Management of Information Resources PDF

MANAGEMENT OF INFORMATION RESOURCES Information Systems Planning: Information management is term that covers array of the systems and processes within an organisation to create and use of corporate information. Information Systems Planning is critical in developing and executing successful strategi...

MANAGEMENT OF INFORMATION RESOURCES Information Systems Planning: Information management is term that covers array of the systems and processes within an organisation to create and use of corporate information. Information Systems Planning is critical in developing and executing successful strategic plans in huge firms at global level. It is observed in current business situation that the markets are very uncertain which pushes companies to adopt effective, pro-active strategies in order to gain competitive advantage. The strategy formula is oriented through company's operation and objectives based on a cautious analysis of the involving company. Objectives of information system planning are desired future positions and destinations the organizations intend to reach in order to fulfil its mission. Its policies are a general guideline that directs and constraints decision making within an organization. Information technology enables a set of opportunities to gain competitive advantage and to adjust the Information Systems for the benefit of organization. In present scenario, information system planning is key issue faced by senior executives of company. Information management planning mainly involves in identification of the stage of IS in the organization, identification of the applications of organizational information systems, evaluation of each of these applications, based on established evaluation criteria, establishing a priority ranking for these application and determining the optimum architecture of IS for serving the top priority applications. Theoretical literature of the information systems planning suggests two challenging theories of effective planning in a turbulent environment. One predicts that organizations using a formal, comprehensive 14 planning approach will be more successful. The other predicts that organizations using an informal, incremental approach will be more successful in such an environment. Stage model of Information System planning 1. Strategic planning: a) Derivation from the organizational plan. b) Strategic fit with organizational culture. c) Strategy set transformation. 2. Information requirement analysis: a) Define underlying organizational requirements. b) Develop sub system matrix. c) Define and evaluate information requirements for organizational sub-systems. 3. Resource allocation: a) Return on investment b) Charge out c) Portfolio approach d) Steering committees. 4. Project planning a) Milestones b) Critical path method c) Gantt chart Four Stage Models of Information Systems Planning Acquisition of Information Systems: An acquisition strategy is a top-level roadmap that focuses on highlighting and managing risks to a successful outcome. Business requirements for supporting work processes require integration across multiple systems, spanning multiple business or organizational units. 14 The acquisition of information systems can either involve external sourcing or rely on internal development or modification. With today's highly developed IT industry, companies tend to acquire information systems and services from specialized vendors. Information systems are a major corporate asset, with respect both to the benefits they provide and to their high costs. Therefore, organizations have to plan for the long term when acquiring information systems and services that will support business initiatives. At the same time, firms have to be responsive to emerging opportunities. On the basis of long-term corporate plans and the requirements of various individuals from data workers to top management, essential applications are identified and project priorities are set. For example, certain projects may have to be carried out immediately to satisfy a new government reporting regulation or to interact with a new customer‘s information system. Other projects may be given a higher priority because of their strategic role or greater expected benefits. Once the need for a specific information system has been established, the system has to be acquired. This is generally done in the context of the already existing information systems architecture of the firm. The acquisition of information systems can either involve external sourcing or rely on internal development or modification. With today‘s highly developed IT industry, companies tend to acquire information systems and services from specialized vendors. The principal tasks of information systems specialists involve modifying the applications for their employer‘s needs and integrating the applications to create coherent systems architecture for the firm. Generally, only smaller applications are developed internally. Certain applications of a more personal nature may be developed by the end users themselves. Acquisition from external sources There are several principal ways to acquire an information system from outside the organization.  Outsourcing: Outsourcing entails transferring the major components of the firm‘s systems and operations—such as data centres, telecommunications.  Software: A specialized company that provides its services under long-term contracts.  Offshoring: Offshore outsourcing, a type of business process outsourcing (BPO), is the exporting of IT-related work from the United States and other developed countries to areas of the world where there is both political stability and lower labor costs or tax savings.  Cloud Computing: Cloud computing is a method for delivering information technology (IT) services in which resources are retrieved from the Internet through web-based tools and applications, as opposed to a direct connection to a server. 14   Internet: A means of connecting a computer to any other computer anywhere in the world via dedicated routers and servers.  Software-as-a-Service: SaaS is software licensing model in which access to the software is provided on a subscription basis, with the software being located on external servers rather than on servers located in-house.  Open Source: Software for which the original source code is made freely available and may be redistributed and modified according to the requirement of the user. Implementation of Information Systems: The design of a management information system may seem to management to be an expensive project, the cost of getting the MIS on line satisfactorily may often be comparable to that of its design, and the implementation has been accomplished when the outputs of the MIS are continuously utilized by decision makers. Once the design has been completed, there are four basic methods for implementing the MIS. These areas: 1. Install the system in a new operation or organization. 2. Cut off the old system and install the new This produces a time gap during which no system is in operation. Practically, installation requires one or two days for small companies or small systems. 3. Cut over by segments This method is also referred asǁ phasing inǁ the new system. Small parts or subsystems are substituted for the old. In the case of upgrading old systems, this may be a very desirable method. 4. Operate in parallel and cut over. The new system is installed and operated in parallel with the current system until it has been checked out, then only the current system is cut out. This method is expensive because of personal and related costs. Its big advantages are that the system is fairly well debugged when it becomes the essential information system. Implementation Tasks Plan the implementation The three main phases in implementation take place in series. These are 1. The initial installation 2. The test of the system as a whole 3. The evaluation, maintenance and control of the system. 14 Many implementation activities should be undertaken in parallel to reduce implementation time. Training of personnel and preparation of software may be in parallel with each other and with other implementation activities. The first step in the implementation procedure is to plan the implementation. Some analyst includes the planning of the implementation with the design of the system, the planning and the action to implement the plan should be bound closely together. Planning is the first step of management, not the last. The MIS design and the urgent need for the system at the time the design is completed will weigh heavily on the plan for implementation. The major implementation tasks consists of- 1. Planning the implementation activities 2. Acquiring and laying out facilities and offices 3. Organizing the personnel for implementation 4. Developing procedures for installation and testing 5. Developing the training program for operating personnel. 6. Completing the system‘s software 7. Acquiring required hardware 8. Generating files 9. Designing forms 10. Testing the entire system 11.Completing cutover to the new system 12.Documenting the system 13.Evaluating the MIS 14.Providing system maintenance (debugging and improving) 1. Planning the implementation activities Establish Relationships among tasks For small projects, the order of performance may simply be described in text form. A Gantt chart or network diagram makes visualization of the plan and schedule much clearer. For large projects, many concurrent and sequential activities are interrelated so that a network diagram must be employed in any good plan. Establish a Schedule Schedule is prepared by having the system designers estimate the times between the events in the program network. The critical path (longest time through the network) can be calculated. After specifying the starting date, the end date is established. 14 Cost Schedule to Tasks and Time The cost for completing each task required to complete is established as part of the plan; then the rate of expenditures should be budgeted. Reporting and control of the work in progress may be obtained by weekly meetings. The financial personnel must make certain that report formats allow them to show cost and technical progress relationship as well as cost and time. 2.Acquiring and laying out facilities and offices For the installation of a new system to replace a current one may require a major revision of facilities as well as completely new office, computer room etc. The MIS project manager must prepare rough layouts and estimates of particular floor areas that feel to be needed. The manager then prepares cost estimates. Space planning must be done by the space to be occupied by people, the space occupied by equipment and the movement of people and equipment in the work progress. A large investment in good working conditions will repay its cost many times. 