會(huì)計(jì)信息系統(tǒng)12版英文教輔資源rais12-IM-CH20GE

Page

#

of19

CHAPTER20

INTRODUCTIONTOSYSTEMSDEVELOPMENTANDSYSTEMSANALYSIS

工nstructor'sManual

LearningObjectives:

Explainthefivephasesofthesystemsdevelopmentlifecycle.

Discussthepeopleinvolvedinsystemsdevelopmentandtherolestheyplay.

Explaintheimportanceofsystemsdevelopmentplanninganddescribeplanningtechniques.

Discussthevarioustypesoffeasibilityanalysisandcalculateeconomicfeasibility.

Explainwhysystemchangestriggersbehavioralreactions,whatformdoesthisresistancetochangetake,andhowtoavoidorminimizetheresultingproblems.

Discussthekeyissuesandstepsinsystemsanalysis.

Questionstobeaddressedinthischapterinclude:

Whatprocessmustbefollowedtoobtainandimplementanewsystem?

Whatplanningisnecessarytoensurethesystem'ssuccess?Whowillbeinvolved,andhow?Dospecialcommitteesneedtobeformed?Whatresourcesareneeded?Howshouldtheplanningbedocumented?

Howwillemployeesreacttoanewsystem?Whatproblemsmightthischangecause,andhowcantheybeminimized?

Howshouldthenewsystembe“sold”totopmanagement?Howcanexpectedcostsandbenefitsbequantifiedtodeterminewhetherthesystemwillbecost-effective?

Introduction

Companiesinaverycompetitiveglobalbusinessworldareconstantlylookingfornew,faster,andmorereliablewaysofobtaininginformation.

Companiesusuallychangetheirsystemsforoneofthefollowingreasons:

1.

Changesinuserorbusinessneeds

2.

Technologicalchanges

3.

Improvedbusinessprocesses

1.

2.

3.

4.

Competitiveadvantage

Productivitygains

Growth

Downsizing

Systemsintegration

Systemsageandneedtobereplaced

Developingquality,error-freesoftwareisadifficult,expensive,andtime-consumingtask.

Mostsoftwaredevelopmentprojectsdeliverlessthanoneexpects,andtakemoretimeandmoneythanexpected.

Developersstartcuttingcornersbyomittingsomeofthebasicsystemsdevelopmentsteps.Omittingthesestepswillonlyleadtodisaster.

Thisisillustratedbythefollowingstatistics:

AnAmericanManagementSystemsstudyrevealedthat75percentofalllargesystemsarenotused,notusedasintended,orgeneratemeaninglessreportsorinaccuratedata.

TheGartnerGroupestimatesthefollowing:

Morethan40percentofinformationtechnology(IT)projectsdonotproduceasatisfactoryoutcome.

Theaveragecompanyspendsmorethan$1millionayearfortheseunsatisfactoryoutcomes.

Tenpercentofatypicalorganization'sITstaffworkedonprojectsthathavenobusinessvalue.

StandishGroupInternationalstudyfoundthat

Morethan70percentofsoftwaredevelopmentprojectsaredeliveredlate,

Fifty-fourpercentwereoverbudget.

Sixty-sixpercentwereunsuccessful.

Thirtypercentwerecancelledbeforetheywerecompleted.

AKPMGsurveyfoundthat35percentofallmajorinformationsystemsprojectswereclassifiedasrunaways—hopelesslyincompleteandoverbudget.

canconsumeagreatdealoftimeandmoney,andintheend

Runaways

producenousableresults,asillustratedbythefollowingexamples:

PacificGas&Electric(PG&E)pulledtheplugonaclient/serverinformationsystemforallofitsresidentialandcommercialcustomers.Peopleinandoutoftheutilitylabeledthesystem,fiveyearsindevelopment,afinancialdisasterwithnoendproduct.

California'sDepartmentofMotorVehiclesdecidedtooverhaulitssystem,whichwasoriginallydevelopedin1965.Ittookanequivalentof18programmersworkingforanentireyeartoaddaSocialSecuritynumberfiletothedrivers'licenseandvehicleregistrationfile.

andnotasingleusabletheproject.

ofWashingtonendedupyears.

