Management Issues in System Development Chapter 10 Information Systems Management In Practice 5E McNurlin & Sprague

Management Issues in System Development

Chapter 10

Information Systems Management In Practice 5EMcNurlin & Sprague

Copyright 2002 by Prentice Hall, Inc.

10-2

Introduction

Issues surrounding system development

Infrastructure management: reduce costs

Customer relationship: provide service

Product innovation: speed


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How Should IS Staff be Managed?

Recruiting IS Staff Finding people with the right skills Providing suitable work culture and incentives

Designing motivating work Skill variety Task identity Task significance Autonomy Feedback


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How Should IS Staff be Managed?

JDS Survey to measure: Growth need strength Social need strength Motivating potential score

Gauging IT staff Improving the maintenance job Rethinking the maintenance work


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How Can Systems be Implemented Successfully?

Type of people involved in a change project

Sponsor: the person or group that legitimizes the change

Change agent: the person or group who causes the change to happen

Target: the person or group who is being expected to change and at whom the change is aimed


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How Can Systems be Implemented Successfully?

Methodology to manage technological change Conduct surveys to all three groups to determine:

Whether the scope of the project is doable, or whether the organization is trying to change too much at one time

Whether the sponsors are committed enough to push the change through, or whether they are sitting back expecting the organization to change on its own

Whether the change agents have the skills to implement the change, or whether they are not adept at rallying support

Which groups are receptive to the change and which are resistant


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How Can Legacy Systems be Improved?: Options

1. Restructure the system: Applicable to systems that are basically doing the job but run inefficiently or “fragile.” Seven Steps in restructuring:

A. Evaluate the amount of structure in the current system - number of layers of nesting, degree of complexity, etc. Use tools to trace program control logic.

B. Compile the program, to be sure it is in working order


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1. Restructure the system: (cont.) C. Run the program through a structuring

engine, which cleans up and restructures the code, following structured programming concepts. This process does not change the logic of the program, but replaces poor coding: reduces number of GOTOs, removes dead code, highlights loops, and groups input/output.

D. Reformat the listing to make it easier for programmers to understand


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1. Restructure the system: (cont.) E. Ensure that the old and new

versions produce the same outputF. Minimize overhead introduced by

restructuring (optimizer package)G. “Rationalize” the data by giving all

uses of the same data one data name


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2. Reengineer the system: Step beyond restructuring, implies extracting the data elements from an existing file and the business logic from an existing program and moving them to an existing platform. See Life Cycle Figure 10-5

1. Reverse engineering: existing programs, along with their files and DB descriptions are converted from their implementation level description to their equivalent design level components

2. Forward engineering: from requirements level to operational systems


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Case Example: GTE Directories Used reengineering to get their corporate data in

shape. 4 main DB, designed application-by-application Records contain data elements that have no

business relation to each other, making them very difficult to reuse, enhance, and change

Maintenance is the bulk of the work of DB administration group

GTE using Bachman tools to redesign old DB, design new DB using portions of existing ones, and create their blueprint for the future


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3. Refurbish the system if the old system is maintainable and causing no major problems; may be worthwhile to add extensions. Potential extensions supply input in a new manner, make new uses of input, or deal with data differently.


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Refurbish legacy systems see Fig. 10-4

1. Refurbish the input process - A front end can be added by using a 4GL DBMS to create a DB that combines fields from old files with new fields, then all input data flows into new DB

2. Revise the Data Manipulation process - Once the new external DB is created, data from it and the original system can be merged and manipulated, e.g., project budgets and actual costs tracked differently - extract DB created to convert actual data to budget data format


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Refurbish legacy systems (cont.) see Fig 10-4

3. Extend the query capabilities - An interactive query capability can be added by creating a new query DB that gathers data from both the old and new portions of the system, through a new DB for interrogation

4. Enhance the output process - write a procedure to dump the data into a 4GL DB, merge old and new data to generate new reports, on paper or online



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4. Rejuvenate the system: adding new functions to a reengineered system to make it more valuable. Phases of rejuvenation process:

Recognize a system’s potential - first clean up existing system using code restructuring tools and then building from there

Clean up the system - transform the poorly structured COBOL code into more structured, maintainable code


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4. Rejuvenate the system: Phases of rejuvenation process (cont.)

Make the system more efficient - system can be converted to a new operating environment and a new file structure, together with manual tuning and enhancements to reduce system processing time

Give the system a strategic role - to answer the question “How can we provide even more timely information or improve competitive position in the marketplace.” Consider options, such as mainframe online or distributed systems


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5. Replace with a package or service: to move an old application to a new operating environment, e.g. centralized to distributed, e.g., SAP

6. Rewrite the system: if too far gone to rescue, obsolete technology; beware of true cost and risk failure


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Measuring Systems Benefits:The Roles of IS

Help other departments do their job better: “support systems” with the goal to increase organizational efficiency

Carry out a business strategy: e.g., CAD systems that customers and suppliers can use together to design custom products. Differ from support systems because they are used by customers

As a product or service as the basis for a product or service: e.g., testing or design software that a company sells to another firm


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Measuring Systems Benefits Measuring Organizational Performance: Meeting

deadlines and milestones, operating within budget, and doing quality work. Performance measures internal efficiency of operations.

Measuring Business Value: Deals with marketplace goals, they must have a direct impact on the company’s relationships with customers, clients, or suppliers; e.g, sales/customer.

Measuring a Product or Service: An IS offered as a product or service to produce revenue, e.g., ROI.


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Measuring Systems Benefits

What’s Important to Management?Measure in terms like customer relations,

employee morale, customer opinion, and “cycle time” - how long to accomplish a complete assignment; fast cycle time might mean higher-quality products, beating competitors to the market, winning a bid, etc.


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IT benefits cross organizational levels, sources of value Individual Division Corporation

Impact focus of an IT investment extends to Economic performance payoffs - market measures of

performance Organizational process impacts - process change Technology impacts - key functionality

Combine views to form a 3 x 3 matrix

Measuring Systems Benefits


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Case Example: A Trucking Company

Small trucking company in the refrigerated carrier business, experienced 50% loss in market share

$10M investment in IT to differentiate itself and manage the company by information. Installed satellite system and computer in each truck to be in constant communication with customers.

Measures: Driver productivity increased by .5 hr./day Improved load truck matching 1% deadhead

time Customers willing to pay premium for ability to

communicate - unexpected revenue benefits.

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Management Issues in System Development Chapter 10 Information Systems Management In Practice 5E McNurlin & Sprague