Chapter 11: Creating Information Systems PDF

Chapter 11 Creating Information Systems  Learning objectives To help you appreciate how complex it is to design and implement information systems (IS) and the stable, robust, secure technology at their core. To articulate the advantages and disa...

Chapter 11 Creating Information Systems  Learning objectives To help you appreciate how complex it is to design and implement information systems (IS) and the stable, robust, secure technology at their core. To articulate the advantages and disadvantages of custom software design and development versus acquisition of an off -the- shelf product. To describe and teach you to use the main methodologies for custom software design and development. Specifically, you will be able to identify the major phases of the system development life cycle (SDLC) and discuss its advantages and disadvantages. You will also become familiar with the prototyping, agile, and development and operations (DevOps) approaches and will be able to identify its pri ncipal advantages and disadvantages. To define the term open source software and be able to identify the primary commercial models crafted around the open source movement. You will also be able to articulate the principal advantages and risks associated with the implementation of open source solutions in modern organizations. To identify the systems selection methodology so you can choose a prepackaged software program for a specific organization. To describe the reasons for the increasing prominence of end-user development in modern organizations and articulate the benefits and risks of this approach to software development.  Introduction While managers need not be concerned with hardware decisions, they must take part in the software design, acquisition, and implementation processes Managers’ involvement in information systems funding and design is essential because never before has a firm’s success depended so much on the use of the right software applications. Deciding what the characteristics of the “right” applications are, is a business decision Some Examples  Fulfilling Information Processing Needs How do IS come to be in modern organizations? Technology development: generating the IT core is a prerequisite to delivering the needed information processing functionalities Information system development: The firm must successfully integrate the technology with the other components of the organization (i.e., people, processes, structure) → implementation process  Three Approaches Custom design and development: the organization implements a software application that is expressly made, whether internally or through outsourced development, for the unique needs of the firm System selection and acquisition: the organization implements a software application developed by a vendor and available on the market End-user development: the organization uses a software application created ad hoc by its end users, rather than the firm’s information systems professionals  Make versus Buy Custom developing the software at the heart of a new information system can be a necessity → the system must enable a new initiative and no market for such a product already exists Example : Personal recommendation system of Amazon  Custom Development Advantages Unique Tailoring: software applications are molded to fit the unique features of the firm that commissions them Flexibility and Control: because the project team builds the system from scratch, the software can be molded into any form the stakeholders (e.g., management, end users) would like it to take, and the firm owes no licensing fees to software vendors This level of control is not achievable with software purchased from vendors  Purchasing from a Vendor Advantages Faster Roll-Out: purchased software Economically Attractive: purchasing off-the- dramatically reduces the time it takes to shelf applications typically allows the firm to obtain the software and begin the capitalize on the economies of scale achieved implementation process by the vendor Knowledge Infusion: access to the expertise High Quality: large software houses with coded in the software → an organization that mature products will provide evidence of the purchases prepackaged software also acquires software quality by pointing to: a “way of doing business” their sizable testing budgets large installed base of users  Build Your Own: Systems Development Life Cycle (SDLC) Detailed justification and planning is the vehicle to reduce risk and uncertainty in systems design and development efforts Highly structured methodology where the outputs of one stage become the inputs of the next and where the project team strives to keep changes to a minimum after the project has started Articulated in 3 phases  Phase 1: Definition Concerned with clearly identifying the features of the proposed information system. Critical actors are: prospective end users and managers Three Steps: Investigation: proponents of the new system must identify what business issues the system will pertain to → Informal stage Feasibility Analysis: evaluate the technical (whether the proposed system is viable from an IT standpoint), operational (whether the IS as a whole, not just the technology component, is viable), and economic (whether the project is financial viable) feasibility of the project System Analysis: identify and articulate the system requirements → outcome is the systems requirements document  Phase 2: Build The objective is to take the system requirements document and produce a robust, secure, and efficient application → technical stage, domain of developers Three steps: System Design: architects create the structure of the