DECISION SUPPORT
SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT
• The Traditional SDLC
• Alternate Development Methodologies
• Prototyping
• DSS Technology Levels and Tools
• DSS Development Platforms
• DSS Development Tool Selection
• Team Developed DSS
• End User Developed DSS
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Project Management (PM)
• Team leader must have good PM skills
• Major reason for IS development failures-
bad PM skills
• Only 26% of all projects surveyed (23,000)
in 1998 succeeded
• 28% failed, 46% challenged
• Lower success rates for large companies
• Better PM skills needed
2
Skills for Project Managers
• Technology and business knowledge
• Judgment
• Negotiation
• Good communication
• Organization
3
THE TRADITIONAL SYSTEM
DEVELOPMENT LIFE CYCLE
Need
Planning
Analysis
Design
Implementation
System
4
PLANNING
• Business needs not being met
• possible opportunities identified through environment scanning
• feasibility analysis is conducted for project initiation
• technical, cost and organization feasibility are considered
• if the project is approved the staffing is planned
5
ANALYSIS
• who will be the users ?
• what will be the systems output ?
• where and when it will run ?
• starts with the development of analysis strategy.
• if there is an existing system, it is analyzed, along with the ways of
moving to the new system.
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DESIGN
• indicates how system will work
• all details of hardware, software, network infrastructure, user interface
are all considered
• user interface forms, displays, reports and programs, database and files
are specified
• amount of system to be purchased or contracted is decided-on.
7
IMPLEMENTATION
• involves not only building the system but also testing it to verify that it
works
• better planning will result in fewer bugs
• installation is the last step and involves actually getting the system up
and running
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CASE TOOLS
• for complex projects, the SDLC should be managed with CASE tools
• these tools are information systems for systems analyst and can help
manage every aspects of developing a system
• upper CASE tools (analysis phase)
• lower CASE tools (code)
• I-CASE tools (both)
• oracle enterprise development suite, rational rose, paradigm plus,
visible analyst, logic works suite
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Visible Analyst
Courtesy of Visible System Corporation
10
ALTERNATIVE DEVELOPMENT
METHODOLOGIES
1 Parallel Development
• the design and implementation phases split into multiple copies
• involves development of a separate subsystem or subproject
• A systems integrator puts the pieces together in a cohesive system
while implementing
2 Rapid Application Development Methodologies
• will adjust the SDLC in such away that parts of a system can be
developed quickly and users can obtain some functionality as soon as
possible
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Methods
a) Phased development
b) Prototyping
c) Throwaway prototyping
a) Phased development
• involves breaking a system into a series or versions that are developed
sequentially
• each version has more functionality than the previous one
• user will gain functionality quickly
• system is incomplete by design
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b) Prototyping
• involves performing the analysis, design and implementation phases
concurrently and repeatedly
• system prototypes are quickly developed and demonstrated to users
• feedback is obtained, and the system can be modified on moving to the
next prototype
c) Throwaway prototyping
• design prototypes are developed to assist in understanding more about
the system being developed
• developed as pilot tests on simple development platforms to learn about
user requirements and the final system to be deployed
• once the pilot test is successful, the prototype is discarded and a
preliminary design of the real systems takes place
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Prototyping
Need
Planning
Analysis
Design
Implementation
Prototype
Prototype Not OK
Prototype OK
System
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Throwaway Prototyping
Need
Planning
Analysis Design
Design Implementation
Design Prototype
Not OK Implementation
System
Design
Prototype
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Prototyping for DSS Development
• Problems are semistructured or
unstructured
• Managers and developers may not
completely understand problem
• Use prototyping
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Why Prototyping?
• Users and managers involved in every
phase and iteration
• Learning is part of design
• Prototyping bypasses the information
requirement definition
• Short interval between iterations
• Initial prototype must be low cost
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Advantages of Prototyping
• Short development time
• Short user reaction time
• Improved user understanding
• Low cost
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DSS TECHNOLOGY LEVELS
AND TOOLS
Specific DSS
DSS Generations
DSS Tools
Technology levels
DSS Primary tools DSS Integrated tools Specific DSS
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DSS PRIMARY TOOLS
• Lowest level of DSS technology
• Facilitate the development of either the DSS generator or a specific
DSS
• Examples of these tools are programming languages, graphics, editors,
query systems and random numbers generators
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DSS INTEGRATED TOOLS
• Integrated development software package
• Provides a set of capabilities for building specific DSS
• Quick, inexpensive and easy
• Capabilities ranging from modeling, report generation and graphical
display to performing risk-analysis.
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SPECIFIC DSS
• Final product or the DSS application
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DSS DEVELOPMENT
PLATFORMS
• General purpose programming language
• Fourth-generation language (4 GL)
• OLAP with a data warehouse or a large database
• DSS integrated development tool
• CASE methodology
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DSS DEVELOPMENT TOOL
SELECTION
1 Hardware selection
-- from individual PC’s to Multiprocessor computers
-- existing hardware architecture of the Organisation & no. of
Users
2 Software selection
-- DSS information requirements & Outputs
-- Large DSS might be developed with different tools
-- Technical, functional, end-user and managerial issues
3 DSS generator selection
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TEAM-DEVELOPED DSS
A group of people from different categories such as users,
intermediaries, DSS developers, technical support experts, and IS
personnel who join together to develop a particular DSS is called a
Team-Developed DSS. Team-Developed DSS is a complex, lengthy
and costly process.
• Need extensive planning and organization
• The team members may be as few as 2-3 people or as many as 12-15
people
• The no of members depends on the nature of DSS application and the
tools used for developing the DSS
• The team may be temporary or permanent
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END USER-DEVELOPED DSS
End- user computing / End-user development is the development and
use of computer-base information systems by people outside the
formal information system area.
User-developed DSS includes decision makers and professionals who
build or use computers directly to solve problems or enhance their
productivity.
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ADVANTAGE DISADVANTAGE
• Delivery time is short • Can lead to low-quality system
• No need for IS development • Security risk
team • Lack of documentation and
• DSS implementation problems maintenance procedures may
are reduced cause problems
• Cost is very low • Quality risks: Substandard,
inappropriate tools and
facilities used in DSS
development
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