Aftersevenyears,$44million,application,thestatecanceled

Asimilarprojectforthestatewasting$40millionafterseven

FOCUS20-1illustrateshowtheIRSmadeattemptstoreplaceitsagingsystem.

TheIRSconcludedthatitneededtomodernizeits40-year-oldcomputersystemandoperations.

Thesystemisresponsibleforprocessingandstoringalltaxpayerrecordsandcurrentlytakesinmorethan$2trillionayear.

Criticsclaimedthatthesystemhadalreadybeenupdate,fixed,andimprovedsomanytimesthatasoftwaremeltdownisarealpossibility.

WhateffectwouldthiscollapsehaveontheU.S.Government?Intheworstcasescenario:

TheIRSwouldnotbeabletotellwhohadpaidtheirtaxes.

Taxrevenues,hundredsofbillionsofdollarsworth,wouldnotbecollected.

Tomeetitsobligation,thegovernmentwouldhavetoborrowmoney,throwingthefinancialmarketsintoapanic.

Anumberofyearsago,theIRSspent$3.3billiononanupgradeeffortthatfailed.

Inthelate1990stheIRSembarkedonan$8billioneffortcalledtheBusinessSystemsModernization(BSM)program.TheBSMspentalmost$4milliononaprojectthatwasneverfinishedandwaseventuallycancelled.

LearningObjectiveOne

Explainthefivephasesofthesystemsdevelopmentlifecycle.

SystemsDevelopment

Whethersystemschangesaremajororminor,mostcompaniesgothroughasystemsdevelopmentlifecycle.

TheSystemsDevelopmentLifeCycle

Figure20-1providesthefivestepprocessfortheSystemsDevelopment

LifeCycle(SDLC):

1.SystemsAnalysis

Theinformationneededtopurchaseordevelopanewsystemisgathered.

Requestsforsystems

developmentareprioritized.

thecurrentsystemissurveyedandscopeoftheprojectandto

Ifaprojectpasses,todefinethenatureidentifyitsstrengthsandweaknesses.

Thenanin-depthstudyoftheproposedsystemisconductedtodetermineitsfeasibility.

Ifthesystemisfoundfeasible,theinformationneedsofsystemusersandmanagersareidentifiedanddocumented.

Areportispreparedandsubmittedtotheinformationsystemssteeringcommittee.

2.ConceptualDesign

Duringtheconceptualdesign,thecompanydecideshowtomeetuserneeds.

Thefirststepistoidentifyandevaluateappropriatedesignalternatives:

Purchasethesoftware.

Developthesoftwarein-house.

Outsourcesystemdevelopmenttosomeoneelse.

Page

#

of19

PhysicalDesign

Inputandoutputdocumentsaredesigned.

Computerprogramsarewritten.

Filesanddatabasesarecreated.

Proceduresaredeveloped.

Controlsarebuiltintothenewsystem.

4.

5.

ImplementationandConversion

Implementationandconversionconstitutethecapstonephaseduringwhichalltheelementsandactivitiesofthesystemcometogether.

Newhardwareorsoftwareisinstalledandtested.

Standardsandcontrolsforthenewsystemareestablishedandsystemdocumentationcompleted.

Thefinalstepistodelivertheoperationalsystemtotheorganization.

Afinalreportissenttotheinformationsystemssteeringcommittee.

OperationsandMaintenance

Modificationsaremadeasproblemsariseorasnewneedsbecomeevident.

MultiioleChoice1

TheGartnerGroupestimatedthefollowing:

ThatNikeordered$90millionworthofshoesthatdidnotsell.

Tenpercentofatypicalorganization'sITstaffworkedonprojectsthathavenobusinessvalue.

Morethan45percentofinformationtechnology(IT)projectsdonotproduceasatisfactoryoutcome.

BandC

MultiioleChoice2

IntheIRS'sattemptstoreplaceitsaginginformationsystem,itlostalmost millionontheBSMproject.

