Systems Analysis and Design in a Changing World, Fourth Edition -Solutions 16

Systems Analysis and Design in a Changing World, Fourth Edition

14-1

Chapter 16 – Current Trends in System Development Solutions to End-of-Chapter Material Review Questions 1.

Identify the five important principles and practices that are driving many of the current trends in software development. Briefly explain each. 

    2.

Abstraction – The process of extracting and distilling core principles from a set of facts or statements. Abstraction is important in the field of computing, especially for the development of metamodels, which help to generalize and standardize the construction of models. Models and modeling – Abstractions of something real, with a particular set of properties, such as a business process or thing. Pattern – A standard solution to a given problem, or a template that can be applied to a problem. Reuse – The principle of developing and using standard solutions and components that can be used over and over. Methodology – A process, including rules, guidelines, and techniques, that defines how systems are built.

What are the driving forces that are moving many companies to adopt more adaptive approaches to system development? The historically low success rate of system development projects and the volatility of today’s business environment.

3.

Explain the difference between a predictive control process and an empirical control process. A predictive control process defines the steps to monitor a process in great detail and works well when more planning is possible and can provide more detail. An empirical control process describes processes that are variable and unpredictable and are best controlled by handling each variation as it occurs and determining the best way to correct the deviation on the fly.

Systems Analysis and Design in a Changing World, Fourth Edition

4.

List the six fundamental characteristics of adaptive projects.

14-2

Systems Analysis and Design in a Changing World, Fourth Edition

      5.

Less emphasis on up-front analysis, design, and documentation. More focus on incremental development. More user involvement in project teams. Reduced detailed planning, which is used for near-term work phases only; downstream phases might have high-level plans. Tightly controlling schedules by fitting work into discrete time boxes. More use of small work teams that are self-organizing.

What are the elements of the “Manifesto for Agile Software Development?” Explain what each means.    

6.

14-3

Responding to change over following a plan – Accept that software development is unpredictable and should be approached with flexibility. Individuals and interactions over processes and tools – Rely on teams to plan and execute their work as the project progresses. Working software over comprehensive documentation – The ultimate aim of the project is working software, and this aim should always be kept in sight. Customer collaboration over contract negotiation – Customers must continually be involved with the project team, and contracts should take more of a collaborative track.

What does chaordic mean? What implications does it have for development projects? Chaordic is a term used to describe adaptive projects, which are both chaotic and ordered. Developers need to accept the chaos, but they also need to use specific methodologies to organize and impose order.

7.

What are the four UP phases, and what is the objective of each?

Systems Analysis and Design in a Changing World, Fourth Edition

14-4

1. Inception – Develop an approximate vision of the system, make the business case, define the scope, and produce rough estimates for cost and schedule. 2. Elaboration – Refine the vision, identify and describe all requirements, finalize the scope, design and implement the core architecture and functions, resolve high risks, and produce realistic estimates for cost and schedule. 3. Construction – Iteratively implement the remaining lower-risk, predictable, and easier elements and prepare for deployment.

8.

4. Transition – Complete the beta test and deployment so users have a working system and are ready to benefit as expected. What are the six UP development disciplines? Business modeling, requirements, design, implementation, test, and deployment.

9.

What are the three UP support disciplines? Configuration and change management, project management, and environment.

10.

List the basic principles of Agile Modeling.   

Develop software as your primary goal. Enable the next effort as your secondary goal. Minimize your modeling activity—few and simple.

Systems Analysis and Design in a Changing World, Fourth Edition

        11.

14-5

Embrace change, and change incrementally. Model with a purpose. Build multiple models. Build high-quality models and get feedback rapidly. Focus on content rather than representation. Learn from each other with open communication. Know your models and how to use them. Adapt to specific project needs.

Why is the word extreme included as part of Extreme Programming? The intent of XP is to extend the best practices of software development “to the extreme.”

12.

List the core values of XP.    

13.

Communication Simplicity Feedback Courage

List the XP practices.

Systems Analysis and Design in a Changing World, Fourth Edition

            14.

14-6

Planning Testing Pair programming Simple designs Refactoring the code Owning the code collectively Continuous integration On-site customer System metaphor Small releases Forty-hour week Coding standards

What is the product backlog used for in a Scrum project? The product backlog is a list of all the things the system should include and address, including user functions, features, and technology. The product backlog is continually being prioritized and is controlled by the product owner.

