System Development
Key Ideas
n Many failed systems were abandoned because analysts tried to build wonderful systems without understanding the organization.
n The primarily goal is to create value for the organization.
n The systems analyst is a key person analyzing the business, identifying opportunities for improvement, and designing information systems to implement these ideas.
n It is important to understand and develop through practice the skills needed to successfully design and implement new information systems.
THE SYSTEMS DEVELOPMENT LIFE CYCLE
Project Phases
n Planning (Why build the system? How should the team go about building it?)
n Analysis (Who uses system, what will it do, where and when will the system be used?)
n Design (How will the system work?)
n Implementation (System delivery)
Planning
n Identifying business value
n Analyze feasibility
n Develop work plan
n Staff the project
n Control and direct project
Analysis
n Analysis strategy
n Gathering business requirements
n Requirements definition use cases
n Process modeling
n Data modeling
Design
n Design selection
n Architecture design
n Interface design
n Data storage design
n Program design
Implementation
n Construction
¨ Program building
¨ Program and system testing
n Installation
¨ Conversion strategy
¨ Training plan
¨ Support plan
Processes and Deliverables
PLANNING
Key Ideas
n An opportunity to create business value from using information technology initiates a project.
n Feasibility analysis helps determine whether or not to proceed with the IS project.
n Projects are selected based on business needs and project risks.
n The project sponsor is a key person who identifies business value to be gained from using information technology.
n The approval committee reviews system requests from groups throughout the organization and selects projects for the benefit of the business.
Project Initiation
IDENTIFYING PROJECTS WITH BUSINESS VALUE
How Do Projects Begin?
n Business needs should drive projects.
n Project sponsor recognizes business need for new system and desires to see it implemented.
n Business needs determine the system’s functionality (what it will do).
n The project’s business value should be clear.
System Request
n A document describing business reasons for project and system’s expected value.
n Lists project’s key elements
¨ Project sponsor
¨ Business need
¨ Business requirements
¨ Business value
¨ Special issues or constraints
System Request Examples
n Project sponsor – VP of Marketing
n Business need – Reach new customers and improve service to existing customers
n Business requirements – Provide web-based shopping capability
n Business value – $750,000 in new customer sales; $1.8M in existing customer sales
n Special issues or constraints – System must be operational by holiday shopping season
Preliminary Project Acceptance
n System request is reviewed by approval committee
n Based on information provided, project merits are assessed.
n Worthy projects are accepted and undergo additional investigation – the feasibility analysis.
Feasibility Analysis
n Detailed business case for the project
¨ Technical feasibility
¨ Economic feasibility
¨ Organizational feasibility
n Compiled into a feasibility study
n Feasibility is reassessed throughout the project
Technical Feasibility:
Can We Build It?
n Users’ and analysts’ familiarity with the business application area
n Familiarity with technology
¨ Have we used it before? How new is it?
n Project size
¨ Number of people, time, and features
n Compatibility with existing systems
Economic Feasibility
Should We Build It?
n Identify costs and benefits
n Assign values to costs and benefits
n Determine cash flow
n Assess financial viability
¨ Net present value (NPV)
¨ Return on investment (ROI)
¨ Break even point(BEP)
Assign Cost and Benefit Values
n Difficult, but essential to estimate
n Work with people who are most familiar with the area to develop estimates
n Intangibles should also be quantified
n If intangibles cannot be quantified, list and include as part of supporting material
Organizational Feasibility
If we build it, will they come?
n Strategic alignment
¨ How well do the project goals align with business objectives?
n Stakeholder analysis
¨ Project champion(s)
¨ Organizational management
¨ System users
Project Selection
Approval committee works from the system request and the feasibility study
¨ Project portfolio – how does the project fit within the entire portfolio of projects?
¨ Trade-offs must be made to select projects that will form a balanced project portfolio
¨ Viable projects may be rejected or deferred because of project portfolio issues.
Project Management
Key Definitions
n Project management is the process of planning and controlling the development of a system within a specified timeframe at a minimum cost with the right functionality.
n A project manager has the primary responsibility for managing the hundreds of tasks and roles that need to be carefully coordinated.
Four Key Steps in Managing Projects
n Identifying project size
n Creating and managing the workplan
n Staffing the project
n Coordinating and controlling project activities
Identifying Project Size
Project Manager’s Balancing Act
Project Estimation
n The process of assigning projected values for time and effort
n Sources of estimates
¨ Methodology in use
¨ Actual previous projects
¨ Experienced developers
n Estimates begin as a range and become more specific as the project progresses
Project Estimates Based on Industry Standard Percentages
Creating The Workplan
A Workplan Example
Identifying Tasks
n Methodology
¨ Using standard list of tasks
n Top-down approach
¨ Identify highest level tasks
¨ Break them into increasingly smaller units
¨ Organize into work breakdown structure
Project Workplan
n List of all tasks in the work breakdown structure, plus
¨ Duration of task
¨ Current task status
¨ Task dependencies
¨ Key milestone dates
Tracking Project Tasks
n Gantt Chart
¨ Bar chart format
¨ Useful to monitor project status at any point in time
n PERT Chart
¨ Flowchart format
¨ Illustrate task dependencies and critical path
Tracking Tasks Using Gantt Chart
Tracking Tasks Using PERT Chart
Staffing The Project
Staffing Attributes
n Staffing levels will change over a project’s lifetime
n Adding staff may add more overhead than additional labor
n Using teams of 8-10 reporting in a hierarchical structure can reduce complexity
Increasing Complexity with Larger Teams
Controlling Project Activities
CASE Components
Standards
n Examples
¨ Formal rules for naming files
¨ Forms indicating goals reached
¨ Programming guidelines
Documentation
n Project binder
n Table of contents
n Continual updating
Managing Risk
n Risk assessment
n Actions to reduce risk
n Revised assessment
Classic Mistakes
n Overly optimistic schedule
n Failing to monitor schedule
n Failing to update schedule
n Adding people to a late project
Requirements Determination
Key Definitions
n The As-Is system is the current system and may or may not be computerized
n The To-Be system is the new system that is based on updated requirements
n The System Proposal is the key deliverable from the Analysis Phase
Key Ideas
n The goal of the analysis phase is to truly understand the requirements of the new system and develop a system that addresses them — or decide a new system isn’t needed.
n The System Proposal is presented to the approval committee via a system walk-through.
n Systems analysis incorporates initial systems design.
n Requirements determination is the single most critical step of the entire SDLC.
What is a Requirement?
n A statement of what the system must do
n A statement of characteristics the system must have
n Focus is on business user needs during analysis phase
n Requirements will change over time as project moves from analysis to design to implementation
Requirement Types
n Functional Requirements
¨ A process the system hast to perform
¨ Information the system must contain
n Nonfunctional Requirements
¨ Behavioral properties the system must have
n Operational
n Performance
n Security
n Cultural and political
Documenting Requirements
n Requirements definition report
¨ Text document listing requirements in outline form
¨ Priorities may be included
n Key purpose is to define the project scope: what is and is not to be included.
Basic Steps of Determining Requirements
n Understand the “As-Is” system
n Identify improvement opportunities
n Develop the “To-Be” system concept
n Techniques vary in amount of change
¨ Business Process Automation (BPA) – small change
¨ Business Process Improvement (BPI) – moderate change
¨ Business Process Reengineering (BPR) – significant change
n Additional information gathering techniques are needed as well
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