Planning & Development

(MIS)
Contents
 Data, Information and System
 Information – a critical resource
 Data and Information
 Types and Characteristics of useful Information
 System
 Information System (IS)
 Components of an IS
 Types of IS
 Interrelationship among systems
 Management Information System (MIS)
 Broader Definitions and concepts
 Output of MIS
 Functional View
 Impact of MIS
 MIS Planning and Development
 MIS Development outlook
 Pointers for MIS design
 MIS Planning
 Software Development
 Life Cycle
Software Development
Methodologies:
Approaches
 MIS Development Outlook

Security

Corporat
Corporate Internal
e Strategy Internal
Systems Systems
Strategy MIS
Development Operations
Strategy
and Plan Implementation
Ethics/
Ethics/ Outsourced Outsourced
Privac Systems Systems
yPrivacy Development Operations

Infrastructure
MIS Planning
A very important fundamental concept of MIS planning is that the
organization's strategic plan (Business Plan) should be the basis
for MIS strategic plan.
Alignment of MIS strategy with organizational strategy is one of the
central problems of MIS planning.

The Information Master Plan establishes a framework for all

detailed information system planning.
Information Master Plan typically has one long-range plan for three to
five years (or more) and one a short-range plan for one year.
The long-range portion provides general guidelines for direction and short-
range portion provides a basis for specific accountability as to operational
and financial performance.
In general, plan contains four major sections:
Information system goals, objectives and architecture (assessment of
organizational context);


Inventory of current capabilities;
Forecast of development affecting the plan
Systems Development Life Cycle
(SDLC)
Activities that go into production of an MIS to an organizational
problem or opportunity:
 Project definition Determines whether or not the organization
has a problem and whether or not the problem can be solved by
launching a system project.
 Systems study Analyzes the problems of existing systems,
defines the objectives to be attained by a solution and evaluates
various solution alternatives.
 Design Logical and physical design specifications for the
systems solution are produced.
 Programming Specifications from design stage translated into
program code.
 Installation The final steps required to put a system into
operation or production: testing, training and conversion.
 Post-implementation System is used and evaluated while in
production and is modified to make improvements or meet new
requirements.
SDLC
Project definition & Systems
study
Systems Analysis (study)
The analysis of a problem that the organization will try to solve with an
information system; describes what a system should do.

 Feasibility study A way to determine whether the solution is achievable,

given the organization's resources and constraints.

 Technical feasibility Determines whether a proposed solution can be

implemented with available hardware, software, and technical resources.

 Economic feasibility Determines whether the benefits of a proposed

solution outweigh the costs.

 Operational feasibility Determines whether a proposed solution is

desirable within the existing managerial and organizational framework.

 Information requirements A detailed statement of the information

needs that a new system must satisfy; identifies who needs what
information, and when, where and how the information is needed
Systems
Design
Phase of detailing how a system will meet the information requirements
determined by the systems analysis. This phase is broken into two sub
phases:
1. Logical design 1st phase, lays out the components of the information
system and their relationship to each other as they would appear to
users.

2. Physical design 2nd phase, the process of translating the abstract

logical model into the specific technical design for the new system

Tools and Techniques used for designing:

Flow Chart Dataflow Diagrams (DFDs)
Data Dictionary Structured English
Decision Table Decision Tree

Design specifications include: Output, Input, User interface, Database

design, Manual procedures , Documentation etc..
Construction (Programming &
Testing)
 Programming
The process of translating the system specifications prepared during the
design stage into code
 Test plan
Prepared by the development team in conjunction with the users; it
includes all of the preparations for the series of tests to be performed on
the system.
 Testing
The exhaustive and thorough process that determines whether the system
produces the desired results under known conditions.
 Unit testing
The process of testing each program separately in the system. Sometimes called
program testing.
 System testing
Tests the functioning of the information systems as a whole in order to
determine if discrete modules will function together as planned.
 Acceptance testing
Provides the final certification that the system is ready to be used in a
production setting.
 Documentation
Descriptions of how an information system works from both the technical
and the end-user standpoint.
Installatio
n
 Conversion
The process of changing from the old system to the new system.
 Conversion plan
Provides a schedule of all activities required to install a new system.
 Parallel strategy
A safe and conservative conversion approach where both the old system
and its potential replacement are run together for time until everyone is
assured that the new one functions correctly.
 Direct cut-over
A risky conversion approach where the new system completely replaces
the old one on an appointed day.
 Pilot study
A strategy to introduce the new system to a limited area of the
organization until it is proven to be fully functional; only then can the
conversion to the new system across the entire organization take place.
 Phased approach
Introduces the new system in stages either by functions or by
organizational units.
Post-implementation