15.

Explain how a Scrum sprint works. A Scrum sprint is a firm 30-day time box with a specific goal or deliverable. At the beginning, the team gathers for a one-day planning session, during which they decide on the major goal for the sprint, drawing from the prioritized product backlog. The scope of that sprint is then frozen. Team members meet every day to report progress. At the end of the sprint, the agreed-upon deliverable is produced.

Systems Analysis and Design in a Changing World, Fourth Edition

16.

14-7

Explain the difference in project time management and project scope management for projects using agile methods. Project time management changes because the team does not attempt to make a complete, detailed project schedule. Instead, time and the schedule are managed incrementally, through iterations, sprints, and so on. Project scope management changes because users or clients become part of the team, and they are given the responsibility of defining the project scope.

17.

What is a PIM? What is a PSM? How are they related? A PIM is a platform-independent model that describes system characteristics that are not specific to any deployment platform. An example is a UML class diagram. A PSM is a model that describes system characteristics that include deployment platform requirements. PIMs can be used to define PSMs through the design discipline under MDA. PSMs can also be used at some point to move from code to a PIM.

18.

What are the potential benefits of Model-Driven Architecture? MDA provides a mechanism by which organizations can extract critical features and information about each of their current systems and combine them into a PIM. This capability allows an organization to analyze the combined PIM to determine where duplication, inconsistencies, and conflicts in technologies exist. In addition, new systems can be designed to conform to existing systems.

Systems Analysis and Design in a Changing World, Fourth Edition

19.

14-8

What is a metamodel? How is a metamodel used?

A metamodel is a model that describes the characteristics of another model. It is used to abstract the properties and components of a model such as a class diagram. 20.

What is an object framework? How is it different from a library of components? An object framework is a library of foundation classes designed for maximal reuse via instantiation or inheritance. It differs from a component library in that object frameworks are source code, and components are executable code.

21.

For which layers of an OO program are off-the-shelf components most likely to be available? Components are most readily available for the view layer (or user interface).

22.

What is a software component? A software component is a module of executable code that can be easily integrated with other software modules to form a complete system.

23.

Why have software components only recently come into widespread use? The technology and standards to support widespread component use and integration have been created and widely deployed only in the last decade.

24.

In what ways do components make software construction and maintenance faster? Systems can be assembled from previously developed components, thus eliminating many custom-software development steps. Maintenance is also faster because a single component can be replaced without rewriting, recompiling, relinking, or redistributing the entire application.

25.

What is a service? How does a service differ from a component? How are services similar to components? A service is a computer function that an application interacts with through the Internet. Components differ in that they are dynamically or statically linked to an application before execution. They are similar in that they share the goal of reuse to shorten development time.

26.

On what standards is service-oriented architecture based? The Microsoft .NET service standard is based on SOAP. The Java 2 Web Services (J2WS) standard extends SOAP to create a Java-specific implementation.

Thinking Critically

Systems Analysis and Design in a Changing World, Fourth Edition

1.

14-9

Consider the capabilities of the programming language and development tools used in your most recent programming or software development class. Are they powerful enough to implement developmental prototypes for single-user software on a personal computer? Are they sufficiently powerful to implement developmental prototypes in a multiuser, distributed, database-oriented, and high-security operating environment? If they were used with a tool-based development approach, what types of user requirements might be sacrificed because they didn’t fit language or tool capabilities? Most IS programs use development tools (such as Visual Basic) that are primarily designed for developing personal computer software. Such tools are sufficient for creating developmental prototypes in a single-user PC environment or in relatively simple client/server environments. Multiuser database access, large-scale distribution, and highsecurity environments typically require more powerful tools such as C++, Oracle JDeveloper, IBM Rational Application Developer, or CORBA-based development environments.

2.

The Unified Process (UP) was first developed by a company called Rational, which is now owned by IBM. On the IBM Web site, find any information about UP tools available through IBM/Rational. Briefly describe the suite of tools available. Also look on the IBM Web site and other Web sites (such as the Agile Modeling Web site) for opinions on the relationships and commonality between the UP and Agile Modeling. Report your findings. Answers will vary. The IBM site lists an assortment of tool under the Rational brand. The IBM site also includes extensive documentation on the Rational Unified Process (RUP). The disciplines and the UP life cycle are easy to find. An increasing number of articles are appearing that discuss agile development and how RUP and UP can be used in an agile manner.