$1T2一

TOC\o"1-5"\h\z

$2.5

$3.0

$4.0

Thefollowingarethefivestepsinthesystemsdevelopmentlifecycle:

ImplementationandConversion

ConceptualDesign

SystemsAnalysis

OperationsandMaintenance

PhysicalDesign

Thecorrectorderinwhichthesestepsoccuris:

TOC\o"1-5"\h\z

1, 2, 3, 4, and 5

2, 4, 3, 1, and 5

3, 2, 5, 1, and 4

4, 2, 3, 5, and 1

LearningObjectiveTwo

Discussthepeopleinvolvedinsystemsdevelopmentandtherolestheyplay.

ThePlayers

Management

Topmanagement'smostimportantrolesareprovidingsupportandencouragementforthedevelopmentprojects.

Theprincipalrolesofusermanagementaretodetermineinformationrequirements,toassistsystemsanalysts,toassignkeystaffmemberstodevelopmentprojects,andtoallocateappropriatefunds.

Accountants

Accountantsmayplaythreerolesduringsystemsdesign:

First,accountantsmustdeterminetheirinformationneedsandsystemrequirements.

Second,accountantshelpmanagesystemsdevelopment.

Third,accountantstakeanactiveroleindesigningsystemcontrolsandperiodicallymonitoringandtestingthesystem.

InformationSystemsSteeringCommittee

Thepurposeoftheinformationsystemssteeringcommitteeistoplanandoverseetheinformationsystemsfunction.

ThesteeringcommitteesetspoliciesthatgoverntheAISandensurestop-managementparticipation,guidance,andcontrol.

ProjectDevelopmentTeam

Eachdevelopmentprojecthasateamofsystemsspecialists,managers,accountantsandauditors,andusersthatguidesitsdevelopment.

Teammembersplaneachproject,monitortheproject,makesureproperconsiderationisgiventothehumanelement,andcommunicateprojectstatustotopmanagementandthesteeringcommittee.

SystemsAnalystsandProgrammers

Systemsanalystsstudyexistingsystems,designnewones,andpreparespecificationsthatareusedbycomputerprogrammers.

ComputerProgrammerswriteprogramsusingthespecificationsdevelopedbytheanalysts.

MultiioleChoice4

Whichofthefollowingstatement(s)aretrue?

Managementassiststheprojectdevelopmentteam.

ThesteeringcommitteesetspoliciesthatgoverntheAIS.

Accountantsmayplaytworolesduringthesystemsdesign.

Theprojectdevelopmentteamdesignsnewsystems.

LearningObjectiveThree

Explaintheimportanceofsystemsdevelopmentplanninganddescribeplanningtechniques.

PlanningSystemsDevelopment

AsshowninFigure20-1severalactivitiesmustbeperformedatvarioustimesthroughouttheSDLC.Onesuchactivityisplanning.

Systemsdevelopmentplanningisanimportantstepforthefollowingkeyreasons:

Consistency.Planningenablesthesystem'sgoalsandobjectivestocorrespondtotheorganization'soverallstrategicplan.

Efficiency.Systemsaremoreefficient,subsystemsarecoordinated,andthereisasoundbasisforselectingnewapplicationsfordevelopment.

Cuttingedge.Thecompanyremainsabreastoftheever-presentchangesininformationtechnology.

Lowercosts.Duplication,wastedeffort,andcostandtimeoverrunsareavoided.Thesystemislesscostlyandeasiertomaintain.

Adaptability.Managementisbetterpreparedforfutureresourceneeds,andemployeesarebetterpreparedforthechangesthatwilloccur.

Poorlyplanneddevelopmenteffortsresultinacompanyreturningtothepriorphasetocorrecterrorsanddesignflaws.Thisprocessiscostlyandresultsindelays,nottomentionfrustrationandlowmorale.

Figure20-2listsreasonsforreturningtoapriorSDLCphase.

Twotypesofsystemsdevelopmentplansareneeded:1)individualprojectplanspreparedbyprojectteamsand2)amasterplandevelopedbytheinformationsystemssteeringcommittee.

ProjectDevelopmentPlan

Thebasicbuildingblockofinformationsystemsplanningistheprojectdevelopmentplan.

