Systems Analysis and Design in a Changing World, Fourth Edition -Solutions 08

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Chapter 8 – Evaluating Alternatives for Requirements, Environment, and Implementation Solutions to End-of-Chapter Material Review Questions 1. What is meant by the application deployment environment? Why is it important in the consideration of a development approach? The application deployment environment consists of the computer hardware (platforms) and operating systems that will support the application program. The new application system may have to meet special design requirements to conform to the restrictions of the operating system and the equipment. 2. List and briefly describe the characteristics that an analyst examines when choosing or defining the deployment environment. Analysts consider the configuration of computer equipment, operating systems, and networks that will exist when the new application system is deployed. 3. Describe the relationship between the application deployment and development environments. The development environment consists of the programming languages, CASE (computerassisted software engineering) tools, and other software used to develop application software. The application deployment environment, particularly the operating system, DBMS, and distributed software standard, usually limits the choices that are available for the development environment. Companies prefer certain languages for system development, and their analysts are familiar with the features of these languages. As newer languages provide additional capabilities, however, companies may consider different languages for their system development. An analyst should consider both the application deployment and development environments when determining how they will work with a particular application.

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4. Explain the fundamentals of facilities management. Facilities management is where an outside company takes over the complete data processing responsibilities of an organization. This normally includes control of all of the hardware, programs, and personnel. 5. What is the difference between scope and level of automation? Scope is determined by the list of functions that are included in a system. Level of automation is the amount of computer sophistication and support provided for each function. 6. What is meant by the make-versus-buy decision? The make-versus-buy decision involves determining whether to build a system from the ground up or to buy a packaged solution. 7. Define a packaged solution. Explain what is entailed in the packaged solution approach. A packaged solution is an application program that has been built by a company that specializes in providing computer software for a particular area such as a point-of-sale system. In a strict packaged solution approach, an organization will buy, install, and use the package as is. In a modified approach, the organization may have to modify the package to get it to fulfill the requirements. 8. What is meant by ERP? How does an ERP approach affect acquiring a new solution? ERP stands for enterprise resource planning. ERP takes a strategic, enterprise-wide view of the organization in the planning of new systems. ERP systems have components that support all major functions of a company in a given industry. A complete ERP solution provides new systems that support all company functions as opposed to the functions of individual departments. 9. What does outsourcing mean? How does it impact a project? Outsourcing involves hiring an outside company to provide specific services or products that are usually performed by in-house personnel. The range of outsourcing alternatives for any given project varies. Alternatives to outsourcing include: contract programmers, project management services, facilities management, systems analyst contractors, purchase of package system, and so forth. 10. Define benchmark. Why is it useful in selecting a new system? A benchmark involves defining standard performance criteria and then evaluating a system against that benchmark. A benchmark is especially useful in the purchase of a new system from an outside vendor. The new system can be benchmarked against the existing system, against the industry average, or against some other identified criteria.

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11. What is an RFP? Why is it developed at the end of the analysis phase instead of at the beginning? An RFP is a request for proposal. It is a document that details the information needs and requirements for a new system. An RFP is developed at the end of the analysis phase so that the requirements can be described in detail. These details help the vendor respond to and price a proposal, and they help the requestor to define specific criteria to see if the proposal meets the requirements. Without this detailed information, a proposal and evaluation would be too vague and prone to errors. 12. What is the difference between general requirements, technical requirements, and functional requirements? General requirements include considerations that are important but that are not directly associated with the computer system itself. General requirements include the track record and reputation of the vendor. Technical requirements are the technical constraints imposed on the system, such as response time, operating platform, and database system. Functional requirements identify the specific business functions that must be provided by the new system.

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Thinking Critically 1.

What are the advantages of purchasing a packaged solution? What are the disadvantages or dangers? Answers will vary but should include most of the following points. Advantages include:  Cheaper  Faster  Possibility of being more comprehensive  Provides support of experienced provider  Less development risk  Often comes with good training Disadvantages include:  Does not meet specific needs of the organization  More risk in long-term support without in-house skills  System is similar to other organizations, so not for competitive advantage systems  Long-term support may be expensive

2.

