Principles of Information Systems Eighth Edition

Chapter 12 Systems Development: Investigation and Analysis

Principles and Learning Objectives (continued)

Systems development starts with investigation and analysis of existing systems
State the purpose of systems investigation Discuss the importance of performance and cost objectives State the purpose of systems analysis and discuss some of the tools and techniques used in this phase of systems development

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Why Learn About Systems Development?

Important to learn how to:
Initiate systems development process Analyze your needs with help of IS personnel

Learn how a project can be:

Planned Aligned with corporate goals Rapidly developed

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An Overview of Systems Development

Today, users of information systems are involved in their development Avoid costly failures of system development projects by understanding the process

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Participants in Systems Development

Development team
Determines objectives of the information system Delivers system that meets objectives

Stakeholders
People who ultimately benefit from project

Users Managers

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Participants in Systems Development (continued)

Systems development specialists
Systems analysts Programmers

Support personnel

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Participants in Systems Development (continued)

Figure 12.1: Role of the Systems Analyst

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Initiating Systems Development

Systems development initiatives
Arise from all levels of an organization Can be planned or unplanned

Number of reasons for initiating systems development projects

Infrastructure protection, mergers, acquisitions, federal regulations, etc.

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Initiating Systems Development (continued)

Figure 12.2: Typical Reasons to Initiate a Systems Development Project

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Information Systems Planning and Aligning Corporate and IS Goals

Information systems planning: translating strategic and organizational goals into systems development initiatives Aligning organizational goals and IS goals
Critical for successful systems development effort

Developing a competitive advantage

Creative analysis
New approaches to existing problems

Critical analysis
Unbiased, careful questioning of relationship among system elements
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Information Systems Planning and Aligning Corporate and IS Goals (continued)

Figure 12.3: Information Systems Planning

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Information Systems Planning and Aligning Corporate and IS Goals (continued)

Figure 12.4: The Steps of IS Planning

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Establishing Objectives for Systems Development

Overall objective of systems development: achieve business goals, not technical goals Mission-critical systems: play pivotal role in organizations continued operations and goal attainment Goals defined for an organization also define objectives Critical success factors (CSFs): factors essential to success of a functional area of an organization
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Establishing Objectives for Systems Development (continued)

Performance objectives
Output quality or usefulness Output accuracy Output format quality or usefulness Speed at which output is produced Scalability of resulting system Risk of the system

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Establishing Objectives for Systems Development (continued)

Cost objectives
Development costs Costs of uniqueness of system application Fixed investments in hardware and related equipment Ongoing operating costs

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Systems Development Life Cycles

Activities associated with systems development life cycle (SDLC) are ongoing The later in the SDLC an error is detected, the more expensive it is to correct
Previous phases must be reworked More people are affected

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Systems Development Life Cycles (continued)

Figure 12.5: Relationship Between Timing of Errors and Costs

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Systems Development Life Cycles (continued)

Common systems development life cycles
Traditional Prototyping Rapid application development (RAD) End-user development

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The Traditional Systems Development Life Cycle

Figure 12.6: The Traditional Systems Development Life Cycle

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The Traditional Systems Development Life Cycle (continued)

Systems investigation: identifies problems and opportunities and considers them in light of business goals Systems analysis: studies existing systems and work processes to identify strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities for improvement Systems design: defines how the information system will do what it must do to obtain the problems solution

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The Traditional Systems Development Life Cycle (continued)

Systems implementation: creates or acquires various system components detailed in systems design, assembles them, and places new or modified system into operation Systems maintenance and review: ensures the system operates as intended and modifies the system so that it continues to meet changing business needs

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Prototyping
An iterative approach Operational prototype: functioning prototype
Accesses real data files, edits input data, makes necessary computations and comparisons, and produces real output

Nonoperational prototype: a mock-up, or model

Includes output and input specifications and formats

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Prototyping (continued)

Figure 12.7: Prototyping

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Prototyping (continued)

Figure 12.8: Refining During Prototyping

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Rapid Application Development, Agile Development, Joint Application Development, and Other Systems Development Approaches
Rapid application development (RAD): employs tools, techniques, and methodologies designed to speed application development
Makes extensive use of joint application development (JAD) for data collection and requirements analysis
JAD often uses GSS software

Best suited for DSSs and MISs; less well suited for TPSs
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Rapid Application Development, Agile Development, Joint Application Development, and Other Systems Development Approaches
Approaches that allow systems to change as they are developed
Agile development: frequent face-to-face meetings with developers and users to refine and test system Extreme programming (XP): pairs of programmers design, test, and code system iteratively

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The End-User Systems Development Life Cycle

End-user systems development: primary effort is undertaken by a combination of business managers and users Can be structured as complementary to, rather than in conflict with, existing and emerging information systems

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Outsourcing and On-Demand Computing

Reduces costs Obtains state-of-the-art technology Eliminates staffing and personnel problems Increases technological flexibility

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Outsourcing and On-Demand Computing (continued)

Table 12.4: When to Use Outsourcing for Systems Development

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Factors Affecting Systems Development Success

Successful systems development: delivers a system that meets user and organizational needs on time and within budget Factors
Involvement of users and stakeholders Top management support Degree of change Quality of project planning Use of project management and CASE tools Object-oriented systems development
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Degree of Change
Continuous improvement projects
High degree of success Relatively modest benefits

Reengineering projects
High degree of risk High potential for major business benefits

Managing change
Ability to recognize and deal with existing or potential problems

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Degree of Change (continued)

Figure 12.10: The degree of change can greatly affect the probability of a projects success
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Quality and Standards

Quality of project planning
Bigger the project, the more likely that poor planning will lead to significant problems

