to think about… If all computers use a common binary base language, why is it so difficult to get computer systems to communicate with each other? In systems development, prototyping is used to build a model of a proposed system. How have you used prototyping in your personal life?

6. INTRODUCTION Information systems are the support structure for meeting the company’s strategies and goals New systems are created because employees request them New systems are created to obtain a competitive advantage

7. INTRODUCTION When developing a new system, you have 3 “who” choices… Insourcing – IT specialists inside your organization Selfsourcing – do-it-yourself approach many end users take with little/no help from IT specialists Outsourcing – a third-party organization (i.e., let someone do the work and pay them for it)

8. INSOURCING AND THE SDLC Systems development life cycle (SDLC) A structured step-by-step approach for developing information systems 7 distinct phases, each with well-defined activities Also called a waterfall methodology - each phase of the SDLC leads to another, from planning through implementation

9. SDLC as a Waterfall Methodology

10. SDLC Phases & Major Activities

11. Phase 1: Planning Create a solid plan for developing your information system Define the system to be developed You can’t build every system, so you make choices based on your organization’s priorities, which may be expressed as critical success factors Critical success factor (CSF) - a factor simply critical to your organization’s success

12. Phase 1: Planning Set the project scope - clearly define the high-level system requirements Scope creep - occurs when the scope of the project increases Feature creep - occurs when developers add extra features that were not part of the initial requirements Project scope document - a written definition of the project scope and is usually no longer than a paragraph

13. Phase 1: Planning Develop the project plan including tasks, resources, and time-frames Project plan - defines the what, when, and who questions of system development Project manager - an expert in project planning and management, defines and develops the project plan and tracks the plan to ensure all key project milestones are completed on time Project milestones - represent key dates for which you need a certain group of activities performed

14. Phase 1: Planning

15. Phase 2: Analysis End users and IT specialists work together to: Gather, and understand the business requirements for the proposed system The detailed set of knowledge worker requests the system must meet to succeed Business requirements address the “why” and “what” of your development activities Joint application development (JAD) - knowledge workers and IT specialists meet, sometimes for days, to define the business requirements for the system Prioritize / document business requirements

16. Phase 2: Analysis

17. Phase 3: Design Build a technical blueprint of how the proposed system will work Design the technical architecture Defines hardware, software, telecommunications equipment required to run the system Design system models Includes GUI screens users will interface with, database designs, report formats, software steps Starting with design, user participates less - acts more as a “quality control” function, ensuring that the IT people are designing a system to meet user’s needs

18. Phase 4: Development Take all of the detailed design documents from the design phase and transform them into an actual system Build the technical architecture Build the database and programs Both of these activities are mostly performed by IT specialists

19. Phase 5: Testing Verifies that the system works and meets all of the business requirements defined in the analysis phase Write the test conditions Detailed steps the system must perform along with the expected results of each step Perform the testing of the system Unit testing – tests individual units of code System testing – units of code function correctly when integrated Integration testing – separate systems work together User acceptance testing (UAT) – system satisfies the business requirements

20. Phase 6: Implementation Distribute the system to all users who begin using the system to perform their everyday jobs Two primary implementation activities Write detailed user documentation Highlights how to use the system Provide training for the system users

21. Phase 6: Implementation Choose appropriate implementation method Parallel implementation – use both the old and new system simultaneously Plunge implementation – discard the old system completely and use the new Pilot implementation – start with small groups of people on new system and gradually add more users Phased implementation – implement the new system in phases

22. Phase 7: Maintenance Monitor and support the new system to ensure it continues to meet the business goals Build a help desk to support the system users Provide an environment to support system changes

23. SELFSOURCING Self-sourcing (end-user development) Development and support of IT systems by end users with little or no help from IT specialists Do-it-yourself systems development approach Can relieve IT specialists of the burden of developing many smaller systems

24. Self-sourcing Approach Is similar to traditional SDLC But … design, development, testing, and implementation are replaced by the process of prototyping Prototyping is the process of building models, and continually refining them until they become the final system

25. Self-sourcing Approach

26. Self-sourcing Advantages Improves requirements determination Increases end user participation and sense of ownership Increases speed of systems development

27. Self-sourcing Disadvantages Inadequate end user expertise leads to inadequately developed systems Lack of organizational focus creates “privatized” IT systems Insufficient analysis of design alternatives leads to subpar IT systems Lack of documentation and external support leads to short-lived systems

28. PROTOTYPING A model of a proposed product, service, or system The process (4 steps) of building a model that demonstrates the features of a proposed product, service, or system Identify basic requirements Develop initial prototype User review Revise and enhance the prototype

29. The Prototyping Process

30. Advantages of Prototyping Encourages active user participation  Helps resolve discrepancies among users Gives users a feel for the final system Helps determine technical feasibility  Helps sell the idea of a proposed system

31. Disadvantages of Prototyping Leads people to believe the final system will follow Gives no indication of performance under operational conditions Leads the project team to forgo proper testing and documentation

32. OUTSOURCING Hiring a third party to develop a specified system for a specified length of time, at a specified cost, and at a specified level of service Four approaches: Purchase existing software Purchase existing software and pay the publisher to make certain modifications Purchase existing software and pay the publisher for the right to make modifications yourself Outsource the development of an entirely new and unique system for which no software exists

33. Outsourcing Process

34. The Advantages of Outsourcing Focus on unique core competencies Exploit the intellect of another organization Better predict future costs Acquire leading-edge technology Reduce costs Improve performance accountability

35. The Disadvantages of Outsourcing Reduces technical know-how for future innovation Reduces degree of control Increases vulnerability of your strategic information Increases dependency on other organizations