Eachprojectdevelopmentplancontains1)acost/benefitanalysis,2)developmentalandoperationalrequirements,and3)humanresource,hardware,softwareandfinancialresourcerequirements.

TheMasterPlan

Amasterplanisalong-rangeplanningdocumentthatspecifies:

of

acquired

Whatthesystemwillconsist

Howitwillbedeveloped

Whowilldevelopit

Howneededresourceswillbe

WheretheAISheaded

FOCUS20-2EDSlostamilitary.

wasoneofthereasonswhy

explainswhyinadequateplanning

significantamountofmoneyinitscontractwiththeU.S.

TheU.S.militaryhiredElectronicDataSystemstodevelopasecure,hacker-proofnetworktolinkalmost350,000computersatmorethan4,000Navysites.

However,thealmost$10billioncontracthasresultedinsignificantheadachesandlossesatonepointestimatedtototalalmost$1.7billion.

EDSmadethefollowingmistakes:

Page

#

of19

1.

Had

not

littleprevious

adequatelyplan

experiencewiththemilitaryanddidforsomeoftherequests

3.

Did

Did

notverifyNavy

estimates

notproperlyplanandcoordinateprojecttasks

Underestimatedthecostandtimerequirementstocustomizecomputersforindividuals

DidnotgivetheNavyadequateinstructions

6.

Didnottracktheinventoryofcomputers

PlanningTechniques

TwotechniquesforschedulingandmonitoringsystemsdevelopmentactivitiesarethePERTandtheGANTTChart.

Theprogramevaluationandreviewtechnique(PERT)requiresthatallactivitiesandtheprecedentandsubsequentrelationshipsamongthembeidentified.

Completiontimeestimatesaremade,andthecriticalpath—thepathrequiringthegreatestamountoftime—isdetermined.

BelowisanexampleofaPERTchart.Thenumbersrepresentweeks.

ThecriticalpathisA(5)+D(4)+G(9)=18weeks.

AGanttchartisaprojectschedulingtechniquethatdivideseachprojectintoactivitieswithestimatedstartandcompletiontimes.

MultipleChoice5

Thetypesofsystemsdevelopmentplansthatareneededinclude:

projectdevelopmentplan

amasterplan

arecoveryplan

AandB

e.BandC

MultipleChoice6

Inamasterplan,aplanninghorizonofapproximately

reasonable,and

3;2to3

4;once

3;1to2

4;2to3

theplanshouldbeupdatedatleasttimes

yearsis ayear.

times

times

LearningObjectiveFour

Discussthevarioustypesoffeasibilityanalysisandcalculateeconomicfeasibility.

FeasibilityAnalysis

AsshowninFigure20-3,afeasibilitystudy(alsocalleda“businesscase")ispreparedduringsystemsanalysisandupdatedasnecessaryduringtheremainingstepsintheSDLC.

Atmajordecisionspoints(refertoFigure20-3),thesteeringcommitteeusesthestudytodecidewhethertoterminateaproject,proceedunconditionally,orproceedifspecificproblemsareresolved.

Althoughuncommon,systemshavebeenscrappedafterimplementationbecausetheydidnotworkorfailedtomeetanorganization'sneeds.

Forexample,BankofAmericahiredasoftwarefirmtoreplacea20-year-oldbatchsystemusedtomanagebillionsofdollarsininstitutionaltrustaccounts.

Aftertwoyearsthenewsystemwasimplementeddespitewarningsthatitwasnotadequatelytested.

Tenmonthslaterthesystemwasscrapped,thebank'stopsystemsandtrustexecutiveshadresignedandthecompanyhadtakena$60millionwrite-offtocoverexpenses.

Duringthetenmonths,thecompanylost100institutionalaccountswith$4billioninassets.

FOCUS20-3onpage606describesaprojectatBlueCross/BlueShieldthatwasscrappedafter6yearsofworkanda$120millioninvestment.

Fiveimportantaspectstobeconsideredduringafeasibilitystudyareasfollows:

1.Economicfeasibility.Willsystembenefitsjustifythetime,money,andotherresourcesrequiredtoimplementit?

2.

3.

4.

