SW Application Development

Ref: Slide Materials

Sessions 14-15, Business
Computing 2015

Waterfall Model

Another Illustration

Systems Development Lifecycle (SDLC)

12-4

Phase 2: developing an IS solution

Analyse the information
needs of employees,
Systems Analysis
customers and other
stakeholders
Product:
Develop the functional
Functional
requirements of a
Requirements
system that will meet
information needs and
priorities of all
stakeholders
Develop Logical
models of new system

Use Cases validate functional requirements

Use cases capture who (actor) does what (interaction) with
the system, for what purpose (goal), without dealing with
system internals. A complete set of use cases specifies all
the different ways to use the system, and therefore defines
all behaviour required of the system.

Examples of Functional Requirements

User Interface
automatic entry of product data and easy-to-use data entry
screens for Web customers

Processing
fast, automatic calculation of sales totals and shipping costs

Storage
fast retrieval and update of data from product, pricing, and
customer databases

Control
signals for data entry errors and quick e-mail confirmation for
customers

12-7

Phase 2 (contd.):
IS Development

Systems Design
Product:
System
Specifications

Develop specifications
for the hardware,
software, network,
people and data
resources
Identify the
informational products
that will satisfy
functional
requirements
Develop logical model
of the new system

Systems Design

Focuses on three areas

Divided into two separate sub-phases:

top-level design
detailed design
12-10

Prototyping
rapid development and testing of working models
An interactive, iterative process used during
design phase
Makes development faster and easier, especially
when end user requirements are hard to define
Has enlarged the role of business stakeholders

Where does/doesnt prototyping work ?

Works in systems with many user interactions
Eg. analysis and design of online systems such as
OLTPs, where use of screen dialogs is common.
Doesnt work in systems with little user interaction,
Eg. batch processing systems mostly performing
calculations

12-11

Prototyping Life Cycle

12-12

Phase 3: Implementing the

information system
Systems
Implementation
Product:
An operational
system

Acquire (or develop)

hardware, software
Test the system, train
people to operate and
use
Convert to the new
system
Manage the effect of
business changes
due to the new
system

Implementation Process

12-14

Project Management

The skills and knowledge necessary to be

a good project manager will translate into
virtually any project environment
People who have acquired them
are sought after by most organizations

As in any project there are

Risk,
Requirements,
Configuration, Change, Release management.
12-15

Sample Implementation Process

12-16

Planning Phase

Example activities
Identify and sequence activities
Identify the critical path
Estimate the time and resources needed for
project completion
Write a detailed project plan

12-17

Other Implementation Activities

Successful implementation of a new

business system depends on:
Testing
Data conversion
Documentation
Training

12-21

Types of Tests

Unit Tests
Black Box Tests
Regression Testing
Verification Vs Validation

A typical test in SW implementation

Integration Testing

Highest form of tests

Followed by System testing:

Test of new IS interaction with other systems.
Often termed User Acceptance Testing

A special testing environment is available

during implementation with fictional data:
Development Environment
Testing Environment
Training Environment

Major System Conversion Strategies

Parallel
Pilot
Phased
Plunge
12-25

Simplest Strategy ?
Direct or Plunge Conversion
turn off the old system and turning on the new one
The most disruptive to the organization
Sometimes referred to as the slam dunk or coldturkey strategy
Only solution in cases of emergency implementation
or if the old and new system cannot coexist
Has the highest risk of failure

12-26

Strategy with lowest risk but highest cost ?

Parallel Conversion
Old and new systems are run simultaneously until
everyone is satisfied that
The new system functions correctly
The old system is no longer needed
Conversion to new system can be
single cutover or phased cutover
Has the lowest risk, but the highest cost
Can cost upto 4x more than using the old system
Best choice when
an automated system is replacing a manual one
12-27

Pilot Conversion
Scenarios best suited to a pilot conversion
Multiple business locations
Geographically diverse locations

Advantages of single location conversion

Can select a location that best represents the
conditions across the organization
Less risky in terms of loss of time or delays in
processing
Can be evaluated and changed before further
installations

12-28

Phased Conversion
A phased or gradual conversion
Takes advantage of both the direct and parallel
approaches
Minimizes the risks involved
Allows the new system to be brought online
as logically ordered functional components

Disadvantages:
Takes the most time
Creates most disruption to the organization over time

12-29

Post-Implementation Activities

The single most costly activity

Correcting errors or faults in the system
Improving system performance
Adapting the system to changes in the
operating or business environment
Requires more programmers than does
application development
May exist for years

12-30

Systems Maintenance

4 basic categories of system maintenance

Corrective:
fix bugs and logical errors

Adaptive:
add new functionality

Perfective:
improve performance

Preventive: reduce chances of failure

12-31

End of session