3.Organizing the personnel for implementation As the implementation tasks have been defined, management usually assigns a project manager to guide the implementation. The purpose of the MIS is to increase the amount and quality of their contributions, the system is their system. Top management must make the middle managers for their involvement in implementation, besides these, systems specialists, computer programmer; top management should make sure that each people who will operate the system should have active parts in the implementation. 4.Developing procedures for installation and testing After organizing the personnel for implementation the next task is to develop or prepare the procedures for implementation. As the project leader has the network plan for proceeding with the implementation, this leader calls the key people in the project to prepare more detailed procedures for system installation. Procedures for evaluating and selecting hardware must be spelled out. Procedures for phasing in parts of the MIS or operating the MIS in parallel must be developed. The major part of implementing the MIS is the testing of each segment of total system as it is installed. 14 5. Developing the training program for operating personnel A program is developed keeping in mind to impress management and support. After developing the program, it is necessary to train operating personnel in their new duties. They must have a thorough understanding of what the new MIS is like and what it is supposed to do. They must learn how it will operate. They are faced with many changes in their work and have to obtain acceptance of changes. As there are various levels of personnel and these people will be working with only a small part of the MIS, the seminars should be designed to provide them with an understanding of the complete system. 6.Completing the system’s software As the software is developed internally or under contract, in both cases, the software development must take in mind the nature of the hardware required. As the system designers and programmers provide the flow diagrams and the block diagrams during the detailed design state. Some modification may be required, as the implementation stage progresses. 7. Acquiring required hardware This acquisition is usually the limiting factor in getting am MIS implementation. These tasks should be started during the design stage. The decision is to be needed, whether to buy or lease the hardware. Capital expenditure analysis is only one of many factors involved in this decision. Others are prestige, usage etc. 8. Generating files In the implementation stage, the actual data must be obtained and recorded for the initial testing and operation of the system. This requires format of the data, storage form and format and remarks to indicate when the data have been stored. The collection of data used in routine operations is often called the master file. Responsibility for file maintenance for each file item should also be assigned. The development of files or databases belongs to information system designers and storage and retrieval experts. The translation of specifications for files into computer programs is a function of computer specialists. 9. Designing forms 14 For controlling the marketing, a salesperson has to fill out the forms summarizing the day‘s activities. The form ensures the right information to be supplied for computer storage. Forms are required not just for input and output but also for transmitting data at intermediate stages. 10. Testing the entire system As the total system is installed, tests should be performed with the test specifications and procedure. A test during installation stage consists of component tests, subsystem tests and total system acceptance tests. Components may be equipment (that can be new or old), new software programs, new data collection methods, work procedures, reporting formats. Difficulties that occur during component tests may lead t design changes. As more components are installed, subsystems may be tested. There is a difference between the testing of component and the testing of a system. System tests require verification of multiple inputs, complex logic systems, and timing aspects of many parts. 11. completing cutover to the new system Cutover is a point at which the new component replaces the old component to the new system replaces the old system. This involves old forms, old files and old equipment being retried. The debugging proves associated with the cutover to the new system may extend for several months 12. Documenting the system Documentation of the MIS means preparation of written descriptions of the scope, purpose, information flow components, and operating procedures of the system. Documentation is a necessity for troubleshooting, for replacement of subsystems, for interfacing with other systems, for training new operating personnel and also for evaluating and upgrading the system. 13. Evaluating the system After the MIS has been operating smoothly for a short period of time, an evaluation of each step in the design and of the final system performance should be made. Evaluation should not be delayed beyond the time when the system‘s analysts have completed most of the debugging. The longer the delay, the more difficult it will be for designer to remember important details. The evaluation should be made by the customer as well as by the designers. 14 14. Providing system maintenance Control and maintenance of the system are the responsibilities of the line managers. Control of the systems means the operation of the system as it was designed to operate. Sometimes, well-intentioned people or operators may make unauthorized changes to improve thesystem, changes that are not approved or documented. Maintenance is closely related to control. Maintenance is that ongoing activity that keeps theMIS at the highest levels of effectiveness and efficiency within cost constraints. Maintenance is directed towards reducing errors due to design, reducing errors due to environmental changes and improving the system‘s scope and services. Evaluation of Information Systems: Evaluation of MIS is an integral part of the management control process, in which the organizations determine or appraise the quality or worth of their information systems. In other words, evaluation of MIS is a process of measuring performance of organizational information systems. Evaluation Approaches: There are different approaches to evaluate MIS in an organization. The MIS evaluation approaches provide different means to measure accomplishments of system objectives.  Quality Assurance Review: Quality assurance review or technical review focus on assessing the information system‘s technical quality.  Compliance Audits: Compliance audits or application control reviews assess the adequacy and completeness of controls for the system inputs, outputs, processing, security and access.  Budget Performance Review: Evaluation of MIS budget performance concentrates on compliance with a predetermined budget expenditure level for the MIS development or operations process.  MIS Personnel Productivity Measurements: The capability of MIS personnel is typically determined in terms of productivity.  Computer Performance Evaluation: The production capability of the computer hardware is typically evaluated in terms of performance efficiencies and bottlenecks that limit production.  Service Level Monitoring: Service level monitoring focuses on assessing the information and support provided to the user, based on the terms established between the MIS user personnel.  User Attitude Survey: This method is used in operational evaluation. Operational considerations refer to whether the input data is adequately provided and the output is usable. 14   Post-Installation Review: The focus of the post-installation review (PIR) is often on estimating whether the system meets the requirements.  Cost Benefit Analysis: It is also known as economic evaluation. The analysis quantifies the system‘s effect on organizational performance in terms of dollars. Evaluation of Performance: 1. Effectiveness: This refers to the quality of the outputs from the systems. Effectiveness means doing the right thing in the right manner so that desired result may be achieved. Information system is said to be effective if its product (i.e. output) is of quality, and the process of producing output is right (effective). 2. Efficiency: It is a measure of the amount of resources required to achieve the output, i.e. the use of system resources to get results. Being efficient implies the system is operating the right way. Product-Based MIS Evaluation: Since the focus of the product-based evaluation is on the product or the output from the system, the evaluation may be termed as effectiveness evaluation. For assessing the effectiveness of output form MIS, the following model may be used. Model Structure: Timeliness Relevance Accuracy Completeness Adequacy Explicitness Exception-based Cost-Benefit-Based MIS Evaluation: In cost/benefit evaluation, a thorough study of various expected costs, the benefits to be expected from the system and expected savings, if any, is done. It is an economic evaluation 14 of the system, in which costs to be incurred for developing, implementing and operating a system are to be justified against the expected benefits from the system. In other words, cost/benefit analysis determines the cost-effectiveness of the firms. Cost Elements:  Initial Development Cost: it incurred in developing an information system. Various elements of development cost include project planning cost, feasibility study cost, design cost, conversation cost, implementation cost etc.  Capital Cost: It is also one-time cost. It is the cost incurred in facilities and in procuring various equipment, including hardware etc.  Annual Operating Cost: It is the cost incurred in operating the system. It includes computer and equipment maintenance cost, personnel cost, overheads, and supplies cost.  Identification of Cost and Benefits: Certain costs and benefits are more easily identifiable than others. For example, direct cost.  