#1:There are three video cases and one instructional video for this chapter.
#2:This chapter discusses the activities involved in systems development and the various methodologies used to build information systems. Ask students to give their first impressions of how a new information system could produce organizational change. Give an example of a type of business and a new system, for example, a business that introduces an automated call-answering system to direct sales and technical inquiries to the right department.
#3:Even small, nonprofit corporations can find solutions for business process challenges. Increasingly, firms and nonprofits do not build their systems, but instead purchase solutions either off-the-shelf, or find online service providers who can deliver the functionality required.
#6:It is important to emphasize that an information system is not technology for technology’s sake, it is a solution to a problem or set of problems the organization perceives it is facing— including the problem of an opportunity that requires the use of information systems in order to undertake. What problems with business processes have students encountered or witnessed in their work or educational career that could have been improved with the help of a new or improved information system?
#7:Emphasize the distinction between the orange boxes (systems analysis) and the blue box (implementation): why doesn’t implementation fall into the category of systems analysis? (Because the analysis has already been performed and a solution has been chosen; the final task is to actually create the planned solution.)
#8:These are critical questions that businesses must ask as they begin to plan for the creation of a new information system. What would the result be if these questions were not thoroughly considered and answered prior to construction of the system?
#9:What types of solutions might not require an information system to fix? Sometimes, existing information systems are sufficient, but users may not be sufficiently trained to use them, for example.
#10:What does it mean that a solution is feasible from a financial standpoint? A technical standpoint? An organizational standpoint?
#11:Systems building is not a linear process that is finished once the system is built. Typically, additional changes and improvements will need to be made to the system or part of the system that will require additional analysis, design, programming, testing, conversion, and maintenance.
#12:Explain that the above figure represents just a sample of a full test plan, which would consist of similar tests for all of the major functions of the information system.
#13:Although most firms today do not build their own systems in-house, but purchase solutions from providers like SAP, IBM, Oracle, and many others, nevertheless the firms’ IT staff needs to establish the user information requirements, and work closely with employees and managers to assure the requirements are met. Systems analysis and design is still at the heart of system building efforts in business firms.
#14:This slide describes the first method for building systems, the traditional systems lifecycle. Ask students what the effects of unanticipated user requirements are when using this type of building method. What is the role of end users in this method?
#15:What types of systems are well-suited to the traditional systems development lifecycle? One answer is larger, complex systems requiring rigorous and formal requirements analysis and tight controls. What types of systems are not well-suited? Smaller, more individualized desktop systems are not suited for a traditional design process.
#16:Prototyping is an explicitly iterative process. The term iterative has been used several times; ask students to describe what this means (steps to build the system can be repeated over and over). What are the benefits of an iterative process?
Note that once no more iterations are needed, the prototype becomes the finished specifications for the final application or may serve as the production version of the application.
Ask students to explain potential advantages and disadvantages of prototyping. For example, why is prototyping useful if there is uncertainty in requirements? What kinds of essential steps might be glossed over?
#17:This graphic illustrates the four steps (rectangles) of prototyping. The steps that are repeated are steps: 3. use the prototype and 4. revise and enhance the prototype. Would this type of system development be appropriate for developing a large, enterprise management system?
#18:What types of projects might end-user development be most suited for? How might this type of development result in a loss of control over data? Someone has to manage end-user development in order to develop company-wide standards and definitions.
#20:It is important to note that many functions are common to all business organizations—payroll, accounts receivable, or inventory control. Software packages will fulfill the need for many organizations for these types of functions. However, it is still important to perform systems analysis in order to determine your organization’s requirements for a system.
It is important to emphasize the amount of work involved in partnering and sharing work with a vendor. It may take anywhere from three months to a year to fully transfer work to a vendor. What other types of hidden costs can students identify?
#21:This graphic looks at the best and worst case scenarios regarding hidden costs in outsourcing. The best case column shows the lowest estimates for additional costs, and the worst case reflects the highest estimates for these costs. In the Additional Cost column at the lower right, you can see that hidden costs increase the total cost of an offshore outsourcing project by an extra 15 to 57%. However, it is important to note that even with these extra hidden costs, many firms will benefit from offshore outsourcing if they manage the work well.
#22:Rapid application development is one of several methods that emphasize providing fast solutions needed in an increasingly digital world.
What elements in RAD are similar to building methods already discussed—CASE tools, prototyping, and so on?
#23:Building environments where software workers can collaborate on large projects is difficult. In most system or software projects there are multiple interest groups (analysts, designers, programmers, end users, and management), multiple assets (documents, and chunks of code developed by various programming groups), and different programming techniques being used by different groups of programmers. These attributes of software development efforts can lead to slow development times, confusion, frustration, and endless meetings trying to iron things out. TeamForge, like many other offerings, seeks to centralize the management of groups, assets, and techniques by providing a collaborative online environment.
#24:It is important to emphasize that object-oriented development can reduce the time and cost of development through reusing objects and classes from one application for other applications.
#25:This graphic is a data flow diagram. Ask students what the rounded boxes represent (processes) and what the square box represents (an external entity). What about the open rectangle and the arrows? Where does the process begin? Ask a student to step through the process of registering a student for a course, noting what data is transferred at each step. It’s always fun to do data flow diagrams as a group because it illustrates how the same process is seen differently by different people.
#28:Component-based development also speeds up system and software building. Web services describe Internet-standards based, reusable software components that can be combined to build more complex applications, such as checking a customer’s credit, procurement, or placing orders.
#29:CASE tools are software tools to automate development tasks for either of the two methodologies just discussed (structured, object-oriented). What does it mean that organizational discipline must be used to be used effectively? What kinds of gains in productivity can be expected if CASE tools are used properly?
#30:Information systems offer powerful solutions, but only if they can be implemented in a timely and economic fashion. Project management is the art of bringing together the skills and talents of a business firm to achieve some well defined objectives. The main dimensions of project management are given in the slide above. Ask students what has been their experience working on projects, or perhaps as project managers.
#31:Projects are often developed for reasons that have nothing to do with the benefits to the firm. One of the more difficult tasks of management is to choose which of many projects should be developed and how to rank order them in terms of positive impacts on the firm. Intangible benefits are often difficult to quantify and yet may be the most important ultimately in terms of revenues and earnings.
#33:Ask students if any have had experience with failed system projects or worked with systems that were poorly designed. What factors do they think were involved?
#38:Global systems are difficult both because of the different cultures involved, but also because of the scale of operations. One global system that has done fairly well is the international air traffic control system. Even here however there are a number of issues related to culture. Pilots not understanding the control tower and vice versa; in some cultures, co-pilots and navigators afraid to question the captain’s judgment even when he or she is wrong.