3.

Consider XP’s team-based programming approach in general and its principle of allowing any programmer to modify any code at any time in particular. No other development approach or programming management technique follows this particular principle. Why not? In other words, what are the possible negative implications of this principle? How does XP minimize these negative implications? Allowing any programmer to modify any code at any time is considered risky by most developers. Bugs can be introduced into the system when code is modified and then used by other parts of the system. If other programmers are unaware of the code changes, the bugs might not be discovered until late in the project. The problem is one of coordination. To minimize the need for coordination and communication among programmers or programming teams, most large-scale development projects use a source code control system that protects code modules from unauthorized changes. XP assumes that all programmers will share a common workspace and that communication among programmers is complete and efficient. Problems can be avoided when that level of communication is achieved.

Systems Analysis and Design in a Changing World, Fourth Edition

4.

14-10

Visit the Web sites of the Agile Alliance (www.agilealliance.com/home) and Agile Modeling (www.agilemodeling.com/). Find some articles on project management in an agile environment. Summarize key points that you think make project management more difficult in this environment than in a traditional, predictive project. Do the same for key points that make project management easier for an agile project. Answers will vary, but might include the following points: More difficult: It could be more difficult to meet management expectations for fixed deadlines and budgets, and to assuage management’s discomfort with nontraditional project methodology. It might also be more difficult to secure the full commitment of customers or users. Easier: The project manager can adapt to unexpected changes much more readily. He or she can focus more time on moving the project forward and less on keeping the project documentation current. Developing smaller chunks of deliverables in controlled timeframes can help identify problems earlier.

5.

The chapter discussed the benefits of using Agile Development techniques. List and explain the conditions under which it would be unwise to use an Agile Development methodology such as XP or Scrum. Answers will vary, but might include the following points:    

6.

Project team is geographically dispersed. System requirements are clearly defined and understood from the beginning. Management insists on detailed schedule and fixed budget. Customers or users are unwilling or unable to commit to full participation on the team.

Visit the Web site of the World Wide Web Consortium (www.w3.org) and review recent developments related to the SOAP standard. What new capabilities have been added, and what is the effect of those capabilities on the standard’s complexity and infrastructure requirements? Answers will vary. The intent of the exercise is to become familiar with the World Wide Web Consortium Web site as a source of standards and to learn about new capabilities.

7.

Compare and contrast object frameworks and components in terms of ease of modification before system installation, ease of modification after system installation, and overall cost savings from code reuse. Which approach is likely to yield greater benefits for a unique application system, such as a distribution management system that is highly specialized to a particular company? Which approach is likely to yield greater benefits for general-purpose application software, such as a spreadsheet or virus protection program?

Systems Analysis and Design in a Changing World, Fourth Edition

14-11

Object frameworks are easier to customize during development because they are source code. Components are easier to maintain after installation because they can be replaced or upgraded without recompiling and relinking the entire application. In essence, componentbased applications can be upgraded one component at a time. Comparative cost savings are difficult to estimate; however, most of the software industry seems to favor components. Higher degrees of specialization tend to argue in favor of object frameworks. In purely practical terms, the market for highly specialized components is likely to be too small to generate much supply. However, there is nothing stopping a software developer from using an object framework to develop a highly specialized component-based application. For general-purpose application software, component-based design and deployment is a clear winner because it is substantially easier to upgrade and maintain. As with more specialized software, however, the components can be developed with object frameworks to incorporate the best features of each approach. 8.

Consider the similarities and differences between component-based design and construction of computer hardware (such as personal computers) and design and construction of computer software. Can the “plug-compatible” nature of computer hardware ever be achieved with computer software? Does your answer depend on the type of software (for example, system or application software)? Do differences in the expected lifetime of computer hardware and software affect the applicability or desirability of component-based techniques? Personal computers have some variation in design and embedded components, but there is a relatively small range of functional difference. For example, there are many types and sizes of secondary storage devices (for example, CD-RWs, magnetic hard disks, floppy drives, and DVD drives), but all perform relatively similar functions. Plug compatibility is relatively easy to implement with personal computer components because of the small set of embedded device types and high degree of similarity among devices within each type. In contrast, software applications span a much wider range of function and purpose. There are also many differences among software components within each functional category. This is to be expected because software is the means by which hardware is customized to particular application purposes. The much larger variation in software makes it more difficult to define a useful and finite set of component interconnection standards. Some standards, such as CORBA, have been defined at relatively low levels, but higher-level standards (for example, the interaction between a sorting component and a set of application data) are much harder to define because of the variability in function and data (for example, does the application data to be sorted consist of strings, numbers, records, pictures, or business objects?). Standards are easier to define for system software than for application software because system software components and functions are less variable. For example, most operating systems provide a small and well-defined set of services, such as file management, process management, and GUI services, and there is substantial similarity among different services within the same category (for example, windowing functions under Windows, MacOS and

