SYSTEMS ANALYSIS & DESIGN

1. SYSTEMS ANALYSIS & DESIGN PHASE 5 SYSTEMS OPERATION & SUPPORT Systems Operation and Support

2. SDLC Phases Phase 5: Systems Operation and Support Objectives • Provide maintenance and improvements for the new information system • Support users and help them obtain the most value from the new system

3. Chapter 12 Systems Operation and Support

4. Objectives • Explain how the systems operation and support phase relates to the rest of the SDLC • Describe the information center concept and how it supports user needs • Discuss the three main categories of systems maintenance • Describe standard maintenance procedures

5. Objectives • Discuss the role of configuration management in systems operation • Describe the process of capacity planning, including workload and performance measurements • Recognize the signs of system obsolescence

6. Introduction • The new system must meet user expectations and provide support for business objectives • Systems analysts perform maintenance, and also act as internal consultants to help users obtain the greatest value from the system • The more a system is used, the more features and enhancements are requested, and the more maintenance is required

7. Introduction • Chapter topics • Three types of maintenance: corrective, adaptive, and perfective • Support techniques include maintenance teams, configuration management, and maintenance releases • System performance issues • CASE maintenance tools • Recognizing system obsolescence

8. Overview of Systems Support and Maintenance Activities • The systems operation and support phase begins when the system becomes operational and ends when the system is replaced

9. Overview of Systems Support and Maintenance Activities • After delivering the system, the analyst must perform two tasks • Provide guidance and user training • Formal training sessions • Technical support • Creation of a centralized information center • Perform necessary maintenance • Keep the system operating properly • Increase its value to users

10. Click to see Figure 12-1 Support Activities • User training and assistance • Current employees are trained when the new system is introduced • New employees typically are trained by user departments, rather than IS staff • If significant changes take place, the IS group might develop a user training package • Special Help via e-mail or company intranet • Revisions to the user guide • Training manual supplements • Formal training sessions

11. Click to see Figure 12-2 Support Activities • Information centers • An information center has three main objectives • To help people use system resources more effectively • To provide answers to technical or operational questions • To make users more productive by teaching them how to meet their own information needs • An information center also is called a help desk

12. Support Activities • Information centers • Typical information center tasks • Show a user how to create a data query or report • Demonstrate an advanced system feature • Help a user recover damaged data • Offer tips for better operation • Explain an undocumented software feature • Show a user how to write a macro • Explain how to access the company’s intranet or the Internet

13. Click to see Figure 12-3 Support Activities • Typical information centers tasks • Assist a user in developing a simple database • Answer questions about software licensing and upgrades • Provide information about system specifications • Recommend a system solution thatintegrates data from different locations • An information center also monitors performance and provides support

14. Click to see Figure 12-4 Click to see Figure 12-5 Maintenance Activities • The overall cost of a system includes the systems operation and support phase • Costs include fixed operational costs and maintenance activities • Operational costs are relatively constant, while maintenance costs vary over time • High costs when system is implemented • Relatively low costs during system’s useful life • High costs near end of system’s useful life

15. Maintenance Activities • Operational costs • Supplies • Equipment rentals • Software leases • Maintenance activities • Changing programs, procedures, or documentation to ensure correct performance • Adapting the system to changing requirements • Making the system operate more efficiently

16. Maintenance Activities • Three types of maintenance • Corrective maintenance • To fix errors • Adaptive maintenance • To add new capability and enhancements • Perfective maintenance • To improve efficiency

17. Click to see Figure 12-6 Maintenance Activities • Corrective maintenance • Diagnoses and corrects errors in the system • Investigation, analysis, design, and testing are necessary before a solution is implemented • Typically, a user submits a systems request form with supporting evidence, if necessary • Response depends on the priority of the request • All maintenance is logged

18. Maintenance Activities • Adaptive maintenance • Adds enhancements to the system • An enhancement is a new feature or capability • Adaptive maintenance often is required in a dynamic business environment • An adaptive maintenance project is like a mini-SDLC, with similar phases and tasks • Can be more difficult than new systems development, because of the constraints of an existing system

19. Click to see Figure 12-7 Maintenance Activities • Perfective maintenance • Involves changing an operational system to make it more efficient, reliable, or maintainable • Requests for corrective and adaptive maintenance typically come from users, while requests for perfective maintenance typically come from the IS department • Techniques • Reverse engineering tools aid design analysis • Reengineering tools can be used interactively to correct errors

20. Managing Systems Operation and Support • Systems operation requires effective management techniques • Maintenance team • Configuration management • Maintenance releases

