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ITM 3060 Information Technology Management > Chapter 12 Systems Planning and Developement > Flashcards

Chapter 12 Systems Planning and Developement Flashcards

1
Q

Planning Information Systems

A
  • Enterprise ISs are gaining in popularity
  • IS resource investment considerations
    • Require a substantial investment
    • Carry a high risk in implementation
  • Successful integration of the system is vital
    • Must align IT strategies with the overall organization strategies
  • Careful planning of an IS implementation is necessary
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2
Q

IS resource investment considerations

A
  • Require a substantial investment

- Carry a high risk in implementation

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3
Q

Steps in Planning Information Systems

A

Key steps in IT planning

  • Create a corporate and IT mission statement
  • Articulate the vision for IT within the organization
  • Create IT strategic and tactical plans
  • Create a plan for operations to achieve the mission and vision
  • Create a budget to ensure that resources are available to achieve the mission and vision
  • IT planning is similar to planning of other resource acquisitions
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4
Q

Steps associated w/ IS planning (example)

A 
Coporate Mission
IT Mission
IT Vision
IT Strategic Plan 
IT Tactical Plans
Plans for Operations
Budget
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5
Q

Mission statement

A

communicates the most important overarching goal of organization
-includes how the goal will be acheived

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6
Q

IT mission statement

A

describes the role of IT in the organization

  • Should be compatible with the organizational mission statement
  • Includes the ideal combination of hardware, software, and networking to support the mission
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7
Q

strategic plan for implementation of IT in the organization

A

developed by CIO

  • addresses what technology will be used by employees, customers, and suppliers
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8
Q

Goals in strategic plan for implementation of IT in the organization

A

goals are broken down to objectives:

  • Resources to be acquired or developed
  • Timetables for acquiring and implementing resources
  • Training
  • Objectives are broken down to operational details
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9
Q

Growing proportion of IT funds is spent on software in recent years

A
  • More purchasing and adapting of software

- Less developing in-house software

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10
Q

The Benefits of Standardization in Planning

A
  • standardization
  • Cost savings: better bargaining power in purchasing and leasing hardware and software
  • Efficient training: a smaller variety of software reduces employee training needs
  • Efficient support: enables more staff specialization
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11
Q

2 general approaches from planning to development

A
  • Systems development life cycle (SDLC), the traditional approach
  • Nontraditional methods, including agile methods

The two development approaches are not necessarily mutually exclusive

(same for in-house or purchased systems)

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12
Q

Prototyping

A

fast development of an application based on initial user requirements

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13
Q

Systems development may involve progressive elaboration…..why?

A

As more information and knowledge is available, a vision of an initiative continually develops and influences the final product

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14
Q

SDLC

A

systems development life cycle

Large ISs are conceived, planned, and developed within the framework

  • Also known as “waterfall” development
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15
Q

Major sequential phases of SDLC

A
  • Analysis
  • Design
  • Implementation
  • Support
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16
Q

Systems analysis: a five-step process

A
  1. Investigation
    • Small ad hoc team performs a preliminary investigation by interviewing employees
  2. Technical feasibility study
    • determines if:
      • Components exist or can be developed
      • The organization has adequate hardware
  3. Economic feasibility study
    • Cost/benefit analysis: spreadsheet showing all costs and benefits of the proposed system
    • Return on investment (ROI): difference between the stream of benefits and the stream of costs over the life of the syste
  4. Operational feasibility study
    • Software license fees, maintenance personnel, telecommunications, power, and computer-related supplies
  • Total cost of ownership (TCO): a financial estimate for business leaders to objectively and accurately evaluate the direct and indirect costs of a new organizational project
  • Organizational culture: general tone of the corporate environment
    • Must determine the new system’s compatibility with the organizational culture
  1. Requirements definition
    - System requirements: detail the functions and features expected from the new system
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17
Q

Feasibility studies

A

a larger analysis conducted after preliminary results indicate an IS is warranted