What are the advantages of building a solution from the ground up? What are the disadvantages? Answers will vary but should include the following. Advantages include:  Build in-house expertise  Develop a system that exactly fits the needs of the organization  Develop a system that provides a competitive advantage Disadvantages include:  May take a long time to define and build from scratch  May need special expertise that is difficult to find  Development projects are usually higher risk than purchases  Development is more expensive than purchasing

Systems Analysis and Design in a Changing World, Fourth Edition

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What are the advantages to outsourcing a development project? What are the disadvantages? Answers will vary but should include the following. Advantages include:  Immediate access to industry experts  Utilize personnel who are project experienced  Often can include capability from industry best practices Disadvantages include:  More expensive than in-house staff  Sometimes the organization does not get the experienced staff anticipated  Potential difficulties may arise if the system does not perform as required

4.

Discuss the importance of developing a formal technique and definite criteria for evaluation alternatives. Answers will vary but should include a discussion of the value of a quantitative approach versus a qualitative approach. A formal technique encourages the project team to carefully define the requirements. In addition, a formal technique helps the project team develop benchmarks and objectively compare alternatives.

5.

Given the following narrative, identify the functions to be included within the scope of the system. Also identify several levels of automation for each function. The purpose of this question is to give you an opportunity to think creatively, especially to identify high-level automation alternatives for the various functions. Conference Coordinators (CC) assists organizations or corporations in coordinating and organizing conferences and meetings. It provides such services as designing and printing brochures, handling registration of attendees, fielding questions from attendees, securing meeting spaces and hotel rooms, and planning extracurricular activities. CC gets its business in two ways: by following up on leads that a company is going to be holding a conference and by having the company contact CC directly. When a contact is made, the client is asked for basic information about the desired event: city, dates, anticipated number of attendees, price range, and external activities desired. From this information, CC prepares a bid. CC likes to keep its turnaround time on bids to under five working days. Each project is assigned to a project manager, who will gather information from the support staff to prepare the bid. If necessary, he or she may also request information from the visitors’ center for the desired city.

Systems Analysis and Design in a Changing World, Fourth Edition

Function Record customer information Prepare/record bid

Low-Level Automation Record information only

Register attendees

Register attendees

Record details of planned conference

Record details of conference

Record details of bid

Record information on Record prospects prospective clients Print list of attendees Print list Print details of conference 6.

Print report

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High-Level Automation Correlate customers with promotions. Identify other potential services for customers. Suggest services and activities based on time of year and location. Calculate several options. Calculate bid automatically. Provide real-time registration via Web with immediate confirmation. Suggest travel alternatives and hotel options. Provide list of activities in local city. Capture automatically from the bid. Provide details via Web for both client and attendees. Provide computer services to client for realtime maintenance of conference agenda, facilities, speakers, and so on. Produce marketing list based on characteristics of prospects. Provide real-time Web access of list to client. Maintain running totals of revenues. Maintain registration information at individual activities. Provide immediate real-time updates to client via Web. Provide revenue and other expanded information that may be helpful to the client.

What are important points that determine weighting factors for the functional requirements listed in the system requirements for a proposed system? System or functional requirements will determine the range of possible answers for weights. Points that should be considered in the development of these weighting factors include:  Mission criticality of the new system may dictate importance of some functions.  Transaction volumes may require some functions to be more important than others.  Strategic direction of the company may require some functions to be weighted more heavily.  Specific organization goals for service levels or capabilities.  Services and offerings by the competition.  Specific department goals in the user departments.  Alternative methods to achieve the same function may reduce importance of a function.  Relative cost versus benefit of the function may influence the weight.  Work flows and the importance of specific functions in critical work flows.  Difficulty of doing some functions manually may indicate the importance of a functional requirement in the new system.

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List the important points that determine weighting factors in the general and technical requirements for a proposed system. Points that will influence the setting of weighting factors should include the following:  Mission criticality of the new system  Level of internal expertise in given areas  Strategic direction of the company  Internal standards and objectives  Specific platforms or operating environments  Budgets and investment funds  Specific user requirements  Performance requirements to meet specific objectives

8.