Systems Analysis and Design in a Changing World, Fourth Edition

14-12

X Windows). Those similarities allow a finite set of component connections to be defined that cover the majority of functional requirements. Higher-level component connection standards justify investment in their development and conformance if they can be reused often enough to realize their benefits. Standards that quickly become obsolete and those with limited functionality aren’t worth developing. Personal computer standards, such as the PCI bus, Universal Serial Bus (USB), and the analog video connection for IBM-compatible PCs, have relatively long lives (a decade or more), and they are reused millions of times. In contrast, software connection standards have relatively short lives, and they change much more quickly. A possible counter example to the previous argument involves the ongoing effort to standardize data interchange within specific industries using XML. These standards aren’t full component interconnection standards, but they do address many of the same issues. It will be interesting to see how stable these standards are over time and how widely they are deployed.

Systems Analysis and Design in a Changing World, Fourth Edition

14-13

Experiential Exercises 1.

Talk with someone at your school or place of employment about a recent development project that was canceled because of slow development. What development approach was employed for the project? Would a different development approach have resulted in faster development? This is a good topic for a guest speaker. You should distribute background reading on the project before class so that class time isn’t wasted covering background material (for example, the project scope, purpose, or technology restrictions).

2.

Find a company in your community that uses the UP or some other adaptive method as its development methodology (variations of the UP are okay). Learn how it has applied the UP and how it applies UP principles and practices. Also research what development tools it uses and how well UP is supported. More and more software organizations are using UP or RUP. Many others are using variations of XP.

3.

Find someone in your community who is working on a software development project that is using agile principles. How was the team trained to use Agile Development? How was this approach adopted in the organization? What is the general feeling about its success? What aspects does this developer like? What aspects does he or she find frustrating or difficult to use. This is also a good topic for a guest speaker.

4.

Consider a project to replace the student advising system at your school with one that employs modern features (for example, Web-based interfaces, instant reports of degree progress, and automatic course registration based on a long-term degree plan). Now consider how such a project would be implemented using tool-based development. Investigate alternative tools, such as Visual Studio, PowerBuilder, and Oracle Forms, and determine (for each tool) what requirements would need to be compromised for the sake of development speed if the tool were chosen. This is a good topic for a class discussion, especially if students have already completed classes in which they have gained familiarity with one or more development environments. The discussion will quickly focus on the trade-offs between tool capabilities and the range of system functions and interface types. Simpler environments, such as PowerBuilder and Visual Basic, will substantially limit the functionality of the final system. More powerful tools will provide a wider range of capability at the expense of higher complexity and a much steeper learning curve. The vagueness of the phrase ease of implementation also becomes a critical issue, as do the security and reliability of the final system.

5.

Examine the capabilities of a modern programming environment such as Microsoft Visual Studio .NET, IBM WebSphere Studio, or Borland Enterprise Studio. Is an object framework or component library provided? Does successful use of the

Systems Analysis and Design in a Changing World, Fourth Edition

14-14

programming environment require a specific development approach? Does successful use require a specific development methodology? This exercise is best performed by students who have in-depth development experience using at least one of the chosen tools. 6.

Examine the technical description of a complex end-user software package such as Microsoft Office. In what ways, if any, was component-based software development used to build the software? All of the common Windows-based personal productivity suites are implemented as components with COM+ as the glue that binds them together. This can be seen directly by examining the Windows registry entries for each package (run REGEDIT or REGEDT32). Each component is registered with a unique 128-bit binary identifier (called a CLSID), and the registry typically contains hundreds or thousands of registered components. Look under the top-level key, HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT, and the subkey, CLSID. Each entry represents a single component of the operating system or an installed application.

7.

Examine the architecture of a typical consumer-oriented e-commerce Web site such as Amazon.com. How is service-oriented architecture employed within the site? Service-oriented architecture is evident whenever Amazon draws on information that is available outside the Amazon site. Product information, shipping information, ratings, and reviews are examples.