Classification of Cost and Benefits: The various categories of costs and benefits are important to make a cost/benefit analysis. These categories may be tangible or intangible, direct or indirect, fixed or variable. Evaluation Models: Having identified and categorised various costs and benefits, monetary value of each and every cost as well as benefit is estimated. A system analyst/user manager may evaluate the costs and benefits so estimated. For evaluation, there are several models, which are available, namely: i. Net Benefit Analysis ii. Present Value Analysis iii. Net Present Value iv. Payback Method v. Cash-flow Analysis vi. Break-even Analysis etc. Maintenance of Information systems: The results obtained from the evaluation process help the organization to determine whether its information systems are effective and efficient or otherwise. The process of monitoring, evaluating, and modifying of existing information systems to make required or desirable improvements may be termed as System Maintenance. System maintenance is an ongoing activity, which covers a wide variety of activities, including removing program and design errors, updating documentation and test data and 14 updating user support. For the purpose of convenience, maintenance may be categorized into three classes, namely: i) Corrective Maintenance: This type of maintenance implies removing errors in a program, which might have crept in the system due to faulty design or wrong assumptions. Thus, in corrective maintenance, processing or performance failures are repaired. ii) Adaptive Maintenance: In adaptive maintenance, program functions are changed to enable the information system to satisfy the information needs of the user. This type of maintenance may become necessary because of organizational changes which may include: a) Change in the organizational procedures, b) Change in organizational objectives, goals, policies, etc. c) Change in forms, d) Change in information needs of managers. e) Change in system controls and security needs, etc. iii) Perfective Maintenance: Perfective maintenance means adding new programs or modifying the existing programs to enhance the performance of the information system. This type of maintenance undertaken to respond to user‘s additional needs which may be due to the changes within or outside of the organization. Outside changes are primarily environmental changes, which may in the absence of system maintenance; render the information system ineffective and inefficient. These environmental changes include: a) Changes in governmental policies, laws, etc., b) Economic and competitive conditions, and c) New technology. IS SECURITY and CONTROL: Today, organizations are increasingly becoming dependent on information systems/technology. However these systems are vulnerable to a large number of potential hazards, especially due tonetworked computing. Therefore, IS control and security is an important issue of concern for themanagement. Some of the major threats to the information systems are as follows:  Error in handling, entering, transferring, or programming data  Equipment malfunctions  Accidental or malicious damage to computer resources  Destruction from virus  Theft of equipment and/or programs  Inappropriate use of data  Loss, theft, or changes of data, 14  Fire or any other natural calamity 14 Information Systems Development? As the name suggests, information system development or commonly known as SLC (Systems Life Cycle) or SLDC (Software Development Life Cycle) is a process of making and changing the system and the model and methodology used. In other words, an SDLC is the preparation of a new system to replace the old system, both in whole and only partially. Development of information systems is generally done because of problems that cannot be accommodated by the old system. For example, the hospital where you work make an overhaul SIMRS (Sistem Informasi Manajemen Rumah Sakit/Hospital Management Information System) because of applications that previously could not do bridging with BPJS. Considering the fact that the government has required it, then inevitably the hospital must adjust the SIMRS it already has. As for carrying out an information system development, the related team will consist of several personnel, namely the project coordinator, system analyst and design, network designer, programmer, technician (hardware), administrator, software tester, graphic designer, and documentary. Information System Planning: Information systems planning (ISP) is a process of defining objectives for organizational computing and identifying suitable potential information technology (IT) applicable to the company. The increasing impact of information systems (IS) on business performance has made ISP a key management issue for practitioners and academics alike (Moynihan, 1990; Niederman et al., 1991). In China, since IT began to be applied either to support business strategies or to create strategic opportunities, investment in information systems has increased rapidly. Some Chinese companies, such as Bangwei, Lifung, have gained great success by applying IT. But for most Chinese companies, it is still a challenge to align IT with their business strategies. Information systems planning has gained much attention in recent years. A survey in 2005 reported that ISP was one of the key management issues for chief information officers (CIOs) of China (Yang, 2003, Li and Huang, 2005). Within information systems research, significant effort has been devoted to improving the planning effectiveness. Early studies focused on developing frameworks and methodologies for ISP. Some methodologies, such as Business System Planning (BSP), information engineering, and critical success factors (CSFs), are well known to scholars and practitioners alike. Although existing frameworks and methodologies provide some direction for information systems planning, many important dimensions of ISP remain unaddressed (Segars et al., 1998). For example, it is not clear how a methodology is (or should be) actually implemented and how the process of planning is initiated. To provide a comprehensive view of ISP, some studies were conducted to identify the process dimensions. Das et al. (1991) and Lederer and Sethi (1996) developed process dimensions (prescriptions) to describe the planning process. Earl (1993), Pyburn (1983) and Sabherwal and King (1995) identified the differences among various companies’ IS planning processes or IS decision-making through field studies. Segars et al. (1998) developed process dimensions and empirically tested their impact on planning effectiveness. Although these studies of dimensions provided some descriptions of the planning process, they have not been implemented in China and the relationships among the process dimensions remain unclear. Information systems planning is a system which is structured by the process dimensions. So, there may be certain relationships among different process dimensions. Understanding these relationships can help practitioners and academics view the ISP more systemically, especially for current Chinese enterprises. The purpose of this study is to propose a process model to describe the current Chinese enterprises’ structure of ISP, which exhibits not only the relationship between process dimensions and the effectiveness of the planning process, but also the relationships among different dimensions of the planning process. The remainder of the paper is organized as follows. Section 2 discusses and provides process dimensions of ISP. Section 3 presents the process model and proposes related hypotheses, followed by outlining analytical techniques and item measurements. Empirical test results, study implications and limitations are discussed in the last section. 14 Information System Development Stages An information system development consists of six important stages, it is system survey, needs analysis, design, implementation, testing, change and maintenance.  System survey  Needs Analysis  Design  Implementation  Testing  Change and Maintenance 1. System Survey The SLDC phase also consists of three main points: system identification, selection, and system planning. a. System Identification This process is to identify the problems facing the company and the system it has. The team will look for any opportunities that can be done to overcome this. b. Selection The selection phase will apply evaluation points to the development project to ensure the solutions are created in accordance with the company’s expected targets. c. System Planning This step is the step of developing a formal plan to start working on and implementing the information system development concept that has been chosen. 2. Needs Analysis 14  System requirements analysis is a technique for solving problems by decomposing the components of the system. The aim is none other than to find out more about how each component works and the interaction between one component with other components. Some aspects that need to be targeted in the needs analysis in the development of information systems include business users, job analysis, business processes, agreed rules, problems and solutions, business tools, and business plans. 3. Design The design or design of system development is intended to provide a complete blueprint as a guideline for the IT team (especially programmers) in making applications. Thus the IT team no longer makes decisions or works in a sporadic way. 4. Implementation The stage of developing this information system is to work on a previously designed development. 5. Testing A system needs to be tested to ensure that the development carried out is appropriate or not with the expected results. Tests that are applied are various, such as performance, input efficiency, syntax (program logic), output, and so on. This information system development stage requires preparation of various supporting aspects. In addition to applications, hardware readiness and several other related facilities also need to be prepared. As for implementation, several activities carried out include data migration (conversion), training for users, and trials. 6. Change and Maintenance This step covers the whole process in order to ensure the continuity, smoothness and improvement of the system. In addition to monitoring the system at a certain time, maintenance also includes activities to anticipate minor bugs (bugs), system improvements, and anticipation of some risks from factors outside the system. Thus, information about the development of information systems or SLDC. May be useful! Approaches of MIS Development: MIS development is a strategic process of developing an informative information system for a company. To do this, many experts from different levels of a system sit together and investigates and examine a feasible approach to MIS development. An approach is a method of developing a system in such a way so that it can be designed as per system needs and meet all the system objectives. MIS (Management Information System) is an important source of information for an organization. An approach of MIS development offers some significant facts for the organizations that influence each approach. MIS approaches to distinguish between each other; organizations are using an appropriate MIS development approach as per their need. There are 3 different types of MIS – 1. Top-down approach 2. Bottom-up approach 3. Integrative approach 14  1. Top-Down Approach: In this method, the entire system is partitioned into a hierarchy of subsystems. The overall system is divided into a number of subsystems, which are then divided into a number of other subsystems in a top-down approach. A behavioural classification is used in the top-down approach of MIS development. This approach also defines the strategic and tactical decisions and the necessary decisions to operate the various key activities of MIS development. Many of them, strategies, goals, and plans are recognized by top management executives and conveyed to the administrative management levels. The key objectives of the systems are established and ways to achieve them are decided in top-down design. They're gradually pushed down the organizational hierarchy to be created and defined well. 2. Bottom-Up Approach As its name implies, this approach mainly starts with the leaf-level or bottom-most management and proceeds progressively to the upper management levels. After recognizing the primary transactions, the needed file requirements and information processing programs are developed for each life stream system which is then moved towards data integration that is stored in different 14  files of the information system. A bottom-up approach is functional to identify the various factors and understand the difficult situations and formulate strategies to deal with them. 3. Integrative Approach In the integrative approach subsystems of a system are integrated with each other in such a way so that the objective of the system can be fulfilled. An integrative approach of a system development may consist of followings -  Design a system that can be achieving the major objectives of the system using its subsystems.  