Chapter 12

Design and
Implementation

INF112
Principles

 Designing new systems or modifying existing ones

should always help an organisation achieve its
goals
 The primary emphasis of systems implementation
is to make sure that the right information is
delivered to the right person in the right format at
the right time
 Maintenance and review add to the useful life of a
system but can consume large amounts of
resources. These activities can benefit from the
same rigorous methods and project management
techniques applied to systems development
 Systems design
 Answers the question: how will the
information system solve a problem?
 Results in a technical design
 Details system outputs, inputs, and user
interfaces
 Specifies hardware, software,
databases, telecommunications,
personnel, and procedures
 Shows how these components are
related
Logical and Physical Design

Logical design: description of functional requirements of a system

• Output, input, process, file, and database
• Telecommunications, procedures, controls, and security
• Personnel and job requirements

Physical design: specification of characteristics of system component

necessary to put logical design into action
• Characteristics of hardware, software, database,
telecommunications, and personnel
• Procedure and control specifications
Interface design and controls
Characteristics of how users access and interact with system
• Sign-on procedure
• Interactive processing
• Menu-driven system
• Help facility
• Lookup tables
• Restart procedure
• Good interactive design
6
Design of system security and controls
 Preventing, detecting, and  Systems controls: rules and procedures to
correcting errors maintain data security
 Disaster planning and recovery  Deterrence controls: rules and procedures
to prevent problems before they occur
• Disaster planning: process
of anticipating and providing  Closed shops: only authorised operators
can run computers
for disasters
 Open shops: other personnel, such as
• Disaster recovery: programmers and analysts, may also run
implementation of disaster computers
plan
• Approaches
• Hot site
• Cold site
• Incremental backup
Generating systems design alternatives

 Consider many factors when selecting a vendor >> Reliability, stability,

services, reviews, etc.
 Request for proposal (RFP): document that specifies required resources
such as hardware and software in detail
 Financial options: consider scalability
• Purchase
• Lease
• Rent
Generating systems design alternatives

Evaluating and selecting a systems design

• Preliminary evaluation
• To dismiss unwanted proposals
• Begins after all proposals have been submitted
• Final evaluation
• Detailed investigation of proposals remaining after preliminary evaluation
Acquiring software: Make or buy?
Bespoke versus off-the-shelf software
Bespoke:
• High cost
• Software should exactly match needs
• Quality can vary depending on the programming
team
• Can take years to develop
• Can develop a competitive advantage with good
software
Off the shelf:
• Lower cost
• Might not exactly match needs
• Usually high quality
• Can acquire it now
• Other organisations will have the same software
and therefore it won’t give anyone an advantage
 Acquiring database & telecommunications
systems
 Databases are a blend of
hardware and software
 Telecommunications systems
require a blend of hardware and
software
 Earlier discussion on acquiring
hardware and software also
applies to acquisition of:
• Database systems
• Telecommunications
hardware and software
User preparation

 Readying managers, decision makers,

employees, other users, and stakeholders
for new systems
 Training users
IS personnel: Hiring and training
 Personnel that might be needed for
new system
 IS manager
 Systems analysts
 Computer programmers
 Data-entry operators
 Training programs should be
conducted for IS personnel who will
be using the system
Site preparation
 Preparation of the location of a
new system
 May involve:
• Making room for a
computer in an office
• Special wiring and air
conditioning
• Renovation of entire room
• Special floor
• Additional power circuits
Data preparation
 Ensuring all files and databases are ready to be used with new
computer software and systems
 Also called data conversion
Installation
 Process of physically placing
computer equipment on the site
and making it operational
 Normally, manufacturer is
responsible for installing
computer equipment
 Someone from the organisation
(usually IS manager) should
oversee the process
 Unit testing: testing of individual programs

System testing: testing entire system of programs

Volume testing: testing the application with a large amount of data

Testing

Integration testing: testing all related systems together

Acceptance testing: conducting any tests required by user

Alpha testing: testing an incomplete or early version of system

Beta testing: testing a complete and stable system by end users

17
Start-Up
 Process of making the final tested information system fully operational
 Approaches
• Direct conversion (big bang, plunge, direct cutover)
• Phase-in approach (piecemeal)
• Pilot start-up
• Parallel start-up
User acceptance

 User acceptance document: formal

agreement signed by user that
states that a phase of installation
or the complete system is
approved
• Legal document that removes or
reduces IS vendor’s liability
 Systems operation and maintenance
Systems operation:
• Use of a new or modified system
• Help desk provides support

Systems maintenance: Types of maintenance:

• Checking, changing, and enhancing  Slipstream upgrade: minor upgrade
the system to make it more useful in  Patch: fix a problem or make small
achieving user and organizational
enhancement
goals
• Difficult and costly for legacy systems  Release: significant program change requiring
new documentation
• Autonomic computing allows
computers to manage themselves  Version: major program change with new
features
The financial implications
of maintenance

 Total maintenance expenditures

increase in time and money as
programs age
• For older programs, total
cost of maintenance can be System Review
up to five times greater than
total cost of development  Analysis of systems to make sure
that they are operating as intended
 Determining factor in decision to
replace a system  Often compares performance and
• Costs more to fix than benefits of designed system with
replace system actual performance and benefits of
operational system
Factors to consider during systems review
 Mission  Training
 Organisational goals  Costs
 Hardware and software  Complexity
 Database  Reliability
 Efficiency
 Telecommunications
 Response time
 Information systems personnel
 Documentation
 Control
 Systems design answers the question: “How will the information system solve a
problem?”
 Logical design: description of functional requirements of a system
 Physical design: specification of characteristics of the system components
necessary to put the logical design into action
 Steps of systems implementation: hardware acquisition, software acquisition, user
preparation, personnel hiring and training, site preparation, data preparation,
installation, testing, start-up, and user acceptance
 Systems operation: use of a new or modified system
 Systems maintenance: checking, changing, and enhancing the system to make it
more useful in achieving user and organisational goals