Given the following matrix of various technical requirements, develop your own weighting factors for an inventory management system at a small plumbing supplier. Justify your weights. Extend the raw scores to the Extended column and calculate the totals. Which would you choose? Justify your selection: Did you go strictly by the numbers, or are there other factors you might consider? How do you handle a number that is not given: Give it an average of the others, pick the best of the others, guess a value, or assign a zero? (Raw numbers use a six-point scale.) Category

Weight

Robustness Programming errors Quality of code Documentation Ease of installation Flexibility User friendliness

10 5 5 5 4 4 8

Total

Alternative 1 Build In-House Raw Extnd 5 50 ? 20 ? 22.5 4 20 5 20 5 20 5 40 192.5

Alternative 2 Buy Turnkey Raw Extnd 3 30 4 20 4 20 4 20 5 20 4 16 5 40 166

Alternative 3 Buy Package Raw Extnd 3 30 4 20 5 25 3 15 4 16 3 12 5 40 158

Answers will vary depending on the weighting factors that are developed. Most students will use the standard 1-5 scale. The above example shows a ten-point scale to emphasize the importance of several factors. In other words, the five-point scale did not give enough weight to the very important factors. The unknown scores used the average (as is discussed in the text). This is an effective way to develop comparable scores. Omitting unknown scores would make it impossible to compare totals.

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Experiential Exercises 1. Assume that the deployment environment for a high-volume payment processing system consists of the following:  DB2 DBMS running under the OS/390 operating system on an IBM S/390 mainframe  WebSphere application server running under the Z/OS operating system on an IBM zSeries 900 mainframe  J2EE application software that will be executed by other internal and external systems Investigate possible development environments for this deployment environment. Describe their advantages and disadvantages, and recommend a specific set of development tools. This is primarily an Internet research question for the students—and a fairly difficult one given the depth of the technical issues. The key issue is the dependency between deployment environment and development tools. Students should review the Web sites for each of these tools and try to answer the following questions:  

What is the level of support provided for DB2, the Websphere application server, J2EE, and Java? Will the tool suite allow application and database components to be deployed with a “push of a button” in that environment?

A quick review of the Websphere product literature should reveal that this tool supports the deployment environment. Because IBM markets it, we can also assume that the Websphere application server supports the operating systems and hardware. (Note that support of the DBMS OS and hardware isn't a significant issue because the interface will be accessed via network connections, and the S/390 should not need any software to be installed or configured.) The more complex question is whether the other two alternatives would support the deployment environment as well. Both are Java-centric, J2EE-compliant, and have significant native database interaction capability. But neither is designed specifically to work with DB2, Z/OS, nor Websphere. J2EE tools and support software are supposed to be compatible across hardware and operating systems, but this is not always the case. In particular, JDeveloper has superb interoperability with Oracle's DBMS and application server, but provides much less support for other application servers and DBMSs such as SQLServer and DB2. Given the J2EE and Java connections, any of the three packages will “work.” However, mixing non-IBM development tools with IBM-supported hardware and software may cause problems. A higher level of integration between the IBM tools and the deployment environment will probably result in increased developer productivity. On the other hand, given the cost of the tool and the learning curve that would be involved, adopting

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Websphere development tools would probably lock the organization into IBM hardware and software for years to come. The moral of the story is that in the modern world, complex and vendor-specific deployment environments limit interoperability. Choosing standards-based deployment pieces (for example, J2EE, Java, and DBMS that supports SQL and JDBC) usually provides a few choices. But the tools designed by the deployment environment vendor tend to work best. 2.

Set up an interview with an organization that uses information systems. Ask for an example of an RFP for a software system. Identify the parts of the RFP. Compare them with the recommended components in the chapter. Answers will vary. Compare the answers to the sample RFP table of contents (Figure 8-10 on page 312).

3.

From a news article or Internet information, find an example of a company that is installing an ERP package (SAP, Oracle, or other company). If possible, get a copy of the overall project plan and analyze the various activities. Compare them to a standard SDLC. Find out the total budget for the project. Answers will vary.

4.

Develop an RFP for RMO to be sent out to various vendors. Answers will vary but should follow the general outline provided in Figure 8-10 on page 312.

5.

Develop a recommended development approach for RMO. Also develop a presentation of your recommendation to upper management. Answers will vary. Students should defend their recommendations. The defense could be based on points that are consistent with general requirements (see Figure 8-9) and risk analysis (see Chapter 2). General requirement points could include:     

Experienced staff In-house vs. outsourced development costs Build vs. buy factors Schedule and length of time to deploy Vendor issues and reputation

A presentation outline should follow the points provided in Appendix D. 6.

