Lecture 13 - Acquiring Systems

Acquiring Information Systems Through Projects This content is protected and may not be shared, uploaded, or distributed © Ahmad Bisher Study Questions How can information systems be acquired? What are IT projects and what does PMBOK mean? What should you know about IT operations an...

Acquiring Information Systems Through Projects This content is protected and may not be shared, uploaded, or distributed © Ahmad Bisher Study Questions How can information systems be acquired? What are IT projects and what does PMBOK mean? What should you know about IT operations and IT projects? Why are IT projects so risky? What is an SDLC? How are information systems designed, implemented, and maintained? What is outsourcing, and what are application service providers? This content is protected and may not be shared, uploaded, or distributed © Ahmad Bisher How can information systems be acquired? Five basic ways for acquiring software applications: Buy it and use it as is Buy it and customize it Rent or lease it Build it yourself Outsource it Acquiring new software is NOT the same as acquiring new information systems, because there is a lot more to think about in systems than just software This content is protected and may not be shared, uploaded, or distributed © Ahmad Bisher New Software Must Be Integrated into Existing Systems This content is protected and may not be shared, uploaded, or distributed © Ahmad Bisher What are IT Projects, and what does PMBOK mean? Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) A project consists of a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product, service or result Projects often begin with a set of goals or objectives A scope is developed for the project Projects usually have a start and an end date projects often represent change in an organization This content is protected and may not be shared, uploaded, or distributed © Ahmad Bisher IT Projects IT projects have a large information technology component (in terms of budget or personnel) Scope (objective) Start and end date Temporary use of resources Unique Accomplish something new Hard to estimate time, budget, and scope This content is protected and may not be shared, uploaded, or distributed © Ahmad Bisher What should you know about IT operations and IT projects? IT Operations: The delivery of service, maintenance, protection, and management of IT infrastructure IT Projects: The renewal and adaptation of IT infrastructure is normally accomplished through projects Operational work and project work tend to attract two different types of IT professionals But these two fields rely on each other for success This content is protected and may not be shared, uploaded, or distributed © Ahmad Bisher What the IT Department Does This content is protected and may not be shared, uploaded, or distributed © Ahmad Bisher Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) ITIL is a well-recognized collection of books that provide a framework of best-practice approaches to IT operations ITIL offers a large set of management procedures that are designed to help businesses achieve value from IT operations ITIL has gone through several revisions; core books from the latest refresh (ITIL V4) were published in June 2011 This content is protected and may not be shared, uploaded, or distributed © Ahmad Bisher What About the Web? Web has become an important avenue for delivering IT services to both internal employees and external customers Internal intranet website may include frequently asked questions (FAQ), web-based forms for requesting services, and some web-based applications that help support tasks Public website provides support for external customers, such as FAQ, customer support information, and company contact information This content is protected and may not be shared, uploaded, or distributed © Ahmad Bisher Why are IT projects so risky? Most IT project definitions are not easy to graphically represent Lack of a good model is an important risk to recognize in IT projects Good estimates are difficult to develop because the technology is continually changing Being able to monitor progress is another challenge for IT projects This content is protected and may not be shared, uploaded, or distributed © Ahmad Bisher Some Risks Inherent in IT Projects Lack of experience in the team Lack of support from top management Lack of participation from system users Unclear and uncertain project requirements A high level of technical complexity, and changes in the project environments This content is protected and may not be shared, uploaded, or distributed © Ahmad Bisher What is an SDLC? The systems development life cycle (SDLC) is the classic process used to acquire information systems To successfully acquire and maintain information systems, there are basic tasks that need to be performed These basic tasks are combined into phases of systems development This content is protected and may not be shared, uploaded, or distributed © Ahmad Bisher SDLC Classical process with five phases: System definition Management’s statement defines new system Requirements analysis Identify features and functions Component design Based on approved user requirements Implementation Implement, test, and install new system System maintenance Repair, add new features, maintain This content is protected and may not be shared, uploaded, or distributed © Ahmad Bisher This content is protected and may not be shared, uploaded, or distributed © Ahmad Bisher Phase 1: Defining Systems Define goals and purpose for new system Must facilitate organization’s competitive strategy Supports business processes Improves decision making Defining project’s scope Simplifies requirements determination and other subsequent development work Assess