Managing Systems Development December 4, 2014

Definitions Off-the-Shelf software – Standard (not custom) software applications that can be purchased from computer store. Custom software – Tailor-made software specially developed to meet a specific organization's needs and requirements. In-house system development – Developing software applications using internal IT staff 2

Opening case A company specialized in recycling nuclear material technicians need to use a software program for entering and processing data in order to generate technical reports Off-the-shelf software not available The company has an IT staff with technical knowledge but need an experienced IT consultant to help develop a custom made system. 3

Opening case: Question Where do you start? What are the few things that needed to be done to start the process? – 4

LEARNING GOALS Explain the purpose of systems development methodologies - SDM. Discuss the major phases of the traditional Systems Development Life Cycle (SDLC) methodology. Discuss Alternative SDM 5

Systems Development Methodology? The process companies go through to develop and maintain an information system Framework for successful IS development A System Development Methodology is used – For building a new system – Or for modifying an existing system Examples of SDM: – System Development Life Cycle - Prototyping – Joint Application Development - Rapid Application Development 6

Systems Development Methodology? The process companies go through to develop and maintain an information system Framework for successful IS development A System Development Methodology is used – For building a new system – Or for modifying an existing system Examples of SDM: – System Development Life Cycle - Prototyping – Joint Application Development - Rapid Application Development 7

Questions Which of the following is true about SDM? a)They provide guidelines for developing IS and maintaining them which includes upgrading and improving them. b)SDM are needed when a brand new IS has to be developed, but you don’t need to use a SDM when it comes to modifying an existing IS. c)When a company is engaged in developing an IS, the process involves the company’s employees who would be the potential users of the IS, and IS professionals like system analysts and programmers. But it doesn’t involve the company’s management d)All of the above

Traditional Systems Development Life Cycle (SDLC) Seven phases 1)Planning5) Testing 2)Systems Analysis6) Implementation 3)Systems Design7) Maintenance 4)Development Typically one phase needs to be completed before beginning the next Problem in later phase may require return to previous phase Planning Analysis Design Development Testing Implementation Maintenance 9

Questions In SDLC, the 7 phases are typically followed in a sequential order, which means we don’t return to a previous phase in any circumstances  True  False During the Implementation phase of the SDLC, the Development team encounters some serious problems. Which of the following phases may be the culprit?  Planning  Design  Testing  Analysis  Development  Maintenance 10

Planning Feasibility analyses – Technical Analysis Do the technologies exist to develop the system? – Economic Analysis Can the organization afford the system? Will it provide an adequate Benefit? – Operational Analysis (i.e. assessing the human factors that could make the project fail) Resistance to change Organizational politics System development schedule – Is the proposed development time line realistic? – Is the programming team available during Programming step? Planning performed by Project Manager using – Search and investigation (e.g. for technical analysis step) – Total Cost of Ownership analysis – Project Management software Feasibility Analyses System Development Schedule 11

Systems Analysis Systems analyst works with company to fully understand the problem, and to detail the requirements of the proposed system Step 1: Analyze current system – Objectives: Understand what things are done and how (business processes) Identify any problems associated w/ current business processes – Techniques used: Talking to employees (potential users) Conducting interviews Observing employees at work Analyze current system Define new system requirements 12

Systems Analysis Step 2: Define new system’s requirements – Main Objective: Specify What need to be done (not how to do it) – To be defined: Input requirements (nature of data, source, etc.) Processing requirements Output requirements (Types of reports, content, etc.) Storage requirements – Tools and techniques used: Data flow diagrams (DFD) – Start with high level process – Add more levels with increased levels of detail Computer-Aided Software Engineering (CASE) tools – Software that eases the systems development process Analyze current system Define new system requirements 13

Questions During what SDLC phase software programs like Microsoft Project could be used? a)Maintenance b)Implementation c)Development d)System Analysis e)Planning f)None of the above Which of the following tools or techniques could be used during the System Analysis phase of the SDLC? (Choose all correct answers) a)Interviews b)Observing future users doing their job c)Using pseudocode d)Using software programs to draw data flow diagrams e)All of the above 14

Questions What kind of feasibility analysis seeks to determine if an organization can afford the new information system and if the system will provide the adequate benefits? a)Operational Feasibility b)Financial Feasibility c)Economic Feasibility d)Beneficial Feasibility e)None of the above During the Development phase of a new medical IS, the development team finds out that most of the technologies needed to develop and implement the system are not yet available on the market. At what step of the SDLC that kind of problem should have been identified? a)Maintenance b)Implementation c)Development d)System Analysis e)Planning f)None of the above 15

Data Flow Diagrams (DFD) Data flow Process External Entity Data storage. Symbolized by an arrow.. Shows data being passed from or to a process. Symbolized by a rectangle or a curved rectangle.. Action performed by people of organizational units in order to transform input into output OR Action performed by people in the organizational units to help the units achieve their objectives Symbolized by a square, an external entity is something (person, group, department, etc.) outside the system that interacts with the system by providing input or receiving information. Used to store data in the system. Represents a file, a database, etc. 16

Exercise 1: DFD Use Data Flow Diagram to illustrate your school’s registration system. Assume that Students are external entities. Also assume that the three processes involved in course registration are: – Verify Course availability: after receiving a course request from a student. This involves checking the Course file – Enroll the student: in the course after verifying course availability. This involves updating the Student file. – Confirm registration. This involves writing an confirmation letter and sending it to the student 17

Exercise 2: DFD Do the Lincoln Pizza’s ordering system DFD exercise available at: se.htm 18