 Production
The stage after the new system is installed and
the conversion is complete; during this time the
system is reviewed by users and technical
specialists to determine how well it has met its
original goals.
 Maintenance
Changes in hardware, software, documentation,
or procedures to production system to correct
errors, meet new requirements, or improve
processing efficiency
Software Development
Methodology: Approaches
The software development methodology is
an approach used by organizations and
project teams to apply the software
development methodology framework.
 Development Approach – Waterfall
Model
STAGES END PRODUCTS
Planning/definition Project proposal report
Study/analysis System proposal report
Design Design specifications
Programming Program code

Installation Testing and installation

Maintenance
Milestone 2 Postimplementation audit
Design
solution Milestone 4 Production
decision decision

OPERATIONS
Milestone 1 Milestone 3 Design
Project initiation specification sign-off
Year 1 Year 2 3-8 year lifespan
Development Approach – Waterfall
Model
Sequential development approach, in which development is seen as flowing
steadily downwards (like a waterfall).

Advantages
 Simple and easy to use.
 Easy to manage due to the rigidity of the model – each phase has specific
deliverables and a review process.
 Phases are processed and completed one at a time.
 Works well for smaller projects where requirements are very well
understood.
Disadvantages
 Adjusting scope during the life cycle can kill a project
 No working software is produced until late during the life cycle.
 High amounts of risk and uncertainty.
 Poor model for complex and object-oriented projects.
 Poor model for long and ongoing projects.
 Poor model where requirements are at a moderate to high risk of
changing.
Development Approach – Incremental
Model
Development Approach – Incremental
Model
The incremental model is an intuitive approach to the waterfall model.
Multiple development cycles take place here, making the life cycle a
“multi-waterfall” cycle. Cycles are divided up into smaller, more
easily managed iterations.Each iteration passes through the
requirements, design, implementation and testing phases.
Advantages
 Generates working software quickly and early during the software life
cycle.
 More flexible – less costly to change scope and requirements.
 Easier to test and debug during a smaller iteration.
 Easier to manage risk because risky pieces are identified and handled
during its iteration.
 Each iteration is an easily managed milestone.
Disadvantages
 Each phase of an iteration is rigid and do not overlap each other.
 Problems may arise pertaining to system architecture because not all
requirements are gathered up front for the entire software life cycle.
Development Approach - Spiral
Model
Development Approach – Spiral
Model
The spiral model is similar to the incremental model, with more
emphasis placed on risk analysis.
The spiral model has four phases:
Planning,
Risk Analysis, Engineering and Evaluation.
A software project repeatedly passes through these phases in iterations
(called Spirals in this model).
Advantages
 High amount of risk analysis
 Good for large and mission-critical projects.

Software is produced early in the software life cycle.

Disadvantages
 Can be a costly model to use.
 Risk analysis requires highly specific expertise.
 Project’s success is highly dependent on the risk analysis phase.
 Doesn’t work well for smaller projects.
Development Approach :
Prototyping
Prototype: Preliminary working version of information system for demonstration,
evaluation purposes

Prototyping: Process of building experimental system quickly for demonstration and

evaluation. Small-scale mock-ups of the system are developed following an iterative
modification process until the prototype evolves to meet the users’ requirements

 Advantages:
 Useful in designing system’s end user interface
 Often faster
 Attempts to reduce inherent project risk by breaking a project into smaller
segments and providing more ease-of-change during the development process
 User is involved throughout the development process, which increases the
likelihood of user acceptance of the final implementation.

 Problems:
 Omission of basic requirements.
 Lack of documentation, testing.
 Prototyping tools may not be
capable of developing complex
systems.
Alternative Methodology:
End-User Development
 Development by end users with little or no help
formal assistance from technical specialist
 Allows users to specify their own business
needs
 Doesn’t require IT staff so is more rapid
 Appropriate mainly for smaller
applications
 Generally not well designed, easily maintained
or efficient software
 Creates islands of software in firm, and
redundancies
Alternative Methodology:
Acquiring Software Packages
Commercial Off the Shelf (COTS) Packages
Setof prewritten application software
programs that are commercially available
 Modification of software package to meet
organization’s needs may be required
 Customization:
 “Tailor and off the rack suit”
 Great if you are a close fit
 Ends up more trouble than worth if you aren’t
close fit..
Alternative Methodology :
Outsourcing
The purchase of an externally produced good or
service that was previously produced internally
 Advantages
 Economy
 Predictability
 Frees up
human
 Disadvantages
resources
 Loss of control
 Vulnerability of strategic information
 Dependency
Thank You