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18
Q

TCO

A

Total cost of ownership :

a financial estimate for business leaders to objectively and accurately evaluate the direct and indirect costs of a new organizational project

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19
Q

Organizational culture

A

general tone of the corporate environment

  • Must determine the new system’s compatibility with the organizational culture
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20
Q

System requirements

A

detail the functions and features expected from the new system

21
Q

Systems design

A
  • Second phase in systems development
  • Systems design: includes three steps for devising the means to meet all the requirements
    • Description of the components
    • Construction
    • Testing
  • If purchasing a system:
    • Design phase determines how to adapt the existing software
      • Construction: actual changes in program code
  • Symbols are used to communicate ideas about data, processes, and information
    • Visual information can be grasped more quickly
22
Q

3 steps in system design

A

1 description of components
2 construction
3 Testing

23
Q

Data flow diagram (DFD)

A

describes the flow of data in a business operation using four symbols

  • External entities: individuals and groups external to the system (customers, employees, etc.)
  • Processes: an event or events that affect data
  • Data store: any form of data at rest
  • Direction of data flow: indicates how data moves
24
Q

advantages of DFD

A

-symbols are suitable for describing any IS, including noncomputer-based ISs

  • Can help pinpoint weaknesses:
    • Where processes can be automated
    • What is shared by different processes
    • What can be changed to strengthen the IS
25
Q

disadvantage of DFD

A
  • cannot describe a system completely

- Does not depict computations within processes or timing relationships among data flows

26
Q

Unified modeling language (UML)

A

de facto standard for visualizing, specifying, and documenting software

  • Helps developers communicate and logically validate desired features
  • Is independent of programming languages
  • Provides standard symbols and notations for depicting object-oriented elements
27
Q

UML diagrams

A
  • Use case: an activity of the system in response to the user (an actor)
  • Class: describes class structure and contents
  • Interaction: describes interactions of objects and the sequence of their activities
  • State charts: indicate the states through which objects pass and their responses to stimuli
  • Activity: represents highly active states triggered by completion of other actions
  • Physical diagrams: high-level descriptions of software modules
28
Q

Design (construction)

A
  • Consists of mostly programming activities
  • May take months or years
  • Each completed module is tested
  • Modules are integrated
29
Q

Design ( system testing )

A
  • Tests the entire integrated system, comparing results to the system requirements
  • Testing period often is the victim of schedule or budget compression, resulting in poor testing
30
Q

Impementation

A

delivery of a new system
Steps include:

  • Conversion
  • Training

-Training may or may not precede conversion

31
Q

Conversion

A
  • switching from the old system to the new system

- Can be a very difficult time

32
Q

Implementation Conversion Strategies

A
  • Parallel conversion: the old system is used simultaneously with the new system at first
  • Phased conversion: breaks the new IS into modules and integrates one at a time
    • Reduces risk but delays some benefits
  • Cut-over conversion (or flash cut conversion): immediately replaces all modules
    • Risky but may be inexpensive
  • Pilot conversion: introduces the IS into one business unit at a time
    • Beta site: a site that tests the new system
33
Q

Parallel conversion

A

the old system is used simultaneously with the new system at first

34
Q

Phased conversion

A

breaks the new IS into modules and integrates one at a time

  • Reduces risk but delays some benefits
35
Q

Cut-over conversion (or flash cut conversion)

A

immediately replaces all modules

- Risky but may be inexpensive

36
Q

Pilot conversion

A

introduces the IS into one business unit at a time

  • Beta site: a site that tests the new system
37
Q

Beta site

A

a site that tests the new system

38
Q

Application systems support

A

includes two responsibilities

  1. Maintenance: post-implementation debugging, updates, and adding postponed features
  2. User help
  • Maintenance comprises up to 80% of IS budgets
  • Support is the longest phase of the system life cycle
  • Effective maintenance requires good system documentation during development
39
Q

