Chapter 6 Managing IS Projects and Creating IS Solutions © John Wiley & Sons Canada, Ltd.6-1

Chapter 6 Chapter 6 Managing IS Projects and Managing IS Projects and

Creating IS SolutionsCreating IS Solutions

© John Wiley & Sons Canada, Ltd. 6-1

WHAT WE WILL COVER

Critical Pre-development QuestionsThe Stages and Importance of the

System Development Life Cycle (SDLC)

Managing an IS ProjectIS Development TeamsStandard IS MethodologyIT Tools for IS Development


CRITICAL PRE-CRITICAL PRE-DEVELOPMENT DEVELOPMENT QUESTIONSQUESTIONSTo support a complex organization,

employees often need complex information systems.

The more complex a system, the more difficult it can be to build, buy, and manage.

Not every organizational problem can be solved by building a new system.


However, before implementing a new system, an organization needs to address four critical questions. 1. What are we planning and why?2. Is the project feasible?3. Should we build or buy/lease?4. If we build, should we do it in-

house or outsource it?


CRITICAL PRE-CRITICAL PRE-DEVELOPMENT DEVELOPMENT QUESTIONSQUESTIONS

THE STAGES AND THE STAGES AND IMPORTANCE OF THE IMPORTANCE OF THE SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT LIFE SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT LIFE CYCLE (SDLC)CYCLE (SDLC)The system development life cycle

(SDLC) is the common term used for the stages and activities of system development.

The SDLC is composed of processes that occur from the beginning stages of a system to the end of its useful life when the system is retired and likely replaced with something new.


CONCEPTCONCEPTAn organization must foster an

environment that promotes ideas that can improve its bottom line.

The ideas with the most potential and merit advance to the next stage (inception) for further analysis and planning.


INCEPTIONINCEPTIONThe inception phase begins when

an organization has the idea to build an information system.

The focus is on understanding the problem to be solved or the opportunity to be addressed and planning the project.

Early interactions with stakeholders of the system take place at this time in order to complete the feasibility study or business case.


ELABORATIONELABORATIONIn the elaboration phase, the

project team finalizes the requirements for the system and the project plan, and designs the system architecture.

The team also creates conceptual models of the systems and sub-systems.


CONSTRUCTIONCONSTRUCTIONDuring the construction phase,

the team builds the initial running system.

The team usually implements core functionalities first, and then incorporates additional features.


TRANSITIONTRANSITIONAt this time, the team finalizes

the system, tests it, and puts it in place.

In addition, the team completes the final training of users and management of users during the transition.


PRODUCTIONPRODUCTIONOnce the system is up and

running, the organization must continuously monitor, maintain, and evaluate it.

The organization must also keep users of the system up to date with the latest modifications and procedures.


RETIREMENTRETIREMENTAt some point, the system may

lose its value to the company. This phase often marks the

concept of a new system to replace the obsolete one.

The old system may retain some usefulness as it is phased out over time by the replacement system.


THE THE WATERFALLWATERFALL PRESENTATION OF THE PRESENTATION OF THE SDLC STEPSSDLC STEPS


MANAGING AN IS PROJECTMANAGING AN IS PROJECTFor IS development, a project

manager simultaneously oversees three main project elements: ◦The scope of the project◦The resources needed◦The time to complete it


The project scope defines what the project should accomplish.

Resources can include people, equipment, material, and money.

Time estimates consider project activity times and how they depend on each other.

Management of these elements is always a balancing act. A manager often makes decisions to actively set the levels of two elements, and then calculates the third accordingly while always realizing that all three are important and must be accomplished.


MANAGING AN IS PROJECTMANAGING AN IS PROJECT

OVERVIEW OF PROJECT OVERVIEW OF PROJECT MANAGEMENT TASKSMANAGEMENT TASKSProject management activities may occur

as early as the concept phase. However, they normally begin at the point

at which the organization has approved a project proposal and selected it to be executed as part of their project portfolio.

