MIS 300 Management Information Systems

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MIS 300 Management Information Systems

• Information System Planning and Application
  Development

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Planning Challenges

• Foreseeing and Assessing Opportunities
• Consistency with Organization Objectives
• Difficulty Building Systems
• Difficulty Maintaining Systems/Performance
• Business People Talking to System People

3
Planning Principles

• Support Business Strategy
• Technical architecture, standards, policies
• Technology as Component of System
• Life Cycle Costs (not just acquisition)
• Design Maintainability
• Human Side of Technology Use

4
IS Planning Roles

• CIO
• Coordinate IS plan and business plan
• Provide direction for IS related efforts
• Requires rare mix of technical and business
  skills
• IS Department
• Produce IS plan in conjunction with users
• Users
• Champion
• Sponsor (control resources)
• Steering Committee

5
Competing for Resources (never enough)

• Maintain and Support
• User support
• Enhancements
• Bug fixes
• New Development
• New applications
• Infrastructure
• Research projects

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Common IS Roles

• Project manager
• Application programmer
• Systems analyst
• Programmer-analyst
• Business analyst

• Technical writer
• Computer Operator
• Database admin.
• System manager
• Systems programmer
• User support

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Systems Analyst
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Systems Analysis

• Data Collection problem exploration
• Data Analysis organizing the data to aid in
  next step data and process modeling
• Requirements Analysis figuring out what, if
  anything, needs to be done
• Systems Analysis Report documenting what, if
  anything, needs to be done

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Data and Process Modeling
E-R
DFD
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Sources of Data for Systems Analysis

• Interviews
• difficulties with this?
• Inputs, outputs, documentation for existing
  systems
• On-site observation
• Questionnaires
• Benchmarking

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Systems Development Approaches
Why?

• Traditional System Development Life Cycle
• Prototyping
• Application Packages
• End-User Computing

Control
Knowledge
Resources/timing
Responsiveness
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Systems Development Variants

• Rapid Application Design (RAD)
• Joint Application Design (JAD)
• End-User Systems Development Life Cycle
• Computer-Aided Software Engineering (CASE) Tools

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System Development Life Cycle
Development
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Initiation

• Recognition of a problem or need
• We have no data!
• Our current system doesnt support our process,
  it hinders it.
• Year 2000, hmmmm?
• Part of IS Plan
• Feasibility studies and project planning
• Technical, economic, political, operational

The ISR Form IS Request
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System Development Life Cycle
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Traditional Development Phase
The architects
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Traditional Implementation
Sign off by users

• Parallel
• Phased
• Pilot
• Direct conversion or Cold Turkey

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Operation and Maintenance

• Ongoing throughout life of system
• Scheduling jobs, backups, reports
• Database management / storage management
• Bug fixes and enhancements
• Upgrades

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Outsourcing

• Purchasing IS products/services
• History
• Time-sharing on early mainframes
• Affordable mainframes and minicomputers
• PCs reduced cost of internal processing
• Internet infrastructure for off-site application
  host systems
• Application Service Providers (ASP)

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Whats an ASP?
Computer world article, 8/27/01 on Arizona ASP
agreement with MS.

• Like Internet Service Provider (ISP) but also
  hosts applications in return for
• Uses internet infrastructure
• You Rent an application
• ASPISP traditional outsource service provider
  value added reseller

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Whats an ASP?
ASP 2
ASP 3
Payroll
Quickbooks
HR
Great Plains
Big Business 1
Small Business 2
Small Business 1
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What to Expect From an ASP

• Web site host and email
• ERP/business app host
• Configurage e-commerce storefront
• Access to procurement trading hubs
• Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) support
• Service level agreements

• Online training, manuals, FAQs
• Online app support
• No downtime
• Backup and disaster recovery
• Load balancing
• User based, monthly app rental fee
• Usage statistics/analysis

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ASP Pros and Cons

• Less capital in hardware
• Easy version upgrades
• Web browser is primary client software
• Easy to add new users
• Supports distributed work and workers
• Simple monthly subscription fee

• Some loss of control
• Response time?
• Hackers, security?
• Newness of some of the app web interfaces
• ERP configuration /integration is complex
• Not suited for extensive app customization

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Recent Outsourcing

• Recent trend in outsourcing traditional IS
  departmental services
• Creating business applications
• Network management
• Help desk
• Computer operations
• Risks
• Reliance on outsiders

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International Issues

• Technical incompatibilities
• Example standard date format
• Currency exchange issues
• Telecommunications policy/reliability
• Economics
• Privacy, data sharing

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Investment in IS

• Cost/Benefit Analysis can be tricky
• Tangible vs. intangible benefits/costs
• Underestimate costs
• Timing of costs and benefits
• Dynamics of the technology

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Estimated benefit and cost streams
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Risks

• Desired/projected benefits not achieved
• Project late and/or over budget
• Technical performance inadequate
• Lack of user acceptance
• Project importance changes

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Financial Comparisons

• Net Present Value
• Internal Rate of Return
• Payback period

Cautions in using financial comparisons?
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Gantt chartThe mythical man-month
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The Capability Maturity Model

• INITIAL chaos (62)
• REPEATABLE basic project management (25)
• DEFINED standardized development process
• MANAGED process measured and product quality
  measured
• OPTIMIZING continually improving via
  measurement, process feedback, product feedback
  as well as piloting of innovative approaches

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They Write the Right StuffRead for 1st week
after break

• Software for space shuttle Lockheed Martin,
  Inc.
• CMM5 for on-board shuttle group
• Performance and Risk
• Culture
• Process
• The state of software development

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Prototyping

• Quickly develop working model of system
• Use prototype to gain knowledge, suggest
  improvements
• Throw-away versus evolutionary
• Users involved in prototype use and evaluation
• Pros and cons?

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Prototyping
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Application Packages and ASP

• Purchase/rent existing IS from vendor
• Customize if necessary
• Development phase
• Benchmarking
• Detailed RFP and comparison of alternatives
• Make vs. Buy/rent/lease

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Selecting an application packageScoring the RFP
responses
A
B
C
A
B
C
APPLICATION FEATURES completeness quality of
reports ease of use documentation TECHNICAL
FEATURES use of DBMS transportability expandabilit
y VENDOR COMPARISON financial strength management
strength committment to product ECONOMIC
COMPARISON purchase price maintenance
contract consulting charges conversion cost Total
weighted score
WEIGHT 2.5 1.0 2.3 2.8 2.8 0.8 1.2 2.0 1.3 2.6
2.0 1.5 0.6 2.3
SCORE 9 7 8 9 5 9 5
9 6 3 9 7 8
7 3 2 5 6 4 5
5 9 7 5 6 9 8 4
7 9 7 5 7 7 7
8 5 6 8 5 3 5
WEIGHTED SCORE 22.5 17.3 20.0 9.0
5.0 9.0 11.5 20.7 19.6 8.4
25.2 19.6 22.4 19.6
8.4 1.6 4.0 4.8 4.8 6.0
6.0 18.0 14.0 10.0 7.8
11.7 10.4 10.4 18.2 23.4 14.0
10.0 14.0 10.5 10.5 12.0 3.0
3.6 4.8 11.5 6.9
11.5 155.4 172.9 167.7
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End User Computing

• Made possible by PC revolution
• PCs, personal productivity software, easy to
  use development tools
• A response to IS non-responsiveness
• Limited scale and focus
• Issues with ongoing support
• Can be a valuable part of SDLC

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Methodology Stew

• Can combine approaches
• Prototype and then traditional SDLC
• Use small application package as prototype
• Use SDLC concepts with purchased application
• Let end users create reports as part of
  development phase
• Many more permutations...