Designing a system that combines the various functions performed by its subsystems.  Designing a system that is not very clear to the user but is concealed under the previously existing subsystems. Managers at all levels can control the design using an integrated approach. Top management determines the structure and design of MIS that is appropriate for the business. What is Requirements Determination? A requirement is a vital feature of a new system which may include processing or capturing of data, controlling the activities of business, producing information and supporting the management. Requirements determination involves studying the existing system and gathering details to find out what are the requirements, how it works, and where improvements should be made. OBJECTIVES  Understand how to create a requirements definition  Become familiar with requirements-analysis techniques  Understand when to use each requirements-analysis technique  Understand how to gather requirements using interviews, JAD sessions, questionnaires, document analysis, and observation  Understand the use of concept maps, story cards, and task lists as requirements-documentation techniques  Understand when to use each requirements-gathering technique  Be able to begin creating a system proposal 14 Major Activities in requirement Determination Requirements Anticipation  It predicts the characteristics of system based on previous experience which include certain problems or features and requirements for a new system.  It can lead to analysis of areas that would otherwise go unnoticed by inexperienced analyst. But if shortcuts are taken and bias is introduced in conducting the investigation, then requirement Anticipation can be half-baked. Requirements Investigation  It is studying the current system and documenting its features for further analysis.  It is at the heart of system analysis where analyst documenting and describing system features using fact-finding techniques, prototyping, and computer assisted tools. Requirements Specifications  It includes the analysis of data which determine the requirement specification, description of features for new system, and specifying what information requirements will be provided.  It includes analysis of factual data, identification of essential requirements, and selection of Requirement-fulfilment strategies. Information Gathering Techniques The main aim of fact finding techniques is to determine the information requirements of an organization used by analysts to prepare a precise SRS understood by user. Ideal SRS Document should −  be complete, Unambiguous, and Jargon-free.  specify operational, tactical, and strategic information requirements.  solve possible disputes between users and analyst.  use graphical aids which simplify understanding and design. There are various information gathering techniques − Interviewing Systems analyst collects information from individuals or groups by interviewing. The analyst can be formal, legalistic, play politics, or be informal; as the success of an interview depends on the skill of analyst as interviewer. It can be done in two ways −  Unstructured Interview − The system analyst conducts question-answer session to acquire basic information of the system.  Structured Interview − It has standard questions which user need to respond in either close (objective) or open (descriptive) format. Advantages of Interviewing  This method is frequently the best source of gathering qualitative information.  It is useful for them, who do not communicate effectively in writing or who may not have the time to complete questionnaire.  Information can easily be validated and cross checked immediately.  It can handle the complex subjects.  It is easy to discover key problem by seeking opinions.  It bridges the gaps in the areas of misunderstandings and minimizes future problems. 14 Questionnaires This method is used by analyst to gather information about various issues of system from large number of persons. There are two types of questionnaires −  Open-ended Questionnaires − It consists of questions that can be easily and correctly interpreted. They can explore a problem and lead to a specific direction of answer.  Closed-ended Questionnaires − It consists of questions that are used when the systems analyst effectively lists all possible responses, which are mutually exclusive. Advantages of questionnaires  It is very effective in surveying interests, attitudes, feelings, and beliefs of users which are not co-located.  It is useful in situation to know what proportion of a given group approves or disapproves of a particular feature of the proposed system.  It is useful to determine the overall opinion before giving any specific direction to the system project.  It is more reliable and provides high confidentiality of honest responses.  It is appropriate for electing factual information and for statistical data collection which can be emailed and sent by post. Review of Records, Procedures, and Forms Review of existing records, procedures, and forms helps to seek insight into a system which describes the current system capabilities, its operations, or activities. Advantages  It helps user to gain some knowledge about the organization or operations by themselves before they impose upon others.  It helps in documenting current operations within short span of time as the procedure manuals and forms describe the format and functions of present system.  It can provide a clear understanding about the transactions that are handled in the organization, identifying input for processing, and evaluating performance.  It can help an analyst to understand the system in terms of the operations that must be supported.  It describes the problem, its affected parts, and the proposed solution. Observation This is a method of gathering information by noticing and observing the people, events, and objects. The analyst visits the organization to observe the working of current system and understands the requirements of the system. Advantages  It is a direct method for gleaning information.  It is useful in situation where authenticity of data collected is in question or when complexity of certain aspects of system prevents clear explanation by end-users.  It produces more accurate and reliable data.  It produces all the aspect of documentation that are incomplete and outdated. Joint Application Development (JAD) It is a new technique developed by IBM which brings owners, users, analysts, designers, and builders to define and design the system using organized and intensive workshops. JAD trained analyst act as facilitator for workshop who has some specialized skills. 14 Advantages of JAD  It saves time and cost by replacing months of traditional interviews and follow-up meetings.  It is useful in organizational culture which supports joint problem solving.  Fosters formal relationships among multiple levels of employees.  It can lead to development of design creatively.  It Allows rapid development and improves ownership of information system. Secondary Research or Background Reading This method is widely used for information gathering by accessing the gleaned information. It includes any previously gathered information used by the marketer from any internal or external source. Advantages  It is more openly accessed with the availability of internet.  It provides valuable information with low cost and time.  It acts as forerunner to primary research and aligns the focus of primary research.  It is used by the researcher to conclude if the research is worth it as it is available with procedures used and issues in collecting them. Feasibility Study Feasibility Study can be considered as preliminary investigation that helps the management to take decision about whether study of system should be feasible for development or not.  It identifies the possibility of improving an existing system, developing a new system, and produce refined estimates for further development of system.  It is used to obtain the outline of the problem and decide whether feasible or appropriate solution exists or not.  The main objective of a feasibility study is to acquire problem scope instead of solving the problem.  The output of a feasibility study is a formal system proposal act as decision document which includes the complete nature and scope of the proposed system. Steps Involved in Feasibility Analysis The following steps are to be followed while performing feasibility analysis −  Form a project team and appoint a project leader.  Develop system flowcharts.  Identify the deficiencies of current system and set goals.  Enumerate the alternative solution or potential candidate system to meet goals.  Determine the feasibility of each alternative such as technical feasibility, operational feasibility, etc.  Weight the performance and cost effectiveness of each candidate system.  Rank the other alternatives and select the best candidate system. 14   Prepare a system proposal of final project directive to management for approval. Types of Feasibilities Economic Feasibility  It is evaluating the effectiveness of candidate system by using cost/benefit analysis method.  It demonstrates the net benefit from the candidate system in terms of benefits and costs to the organization.  The main aim of Economic Feasibility Analysis (EFS) is to estimate the economic requirements of candidate system before investments funds are committed to proposal.  It prefers the alternative which will maximize the net worth of organization by earliest and highest return of funds along with lowest level of risk involved in developing the candidate system. Technical Feasibility  It investigates the technical feasibility of each implementation alternative.  It analyses and determines whether the solution can be supported by existing technology or not.  The analyst determines whether current technical resources be upgraded or added it that fulfil the new requirements.  