1. Systems Analysis and Design 9th Edition
Chapter 12
Managing Systems Support and Security

2. Phase Description
Systems Operation, Support, and Security is the final phase in the systems development life cycle
You will support and maintain the system, handle security issues, protect the integrity of the system and its data, and be alert to any signs of obsolescence
The deliverable for this phase is an operational system that is properly maintained, supported, and secured

3. Chapter Objectives Explain the systems support and security phase
Describe user support activities, including user training and help desks
Define the four types of maintenance
Explain various techniques for managing systems maintenance and support

4. Chapter Objectives
Describe techniques for measuring, managing, and planning system performance
Explain risk management concepts
Assess system security at six levels: physical security, network security, application security, file security, user security, and procedural security

5. Chapter Objectives Describe backup and disaster recovery
List factors indicating that a system has reached the end of its useful life
Assess future challenges and opportunities for IT professionals
Develop a strategic plan for career advancement and strong IT credentials

6. Introduction
Managing systems support and security involves three main concerns: user expectations, system performance, and security requirements
Successful, robust systems often need the most support
In most organizations, more than half of all IT department effort goes into supporting existing systems

7. Overview
The systems support and security phase begins when a system becomes operational and continues until the system reaches the end of its useful life
After delivering the system, the IT team focuses on support and maintenance tasks

8. User Support User Training
Additionally, new employees must be trained on the company’s information systems
User training package
Training users about system changes is similar to initial training
Objective is to show users how the system can help them perform their jobs

9. User Support Help Desks
Enhance productivity and improve utilization of a company’s information resources
The help desk is a central contact point for all IT maintenance activities
Can utilize many types of automated support

10. User Support Outsourcing Issues
Offshore call centers can trim expenses and free up valuable human resources for product development
Critical factors might include phone wait times, support staff performance, and online support tools

11. Maintenance Tasks

12. Maintenance Tasks Corrective Maintenance
Diagnoses and corrects errors in an operational system
Respond to errors in various ways, depending on nature
Worst-case situation is a system failure
When the system is operational again, the maintenance team determines the cause, analyzes the problem, and designs a permanent solution

13. Maintenance Tasks Adaptive Maintenance
Adds enhancements to an operational system and makes the system easier to use
The procedure for minor adaptive maintenance is similar to routine corrective maintenance
Can be more difficult than new systems development because the enhancements must work within the constraints of an existing system

14. Maintenance Tasks Perfective Maintenance
Involves changing an operational system to make it more efficient, reliable and maintainable
Cost-effective during the middle of the system’s operational life
Programs that need a large number of maintenance changes usually are good candidates for reengineering
The more a program changes, the more likely it is to become inefficient and difficult to maintain

15. Maintenance Tasks Preventive Maintenance
Requires analysis of areas where trouble is likely to occur
IT department normally initiates preventive maintenance
Often results in increased user satisfaction, decreased downtime, and reduced TCO
Sometimes does not receive the high priority that it deserves

16. Maintenance Management
The Maintenance Team
System administrator
Systems analysts
Programmers
Organizational issues

17. Maintenance Management
Maintenance Requests
Involve a series of steps
All work must be covered by a specific request
Initial determination
The systems review committee
Task completion
User notification

18. Maintenance Management
Establishing Priorities
In many companies, systems review committee separates maintenance requests from new systems development requests
Some IT managers believe that evaluating all projects together leads to the best possible decisions
Object is to have a procedure that balances new development and necessary maintenance work

19. Maintenance Management
Configuration Management
As enterprise-wide information systems grow more complex, configuration management becomes critical
Also helps to organize and handle documentation

20. Maintenance Management
Maintenance Releases
A numbering pattern distinguishes the different releases
Reduces the documentation burden
Service packs
Version Control
Archived
Essential part of system documentation

21. Maintenance Management
Baselines
Systems analysts use baselines as yardsticks to document features and performance during the systems development process
Functional baseline
Allocated baseline
Product baseline

22. System Performance Management
Fault Management
The more complex the system, the more difficult it can be to analyze symptoms and isolate a cause
The best strategy is to prevent problems by monitoring system performance and workload

23. System Performance Management
Performance and Workload Measurement
Benchmark testing
Metrics
Response time
Bandwidth and throughput
Kbps (kilobits per second)
Mbps (megabits per second)
Gbps (gigabits per second)