21. Managing Systems Operation and Support • Maintenance team • Consists of systems analysts and programmers • Systems analysts on maintenance work need • Solid background in information technology • Strong analytical abilities • Solid understanding of business operations • Effective interpersonal and communication skills • Analysis: studying the whole to understand the individual elements • Synthesis: studying the individual elements to understand the overall system

22. Managing Systems Operation and Support • Configuration management • Process for controlling changes in system requirements • Usually involves three steps 1. The maintenance request 2. Initial action on the request 3. Final disposition of the request • Objectives of configuration management • Manage different versions of the system • Organize and handle documentation

23. TRADEOFF • Should a systems review committee evaluate maintenance and new systems requests separately, or together? • Some say “let the dollars go where they will do the most good, regardless of project type” • Others feel that separate allocations are needed to protect maintenance projects • All projects draw from the same resource pool, but IS groups often are organized into separate teams, and can handle separate projects better

24. A KEY QUESTION • At Brightside Insurance Company, you organized the IS group into two units — one for new systems, one for maintenance • Now one of your best people might quit if he is assigned to the maintenance team • Should you adopt a different policy and allow voluntary assignments? • If you must make the assignments, what criteria should you use?

25. Managing Systems Operation and Support • Maintenance releases • With a maintenance release methodology, all noncritical changes are held until they can be implemented at one time • Each new system version is called a release • Numbering systems • Whole number = significant change • After decimal = relatively minor changes or fixes • There are pros and cons to this approach

26. Managing System Performance • System performance directly affects users • Centralized operations are easier to measure than complex networks and client/server systems • Various statistics can be used to assess system performance • Capacity planning uses operational data to forecast system capability and future needs

27. Managing System Performance • Performance and workload measurement • Response time • Turnaround time • Throughput

28. Managing System Performance • Response time • Response time is the overall time between a request for system activity and the delivery of the response • Response time includes three elements • The time necessary to transmit or deliver the request to the system • The time the system needs to process the results • The time it takes to transmit or deliver the results back to the user • Response time is critical for user satisfaction

29. Managing System Performance • Turnaround time • Turnaround time measures the efficiency of centralized computer operations, which still are used for certain tasks, such as credit card processing • Turnaround time is the amount of time between the arrival of a request at a computer center and the availability of the output for delivery or transmission

30. Managing System Performance • Throughput • Throughput measures the efficiency of the computer itself • Throughput is the time from the input of a request to the central processor until the output is delivered to the system

31. Click to see Figure 12-8a Click to see Figure 12-8b Managing System Performance • Capacity planning • Monitors current activity and performance levels • Anticipates future activity • Forecasts the resources needed to provide desired levels of service • In capacity planning you can use a technique called what-if analysis, where you vary one or more elements in a model to see the effect on other elements

32. CASE Tools for System Maintenance • A CASE toolkit provides valuable tools for system evaluation and maintenance, such as • A performance monitor • A program analyzer • An interactive debugging analyzer • A restructuring or reengineering tool • Automated documentation tools • Network activity monitors • Workload forecasting software

33. System Obsolescence • A system becomes obsolete when its functions are no longer required by users or when the platform becomes outmoded • Typical signs of obsolescence • Adaptive and corrective maintenance is increasing steadily • Operational costs or execution times are increasing rapidly, and routine perfective maintenance does not reverse the trend

34. Click to see Figure 12-9 Click to see Figure 12-10 System Obsolescence • Typical signs of obsolescence • A software package is available that provides the same or additional services faster, better, and less expensively • New technology offers a way to perform the same or additional functions more efficiently • Maintenance changes or additions are difficult and expensive to perform • Users request significant new features to support business requirements

35. SOFTWEAR, LIMITED • Status report: in mid-December 1999, the payroll package and the ESIP system both are operating successfully and SWL users are satisfied • Corrective maintenance has been performed • Printing and alignment problems were resolved • Adaptive maintenance has been requested • Human resources department wants to develop an annual employee benefits statement, and add additional ESIP deduction choices

36. SOFTWEAR, LIMITED • New developments • Pacific Software announced the latest version of its payroll package, which supports integration of payroll and human resources functions • SWL decides to investigate the possibility of a human resources information system (HRIS) • After a preliminary investigation, IS staff recommends that SWL upgrade to the new payroll package and study the development of a company-wide human resources system

37. SOFTWEAR, LIMITED • The future • The business environment is changing rapidly • SWL must investigate new information management technology constantly • At this point, the systems development life cycle for SWL begins again