It ensures that the candidate system provides appropriate responses to what extent it can support the technical enhancement. Operational Feasibility  It determines whether the system is operating effectively once it is developed and implemented.  It ensures that the management should support the proposed system and its working feasible in the current organizational environment.  It analyses whether the users will be affected and they accept the modified or new business methods that affect the possible system benefits.  It also ensures that the computer resources and network architecture of candidate system are workable. Behavioural Feasibility  It evaluates and estimates the user attitude or behavior towards the development of new system.  It helps in determining if the system requires special effort to educate, retrain, transfer, and changes in employee’s job status on new ways of conducting business. Schedule Feasibility  It ensures that the project should be completed within given time constraint or schedule.  It also verifies and validates whether the deadlines of project are reasonable or not. Strategies for Information Requirements Determination An information system should meet the needs of the host organization it serves. The requirements for the information system are thus determined by the characteristics and procedures of the organizational system. But correct and complete information requirements are frequently very difficult to obtain. Simply asking prospective users of the information systems to specify the requirements will not suffice in a large percentage of cases. There are three major reasons for the difficulty in obtaining a correct and complete set of requirements: Copyright 1982 by International Business Machines Corporation. Copying is permitted without payment of royalty provided that (1) each reproduction is done without alteration and 14 (2) the Journal reference and IBM copyright notice are included on the first page. The title and abstract may be used without further permission in computer-based and other information-service systems. Permission to republish other excerpts should be obtained from the Editor. There are three general approaches for getting information regarding the user’s requirements. They are  Asking  Getting information from the existing information system  Prototyping. ASKING This strategy obtains information from users by simply asking them about the requirements. It assumes a stable system where users are well informed and can overcome biases in defining their problem. There are three key asking methods. 1. Questions: Questions may be open-ended or closed. An open-ended question allows the respondent to formulate a response. It is used when feelings or opinions are important. A closed question requests one answer from a specific set of responses. It is used when factual responses are known. 2. Brainstorming: Brainstorming is a technique used for generating new ideas and obtaining general information requirements. This method is appropriate for getting non-conventional solutions to problems. A guided approach to brainstorming asks each participant to define ideal solutions and then select the best one. It works well for users who have sound system knowledge but have the difficulty of accepting new ideas. 3. Group consensus: This method asks participants for their expectations regarding specific variables. Each participant fills out a questionnaire. The results are summarized and given to participants along with a follow- up questionnaire. Participants are invited to change their responses. The results are again summarized and given back to the participants. This debate by questionnaire continues until participants responses have converged enough. This method is advantageous than brainstorming because the participants are not subjected to psychological pressure. GETTING INFORMATION FROM EXISTING INFORMATION SYSTEM There are two methods in extracting information from an already existing system 1. Data Analysis approach  Determining information from an existing application is called the data analysis approach.  It simply asks the user what information is currently received and what other information is required.  It depends on the user for getting accurate information.  The analyst examines all reports, discusses each piece of information with the user, and determines unfulfilled information needs by interviewing the user.  The analyst is primarily involved in improving the existing flow of data to the user.  The data analysis method is ideal for making structured decisions, although it requires that users articulate their information requirements.  A major drawback is a lack of established rules for obtaining and validating information needs that are not linked to organizational objectives. 14 2. Decision Analysis  This method breaks down a problem into parts, which allows the user to focus separately on the critical issues.  It also determines policy and organizational objectives relevant to complete each major decision.  The analyst and the user then refine the decision process and the information requirements for a final statement of information requirements.  In this method information needs are clearly linked to decision and organizational objectives.  It is useful for unstructured decisions and information tailored to the user’s decision-making style.  The major drawback is that information requirements may change when the user is promoted or replaced PROTOTYPING The third strategy for determining user information requirements is used when the user cannot establish information needs accurately before the information system is built. The reason could be the lack of an existing model on which to decide requirements or a difficulty in visualizing candidate system. In this case the user need to consider real life systems from which adjustments can be made. This iterative approach first set up the initial requirements and builds a system to meet these requirements. As users gain experience, they request additional requirements or modifications and the process continues. Prototyping is suitable for environments where it is difficult to formulate a concrete model for defining information requirements. Prototyping strategy is appropriate for determining high uncertainty information requirement. Analysts use various tools to understand and describe the information system. One of the ways is using structured analysis. 14 What is Structured Analysis? Structured Analysis is a development method that allows the analyst to understand the system and its activities in a logical way. It is a systematic approach, which uses graphical tools that analyze and refine the objectives of an existing system and develop a new system specification which can be easily understandable by user. It has following attributes −  It is graphic which specifies the presentation of application.  It divides the processes so that it gives a clear picture of system flow.  It is logical rather than physical i.e., the elements of system do not depend on vendor or hardware.  It is an approach that works from high-level overviews to lower-level details. Structured Analysis Tools During Structured Analysis, various tools and techniques are used for system development. They are −  Data Flow Diagrams  Data Dictionary  Decision Trees  Decision Tables  Structured English  Pseudocode Data Flow Diagrams (DFD) or Bubble Chart It is a technique developed by Larry Constantine to express the requirements of system in a graphical form.  It shows the flow of data between various functions of system and specifies how the current system is implemented. 14   It is an initial stage of design phase that functionally divides the requirement specifications down to the lowest level of detail.  Its graphical nature makes it a good communication tool between user and analyst or analyst and system designer.  It gives an overview of what data a system processes, what transformations are performed, what data are stored, what results are produced and where they flow. Basic Elements of DFD DFD is easy to understand and quite effective when the required design is not clear and the user wants a notational language for communication. However, it requires a large number of iterations for obtaining the most accurate and complete solution. The following table shows the symbols used in designing a DFD and their significance − Symbol Name Symbol Meaning Square Source or Destination of Data Arrow Data flow Circle Process transforming data flow Open Rectangle Data Store Types of DFD DFDs are of two types: Physical DFD and Logical DFD. The following table lists the points that differentiate a physical DFD from a logical DFD. Physical DFD Logical DFD It is implementation dependent. It It is implementation independent. It focuses only on shows which functions are performed. the flow of data between processes. It provides low level details of It explains events of systems and data required by hardware, software, files, and people. each event. It depicts how the current system It shows how business operates; not how the system operates and how a system will be can be implemented. implemented. 14 Context Diagram A context diagram helps in understanding the entire system by one DFD which gives the overview of a system. It starts with mentioning major processes with little details and then goes onto giving more details of the processes with the top-down approach. The context diagram of mess management is shown below. Data Dictionary A data dictionary is a structured repository of data elements in the system. It stores the descriptions of all DFD data elements that is, details and definitions of data flows, data stores, data stored in data stores, and the processes. A data dictionary improves the communication between the analyst and the user. It plays an important role in building a database. Most DBMSs have a data dictionary as a standard feature. For example, refer the following table − Sr.No. Data Name Description No. of Characters 1 ISBN ISBN Number 10 2 TITLE title 60 3 SUB Book Subjects 80 4 ANAME Author Name 15 14 Decision Trees Decision trees are a method for defining complex relationships by describing decisions and avoiding the problems in communication. A decision tree is a diagram that shows alternative actions and conditions within horizontal tree framework. Thus, it depicts which conditions to consider first, second, and so on. Decision trees depict the relationship of each condition and their permissible actions. A square node indicates an action and a circle indicates a condition. It forces analysts to consider the sequence of decisions and identifies the actual decision that must be made. The major limitation of a decision tree is that it lacks information in its format to describe what other combinations of conditions you can take for testing. It is a single representation of the relationships between conditions and actions. For example, refer the following decision tree − Decision Tables Decision tables are a method of describing the complex logical relationship in a precise manner which is easily understandable.  