Systems Development Flashcards
What can go wrong with a new AIS?
People are resistant to change
Systems won’t let companies customise their reports
Not easy to understand
Not auditable
Not useful for decision making
What is the systems development life cycle?
The progression through the phases of the systems development process
Formalised, standardised, fully documented activities used to manage a systems development project
What are the 5 steps of SDLC?
- Investigation - identify the organisational problem
- System Analysis - identify what problems there are in the old system that cause this
- System Design - conceptual and physical design
- System Implementation - develop, test, and implement the new proposed system
- System maintenance and review
Many organisations do not:
- Measure ROI
What are common reasons for organisational failure when moving to new systems?
- New data collection methods are INCOMPATIBLE with older systems
- Process documentation is LACKING
- Change of project management leads to LOSS of knowledge
What was NZ Novopay?
All teachers in NZ were getting paid by a central government system but all pay was going through a third-party.
They wanted to change this third-party firm from an on-shore (NZ) to a new-shore (AU) company to cut costs.
What were the issues with NZ Novopay’s transition?
Poor system planning - too ambitious scope
Poor system analysis - lack of understand of the requirements
Poor system design - unusable, lack of data testing –> low quality of data input
System implementation - lack of proper testing to detect data corruption and logic flaws
System maintenance - manual (not properly approved - undocumented) intervention when problems occur
All payroll systems were outsourced and employers are not involved
Schools provided data to datacom
No Minister of Education staff interacted directly with the system
What is the investigation step?
What are the 5 types of systems feasibility analysis?
Economic - will benefits justify the time, money, and other resources required to implement it?
Technical - can it be developed and implemented using existing technology?
Legal - does it comply with all applicable laws, statutes, regulations and contractual obligations?
- people need to be assigned to monitor legal changes
Scheduling - can a system be developed and implemented in the time allocated?
Operational - is HR capable of working these systems? Does the organisation have access to people who can design, implement, and operate the proposed system? Can people use the system and will they use it?
What are the methods used for economic feasibility analysis?
Capital Budgeting Model
- payback period
- NPV
- Internal rate of return: rate that makes NPV = 0 compared to the minimum acceptable rate
What is systems analysis?
Understand what the current system does and how it operates. Specify what the new system will need to do.
What are the steps in systems analysis?
- Study and document the current physical and logical systems
- Define under requirements for the new/modified system
- Develop alternatives
- Conduct a cost/effectiveness study
- Complete and package the approved systems analysis document
What is a system survey?
A tool to gain a thorough understanding of company operations, policies…
GOAL - to get as much information as possible
What are the internal sources of data for systems analysis?
What are the external sources of data for systems analysis?
customers, suppliers, stockholders, government agencies, competitors,
