Managing Information Systems
Seventh Canadian Edition
Laudon, Laudon and Brabston
CHAPTER 13
Developing Information Systems
Copyright © 2015 Pearson Canada Inc. 13-1
Learning Objectives
After reading this chapter, you will be able to answer the following questions:
1. How does developing new information systems produce organizational
change?
2. What are the core activities in the information systems development
process?
3. What are the principal methodologies for modelling and designing
systems?
4. What are the alternative methodologies for developing information
systems?
5. What are new approaches for information systems development in the
digital firm era?
Copyright © 2015 Pearson Canada Inc. 13-2
Systems as Planned Organizational Change
When designing a new Information System
• We are re-designing the organization
System developers must understand
• How a system will affect specific business process and
the organization as a whole
Copyright © 2015 Pearson Canada Inc. 13-3
Systems as Planned Organizational Change
Information Technology can promote various degrees of organizational
change
• From incremental to far-reaching
There are four kinds of structural organizational change enabled by
information technology inclusive of,
1. Automation
2. Rationalization
3. Business redesign
4. Paradigm shifts
Each of these carry different risks and rewards
Copyright © 2015 Pearson Canada Inc. 13-4
Systems as Planned Organizational Change
Degrees of organizational change
Automation:
• Mechanizing procedures to speed up the performance of existing
tasks
• Increases efficiency
• Replaces manual tasks
Rationalization of Procedures:
• The streamlining of standard operating procedures
• Often found in programs for making continuous quality
improvements; e.g. TQM, Six Sigma
Copyright © 2015 Pearson Canada Inc. 13-5
Systems as Planned Organizational Change
(cont.)
Degrees of organizational change (cont.)
Business Process Redesign:
• Redesign of business processes to reorganize workflows and reduce
waste and repetitive tasks
• Analyze, simplify, and redesign business processes
• Reorganize workflow, combine steps, eliminate repetition
Paradigm shift:
• Radical re-conceptualization of the nature of
• both the business and the organization
Copyright © 2015 Pearson Canada Inc. 13-6
[INSERT FIGURE 13.1]
Copyright © 2015 Pearson Canada Inc. 13-7
Business Process Redesign
Many businesses use Information Technology to improve their
business processes.
•To deal with these changes, firms are turning to Business Process
Management (BPM)
BPM
•Provides a variety of tools and methodologies to
– analyze existing process
– Design new processes
– Optimize those process
•BPM is never concluded because process improvement requires
continual change
Copyright © 2015 Pearson Canada Inc. 13-8
Business Process Redesign
Businesses practicing Business Process Management go
through the following steps:
1. Identify processes for change
2. Analyze existing processes
3. Design the new process
4. Implement the new process
5. Continuous measurement
Copyright © 2015 Pearson Canada Inc. 13-9
[INSERT FIGURE 13.2]
Copyright © 2015 Pearson Canada Inc. 13-10
[INSERT FIGURE 13.3]
Copyright © 2015 Pearson Canada Inc. 13-11
Business Process Redesign
• Identify and document existing processes; identify inefficiencies
• Create models of improved processes
• Capture and enforce business rules for performing processes
• Integrate existing systems to support process improvements
• Verify that new processes have improved
• Measure impact of process changes on key business performance
indicators
Copyright © 2015 Pearson Canada Inc. 13-12
Overview of Systems Development
The activities that go into producing an info system solution to an
organizational problem are called Systems Development
• a structured kind of problem solving with distinct activities such as:
1. Systems analysis
• Establishing information requirements
2. Systems design
• Describes how the system will meet information requirements
3. Completing the systems development process
• Programming
• Testing
• Conversion
• Production and Maintenance
Copyright © 2015 Pearson Canada Inc. 13-13
Systems Analysis
The analysis of a problem that the organization will try
to solve with an information system would include:
• Feasibility study:
• determine whether the solution is achievable,
given the organization’s resources and
constraints
• Establish information requirements:
• who needs what information, where, when, and
how
Copyright © 2015 Pearson Canada Inc. 13-14
System Design
System Design shows
• how an information system will fulfill the objectives
determined during systems analysis
• The role of end users:
• Users must have sufficient control over the
design process
• to ensure that the system reflects their business
priorities and information needs
Copyright © 2015 Pearson Canada Inc. 13-15
Completing the Systems Development Process
Programming:
• Translating the system specifications prepared
during the design stage into program code
Testing:
• Determine whether the system produces the
desired results under known conditions
Continued …
Copyright © 2015 Pearson Canada Inc. 13-16
Completing the Systems
Development Process (cont.)