feasibility of project Cost Schedule Technical Organizational This content is protected and may not be shared, uploaded, or distributed © Ahmad Bisher SDLC: System Definition Phase This content is protected and may not be shared, uploaded, or distributed © Ahmad Bisher Phase 2: Requirements Analysis Form the project team and develop the requirements Management of scope in an IT project Determine and document specific features and functions of the new system Approve requirements Less expensive to change system in this phase This content is protected and may not be shared, uploaded, or distributed © Ahmad Bisher How are information systems designed, implemented, and maintained? Five ways to acquire information systems: Buy it Buy it and customize it Rent or lease it Build it yourself Outsource it For options 1-3, organization must match its requirements with the capabilities of the available software application This content is protected and may not be shared, uploaded, or distributed © Ahmad Bisher Matching Organizational Needs and COTS Software Capabilities This content is protected and may not be shared, uploaded, or distributed © Ahmad Bisher Phase 3: Component Design Develop and evaluate alternatives Accurate requirements critical Hardware design determined by project team Software design depends on source Off-the-shelf Off-the-shelf with alterations Custom-developed programs Data model converted to database design Procedures developed for normal processing, backup, and failure recovery operations Job descriptions created for users and operations personnel This content is protected and may not be shared, uploaded, or distributed © Ahmad Bisher SDLC: Component Design Phase This content is protected and may not be shared, uploaded, or distributed © Ahmad Bisher Phase 4: Implementation System must be built Components constructed independently Document and review System testing Individual components tested System integrated and tested Users must be converted to new system This content is protected and may not be shared, uploaded, or distributed © Ahmad Bisher SDLC: Implementation Phase This content is protected and may not be shared, uploaded, or distributed © Ahmad Bisher Systems Testing Test plan Sequences of actions that users take when employing system Both normal and incorrect actions should be considered Labour intensive Product quality assurance (PQA) Testing specialists Beta testing Future system users try out system on their own This content is protected and may not be shared, uploaded, or distributed © Ahmad Bisher System Conversion Converting business activity from the old system to the new Pilot Organization implements entire system on single, limited unit If systems fails, it only affects limited boundary Reduces exposure Phased New system installed in phases Tested after each phase Continues until installed at entire organization Can’t be used in tightly integrated systems This content is protected and may not be shared, uploaded, or distributed © Ahmad Bisher System Conversion, continued Parallel New system runs in parallel with old system during testing Expensive and time consuming Data must be entered twice Provides easy fallback position Plunge Direct installation Install new system and discontinue old There is no backup position This content is protected and may not be shared, uploaded, or distributed © Ahmad Bisher Design and Implementation for the Five Components This content is protected and may not be shared, uploaded, or distributed © Ahmad Bisher Phase 5: Maintenance Fixing the system so that it works correctly or adapting system to changes in requirements Need method to track system failures and enhancements Corrections usually prioritized based on severity group fixes for high-priority failures into a patch bundle fixes of low-priority problems into larger groups called service packs This content is protected and may not be shared, uploaded, or distributed © Ahmad Bisher SDLC: System Maintenance Phase This content is protected and may not be shared, uploaded, or distributed © Ahmad Bisher Problems With SDLC SDLC waterfall method Phases are not supposed to be repeated Often teams have need to repeat requirements and/or design phases Difficulty in documenting requirements Analysis paralysis or uncertain requirements Scheduling and budget difficulties Multiyear projects difficult to properly schedule Estimations on labour often produce insufficient budgets This content is protected and may not be shared, uploaded, or distributed © Ahmad Bisher What is outsourcing, and what are application service providers? Outsourcing is the process of hiring another organization to perform a service The outsourced vendor can be domestic or international Offshoring is when vendor is overseas (e.g., China, India, and Russia) Application Service Providers (ASPs) are a special form of outsourcing This content is protected and may not be shared, uploaded, or distributed © Ahmad Bisher Reasons for Outsourcing An easy way to gain expertise Concern cost reductions To reduce development risk This content is protected and may not be shared, uploaded, or distributed © Ahmad Bisher Outsourcing Risks This content is protected and may not be shared, uploaded, or distributed © Ahmad Bisher Application Service Providers ASP agreement Organization contracts with a vendor to “rent” applications from the vendor company on a fee-for-service basis Vendor maintains the system at its own web location and the client organization accesses the application on the vendor’s website Payments Monthly or yearly Based on number of employees or “users” This content is protected and may not be shared, uploaded, or distributed © Ahmad Bisher Thank you! This content is protected and may not be shared, uploaded, or distributed © Ahmad Bisher