Note one important difference between the system development life cycle (SDLC) and the project management activities to support a particular project:◦ A project has a beginning and an end,

whereas the SDLC is a continuous stream of activities over time.


THE LINK BETWEEN THE LINK BETWEEN PROJECT MANAGEMENT PROJECT MANAGEMENT STEPS AND THE SDLCSTEPS AND THE SDLC


THE NINE KEY COMPONENTS OF A THE NINE KEY COMPONENTS OF A PROJECT MANAGEMENT PROJECT MANAGEMENT METHODOLOGY THAT CREATE A METHODOLOGY THAT CREATE A SUCCESSFUL PROJECTSUCCESSFUL PROJECT


A project manager must oversee any number of tasks within each of the nine key components of a project management methodology.


PROJECT TIME PROJECT TIME MANAGEMENTMANAGEMENTAfter budgeting, the most

important function for the project manager is developing and controlling the project schedule.


The main activities of project time management include:◦ Define activities—identifying the activities required to

produce project deliverables◦ Sequence activities—identifying and documenting

relationships between project activities◦ Estimate activity resources—estimating the type and

quantity of material, people, equipment, or supplies required by each activity

◦ Estimate activity durations—approximating the number of work periods needed to complete individual work activities with estimated resources

◦ Develop schedule—analyzing activity sequences, durations, resource requirements, and schedule constraints to create the project schedule

◦ Control schedule—monitoring the status of the project to update project progress and managing changes to the schedule baseline


PROJECT TIME PROJECT TIME MANAGEMENTMANAGEMENT

PROJECT RISK PROJECT RISK MANAGEMENTMANAGEMENTEvery IS project contains an

element of risk. Most project risks reflect the fact

that much of an IS plan relies on estimates.

The job of risk management is, therefore, to recognize, address, and eliminate sources of risk before they threaten the successful completion of the project.


In general, project risk management tasks fall into one of two main categories: (1) risk assessment and (2) risk control.◦The first step in risk assessment is to

identify potential project risks. ◦After obtaining a list of potential risks, the

next step is to actually assess these risks.


PROJECT RISK PROJECT RISK MANAGEMENTMANAGEMENT

PROJECT MANAGEMENT PROJECT MANAGEMENT OFFICE (PMO)OFFICE (PMO)When organizations are very project

focused, they may have one or more project management offices (PMO). The role of the PMO in an organization or department is often twofold:◦To provide standards and best practices for

all projects such that they follow the same process and methodology.

◦To facilitate, monitor, and report on the project portfolio. In this role, the PMO will track the status of projects and facilitate any necessary changes to projects within the portfolio.


PROJECT PROJECT MANAGEMENT(PM) MANAGEMENT(PM) SOFTWARESOFTWARE Project management (PM) software is

designed to support and automate project management and decision-making tasks. PM software is usually classified into three levels:◦ Low-level packages—for entry-level users; include

tools for basic scheduling, project control, reporting, filtering, and sorting

◦ Mid-level software—adds to these functions by providing resource-levelling, resource-allocation, cost-control, and flexible-charting capabilities; allows for effective management of large projects, with up to about 2,000 tasks

◦ High-level software—provides advanced functions including scheduling by user-defined rules, programming languages, resource management for multiple projects, and risk management; can identify conflicting demands for the same resources, as well as allow the manager to set priorities among projects that require the same resource


IS DEVELOPMENT TEAMSIS DEVELOPMENT TEAMSThe people associated with an IS

project usually fall within one or both of two groups: ◦those on the actual project team◦those who are stakeholders in the IS


THE IMPORTANCE THE IMPORTANCE OF STAKEHOLDERSOF STAKEHOLDERSFor most IS development projects,

identifying the key stakeholders can be a very important task that should be thought about right from the beginning.

Why? Because the attitude of a powerful stakeholder toward a project can dramatically affect the project’s eventual success or failure.