Testing would include:
• Unit testing (program testing): Testing each program
separately in the system
• System testing: Testing the information system as a whole to
determine if discrete modules function together as planned
• Acceptance testing: Provides the final certification that the
system is ready to be used in a production setting
Continued …
Copyright © 2015 Pearson Canada Inc. 13-17
Completing the Systems Development Process
(cont.)
Next comes…
Conversion:
• Moving from the old system to the new system
• Parallel Strategy
• Direct Cutover Strategy
• Pilot Study
• Phased Approach
Production and Maintenance
Copyright © 2015 Pearson Canada Inc. 13-18
Completing the Systems Development Process
(cont.)
Conversion Strategies:
Parallel Strategy;
• Running the old with the new until everyone is assured that the new one
functions correctly
Direct Cutover Strategy;
• Replaces the old system with the new on a particular day
• This is risky a can potentially be more costly than running two systems in
parallel if serious problems are found
Copyright © 2015 Pearson Canada Inc. 13-19
Completing the Systems Development Process
(cont.)
Conversion Strategies:
Pilot Study;
• Introduces new system to only a limited area of the firm ex. Single
department or operating unit
• When this pilot version is complete and working smoothly
• It is then installed throughout, simultaneously or in stages
Phased Approach
• Introduces new system in stages
• By function or organizational units
After the new system is installed and conversion is complete
• The new system is said to be in Production and Maintenance
Copyright © 2015 Pearson Canada Inc. 13-20
[INSERT TABLE 13.2]
Copyright © 2015 Pearson Canada Inc. 13-21
Modelling and Designing Systems
There are alternative methodologies for modelling and
designing systems
The most prominent being;
• Structured methodologies
• Object-oriented development
Copyright © 2015 Pearson Canada Inc. 13-22
Modelling and Designing Systems
Structured Methodologies
• Structured: Techniques are step-by-step,
progressive
• Process-oriented: Focusing on modeling
processes or actions that manipulate data
• Separate data from processes
• Using a Data Flow Diagram (DFD)
• Structure chart
Copyright © 2015 Pearson Canada Inc. 13-23
[INSERT FIGURE 13.6]
Copyright © 2015 Pearson Canada Inc. 13-24
[INSERT FIGURE 13.7]
Copyright © 2015 Pearson Canada Inc. 13-25
Data Flow Diagram
Data Flow Diagram
•Primary tool for representing system’s
• component processes and
• flow of data between them
•Offers logical graphic model of information flow
•High-level and lower-level diagrams can be used to break
processes down into successive layers of detail
•Data dictionary: Defines contents of data flows and data stores
Copyright © 2015 Pearson Canada Inc. 13-26
Object-Oriented Development
Continued …
Copyright © 2015 Pearson Canada Inc. 13-27
Object-Oriented Development (cont.)
Object-oriented modeling based on concepts of class
and inheritance
• Objects belong to a certain class and have
features of that class
• May inherit structures and behaviors of a more
general, ancestor class
Copyright © 2015 Pearson Canada Inc. 13-28
[INSERT FIGURE 13.8]
Copyright © 2015 Pearson Canada Inc. 13-29
Computer-Aided Software Engineering (CASE)
Computer Aided Software Engineering (CASE)
•Software tools to automate development and reduce repetitive work,
including
• Graphics facilities for producing charts and diagrams
• Screen and report generators, reporting facilities
• Analysis and checking tools
• Data dictionaries
• Code and documentation generators
•Support iterative design by automating revisions and changes and
providing prototyping facilities
•Require organizational discipline to be used effectively
Copyright © 2015 Pearson Canada Inc. 13-30
Alternative System-Development Approaches
• Traditional Systems Life Cycle
• Prototyping
• End-User Development
• Application Software Packages
• Outsourcing
Copyright © 2015 Pearson Canada Inc. 13-31
[INSERT FIGURE 13.9]
Copyright © 2015 Pearson Canada Inc. 13-32
Traditional Systems Life Cycle
Traditional Systems Life Cycle
•Is the Oldest method for building information systems
•Phased approach - divides development into formal stages
• Follows “waterfall” approach: Tasks in one stage finish before
another stage begins
•Maintains formal division of labour between end users and information
systems specialists
•Emphasizes formal specifications and paperwork
•Still used for building large complex systems