Technicalfeasibility.Cantheplannedsystembedevelopedandimplementedusingexistingtechnology?

Legalfeasibility.Doesthesystemcomplywithallapplicablefederalandstatelawsandstatutes,administrativeagencyregulations,andthecompany'scontractualobligations?

Schedulingfeasibility.Doestheorganizationhaveaccesstopeoplewhocandesign,implement,andoperatetheproposedsystem?Canpeopleusethesystemandwilltheyuseit?

CalculatingEconomicFeasibilityCostsandBenefits

Inarecentsurvey,9outof10executivesagreethatinformationtechnologycouldgreatlyenhancetheircompetitiveedge;however,only6outof10agreedthatthenecessaryITspendingwouldbejustified.

Manycompaniesoverspendoninformationtechnology.ThebestbusinessstrategyistospendonlyonITprojectswheretheexpectedbenefitsexceedthecosts.

Thebasicframeworkforfeasibilityanalysisisthecapitalbudgetingmodel,inwhichcostsavingsandotherbenefitsaswellasinitialoutlaycosts,operatingcosts,andothercashoutflows,aretranslatedintodollarestimates.

Someofthetangibleandintangiblebenefitsacompanymightobtainfromanewsystemarecostsavings;improvedcustomerservice,productivity,decisionmaking,anddataprocessing;bettermanagementcontrol;andincreasedjobsatisfactionandemployeemorale.

Equipmentcostsareaninitialoutlaycostifthesystemispurchasedandanoperatingcostifrentedorleased.

Theprimaryoperatingcostismaintainingthesystem.Studiesshowthatbetween65percentand75percentofanorganization'ssystemseffortsarespentinmaintainingcurrentinformationsystems.

InitialoutlayandoperatingcostsaresummarizedinTable20-2.

1.

Hardware

2.

Software

3.

Staff

4.

Suppliesandoverhead

5.

Maintenance/backup

6.

Documentation

7.

Sitepreparation

8.

Installation

9.

Conversion

10.Financial

CapitalBudgeting

Variousfeasibilitymeasuresareusedtonarrowthelistofalternativeapproachesthatmeetsystemrequirements.

Thefollowingarethreecommonlyusedcapitalbudgetingtechniques:

Paybackperiod.Thisisthenumberofyearsrequiredforthenetsavingstoequaltheinitialcostoftheinvestment.

Netpresentvalue(NPV).Allestimatedfuturecashflowsarediscountedbacktothepresent,usingadiscountratethatreflectsthetimevalueofmoney

Internalrateofreturn(IRR).TheIRRistheeffectiveinterestratethatresultsinanNPVofzero.Aproject'sIRRiscomparedwithaminimumacceptableratetodetermineacceptanceorrejection.

MultipleChoice7

projectwasscrappedafter6yearsofworkanda$120millioninvestment.

Nike's

BankofAmerica's

BlueCross/BlueShield's

Noneoftheabove

MultipleChoice8

Thecapitalbudgetingtechniquethatconsidersthetimevalueofmoneyis:

a.

b.

c.

d.

Paybackperiod

IRR

NPV

SDLC

LearningObjectiveFive

Explainwhysystemschangestriggersbehavioralreactions,whatformsthisresistancetochangetakes,andhowtoavoidorminimizetheresultingproblems.

BehavioralAspectsofChange

Thebehavioralaspectsofchangearecrucial,becausethebestsystemwillfailwithoutthesupportofthepeopleitserves.

Page

#

of19

Organizationsmustbesensitivetoandconsiderthefeelingsandreactionsofpersonsaffectedbychange.

WhyBehavioralProblemsOccur

Tominimizeadversebehavioralreactions,onemustfirstunderstandwhyresistancetakesplace.Someofthemoreimportantfactorsincludethefollowing:

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

Personalcharacteristicsandbackground.Generallyspeaking,theyoungerandmorehighlyeducatedpeopleare,themorelikelytheyaretoacceptchange.

Mannerinwhichchangeisintroduced.Resistanceisoftenareactiontothemethodsofinstitutingchangeratherthantochangeitself.

