1. SYSTEMS DEVELOPMENT Phases, Tools, and Techniques
Chapter 6
SYSTEMS DEVELOPMENT
Phases, Tools, and Techniques

2. OPENING CASE STUDY Developing Enter the Matrix
It took over four years to develop Enter the Matrix videogame based on the movie The Matrix
New technological features include motion capture, virtual modeling, action, and zoom
The movie industry is releasing video games on the same date as movies

3. OPENING CASE STUDY
Building new systems, such as Enter the Matrix, is the focus of this chapter
Information systems are developed using the systems development life cycle
Information systems are developed through either insourcing, selfsourcing, or outsourcing

4. INTRODUCTION
Information systems are the support structure for meeting the company’s strategies and goals
Information systems help knowledge workers perform their jobs

5. INSOURCING AND THE SYSTEMS DEVELOPMENT LIFE CYCLE
Systems development life cycle (SDLC) - a structured step-by-step approach for developing information systems

6. INSOURCING AND THE SYSTEMS DEVELOPMENT LIFE CYCLE

7. INSOURCING AND THE SYSTEMS DEVELOPMENT LIFE CYCLE
Three choices for building a system include:
IT specialists within your organization - insourcing
Knowledge workers such as yourself – selfsourcing
Another organization – outsourcing

8. INSOURCING AND THE SYSTEMS DEVELOPMENT LIFE CYCLE

9. Phase 1: Planning
Planning phase - involves determining a solid plan for developing your information system
Three primary planning activities:
Define the system to be developed
Critical success factor (CSF) - a factor simply critical to your organization’s success

10. Phase 1: Planning Set the project scope
Project scope - clearly defines the high-level system requirements
Project scope document - a written definition of the project scope and is usually no longer than a paragraph

11. Phase 1: Planning
Develop the project plan including tasks, resources, and timeframes
Project plan - defines the what, when, and who questions of system development

12. Phase 1: Planning Your role during planning
Defining which systems to develop
Developing the project plan
Project manager - an individual who is 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

13. Phase 1: Planning Keys to Success Manage your project plan
Project milestones - represent key dates for which you need a certain group of activities performed
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

14. Phase 2: Analysis
Analysis phase - involves end users and IT specialists working together to gather, understand, and document the business requirements for the proposed system
The primary analysis activity:
Gather the business requirements
Business requirements - the detailed set of knowledge worker requests that the system must meet in order to be successful

15. Phase 2: Analysis
Joint application development (JAD) - knowledge workers and IT specialists meet, sometimes for several days, to define or review the business requirements for the system
Requirements definition document – prioritizes the business requirements and places them in a formal comprehensive document
Sign-off - the knowledge workers’ actual signatures indicating they approve all of the business requirements

16. Phase 2: Analysis Your role during analysis Keys to success
Perform detailed review of business requirements
Keys to success
Find errors early
The later in the SDLC you find errors, the more expensive they are to fix

17. Phase 2: Analysis

18. Phase 3: Design
Design phase - build a technical blueprint of how the proposed system will work
Two primary design activities:
Design the technical architecture required to support the system
Technical architecture - defines the hardware, software, and telecommunications equipment required to run the system

19. Phase 3: Design Design system models
Modeling - the activity of drawing a graphical representation of a design
Graphical user interface (GUI) - the interface to an information system
GUI screen design - the ability to model the information system screens for an entire system

20. Phase 3: Design Your role during design Keys to success
Decreases as business process expert
Increases as quality control analyst
Keys to success
Determine future requirements

21. Phase 4: Development
Development phase - take all of your detailed design documents from the design phase and transform them into an actual system
Two primary development activities:
Build the technical architecture
Build the database and programs

22. Phase 4: Development Your role during development Keys to success
Confirm changes to business requirements
Track task progress
Keys to success
Take advantage of changing technologies

23. Phase 5: Testing
Testing phase - verifies that the system works and meets all of the business requirements defined in the analysis phase
Two primary testing activities:
Write the test conditions
Test conditions - the detailed steps the system must perform along with the expected results of each step

24. Phase 5: Testing Perform the testing of the system
Unit testing – tests individual units of code
System testing – verifies that the units of code function correctly when integrated
Integration testing – verifies that separate systems work together
User acceptance testing (UAT) – determines if the system satisfies the business requirements

25. Phase 5: Testing Your role during testing Keys to success
Quality assurance expert
Keys to success
Always complete the testing phase

26. Phase 6: Implementation
Implementation phase - distribute the system to all of the knowledge workers and they begin using the system to perform their everyday jobs
Two primary implementation activities
Write detailed user documentation
User documentation - highlights how to use the system

27. Phase 6: Implementation
Provide training for the system users
Online training - runs over the Internet or off a CD-ROM
Workshop training - is held in a classroom environment and lead by an instructor

28. Phase 6: Implementation
Your role during implementation
Attend training
Perform training

29. Phase 6: Implementation
Keys to success
Choose the right 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 the new system and gradually add more users
Phased implementation – implement the new system in phases

30. Phase 7: Maintenance
Maintenance phase - monitor and support the new system to ensure it continues to meet the business goals
Two primary maintenance activities:
Build a help desk to support the system users
Help desk - a group of people who responds to knowledge workers’ questions
Provide an environment to support system changes

31. Phase 7: Maintenance Your role during maintenance Keys to success
Ensure all knowledge workers have the support they require to use the system
Keys to success
All knowledge workers and IT specialists must work together

32. SELFSOURCING AND PROTOTYPING
Selfsourcing (also called knowledge worker development or end user development) - the development and support of IT systems by knowledge workers with little or no help from IT specialists

33. The Selfsourcing Process

34. The Selfsourcing Process
The advantages of selfsourcing
Improves requirements determination
Increases knowledge worker participation and sense of ownership
Increases speed of systems development

35. The Selfsourcing Process
Potential pitfalls and risks of selfsourcing
Inadequate knowledge worker 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