•Can be costly, time-consuming, and inflexible
Copyright © 2015 Pearson Canada Inc. 13-33
Prototyping
Prototyping
•Building experimental system rapidly and inexpensively for end
users to evaluate
•Prototype: Would be a working, but preliminary, version of
information system
•Steps in prototyping include:
1. Identify user requirements
2. Develop initial prototype
3. Use prototype
4. Revise and enhance prototype
Copyright © 2015 Pearson Canada Inc. 13-34
[INSERT FIGURE 13.10]
Copyright © 2015 Pearson Canada Inc. 13-35
Advantages and Disadvantages of Prototyping
Advantages
• Useful if some uncertainty in requirements or
design solutions
• Often used for end-user interface design
• More likely to fulfill end-user requirements
Disadvantages
• May gloss over essential steps
• May not accommodate large quantities of data or
large number of users
• May not undergo full testing or documentation
Copyright © 2015 Pearson Canada Inc. 13-36
End-User Development
End-User Development
• Uses fourth-generation languages to allow
• end-users to develop systems with little or no help
from technical specialists
Fourth generation languages: Meaning less procedural
than conventional programming languages
Continued …
Copyright © 2015 Pearson Canada Inc. 13-37
End-User Development (cont.)
End-User Development continued…
Advantages:
• More rapid completion of projects
• High-level of user involvement and satisfaction
Disadvantages:
• Not designed for processing-intensive applications
• Inadequate management and control, testing, documentation
• Loss of control over data
Managing end-user development
• Require cost-justification of end-user system projects
• Establish hardware, software, and quality standards
Copyright © 2015 Pearson Canada Inc. 13-38
[INSERT TABLE 13.3]
Copyright © 2015 Pearson Canada Inc. 13-39
Application Software Packages and Outsourcing
Application Software Packages and Outsourcing
•Saves time and money
•Many packages offer customization
•Evaluation criteria for systems analysis include:
• functions provided by the package
• flexibility
• user friendliness
• hardware and software resources
• database requirements
• installation and maintenance efforts
• documentation
• vendor quality
• cost
Continued …
Copyright © 2015 Pearson Canada Inc. 13-40
Application Software Packages and Outsourcing
(cont.)
• Request for Proposal (RFP)
• Detailed list of questions submitted to packaged-
software vendors;
• used to evaluate alternative software packages
Copyright © 2015 Pearson Canada Inc. 13-41
Outsourcing
Continued …
Copyright © 2015 Pearson Canada Inc. 13-42
Outsourcing (cont.)
Outsourcing
Advantages
• Allows organization flexibility in IT needs
Disadvantages
• Hidden costs, e.g.
• Identifying and selecting vendor
• Transitioning to vendor
• Opening up proprietary business processes to third party
Copyright © 2015 Pearson Canada Inc. 13-43
[INSERT FIGURE 13.11]
Copyright © 2015 Pearson Canada Inc. 13-44
Rapid Application Development (RAD)
Rapid Application Development (RAD)
•Process of creating workable systems in a very short period of
time
•Utilizes techniques such as:
• Visual programming for building graphical user interfaces
• Iterative prototyping of key system elements
• Automation of program code generation
• Close teamwork among end users and information systems
specialists
Copyright © 2015 Pearson Canada Inc. 13-45
Agile Development
Agile Development
•Focuses on rapid delivery of working software by
• breaking large project into several small sub-projects
•Subprojects
• Treated as separate, complete projects
• Completed in short periods of time using iteration and
continuous feedback
•Emphasizes face-to-face communication over written
documents,
• allowing collaboration and faster decision making
Copyright © 2015 Pearson Canada Inc. 13-46
Component-Based Development and Web
Services
Component-Based Development and Web Services
•Groups of objects that provide software for common functions (e.g.,
online ordering) and can be combined to create large-scale business
applications
•Web services
• Reusable software components that use XML and open Internet
standards (platform independent)
• Enable applications to communicate with no custom programming
required to share data and services
• Can engage other Web services for more complex transactions
Copyright © 2015 Pearson Canada Inc. 13-47
Managing Information Systems
Seventh Canadian Edition
Laudon, Laudon and Brabston
CHAPTER 13
Developing Information Systems
Copyright © 2015 Pearson Canada Inc. 13-48