Systems Analysis and Design in a Changing World, Fourth Edition

14-15

Case Studies Case Study: Midwestern Power Services 1.

Describe the pros and cons of the UP approach versus XP and Scrum development approaches to upgrading the existing systems or developing new ones. Do the pros and cons change if the systems are replaced instead of upgraded? Do the pros and cons vary by system? If so, should different development approaches be used for each system? Four different systems will be affected—wholesale gas purchasing, wholesale electricity purchasing, customer billing, and electricity generation. The changes in each system vary from minor (electricity generation) to substantial (customer billing). Other factors, such as current implementation technology, size, and requirement stability, also vary across systems. Because of these variations, it is unlikely that a single development approach will be best for all four systems. Upgrading each system using current technology substantially reduces the technical risks. Spiral development is not indicated for a system upgrade. However, if any system is completely replaced with relatively new technology, it is a candidate for spiral development. A subsystem-by-subsystem discussion of the pros and cons of each development approach follows: Wholesale electricity and gas purchasing – These systems perform similar functions and should probably be grouped together for development purposes. The primary change will be the addition of revenue passed through from the billing system. Although the exact form of the interface for the billing system is not yet specified, the requirements are definable and unlikely to change during development. The technology environment for these systems is not radically new unless they are completely replaced. Even then, the technology might not differ substantially from current technology. In either case, these systems are good candidates for sequential development because of their stable requirements and “ordinary” technology. Should relatively new technology be employed, prototyping might be considered to allow developers to work their way up the learning curve in smaller increments. XP is probably not the best approach in either case because of the large system size and significant interdependence among all four subsystems. Electricity generation – This system doesn’t currently exist as a standalone system, but it will be separated after deregulation. Separate management, cost accounting, and profit center accounting will probably require the development of an entirely new system. However, the requirements for that system will not be substantially different from current requirements. In addition, there is no need to use fundamentally new technology for this system. Thus, UP is probably a better approach than XP or Scrum. The latter two

Systems Analysis and Design in a Changing World, Fourth Edition

14-16

approaches are probably not appropriate because of the large system size and significant interdependence among all four subsystems. Billing – This system is most impacted by changes. Its internal operation must be completely restructured, and it must implement new interfaces to the wholesale purchasing and electricity generation systems to transfer revenue. It is also the system most likely to require relatively new technologies (such as online customer access to account information, new forms of payment, and electronic transfer of funds). It will be very difficult to fully determine all of the system requirements without some prototyping. In addition, the system is large (thousands of transactions per day). Thus, sequential development and XP are not the best approaches to developing this system. UP might be called for if substantial new technology is added to the mix. Examples might include Web-based interfaces and component-based design and implementation. Project risk is already high due to uncertain requirements and the mission-critical nature of the system. Adding new technologies would increase the project risks even more, thus making spiral development and risk management essential parts of the development process. 2.

Is component-based development a viable development approach for any of the systems? If so, suggest tools that might be appropriate. For each tool suggested, identify the types of requirements likely to be sacrificed because of a poor match to tool capabilities. Component-based development is a possibility for all but the billing system because requirements can be specified in advance and components can be chosen to match them. The component-based approach is not a good choice for the billing system because many requirements will need to be discovered during prototype development and evaluation. In addition, it is unlikely that any requirements of that system can be ignored because of a poor match to tool capability. Given the security and reliability requirements of all of the systems, the tools must be “industrial strength,” which rules out tools such as Microsoft Access and Visual Basic. Oracle Forms would meet many of the system requirements and has the advantage of being a known technology to MPS, thus minimizing potential learning curve issues. Requirements likely to be sacrificed if Oracle Forms is chosen include highly customized user interfaces and highly complex internal program logic. Choosing Oracle JDeveloper would leverage existing Oracle knowledge, but it would also add additional technical risk to the project.

3.

Assume that all systems will be replaced with custom-developed software. Will an object framework be valuable for implementing the replacements? Is an applicationspecific framework likely to be available from a third party? Why or why not? An object framework is almost always valuable if OO tools will be used for development. MPS has some experience with OO development tools (C++) and, thus, presumably has the expertise to choose and exploit an appropriate object framework. An applicationspecific framework might be available because power utilities are numerous and their

Systems Analysis and Design in a Changing World, Fourth Edition

14-17

needs are relatively similar. Other utilities might have already developed appropriate application-specific frameworks, or third-party developers might provide them. 4.