Look through some trade magazines (Software, CIO, Datamation, Infoweek, and so on) to find examples of companies that have done an evaluation of vendors. Describe their methods and comment on their strengths and weaknesses.

Systems Analysis and Design in a Changing World, Fourth Edition

Answers will vary.

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Case Studies Case Study: Tropic Fish Tales: Netting the Right System Now that you have read and studied the chapter, review the opening case on Tropic Fish Tales. Your job is to provide specific advice for Robert Holmes or Bill Williams on how to evaluate the various RFPs. Students should base their answer on the material in the chapter. A set of criteria in all three categories—general, technical, and functional—should be developed that provide relative measurements between the proposed solutions. Assuming that you can build some matrices that measure relative strengths between the proposals, comment on the applicability of doing an evaluation based strictly on the numbers. In other words, assume that Robert and Bill were able to create criteria and weights to measure the benefit to the company of the different alternatives. 1.

Do you think it would be possible to sum up the resulting values and make a decision based only on the numbers? Support your answer. Answers will vary. To be correct, an answer must include logical support. Many criteria are needed to provide a meaningful single number or set of three numbers. Because the proposed solutions are so varied, the general criteria category will need to include the long-term effects on the strategic direction and the total impact on the organization.

2.

What kinds of factors, other than those in the matrix of weighted criteria, might Robert and Bill need to consider in making a decision? Can these other factors influence the decision as strongly as the quantified criteria? See answer below.

3.

What if the values of several alternatives are very close? What other factors might Robert and Bill need to consider? In some instances, it might be impossible to put meaningful weighting factors on the criteria. For example, the need to be consistent with long-term strategy might be so important that any system not meeting this criterion is rejected immediately. It might also be almost impossible to realistically determine a raw score for some criteria. In either case, a purely quantitative approach may not be feasible. When weighting factors are very close, both solutions may appear meet the criteria of the organization. At that point, the individual scores should be looked at carefully. If weighting factors are indeed a true measure of relative importance, the total scores should be correct. However, in reality, the long-term viability of the provider may be much more important than the weighting factor indicates. In other words, certain qualitative factors should be considered in when making the decision.

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Case Study: The Real Estate Multiple Listing Service System Consider the requirements of the multiple listing service system developed in Chapters 5, 6, and 7. Assume that you’re the project manager and that you work for a consulting firm hired by the multiple listing service to perform only the survey and analysis phase activities. 1.

Assume that system users and owners have indicated a strong desire for a system that can be accessed “anytime, anywhere.” Discuss the implications of their desire for the system scope. Given the preferences of the system users and owners, should you prepare a table similar to Figure 8-2? Why or why not? User preferences raise the possibility of greatly expanded system scope. To fully determine the “anytime, anywhere” requirement, the analyst will have to examine how all types of users might want to access and use the system. For example, how might potential buyers, buyers’ agents, and mortgage brokers access and use the system? After these questions are asked, many opportunities for expanding the system scope will present themselves. For example, is it worthwhile to automatically send listing information to mortgage bankers or brokers to automate the process of prequalifying potential buyers for a mortgage? This is an example of something that might be treated as a “newly handled event” in the table. A table such as the one in Figure 8-2 will be helpful in two ways. First, it will put all system functions in a single list that can be reviewed by all project participants. Second, it will supply a starting point for prioritizing requirements and assigning cost estimates. Given the user preferences, it’s likely that many of the new functions will be highly automated. However, less- automated choices may also be considered due to budget and schedule preferences. In addition, some functions with low priorities will probably have to be dropped or delayed until a future system upgrade.

2.

Discuss the implications of the anytime, anywhere requirement for the application deployment environment. What type(s) of hardware, network, and software architecture will be required to fulfill that requirement? At present, “anytime, anywhere” means Web-based architecture, with all of its concomitant requirements for distributed application architecture and supporting infrastructure. Multiple servers will probably be required to handle specialized functions, such as database management, Web services, and authentication. Internet access will require a server-based or hardware-based firewall. Sufficient internal and Internet network capacity will be required along with supporting hardware such as routers. Redundant Internet connections and hardware may be required to guarantee access seven days a week, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Because processing functions must be accessed from Web pages on an as-needed basis, the software architecture will need to be component-based. A component or Web services

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standard family (for example, J2EE, SOAP, or .NET) will have to be chosen and the appropriate middleware will have to be installed and configured. 3.