Experiencewithpriorchanges.Employeeswhohadabadexperiencewithpriorchangesaremorereluctanttocooperatewhenfuturechangesoccur.

Top-managementsupport.Employeeswhosensealackoftopmanagementsupportforchangewonderwhytheythemselvesshouldendorseit.

Biasesandnaturalresistancetochange.attachmentstotheirdutiesorcoworkerschangeifthoseelementsareaffected.

Peoplewithemotionalmaynotwantto

Requestsfor

Disruptivenatureofthechangeprocess.

informationandinterviewsaredistractingandplaceadditionalburdensonpeople.Thesedisturbancescancreatenegativefeelingstowardthechangethatpromptedthemtooccur.

Fear.Manypeoplefeartheunknownandtheuncertaintyaccompanyingchange.Theyalsofearlosingtheirjobs,losingrespectorstatus,failure,technology,andautomation.

HowPeopleResistAISChanges

FOCUS20-4explainstheresistancetochangethattheU.S.DepartmentofDefensehasexperiencedintryingtoupdateitsinformationsystems.

Majorresistanceoftentakesoneofthreeforms:aggression,projectionoravoidance.

1.

2.

3.

Aggressionisbehaviorthatisusuallyintendedtodestroy,cripple,orweakenthesystem'seffectiveness.formofincreasederrorrates,disruptions,orsabotage.

Itmaytakethedeliberate

anyandevery

Projectioninvolvesblamingthenewsystemforunpleasantoccurrence.

Dealingwithproblemsthroughavoidanceisacommonhumantrait.OnewayforemployeestodealwithanewAISisto

avoidusingitinthehopethattheproblemcanbeignoredorthatitwilleventuallygoaway.

PreventingBehavioralProblems

People'sreactionstochangecanbeimprovedbyobservingthefollowingguidelines:

1.

Meetusers'needs.Itisessentialthattheform,content,andvolumeofsystemoutputbedesignedtosatisfyuserneeds.

2.

Keepcommunicationlinesopen.Managersandusersshouldbefullyinformedofsystemchangesassoonaspossible.

3.

Maintainasafeandopenatmosphere.Itisimperativethateveryoneaffectedbysystemsdevelopmenthaveanattitudeoftrustandcooperation.

4.

Obtainmanagementsupport.Whenpossible,apowerfulchampion,whocanprovideresourcesforthesystemandmotivateotherstoassistandcooperatewithsystemsdevelopment,shouldbeappointed.

5.

Allayfears.Theorganizationshouldprovideassurancesthatnomajorjoblossesorresponsibilityshiftswilloccur.

6.

Solicituserparticipation.Thosewhowilluseorbeaffectedbythesystemshouldparticipateinitsdevelopmentbyprovidingdata,makingsuggestions,andhelpingmakedecisions.

7.

Providehonestfeedback.Toavoidmisunderstandings,usersshouldbetoldwhichsuggestionsarebeingusedandhow,whichsuggestionsarenotbeingusedandwhy,andwhichoneswillbeincorporatedatalaterdate.

8.

Makesureusersunderstandthesystem.Effectiveuseorsupportcannotbeobtainedifusersareconfusedaboutordonotunderstandthesystem.

9.

Humanizethesystem.Systemacceptanceisunlikelyifindividualsbelievethecomputeriscontrollingthemorhasusurpedtheirpositions.

10.

Describenewchallengesandopportunities.Systemdevelopersshouldemphasizeimportantandchallengingtasksthatcanbeperformedwiththenewsystem.

11.

Reexamineperformanceevaluation.Users'performancestandardsandcriteriashouldbereevaluatedtoensurethattheyaresatisfactoryinviewofchangesbroughtonbythenewsystem.

12.

Testthesystem'sintegrity.Thesystemshouldbeproperlytestedpriortoimplementationtominimizeinitialbadimpressions.

13.

14.

15.

16.

Avoidemotionalism.Whenlogicvieswithemotion,itrarelystandsachance.Emotionalissuesrelatedtochangeshouldbeallowedtocool,handledinanonconfrontationalmanner,orsidestepped.

Presentthesysteminthepropercontext.Usersarevitallyinterestedinhowsystemchangesaffectthempersonally.