Systems Design Using the requirements from the Systems Analysis phase to design the new or modified system. – Logical systems design Details the system’s functionality (what it should do?) Uses Structure charts to create top-down representation of system’s modules Uses System flowcharts to show relationships between modules – Physical systems design Specifies all of the actual components (hardware, network, databases) used to implement the logical design – The design must be frozen at end of this phase to prevent the system from growing indefinitely in terms of its scope and features Scope creep (continuous growth in a project's scope) Features creep continuous growth in a project's features) Performed by system designer or (system analyst in some case) Logical system design Physical system design 19

Development Programming is usually the most difficult and time consuming in the Development phase. Development performed by programmers, database developers, and network engineers Programmers use Program Development Cycle 1)Review the input, processing, output, and storage requirements 2)Develop the logic of the programs (using Flowcharts and Pseudo code) 3)Write the programs using code generators & programming languages 4)Test and debug the programs 5)Complete the programs documentation Writing programs Implementing networks components Creating databases 20

Development tools Program Flowchart: Graphical illustration of the problem-solving logic within a program Pseudocode: English-language statements that describe the processing steps of a program in paragraph form. Programming languages: -Java -C++ -Visual Basic -Etc. Code generators: Software that generate programs that programmers could modify. 21

Questions During what phase of the SDLC the Database component of a new system is created? a)Maintenance b)Implementation c)Development d)System Analysis e)Planning f)None of the above During what phase of the SDLC code generators could be used? a)Maintenance b)Implementation c)Development d)System Analysis e)Planning f)None of the above 22

Testing Programmers test modules Do they return proper outputs? Do they handle incorrect data appropriately? Development team do unit testing i.e. testing how modules work together System testing (software along with database and network component) – Verification: Testing system in simulated environment with simulated data – Validation: Testing system in real working environment with real data 23

Implementation Implementation strategies – Direct cutover: Quick change to new system – Parallel conversion: Old and new systems used in parallel for a while. – Pilot testing: New system installed at only one location or one department – Staged conversion: Only one part of the system installed, then another part is installed. User training 24

Maintenance Maintenance counts for as much as 80% of the total cost of an information system Tasks – Correcting errors found during implementation – System enhancements Incremental upgrades Addition of major new features 25

Questions The implementation strategy in which the old system is immediately replaced by the new one is called: a)Staged conversion b)Direct cutover c)Systematic testing d)None of the above Validation testing performed during the Testing phase of the SDLC ensures that the system is working properly in the real working environment using real data. a)True b)False 26

SDLC: Recap StepsKey actorsTools/Techniques 1. PlanningProject ManagerTCO, Project Management software 2. System AnalysisSystem Analyst, Users.Interviews, observing users at work, DFD 3. System DesignSystem analyst (or system designer)System Flowchart, Structure chart 4. DevelopmentProgrammers, database developers, network engineers Program Flowchart, Pseudo code, programming languages 5. TestingDevelopment team, UsersModules’ testing, units’ testing, System’s testing (verification, validation) 6. ImplementationDevelopment team, UsersDirect cutover, parallel conversion, pilot testing, staged conversion 7. Maintenanceinternal IS staff, external consultant

Summary Questions BookNotes 1)What is a System Development Methodology? What is it used for? 2) What are the 7 phases of the SDLC methodology? 3)What kind of Feasibility analyses need to be performed during the Planning phase? Why is the system development schedule important? 4)What are the two steps in the Systems Analysis phase? What techniques and tools are used during the Systems Analysis phase? 5)What tools do programmers usually use during the Development phase? 6)What is the difference between the Verification and the Validation tests performed during systems testing? 28

29 Problems with Traditional SDLC SDLC is time consuming SDLC is not flexible (sequential process) SDLC gets users’ inputs ONLY during Systems analysis. Design is frozen at end of System Design

30 Question 1 Which of the following is true about SDLC? a)It might take years to develop and implement a working information system b)Multiple teams could work simultaneously on different phases c)It is the best methodology for situations where the needs and requirements are likely to change during the development process d)All of the above

31 Prototyping A SDM that addresses: – Time consuming issue associated with SDLC – SDLC’s inability to take care of new requirements A SDM in which the Development team uses limited set of users requirements to quickly build a working model of the proposed system – a prototype.

32 Prototyping Actors Development team, Users System analyst, programmer Users System analyst, programmer Identify basic requirements Develop a prototype Is User satisfied? Use the prototype Revise the prototype Operational prototype Develop final system (improved prototype) YES NO

33 Prototyping Advantages – Working model ready quickly – Works in situation where requirements are changing – Works in situations where users cannot explicitly express their requirements Disadvantage – Only a limited number of users involved. So, subject to potential implementation problem.

34 Joint Application Development (JAD) A SDM that addresses: – The limited scale of users involvement problem of Prototyping – Potential implementation problem due to limited users involvement A SDM that brings together the Development team and a significant number of users to define system requirements and develop a prototype.

35 Joint Application Development (JAD) Identify a valid sample of users Set a JAD team ( Users, IS professionals, scribe ) Run the 1 st JAD session (JAD team + Facilitator) Develop system prototype ( based on agreed requirements ) Run the 2 nd JAD session (JAD team + Facilitator) Improve system prototype ( based on JAD session results ) Objectives Identify agreed upon systems requirements Test the system and identify agreed changes

36 Question 2 Which of the following is true about a JAD facilitator? (Choose all that apply) a)Could be an outside consultant b)Is the scribe who takes notes c)Is responsible for coordinating the JAD sessions d)Is responsible for developing the system based on the agreed upon requirements e)All of the above

37 Joint Application Development (JAD) Advantages: – Helps alleviate conflicting requirements – Its greater users involvement leads to greater user acceptance of final system Disadvantages – Could be expensive and time consuming