Investigate the availability of packaged and turnkey systems for multiple listing services. Search the Internet and real estate trade magazines and Web sites. Discuss the pros and cons of choosing a packaged or turnkey system. One list is available at http://recenter.tamu.edu/soft/use72.html. For other lists, search the Internet with the keywords “multiple listing service” and “software.” The advantages of using a turnkey system for a multiple listing service include:  

Implementing a new system in a relatively short time. Implementing a new system at a cost that is much less than the cost of custom development.

The disadvantages include:   4.

Not meeting the exact user requirements. Losing future flexibility for upgrades and enhancements.

Develop an RFP outline that covers packaged, turnkey, and custom-developed systems. What are the difficulties of writing one RFP that covers all three scenarios? Who should be involved in evaluating RFP responses? The generic outline in Figure 8-10 is a reasonable template for this case. It would be very difficult to write a single RFP that covers all three scenarios, so students should develop three different RFPs to ensure that their responses can be appropriately evaluated. However, some sections, such as I, II, VI, and VII in Figure 8-10, will probably be similar in all three RFPs. Evaluation criteria and weighting will vary depending on the type of scenario, and having separate pools of responses will ensure that comparisons among proposals are “apples to apples.”

Case Study: Rethinking Rocky Mountain Outfitters Various application deployment environments would actually be acceptable for RMO’s strategic plan. The staff’s current thinking was to move more toward a Microsoft solution, using the latest version of Microsoft Server with Microsoft’s IIS as the Web server. However, Linux with Apache servers offers another large installed base of servers. Considering that RMO could also take that approach, do the following: 1.

Describe a viable configuration using Apache/Linux. Answers will vary. Both Apache/Linux and MS IIS are viable industry solutions. The Apache/Linux solution could use Linux servers made by companies such as Sun or

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Hewlett-Packard (HP). The solution could have all of the customer orders coming into a centralized site with various servers on a LAN. Another alternative is to have the servers distributed at the various RMO locations, especially at the warehouse locations. The client machines could be Linux-based workstations, but should more likely be inexpensive Windows desktop machines. 2.

Compare the relative market penetration of Microsoft and Apache/Linux (a good starting place is http://www.netcraft.com). Answers will vary depending on current statistics. The http://www.netcraft.com/Survey/Reports/200202/graphs.html site has good market penetration statistics. Generally, Apache/Linux usually has about twice the market penetration as Microsoft does.

The database issue is another potential controversy for RMO. The current decision is to keep the mainframe and run DB2, a very efficient relational database. However, another alternative would be to implement an Oracle database. Oracle is also very strong in the marketplace. Given these two alternatives, do the following: 3.

Compare the relative market penetration of these two solutions Answers will vary depending on the timing of the research. Generally, Oracle keeps growing very rapidly.

4.

List the strengths and weaknesses of each approach, that of the DB2 mainframe approach and that of Oracle running on some type of multiple processor server computer. Answers will vary. The following ideas could be included: DB2:     

Very stable environment Long history of working solutions High volume DBMS AS/400 hardware is fast and efficient Both the hardware and software are tuned to work together

Oracle:  Rapidly growing, very popular  Many application development tools can be purchased  Flexibility of many different platforms and hardware

Case Study: Focusing on Reliable Pharmaceutical Service Reliable’s executives have assigned you the following tasks:

Systems Analysis and Design in a Changing World, Fourth Edition

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Develop an RFP outline that addresses the options identified by the executives. List and briefly describe each general, technical, and functional requirement. The generic outline in Figure 8-10 is a reasonable template for this case.

2.

Assume that you have already developed a complete set (over 100 printed pages) of analysis documents using either the traditional or object-oriented approach. Should those be included in the RFP? Why or why not? Answers will vary. These analysis documents should be included in the RFP because they required considerable time and effort to produce, and they provide additional information about the proposed system.

3.

Develop matrices (similar to Figures 8-7, 8-8, 8-9) for evaluating RFP responses. Answers will vary. The case exercises in Chapters 4 through 7 should be used to list system requirements.

4.

Develop a list of vendors to whom the RFP should be sent. Answers will vary based on the student research. A handful of large vendors and several dozen smaller vendors specialize in pharmacy systems.