system; the team identifies what hardware will be used, what languages will be adopted, what data structures are needed→ output is precise set of documents that programmers use to write code Programming: the process of translating the abstract software design into a set of commands or instructions that can be executed by the hardware → include a clear and detailed documentation of the code Testing: formalized assessment of components and subsequently of the complete applications (alpha and beta testing) → release the application when it is good enough, not when it is flawless  Phase 3: Implementation The project team needs to ensure that the software is properly integrated with the other components of the IS Three steps: Installation: the system is loaded on the production hardware and the databases are populated A migration is required if an existing system is replaced Two critical processes: end-user training and change management → pay attention to user resistance and inertia Operations: the system is up and running and becomes a permanent asset of the firm to be maintained and managed Maintenance: errors that had escaped the testing phase and enhancements that had escaped the requirements definition phase are addressed by the maintenance process → the functionality gap Four Migration Approaches  Build Your Own: Agile Development or Waterfall Methodology The major difference between agile vs. waterfall might be summarized by saying that the waterfall approach values planning ahead, while the agile approach values adaptability and involvement. The priorities and key characteristics of agile methodologies are: adaptability and speed → focus on developing rather than planning teamwork in open space offices that facilitate communication use of small cross-functional teams with a customer representative and daily face-to-face meetings developers “chunk” the work into manageable yet self- standing components sets fixed time and resources for delivering the expected functionalities Customer involvement Testing:insist on testing through every phase of the project.  Outsourced Development Custom-designed software programs are increasingly developed by software houses that “fill in” for the firm’s information systems professionals some firms only outsourcing the programming and testing stages others resort to an external provider to see them through the entire SDLC  Buying Off-the-Shelf Applications The systems selection process is important because it enables a systematic investigation of these applications as well as competing products, thus ensuring that all issues are considered and that the firm choose the best solution for its current needs Three phases  Phase 1: Definition System Analysis Stage: the selection committee focuses on Compile and Distribute the RFP: The RFP should explain what eliciting the specific functionalities required of the proposed the selection committee has identified as the critical system system requirements, the environment in which the system will be used, and any required performance metrics and expectations. Upon Formulate Evaluation Criteria: develop a set of metrics that can its distribution to the short-listed vendors, those interested will be uniformly applied to all packages under investigation → respond to the RFP identify the features that appropriate applications should have and group them: Evaluate Alternatives: The selection committee compiles the list of top vendors and seeks any further information needed to Essential, Value-adding and Nonessential feature make a final decision → creation of a rank-ordered list of the Compile Short List of Vendors: identify a preliminary list of acceptable candidates vendors → important stage because: Negotiate Contract: Draft and sign a contract that provides the creating targeted request for proposals (RFPs) that yield high-quality firm with the needed solution and insulates it from future risks. responses, and then evaluating those responses, is time consuming Common elements are: products that fail to meet necessary requirements can be identified the components and magnitude of costs; the eventual liabilities and fairly quickly, and vendors will appreciate not being asked to respond service-level agreements; control over the intellectual property; the to RFPs that they have no chance of fulfilling extent to which modifications are allowed  Phase 2: Build The build phase in the system selection process mirrors that of the SDLC but is much narrower in scope When the software program is to be installed without configuration or customization, as is the case with simple applications, the firm can move directly to formal testing and implementation Instead when customization is necessary, the firm will engage in system design and programming of the required enhancements → important to have a contract that specifies who is responsible for customizing the application and the conditions of the customization effort The testing stage is mostly concerned with system performance rather than with the identification and correction of bugs  Phase 3: Implementation Even within the same class of software applications (e.g., ERP), a firm may choose different approaches to move from the old to the new system The degree of process change and training required to get buy-in from users is typically greater when implementing off-the-shelf applications → a prepackaged program is not designed with the idiosyncrasies of your organization in mind Plan to invest considerable resources during the implementation phase to set up the application, train employees, and engage in change management Ask for stakeholders input during selection and evaluation to reduce rejection risks