A stakeholder analysis begins with a list of the stakeholders, including what each has at stake, as well as the degree of impact each stakeholder can have on the project.


A TYPICAL IS PROJECT A TYPICAL IS PROJECT TEAMTEAMThe size of both the project team and

the associated IS development team will vary with the specific characteristics of the project. Most IS development projects require teams with the following roles:◦ Project sponsor◦ Project manager (PM)◦ Account manager◦ Architecture and design◦ Analysts◦ Developers◦ Specialists◦ Client interface


STANDARD IS STANDARD IS METHODOLOGYMETHODOLOGY

A methodology provides a framework for executing both the project management and technical processes of an IS project throughout the SDLC.

Selecting a methodology that matches a project’s needs helps to ensure the successful completion of the development project.


WHY DO ORGANIZATIONS WHY DO ORGANIZATIONS NEED AN IS NEED AN IS METHODOLOGY?METHODOLOGY?Advantages Disadvantages

• Improvement in fundamentals—methodologies can help team members understand and apply best practices

• Increased bureaucracy—can be overly rigid and bureaucratic

• Avoidance of rework—the process can be oriented toward avoiding repeating tasks in the event of changing requirements

• Increased cost—commercial products and services have a substantial cost and often involve training or require hiring in-house experts to support it

• Risk management—because of its structured approach, a methodology systematically helps identify and manage risks

• Increased structure—because by definition methodologies are designed to avoid ad-hoc development processes, sometimes customers who are developing system requirements may find the process too structured and get frustrated about why IT cannot “simply get it done”; however, without structure the methodology cannot deliver on its benefits

• Quality assurance—helps detect errors earlier, when they are easier to correct

• Customer orientation—focuses the development team on customers’ needs and requirements rather than on building technology for technology’s sake

• Planning improvement—makes it easy to identify and organize the activities required by the project and helps target resources toward the activities that need them the most at the right time


THE TRADITIONAL IS THE TRADITIONAL IS METHODOLOGY: THE WATERFALL METHODOLOGY: THE WATERFALL MODELMODELThe first development model to gain

wide acceptance among system developers was based on the waterfall model.

The waterfall model defines a set of phases and a new phase begins only after acceptable completion of the preceding phase.

The idea is that if things are done right in each phase, there will be little or no need to move back upstream to an already completed phase, thereby achieving one of the primary benefits of a structured methodology.


While successfully used for many years and still applied in some organizations, the waterfall model does have weaknesses.◦The model is usually only effective

when users can express their exact needs.

◦The sequential nature of the waterfall process can delay progress.


WEAKNESSES OF THE WATERFALL WEAKNESSES OF THE WATERFALL MODELMODEL

MODERN IS MODERN IS METHODOLOGYMETHODOLOGYWith more modern

methodologies, developers produce a partial running system that they evaluate and then revise and enhance.

An evolutionary model fits this approach to development.


With an evolutionary model, developers first investigate, specify, and implement an important core part of the system with minimal functionality.

The team then tests and evaluates this version of the system to plan for the next version.

On each iteration of the cycle, the team adds new functionality and features to the system.


EVOLUTIONARY MODEL EVOLUTIONARY MODEL OF IS DEVELOPMENTOF IS DEVELOPMENT

EVOLUTIONARY MODEL EVOLUTIONARY MODEL OF IS DEVELOPMENTOF IS DEVELOPMENT


AGILE DEVELOPMENT AGILE DEVELOPMENT METHODOLOGYMETHODOLOGYA current trend is to develop

systems using an agile development methodology.

An agile process is designed to satisfy continuously changing requirements.

The team develops software in short development cycles or increments.


AGILE DEVOLOPMENT AGILE DEVOLOPMENT METHODOLOGYMETHODOLOGY


IS MODELLINGIS MODELLING Modelling system requirements is an important part

of any IS development methodology. A model is a simplified representation of something

real, such as a building, weather pattern, or information system that business professionals can manipulate to study the real item in more detail.