Assume that all systems will be replaced with custom-developed software. Should MPS actively pursue component-based design and development? Why or why not? Does MPS have sufficient skills and infrastructure to implement a component-based system? If not, what skills and infrastructure are lacking? The size and complexity of the systems make them good candidates for component-based development. However, the relatively slow pace of change in the industry means that benefits will not be realized to the extent that they might be in more volatile industries (for example, personal productivity software). The case does not indicate that MPS has any existing experience with component-based development or standards such as CORBA or COM+. Relatively limited use of existing networks is also a problem because both CORBA and COM+ are designed to operate in highly distributed client/server environments. If component-based development is undertaken, network capability must be upgraded, and MPS must acquire skills and experience in distributed computing, component-based design, and COM+ or CORBA.

Systems Analysis and Design in a Changing World, Fourth Edition

14-18

Case Study: Rethinking Rocky Mountain Outfitters 1.

Consider the criteria discussed in this chapter for choosing among the adaptive approaches to development. Which CSS project characteristics favor predictive development? Which favor the UP? Which approach is best suited to the CSS development project? The relatively stable requirements of the CSS development project favor predictive development. Although the system’s functional requirements are relatively stable, some specific issues, such as the form and content of Web-based interfaces and the nature of controls and security, aren’t well-known because of RMO’s inexperience with developing or operating Web-based systems. The project has some risks that favor the UP, including the following:   

Large project size Unfamiliar technology Some uncertainty about exact requirements

Though there are risks, none of them is large enough to preclude approaches other than the UP. Though the technology is new to RMO, it isn’t new to the industry as a whole. Similar systems exist in other organizations, and appropriate skills can be obtained through contracts or new hires. Uncertainty about requirements is limited to very specific areas. The best approach appears to be a compromise between the extremes—prototyping. Prototyping will help RMO fill in some of the blanks regarding requirements while it gains some experience with the new technologies. A few prototypes can be developed and evaluated during the analysis phase as more stable and well-known requirements are fully documented. The technical experience gained during prototype development can then guide systems design and implementation.

Systems Analysis and Design in a Changing World, Fourth Edition

2.

14-19

Should RMO consider purchased components within the new CSS? If so, when should it begin looking for components? How will a decision to use components affect the analysis, design, and implementation phases? If purchased components are used, should the portions of the system developed in-house also be structured as components? Will a decision to pursue component-based design and development make it necessary to adopt OO analysis and design methods? As covered in the RMO memo at the beginning of the chapter, purchasing components for credit authorization and shipping could shorten the project schedule. These functions vary little among catalog vendors, and there should be many alternatives from which to choose. The proper time to “shop” for components is as early in the analysis phase as possible. Adopting component-based design for the entire system would make it more maintainable over time. In addition, purchased components could be more easily integrated into the system in the future. However, this design choice would also increase the project’s technical risks because RMO lacks experience in component-based design and deployment.

Case Study: Focusing on Reliable Pharmaceutical Service Reread the Reliable Pharmaceutical Service cases in Chapters 2 and 3. Armed with the new knowledge that you’ve gained from reading this chapter, answer the following questions: 1.

Which of the development approaches described in this chapter seem best suited to the project? Why? Plan the first six weeks of the project under your chosen development approach. Answers will vary. The requirements are stable, and this project will extend an existing system. Prototyping should be used for the new functionality to help make design decisions quickly. Many of the system controls and security are in place. Agile Development techniques should be used. Joint application design and discovery prototypes for the new portions of the software should speed up the system development process and carry forward the joint development of the new software. Risk management, tool-based development, software reuse, object frameworks, and components should be used. The existing RxTechSys system should have been built using some of these techniques. 2. What role will components play in the system being developed for Reliable? Does it matter on which component-related standards they’re based? Why or why not? Because Reliable has selected RxTechSys as a vendor-developed solution and because RxTechSys and Reliable will jointly develop the new software, many of these decisions are based upon the current RxTechSys system and its use of components.

Systems Analysis and Design in a Changing World, Fourth Edition

14-20

RxTechSys has an existing system that should already be using components, and this project would also benefit from using components. Components should be based on standards that can be used to help RxTechSys increase its market share in the future.