Controlusers'expectations.Asystemissoldtoowellifusershaveunrealisticexpectationsofitscapabilitiesandperformance.Berealisticwhendescribingthemeritsofthesystem.

Keepthesystemsimple.Avoidcomplexsystemsthatcauseradicalchanges.Makethechangeseemassimpleaspossiblebyconformingtoexistingorganizationalprocedures.

MultipleChoice9

a.

b.

c.

d.

e.

Someofthereasonswhyemployeesresistnewsystemsinclude(s):fearcommunicationspromotionsalloftheabove

AandB

LearningObjectiveSix

Discussthekeyissuesandstepsinsystemsanalysis.

SystemsAnalysis

Whenaneworimprovedsystemisneeded,awrittenrequestforsystemsdevelopmentisprepared.

ThefivestepsintheanalysisphaseandtheirobjectivesareshowninFigure20-4anddiscussedinthissection.

InitialInvestigation

Aninitialinvestigationisconductedtoscreenprojects.

Duringtheinitialinvestigation,theexactnatureoftheproblem(s)underreviewmustbedetermined.

Theproject'sscope(whatitshouldandshouldnotseektoaccomplish)alsomustbedetermined.

Ifaprojectisapproved,aproposaltoconductsystemsanalysisisprepared.

Table20-3providesthecontentsoftheShoppersMartproposal,representativeoftheinformationinaproposaltoconductsystemsanalysis.

SystemsSurvey

Duringthesystemssurvey,anextensivestudyofthecurrentAISisundertaken.

Theobjectivesofasystemssurveyareasfollows:

Gainathoroughunderstandingofcompanyoperations,policies,andprocedures;dataandinformationflow;AISstrengthsandweaknesses;andavailablehardware,software,andpersonnel.

Makepreliminaryassessmentsofcurrentandfutureprocessingneeds,anddeterminetheextentandnatureofthechangesneeded.

DevelopworkingrelationshipswithusersandbuildsupportfortheAIS.

Collectdatathatidentifyuserneeds,conductafeasibilityanalysis,andmakerecommendationstomanagement.

summarizedhereandinTable20-4.

Theadvantagesanddisadvantagesoffourcommonmethodsofgatheringdataare

1.

Interviews

Aninterviewhelps

gatheranswersto“why”

questions:

aproblem?

AISworkthisway?

2.

Questionnaires

Whyisthere

Whydoesthe

Whyisthisinformationimportant?

informationtobeobtainedfrommany

3.

Observation

Questionnairesareusedwhentheamountofgatheredissmallandwelldefined,andispeople.Questionnairestakerelativelylittletimetoadminister,butaretimeconsumingtodevelop.

Observationisusedtoverifyinformationgatheredusingotherapproachesandtodeterminehowasystemactuallyworks,ratherthanhowitshouldwork.

4.

Systemsdocumentation

SystemsdocumentationdescribeshowtheAISisintendedtowork.

DocumentFindingsandModeltheExistingSystem

Page

#

of19

Theinformationgatheredduringtheanalysisphasemustbedocumentedsoitcanbeusedthroughoutthesystemsdevelopmentproject.

Physicalmodelsillustratehowasystemfunctionsbydescribingtheflowofdocuments,thecomputerprocessesperformedandthepeopleperformingthem,theequipmentused,andanyotherphysicalelementsofthesystem.

Logicalmodelsillustratewhatisbeingdone,regardlessofhowtheflowisactuallyaccomplished.

AnalyzetheExistingSystem

Oncedatagatheringiscomplete,thesurveyteamevaluatestheAIS'sstrengthsandweaknessestodevelopideasfordesigningandstructuringthenewAIS.

PrepareSystemsSurveyReport

Thesystemssurveyculminateswithasystemssurveyreport.Table20-3showsthetableofcontentsfortheShoppersMartsystemssurveyreport.

FeasibilityStudy

Atthispointinsystemsanalysis,amorethoroughfeasibilityanalysisisconductedtodeterminetheproject'sviability.

InformationNeedsandSystemsRequirements

Onceaproje