Models can be of many types, including mathematical equations, computer simulations, and graphs or charts.

For IS development, the model usually includes one or more diagrams that developers can use to examine, evaluate, and adjust to understand the system and performance requirements derived from the design of the underlying business process that the system is trying to automate or support.


UML DIAGRAMSUML DIAGRAMSUnified Modelling Language

(UML) has become a very popular modelling tool, as it works particularly well for developing object-oriented systems.

The UML consists of several graphical elements that, when combined, form a set of diagrams.

The purpose of UML diagrams is to show multiple views of a system. Together, the set of UML diagrams is known as the system model.


UML DIAGRAM OF AN UML DIAGRAM OF AN E-VOTING SYSTEME-VOTING SYSTEM


IT TOOLS FOR IS IT TOOLS FOR IS DEVELOPMENTDEVELOPMENT

What types of IT tools can project teams use in IS development? Project teams routinely use personal productivity tools, such as spreadsheet software, to explore financial feasibility or to create a budget. They also use word processing software to write reports and documentation, such as the project plan.

Since you should be familiar with these types of tools, we focus next on specific software categories that are geared primarily toward the development of information systems.


IS DEVELOPMENT TOOLSIS DEVELOPMENT TOOLSIt is ironic, but software—often the

end result of IS development—also supports the execution of IS development tasks!

The project team needs software to model the system, write the software, and develop the database.

Developers need tools to create and document code, and test and deploy systems.


INTEGRATED INTEGRATED DEVELOPMENT DEVELOPMENT ENVIRONMENTS (IDEs)ENVIRONMENTS (IDEs)Today most software programs rely on

integrated development environments (IDEs).

Instead of using separate software packages, an IDE allows developers to complete several programming tasks within the same software application.

The typical IDE includes a text editor to allow the user to write program code, a file system to store programs, a compiler to translate the program into machine language, and debugging tools to find and correct errors.

Many IDEs feature visual editors that allow the programmer to develop graphical user interfaces by dragging and dropping components onto a palette. Popular IDEs include Microsoft Visual Studio and Eclipse, an open source IDE.


MODELLING TOOLS AND MODELLING TOOLS AND CODE GENERATORSCODE GENERATORSUsing graphical diagrams in modelling

systems is an important activity in information system development.

A number of software packages offer a toolbox with common diagramming elements to make building diagrams easier.

With code generation, a developer can use graphical diagrams to define a system’s components and how they are related. Then, with a simple click of a button or by selecting from a menu, a developer generates code that corresponds to the diagram in a language like C++ or Java.


AUTHORING SOFTWARE AUTHORING SOFTWARE CATEGORIESCATEGORIES

Category Description Representative Software

Database (DBMS) Allows developers to build and manage the databases that are a key part of most IS

Oracle Database, InterSystems Caché, MySql, MS Access

Web development Provides tools for developing web pages and applications

Macromedia Dreamweaver, IBM Websphere, Word Press

Ranges from simple HTML editors to full-blown IDEs

Animation/video Provides tools for developing animation and video components

Macromedia Flash, Shockwave, QuickTime

Graphics Allows users to format and edit visual content

Adobe Photoshop

Audio content Allows users to format and edit audio content

Adobe Audition, Wavepad


CASE TOOLSCASE TOOLSComputer-aided software engineering

(CASE) is the use of computer-based support in the software development process.

CASE tools support the creation and maintenance of the many documents, diagrams, and data that the project team creates over the course of the IS development life cycle and integrates them in a CASE environment accessible to all users.

A current trend in CASE environments is to support the analysis and design of business processes, along with the technology to support business processes.


RECAPRECAP

1. What major decisions must organizations address before developing their IS systems?

2. What important activities must an organization consider within each of the seven stages of the system development life cycle?

3. What methods do organizations use to ensure that they obtain the best IS to help meet their strategic goals?


Documents

Chapter 6 Managing IS Projects and Creating IS Solutions © John Wiley & Sons Canada, Ltd.6-1