It is useful in situations where the resulting actions depend on the occurrence of one or several combinations of independent conditions.  It is a matrix containing row or columns for defining a problem and the actions. 14 14 Components of a Decision Table  Condition Stub − It is in the upper left quadrant which lists all the condition to be checked.  Action Stub − It is in the lower left quadrant which outlines all the action to be carried out to meet such condition.  Condition Entry − It is in upper right quadrant which provides answers to questions asked in condition stub quadrant.  Action Entry − It is in lower right quadrant which indicates the appropriate action resulting from the answers to the conditions in the condition entry quadrant. The entries in decision table are given by Decision Rules which define the relationships between combinations of conditions and courses of action. In rules section,  Y shows the existence of a condition.  N represents the condition, which is not satisfied.  A blank - against action states it is to be ignored.  X (or a check mark will do) against action states it is to be carried out. For example, refer the following table − CONDITIONS Rule 1 Rule 2 Rule 3 Rule 4 Advance payment made Y N N N Purchase amount = Rs 10,000/- - Y Y N Regular Customer - Y N - ACTIONS Give 5% discount X X - - Give no discount - - X X Structured English Structure English is derived from structured programming language which gives more understandable and precise description of process. It is based on procedural logic that uses construction and imperative sentences designed to perform operation for action.  It is best used when sequences and loops in a program must be considered and the problem needs sequences of actions with decisions. 14   It does not have strict syntax rule. It expresses all logic in terms of sequential decision structures and iterations. For example, see the following sequence of actions − if customer pays advance then Give 5% Discount else if purchase amount >=10,000 then if the customer is a regular customer then Give 5% Discount else No Discount end if else No Discount end if end if Pseudocode A pseudocode does not conform to any programming language and expresses logic in plain English.  It may specify the physical programming logic without actual coding during and after the physical design.  It is used in conjunction with structured programming.  It replaces the flowcharts of a program. Guidelines for Selecting Appropriate Tools Use the following guidelines for selecting the most appropriate tool that would suit your requirements −  Use DFD at high- or low-level analysis for providing good system documentations.  Use data dictionary to simplify the structure for meeting the data requirement of the system.  Use structured English if there are many loops and actions are complex.  Use decision tables when there are a large number of conditions to check and logic is complex.  Use decision trees when sequencing of conditions is important and if there are few conditions to be tested. What is Systems Design? Definition: Systems design is the process of defining elements of a system like modules, architecture, components and their interfaces and data for a system based on the specified requirements. It is the process of defining, developing and designing systems which satisfies the specific needs and requirements of a business or organization. Description: A systemic approach is required for a coherent and well-running system. Bottom-Up or Top-Down approach is required to take into account all related variables of the system. A designer uses the modelling languages to express the information and knowledge in a structure of system that is defined 14 by a consistent set of rules and definitions. The designs can be defined in graphical or textual modelling languages. Some of the examples of graphical modelling languages are a. Unified Modelling Language (UML): To describe software both structurally and behaviourally with graphical notation. b. Flowchart: A schematic or stepwise representation of an algorithm. c. Business Process Modelling Notation (BPMN): Used for Process Modelling language. d. Systems Modelling Language (SysML): Used for systems engineering. Design methods: 1) Architectural design: To describes the views, models, behaviour, and structure of the system. 2) Logical design: To represent the data flow, inputs and outputs of the system. Example: ER Diagrams (Entity Relationship Diagrams). 3) Physical design: Defined as a. How users add information to the system and how the system represents information back to the user. b. How the data is modelled and stored within the system. c. How data moves through the system, how data is validated, secured and/or transformed as it flows through and out of the system. System Design Keys:  Successfully understanding and defining the mission objectives and the concept of operations are keys to capturing the stakeholder expectations, which will translate into quality requirements and operational efficiencies over the life cycle of the project.  Complete and thorough requirements traceability is a critical factor in successful validation of requirements.  Clear and unambiguous requirements will help avoid misunderstanding when developing the overall system and when making major or minor changes.  Document all decisions made during the development of the original design concept in the technical data package. This will make the original design philosophy and negotiation results available to assess future proposed changes and modifications against.  The validation of a design solution is a continuing recursive and iterative process during which the design solution is evaluated against stakeholder expectations. What is MIS? MIS is an organized integration of hardware and software technologies, data, processes, and human elements. It is a software system that focuses on the management of information technology to provide efficient and effective strategic decision making. What is MIS? MIS is the acronym for Management Information Systems. MIS is a set of procedures which, when executed, provides information to support decision making. 14 Systems Design The objective of systems design is to produce the design specifications for the system that will satisfy the requirements defined during the systems analysis. These specifications should be detailed enough to become inputs to the programming stage that follows the design. The design process is usually broken down into two parts: 1. Logical design - produces the general specification of the resources that will make up the system. 2. Physical design - produces a complete, detailed specification of the named program components, called modules, which are to be programmed, and of the databases to be maintained by the system. The following system aspects have to be determined and described in the appropriate documentation during the system design: 1. Hardware and systems software platforms for the application. 2. Programs that will constitute the application and the modules that will make up the programs. 3. Specification of individual software modules 4. Design of the database 5. Design of user interfaces 6. Procedures for system use. Logical Design During the logical design, the developers create the general specification for the information system's resources, often taking the existing system as a point of departure. The developers will devise alternative major solutions to the problem identified during the analysis phase and recommend one of these solutions for implementation. Activities included in the logical design include: 1. The components of the hardware and systems software environment for the system are specified. 2. System outputs and the inputs needed to produce these outputs are identified. 3. The user interface (means whereby the user interacts with the system), is specified. 4. The logical design of the database is developed 5. The programs that will compose the system and the modules that will make up the programs are designed. 6. The procedures to be employed in operating the system are specified 7. The controls that will be incorporated in the system are specified, with information systems auditors participating in the process. Physical Design The objective of physical design is to produce a complete specification of all system modules and of interfaces between them, and to perform physical design of the database. Structured design methodologies help specify module logic during this stage. When physical design is completed, the following aspects of the system will have been specified: 14  a. System outputs b. System inputs c. User-system interface d. Platforms e. Acquisition method f. Modular design of the programs that will be developed for the application, interfaces between the modules, and the specifications of the logic of individual modules. g. Detailed test plan h. Database i. Controls j. Documentation k. Conversion plan It is critical to sustain the processes of organizational change connected with system implementation. This includes: 1. Reorganizing the affected units of the firm 2. Redesigning the jobs of people who will be affected by the system 3. Enhancing user motivation 4. Conducting user training. Techniques and Tools of Structured Systems Design The principal objective of structured design is to specify the structure of the programs in the system in such a way that the system will be relatively easy to program and modify. The principal product of the logical design stage of structured design is the structure charts of the programs that need to be coded and tested. A structure chart specifies the modules that the program will consist of and the interfaces between them. An interface is a call by a higher-level module - it calls a lower-level module to do part of the task. Structured systems design is based on two basic principles: 1. Modular Structure 2. Hierarchical Design Modular Structure Programs must be constructed of modules. A module is a named program routine that is handled as a unit which is evoked (called) by their names during program execution. Characteristics of a module include:  A module ought to perform completely a well-defined function in the overall system  A module should be short enough so that its logic is relatively easy to understand.  Modules are relatively independent from one another and thus, a modification of some of them during maintenance will scarcely affect other modules. 14 Hierarchical Design Program modules are identified top-down; thus, a hierarchical program structure emerges. Characteristics of a hierarchical design include:  Start with the single top module that provides the overall control  Break down its function into lower-level functions and so identify the modules it must call.  