Trade-off of schedule and cost versus quality

ISO 9001 standards

Organizational experience with systems development process

Capability Maturity Model (CMM)

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Use of Project Management Tools

Project schedule: detailed description of what is to be done Project milestone: critical date for completion of a major part of the project Project deadline: date that the entire project is to be completed and operational Critical path: activities that, if delayed, would delay the entire project

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Use of Project Management Tools (continued)

Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT): formalized approach for developing a project schedule Gantt chart: graphical tool used for planning, monitoring, and coordinating projects

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Use of Computer-Aided Software Engineering (CASE) Tools

Tools that automate many tasks required in a systems development effort and encourage adherence to SDLC Upper-CASE tools
Investigation, analysis, and design phases

Lower-CASE tools
Implementation phase

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Object-Oriented Systems Development

Object-oriented systems development (OOSD): combines logic of systems development life cycle with power of object-oriented modeling and programming OOSD tasks
Identify potential problems and opportunities that would be appropriate for OO approach Define user requirements

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Object-Oriented Systems Development (continued)

OOSD tasks (continued)
Design system Program or modify modules User evaluation Periodic review and modification

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Systems Investigation
What primary problems might a new or enhanced system solve? What opportunities might a new or enhanced system provide? What new hardware, software, databases, telecommunications, personnel, or procedures will improve an existing system or are required in a new system? What are the potential costs (variable and fixed)? What are the associated risks?
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Initiating Systems Investigation

Systems request form: submitted by someone who wants IS department to initiate systems investigation
Problems in or opportunities for system Objectives of systems investigation Overview of proposed system Expected costs and benefits of proposed system

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Participants in Systems Investigation

Members of development team change from phase to phase Systems investigation team
Upper- and middle-level managers, a project manager, IS personnel, users, and stakeholders

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Participants in Systems Investigation (continued)

Figure 12.12: The Systems Investigation Team

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Feasibility Analysis

Figure 12.13: Technical, Economic, Legal, Operational, and Schedule Feasibility

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Object-Oriented Systems Investigation

Key objects can be identified during systems investigation Use case diagram
Represents system objects (actors) and use cases (events)

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Object-Oriented Systems Investigation (continued)

Figure 12.14: Use Case Diagram for a Kayak Rental Application

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The Systems Investigation Report

Summarizes results of systems investigation Summarizes the process of feasibility analysis Recommends a course of action
Continue on into systems analysis Modify the project in some manner Drop the project

Reviewed by steering committee

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The Systems Investigation Report (continued)

Figure 12.15: A Typical Table of Contents for a Systems Investigation Report

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Systems Analysis
Overall emphasis of analysis
Gathering data on existing system Determining requirements for new system Considering alternatives Investigating feasibility of solutions

Primary outcome of systems analysis

Prioritized list of systems requirements

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General Considerations
Steps of a formalized analysis procedure
Assembling participants for systems analysis Collecting data and requirements Analyzing data and requirements Preparing a report on existing system, new system requirements, and project priorities

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Participants in Systems Analysis

Includes members of the original investigation team Systems analysis team develops:
List of objectives and activities Schedule Deadlines Statement of resources required Major milestones

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Data Collection
Identifying sources of data
Internal sources External sources

Collecting data
Interviews Direct observation Questionnaires

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Data Collection (continued)

Figure 12.16: Internal and External Sources of Data for Systems Analysis
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Data Collection (continued)

Figure 12.17: The Steps in Data Collection

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Data Analysis
Data modeling
Entity-relationship (ER) diagrams

Activity modeling
Data-flow diagram (DFD)
Symbols: data-flow line, process, entity, data store

Application flowcharts Grid charts CASE tools

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Data Analysis (continued)

Figure 12.19: A Telephone Order Process Application Flowchart

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Data Analysis (continued)

Figure 12.20: A Grid Chart

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Requirements Analysis
Determination of user, stakeholder, and organizational needs Techniques
Asking directly Critical success factors (CSFs) IS plan: generates strategic planning documents Screen and report layout Requirements analysis tools

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Requirements Analysis (continued)

Figure 12.21: Converting Organizational Goals into Systems Requirements

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Object-Oriented Systems Analysis

Identify problems or potential opportunities Identify key participants and collect data Analyze with object-oriented diagrams instead of data-flow diagrams and flowcharts
Organize classes and subclasses in a generalization/specialization hierarchy diagram

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Object-Oriented Systems Analysis (continued)

Figure 12.23: Generalization/Specialization Hierarchy Diagram for Single and Tandem Kayak Classes
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The Systems Analysis Report

Strengths and weaknesses of existing system from a stakeholders perspective User/stakeholder requirements for new system (also called functional requirements) Organizational requirements for new system Description of what new information system should do to solve the problem

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The Systems Analysis Report (continued)

Figure 12.24: A Typical Table of Contents for a Report on an Existing System

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Summary
Information systems planning: translation of strategic and organizational goals into systems development initiatives Aligning organizational goals and IS goals is critical for any successful systems development effort Common systems development life cycles: traditional, prototyping, rapid application development (RAD), and end-user development

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Summary (continued)
Phases of traditional systems development life cycle: systems investigation, systems analysis, systems design, systems implementation, and systems maintenance and review Systems investigation: problems and opportunities are identified and considered in light of goals of the business Systems analysis: study of existing systems and work processes to identify strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities for improvement
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Summary (continued)
Computer-Aided Software Engineering (CASE) tools: automate many tasks required in a systems development effort and enforce adherence to SDLC Object-oriented systems development: combines the logic of systems development life cycle with the power of object-oriented modeling and programming

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