24. System Performance Management
Performance and Workload Measurement
Turnaround time
The IT department often measures response time, bandwidth, throughput, and turnaround time to evaluate system performance both before and after changes to the system or business information requirements
Management uses current performance and workload data as input for the capacity planning process

25. System Performance Management
Capacity Planning
What-if analysis
Need detailed information
Need an accurate forecast of future business activities
Should develop contingency plans based on input from users and management

26. System Performance Management
System Maintenance Tools
Many CASE tools include system evaluation and maintenance features
In addition to CASE tools, you also can use spreadsheet and presentation software to calculate trends, perform what-if analyses, and create attractive charts and graphs to display the results

27. System Security Overview
Security is a vital part of every computer system
System Security Concepts
CIA triangle
Integrity
Availability
Security policy

28. System Security Overview
Risk Management
Absolute security is not a realistic goal
Risk identification - exploit
Risk assessment - risk
Risk control
Avoidance, mitigation, transference, acceptance

29. System Security Overview
Attacker Profiles and Attacks
An attack might be launched by a disgruntled employee, or a hacker who is 10,000 miles away
Attackers break into a system to cause damage, steal information, or gain recognition, among other reasons

30. Security Levels Must consider six separate but interrelated levels
Physical Security
First level of security concerns the physical environment
Physical access to a computer represents an entry point into the system and must be controlled and protected

31. Security Levels Physical Security Operations center security
Servers and desktop computers
Notebook computers

32. Security Levels Network Security Network Network interface Encrypted
Encrypting network traffic

33. Security Levels Network Security Wireless networks Private networks
Virtual private networks
Ports and services
Firewalls

34. Security Levels Application Security Services Hardening
Application permissions
Input validation
Patches and updates
Software Logs

35. Security Levels File Security Permissions User Groups Read a file
Write a file
Execute a file
Read a directory
Write a directory
User Groups

36. Security Levels User Security Privilege escalation attack
Identity management
Password protection
Social engineering

37. Security Levels User Security Procedural Security User resistance
New technologies
Security token
Procedural Security
Operational security
Dumpster diving
Paper shredders

38. Backup and Disaster Recovery
Backup Policies
Backup policy
Backup media
Rotation schedule
Offsiting
Backup Types
Retention periods

39. Backup and Disaster Recovery
Backup Policies

40. Backup and Disaster Recovery
Business Continuity Issues
Test plan
Business continuity plan (BCP)
Hot site
Data replication

41. System Obsolescence At some point every system becomes obsolete
Systems operation and support continues until a replacement system is installed
At some point in a system’s operational life, maintenance costs start to increase, users begin to ask for more features and capability, new systems requests are submitted, and the SDLC begins again

42. Future Challenges and Opportunities
Predictions
The highest priorities will be the safety and security of corporate operations, environmental concerns, and bottom-line TCO
Gartner, Inc. is a leading IT consulting firm that is famous for forecasting industry trends
Author Randall Stross notes that the enormous amount of energy needed to drive cloud computing, including Google’s servers, has raised serious environmental concerns

43. Future Challenges and Opportunities
Strategic planning for IT professionals
Working backwards from your long-term goals, you can develop intermediate mile stones and begin to manage your career just as you would manage an IT project
Planning a career is not unlike planting a tree that takes several years to reach a certain height

44. Future Challenges and Opportunities
IT Credentials and Certification
Credentials
Certification
In addition to Microsoft, many other IT industry leaders offer certification, including Cisco, Novell, Oracle, and Sun Microsystems

45. Future Challenges and Opportunities
Critical Thinking Skills
Soft skills
Certiport, Inc. and the Educational Testing Service (ETS) introduced the iCritical Thinking certification exam
Individual and team-based exercises can strengthen critical thinking skills

46. Chapter Summary
Systems support and security covers the entire period from the implementation of an information system until the system no longer is used
A systems analyst’s primary involvement with an operational system is to manage and solve user support requests
Systems analysts need the same talents and abilities for maintenance work as they use when developing a new system
Security is a vital part of every computer system

47. Chapter Summary All information systems eventually become obsolete
An IT professional should have a strategic career plan that includes long-term goals and intermediate milestones
An important element of a personal strategic plan is the acquisition of IT credentials and certifications that document specific knowledge and skills
Chapter 12 complete