Maintenance is made easier as the maintainer can understand the program structure by studying the structure chart and relating it to the program code. Programming At this stage of its development, the system is coded, tested, and debugged in a process called programming. Programming is writing instructions for computer execution and testing the written code to ensure that it performs according to specifications. The objective of programming is thus to produce reliable software based on appropriate design specifications. Programming tasks include:  Coding the software module specifications produced during system design into statements in a programming language.  Testing at several levels, beginning with testing individual modules as they are programmed and culminating in acceptance or installation testing before the system is placed into operation. Debugging - problems discovered during testing are tracked down to their source in the code and removed. To ensure quality of the product, the discipline of structured programming is essential. Coding the program by relying on a small number of simple programming structures for organizing its logic. This makes the program code relatively easy to understand, test, and modify. Software Quality Assurance Software quality assurance includes a variety of techniques aimed at producing a software product that satisfies user requirements and organizational objectives. Early detection of errors is the basis of cost-effective software quality assurance. Early errors that are not detected right after they are made are expensive to correct later. The severity of errors varies. The principal means of software quality assurance in the early development stages are walkthroughs and inspections. The essential means of quality assurance when the program code is available is software testing. 14 Walkthroughs and Inspections A walkthrough is a review by a small group of people of a system development product presented by its author. Walkthroughs should be scheduled frequently during systems development so that a manageable piece of work can be thoroughly reviewed in one to two hours. Walkthroughs include:  Specification walkthroughs, where the group looks for errors, omissions, and ambiguities in the data flow diagrams at various levels, in the data dictionary entries, and in other components of requirement’s specifications.  Design walkthroughs, where program listings are studied.  Code walkthroughs, where program listings are studied.  Test walkthroughs, to ensure that the test cases are prepared thoroughly. It is crucial for the effectiveness of walkthroughs that they are established as a quality assurance tool as opposed to a management tool for evaluating the performance of IS professionals. An inspection is similar to a walkthrough in its objectives, but it is a more formal review technique. In an inspection, a review team checks a data flow diagram or a program against a prepared list of concerns. At the heart of code inspection is the paraphrasing technique: An inspector verbally expresses the meaning of one or more lines of code at a time, with other participants striving to detect errors in this code. Inspections also include formal rework and follow-up stages to see that the discovered errors were corrected. Testing Testing involves executing the information system components, and the entire system when available, for the purpose of fixing errors. General principles of testing include:  A test plan must be prepared to specify the sequence in which the modules will be coded, in individually tested, and then integrated into the program.  Test cases must be prepared as part of the plan.  Each test case should include a specification of the data to be submitted as inputs, as well as a specification of the expected results of the test.  All test results should be studied and recorded.  Test cases should be prepared for both valid and invalid input conditions.  Software tools are available to support testing and debugging; their use significantly increases the effectiveness of the process. The following are the principal levels of software testing: 1. Module testing - after a module has been coded, the code is thoroughly reviewed and then tested with predesigned test cases. 2. Integration testing - after individual modules are coded and unit-tested, they are integrated into the overall program. Generally, one module at a time is added to the structure and the resulting partial product is tested. 14  3. System testing - the system is validated against its functional specifications, in an environment and under loads that resemble the actual operation as closely as possible. The system is subjected to stress loads to see whether it degrades gracefully. The system's compatibility is checked against other systems it will have to interact with. Controls and recovery procedures are also tested. It is very important to test the documentation that will accompany the system along with the system itself. A beta test of software is used to test the early copies of software by the intended end users in order to uncover problems in actual use. 4. Acceptance testing - a set of systems tests are run in order to ensure that the requirements of Aall users@ have been satisfied. A suite of tests validating the overall system operation is identified, documented, and preserved for maintenance purposes. These regression tests will be used to revalidate the system following each maintenance procedure. 5. Installation testing - if acceptance testing was done before a system was installed in its production environment, a set of system tests is run again following installation. The system is now ready for operation. Conversion Following acceptance testing, a planned conversion to the new system is performed. The four common conversion methods include: 1. Parallel operation  this method is the safest method of conversion  the old and new systems are run simultaneously until sufficient confidence is gained in the new system.  it is expensive to run both the old and new systems during this conversion method 2. Direct conversion  this method is the most risky (and thus potentially the most expensive) method of conversion.  at a certain point the old system is completely replaced by the new one. 3. Phased conversion  involves a gradual conversion  the new system is introduced in incremental stages, which are divided by function, organizational units served, the hardware on with the new system will reside, or some other factor. 4. Pilot version  involves a gradual conversion  this method relies on introducing a part of the system into one carefully designated organizational area, learning from this experience, and then introducing the complete system. 14 Postimplementation Review The final phase of the development life cycle is actually conducted during systems operations. Its objective is to assess both the system and the development methodology, and it is a vital aspect of organizational learning. This stage is called the postimplementation review. A properly conducted review pursues several objectives:  The organizational impact of the system is studied and further effort is made to ensure successful implementation. The review may trigger adjustments in organizational structure, business processes, and job designs.  A major system development project should be a source of organizational learning.  The system's performance and controls are evaluated, with the IS auditors participating. Requests for maintenance frequently follow this evaluation. Maintaining Information Systems Operational information systems must be maintained. Maintenance is the process of modifying an information system to continually satisfy organizational and user requirements. There is a vast difference between hardware and software maintenance in costs as well as in objectives. Hardware maintenance - the purpose of maintaining computer system hardware is to keep the equipment in working order without changing its functionality. Traditionally, this aspect of system maintenance has been covered by maintenance contracts with equipment manufacturers. Systems maintenance - the principal effort in system maintenance is directed at maintaining the applications software. Software maintenance includes all modifications of a software product after it has been turned over to operations. The cost of this maintenance over the useful life of an application is typically twice the development cost. Software maintenance actually consists of three types of activities: 1. Perfective maintenance - enhancing and modifying the system to respond to changing user requirements and organizational needs, improving system efficiency, and enhancing documentation. 2. Adaptive maintenance - changing the application to adapt it to a new hardware or software environment. Adaptive maintenance may involve, for example, moving an application from a mainframe to a client/server environment, or converting it from a file to a database environment. 3. Corrective maintenance - correcting an error discovered during operations. The Dynamics of Software Maintenance A software maintenance procedure consists of three steps: 14  We need to understand the software to be modified and identify the parts targeted for maintenance.  We must then modify the appropriate components of the application system without adversely affecting the rest of the system  We must test and thus validate the modified components, as well as the entire system. Technologies Assisting the Development of Information Systems Two relatively new technologies offer particular promise to raise the productivity of information systems development and enhance the quality of the resulting product. These include: 1. CASE 2. Object oriented development (OOD) Computer aided software engineering (CASE) technology offers development tools that automate important aspects of the software development process. Object oriented development (OOD) is a software development methodology that offers the all-important possibility of large-scale software reuse: an ability to build up a collection of basic software components from which larger and larger systems may be constructed. Computer-Aided Software Engineering (CASE) Computer-Aided Software Engineering (CASE) tools assist software developers in planning, analyzing, designing, programming, and maintaining information systems. The principal advantage of a CASE tool is that it offers an integrated package of capabilities for several of these tasks. The best-known CASE tools assist the developer in creating a complete set of requirements specifications for a system, with all the data flow diagrams and with the entities defined in the data dictionary. The tool subsequently supports the development of structure charts. Alternative development methodologies and the design of databases are also supported. CASE tools combine several technologies: 1. Software development methodologies, such as structured systems development 2. Fourth-generation languages for nonprocedural coding 3. Graphical user interfaces. It is important to stress to students that reference to CASE most often means the Afront-end@ tools that support the earlier phase of systems development, such as analysis and design. However, CASE tools also include the Aback-end@ tools such as code generators - software that produces program code from a terse specification. CASE tools are an excellent vehicle for rapid applications development through prototyping. They help to develop the hierarchy of menus for the user interface and specify screens and reports, all of which can be done in consultation with the users. The code generator then produces the necessary code. The focal facility of a CASE tool is the information repository, a central database for storing and managing project data dictionaries, which can contain all the information about the system being 14 developed. This information begins with the plans and goes on to the entities that appear in data flow diagrams, onto the code, and even to the project management information. CASE tools facilitate traceability - the ability to relate program code to the analysis and design entities it implements. CASE tools provide automatic assistance for checking the consistency and completeness of the products as the development goes on. The availability of this information makes it easier to introduce modifications in a consistent fashion at any time during system development or maintenance. CASE tools can also contribute significantly to improved maintenance of information systems. In the first place, the use of CASE during the development means better documented systems, with essential documentation kept in the repository and thus relatively easy to maintain. It is possible to trace a user's request for an enhancement from a DFD to the code modules to be modified and thus to determine the impact of the change. CASE tools make it possible to maintain system specifications as they are changed during maintenance. Certain CASE tools are expressly designed for maintenance activities. Such packages automatically recast a program from unstructured code into a structured format that relies disciplined programming. More elaborate CASE packages for maintenance support reverse engineering - developing analysis and design specifications from the program code. CASE technology has contributed significantly in reducing time-to-market for products and services. However, CASE is a complex technology, requiring organizational and individual learning. Quality improvements are likely to come before increases in productivity of systems development or maintenance. The complexity of CASE tools and the lack of integrated support for systems development have limited their adoption. Object-Oriented Development Object-oriented development (OOD) aims to build a software model of the real-world system. This explicit modeling is done by defining and implementing classes of objects using the vocabulary of the business that will be supported by the information system. The central principal in object-oriented development (OOD) is building the system as a collection of interacting objects. If program objects represent real-world objects, we obtain a rather close correspondence between the program components and their real-world equivalents. Much of the development proceeds by defining the classes of objects for the information system. Classes are templates of objects and, conversely, objects are instances of classes. The classes and objects that information systems deal with are relatively permanent in their behaviour. Therefore, code libraries can be built up, to be used as needed. The appeal of OOD is the ability to build up libraries of reusable code. Developers are able to use software components developed for other systems - and tested through prior use. Producing reusable software components is only one of the potential benefits of the object-oriented approach. The process of systems analysis and design based on object orientation is a powerful technique for gaining understanding of a business system and casting this understanding into modifiable software components. With OOD, there is a smooth transition from analysis to design - both of these development tasks deal with objects and classes of objects. OOD is especially promising for: 14  1. Graphical user interfaces, where objects such as icons are common 2. Complex applications running on several computers, such as client/server systems, where different objects can be allocated to different processors. 3. Multimedia applications, which need to support a variety of objects, such as test, voice, image, and video. Management of Information Systems Projects Proper management of a large software development maintenance project has three main aspects: 1. Estimation of the effort needed to develop the system 2. Project planning (or scheduling) 3. The organization of development teams. Estimation of System Development Effort In general, projects start with a small number of people in the initial stages of systems analysis and design. The number then peaks during the coding and testing stage. The actual shape of the curve depends on a variety of factors. There are several ways to estimate the development time and cost for a software system. 1. Estimating is done by analogy with a previously developed system. 2. Establishing a measure for the software product and by determining the relationship of this measure to the cost and time of software development. A frequent measure is the estimated count of lines of the code to be delivered. 3. Functional points technique of estimating software development effort early in development by considering the number and complexity of the system inputs, outputs, inquiries, and files. Project Scheduling and Tracking: Use of Software Tools Once the total development effort on the project has been estimated, a project schedule may be established. A schedule breaks the project up into stages, which may be further broken down into lower-level activities. Major activities terminate in a milestone, which is defined in terms of completed deliverables. Methods used to schedule activities as a project progress include:  PERT/CPM - is a method of scheduling systems development or maintenance activities and controlling the project. Figure 16.11 - a PERT chart shows the precedence relationships among the activities listed and the numbered completion events (milestones). The critical path consists only of critical activities. Any delay in an activity on this path will cause project delay. Using PERT/CPM, enables us to answer questions such as these: [Figure 16.11] 1. How much total time will be needed to complete the project 2. What are the scheduled start and finish times for each activity 3. Which activities are critical and must be completed exactly as scheduled 4. How long may noncritical activities be delayed. 14   Gantt Chart - is a graphical tool for project management that represents project tasks over time as a bar chart. Software Project Teams Most software projects, in both development and maintenance, are carried out by teams. Team composition varies depending on the development phase - initially it may include largely systems analysts, but in the end it will consist chiefly of programmers. It is generally recognized that teams should be small (no more than 10 people), since the development of a complex product such as an information system calls for intense communication among team members. Two organizational structures for a team, representing opposite extremes are the: 1. Chief programmer team  is built around an outstanding software developer, the chief programmer, who personally defines the requirements specifications and design for the system and programs the key modules.  the chief programmer is assisted by others, such as a back-up programmer of almost equal qualifications, an administrator responsible for the managerial aspects of the project, the project's software librarian responsible for the documentation and keeping current with new program versions, and by several other professionals.  the team is built hierarchically, with all the members answering to the chief programmer  the chief programmer team is more applicable to large project involving a known set of technologies. 2. Democratic team  all the team members bear equal responsibility for the project, and the relationships between them are informal.  there is much communication among team members in a democratic team than in a chief programmer team.  team members are assigned fixed roles, which may be rotated s the situation requires.  frequently, decisions are made by consensus.  because the team's operation is highly dynamic, it is vital to preserve group memory as the work on the project progresses.  the role is assigned to the project librarian, who maintains all the project information in an accessible computerized form.  the democratic team lends itself better when new technologies are applied in smaller, exploratory projects. 14 Conceptual design and design methods What is conceptual design? Conceptual design is a framework for establishing the underlying idea behind a design and a plan for how it will be expressed visually. It is related to the term “concept art”, which is an illustration (often used in the preproduction phase of a film or a video game) that conveys the vision of the artist for how the final product might take form. Similarly, conceptual design occurs early on in the design process, generally before fine details such as exact colour choices or illustration style. The only tools required are a pen and paper. Conceptual design has the root word “concept,” which describes the idea and intention behind the design. This is contrasted by “execution”, which is the implementation and shape that a design ultimately takes. Essentially, the concept is the plan, and the execution is the follow-through action. Designs are often evaluated for quality in both of these areas: concept vs execution. In other words, a critic might ask: what is a design trying to say, and how well does it say it? Most importantly, you can’t have one without the other. A poorly executed design with a great concept will muddle its message with an unappealing art style. A well-executed design with a poor concept might be beautiful, but it will do a poor job of connecting with viewers and/or expressing a brand. For the purposes of this article, we’ll focus on the concept whereas execution involves studying the particulars of design technique. The purpose of conceptual design The purpose of conceptual design is to give visual shape to an idea. Towards that end, there are three main facets to the goals of conceptual design: To establish a basis of logic Artistic disciplines have a tendency to be governed by emotion and gut feeling. Designs, however, are meant to be used. Whether it is a piece of software or a logo, a design must accomplish something practical such as conveying information or expressing a brand—all on top of being aesthetically pleasing. Conceptual design is what grounds the artwork in the practical questions of why and how. To create a design language Since the concep