Agile methods

A

alternative development methods

  • Treat software development as series of contacts with users
  • Goal: fast software development
  • Improve software after user requests for modifications received
  • Agile methods use iterative programming
  • aim to have “light but sufficient” development processes
  • User involvement is encouraged throughout the process
  • Modules are tested immediately after completion
  • Communication with users is informal
  • XP uses two programmers per module working on the same computer
    • Fosters constructive criticism and feedback
  • DaimlerChrysler payroll system was a large XP project that failed
  • British Airways provides an agile success story
40
Q

Popular agile methods

A
  • Extreme programming (XP)
  • Adaptive software development (ASD)
  • Lean development (LD)
  • Rational unified process (RUP)
  • Feature driven development (FDD)
  • Dynamic systems development method (DSDM)
  • Scrum
  • Crystal Clear
41
Q

Major advantage of agile methods

A

Fast development of application software

42
Q

Some risks of agile methods

A
  • Analysis phase is limited or eliminated, increasing the risk of incompatibilities
  • More emphasis on programming, resulting in less documentation, which may make it difficult or impossible to make later modifications
43
Q

Manifesto for Agile Software Development expresses these priorities:

A
  • Individuals and interactions over processes
  • Working software over comprehensive documentation
  • Customer collaboration over contract negotiation
  • Responding to change over following a plan
44
Q

When to Use Agile Methods

A

When a desired system is small

  • Analysis is less important
  • Requires a smaller investment of resources
  • For unstructured problems
  • For developing user interfaces
  • When users cannot specify all requirements at the start of the project
    • They may be unfamiliar with the technology
    • Requirements may be difficult to conceptualize
45
Q

When Not to Use Agile Methods

A
  • The desired system is large or complex
    • System failure entails great financial loss
  • The desired system must interface with other systems
    • SDLC recommended for complex systems
    • Documentation is key for integration
46
Q

Outsourcing

A

the formal business relationship to transfer internal business processes and functions to a third-party business

  • Outsourcing is steadily being used by organizations
    • Maximize their value as well as reduce costs
  • Many industries and businesses seek third-party outsourcing vendors to create efficiencies
  • Not all outsourcing initiatives are successful
    • UBS Global Asset Management attempt (2010)
47
Q

Project Planning and Management Tools

A
  • Several tools exist to help plan and manage a development project, including IS projects
    • IBM’s Rational Portfolio Manager
      Helps plan investment in a new system and manage the development project and delivery
    • Oracle’s Primavera 6
      Provides integrated project portfolio management (PPM) software
  • Tools designed to accommodate planning and management of any type of project
    • Clarizen
    • Project Insight
    • AtTask
    • Microsoft Projec
48
Q

Systems integration

A
  • Examines the needs of entire organization
  • Produces a plan to combine disparate systems to allow data to flow between units
  • Some service companies specialize in systems integration
  • Integration is more challenging than development
  • Legacy systems may need to be interfaced with new systems
  • Systems integrators must be skilled in hardware and software
    • May be difficult to overcome hardware and software incompatibility issues between systems
  • Systems integration may span several organizations, requiring integration using telecommunications
49
Q

Summary

A
  • IT planning is important because of high investment costs and high risk in implementing enterprise applications
  • Standardization is an important part of IT planning
  • Systems development life cycle (SDLC) has well-defined phases: analysis, design, implementation, and support
  • Purpose of systems analysis is to determine what needs the system will satisfy
  • Feasibility studies determine if a proposed system is possible and desirable
  • System requirements detail the features needed
  • Developers outline system components graphically and construct the software
  • Models of the desired system are created using tools, e.g., data flow diagrams and Unified Modeling Language (UML)
  • Implementation includes training and conversion from the old system to the new system
  • Support entails maintenance and satisfying changing needs
  • Agile methods are a popular alternative to traditional systems development life cycle
  • Tools help plan and manage development projects
  • Systems integration may be more complicated than systems development
  • Great responsibility of IS professionals results in the desirability of certification

ITM 3060 Information Technology Management (6 decks)

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