Topic 1.1 System Life Cycle Flashcards
Name 6 organisational issues when planning a new system?
SET DOG
- Lack of Stakeholders and end-user participation
- Lack of End-user ownership of the system
- Lack of Training: don’t use all the functionalities, use to full function
- Lack of attention to Design and usability of the system: if it is a hard system, people won’t use it.
- Lack of attention to Organisational culture: the way the area is organised already
- Lack of Guiding organisational and business strategies
What is prototyping?
Early sample, model, or release of a product built to test a concept or process.
Why is prototyping important?
To find key issues, discuss with the client, check production methods, improve. Usually, make more than one prototype.
What are five key components of a feasibility report?
TELOS
Technical feasibility – is existing system sufficient to implement proposed system
Economic feasibility – is proposed system cost effective
Legal feasibility – any conflicts legally about new system
Operational feasibility – existing organisational practices and procedures sufficient to support maintenance and operation of new system.
Schedule feasibility – how long will we wait?
What is change management and why is it key?
Analysing potential outcomes of changes in a system - it can lower the chance of failure.
What is a legacy system?
Software that may or may not be supported/ available for purchase anymore. May be kept because data on the system cannot be converted or it still is used by many. Most legacy systems cannot be upgraded. E.g. nuclear power plants, military defence installations
What is business merger and outline some issues?
Combining two or more business entities mainly to reduce cost, issues e.g. language, different countries, older versions of systems, will laptops work in different spots, not using same software environment e.g. Microsoft exchange and ibm lotus notes
Name 4 strategies for integration
- Keep both systems
- Replace both with new one
- Select best information and combine
- Select one and drop other
What is software incompatibility?
Different software entities or systems cannot operate satisfactorily, cooperatively or independently.
What is SaaS?
Software distribution model in which a third-party provider hosts the application and makes them available to customers over the internet.
What are the three main categories of cloud computing?
SaaS and infrastructure as a service (laaS) and platform as a service (Paas)
What is an example of SaaS?
SAP is an enterprise application software (EAS) suite that can be used to manage Enterprise Resources Planning (ERP) - this means that it helps organizations integrate different business units and partners. SAP offers businesses a unified platform to handle diverse databases.
State pros and cons of SaaS
Pros:
- no cost in employing personnel to maintain system, software manufacturer can provide help in cases of malfunction, maintenance and updating managed by software manufacturer – they have staff that fully understand the system, client has to only know how to use the system
Cons: data security issues resulting from trusting your information to someone else (loss of control), host may be in a different time zone (contacting help desk can be difficult, maintenance e.g. system downtime can happen during peak business times), because host is not the user itself, user feedback of your users is harder to get.
Remember the opposite is true for LOCAL SYSTEMS.
What are the 4 ways to changeover systems
Parallel operation, direct cutover, pilot operation, phased operation
Describe Parallel running
Low risk/ high cost
Pros - no data loss if new system fails, staff can be trained in running new system, outputs of system can be easily compared
Cons - costly running both, time consuming to operate
Describe Pilot running
Medium risk/ lengthy
Pros - system fails = only one department affected, cheaper than parallel running, staff can be trained in pilot facility
Cons - system fails then work at pilot facility is affected, data loss can occur when pilot system fails
Describe Phased Implementation
Medium risk/ lengthy
Pros - each component of the new system can be tested before installing a new part, staff can be trained in stages
Cons - if implemented part of system fails there’s no backup, if new system is very complex then introducing parts can be difficult
Describe Direct Changeover
Low cost/ high risk
Pros - least costly, does not need to run two systems parallel, new system is ready to run immediately
Cons: no backup is new system fails, major data loss if fails
Name 5 problems that can occur with data migration
Incompatible file formats, incompatible or obsolete data structures, validation rules may have changed with new system = old data unusable, errors while transferring, changed units or characters e.g. languages or celcius and farenheit, new system does not support old data storage techniques e.g. floppy disks
What are the four stages of data migration
Extract - data from source system
Transform - data for target system
Load - data into target system
Validate - data loads
What is functional and data testing
Functional testing - individual comments, text input and menu function
Data testing - using normal, abnormal and extreme data
What are 5 stages of testing for a system
Dry-run testing: (desk checking) done by the programmer using pen and paper
Unit testing: each part of the program is tested
Alpha testing: before the system is available, testing is done by the developers of the system, using data similar to the real data.
Beta testing: involves testing by real users with real data – finding bugs e.g. trial mode of a game
Acceptance testing: test against the requirements of e.g. a business and check it is ready for delivery (last stage of testing)
What is user documentation?
Guides user through using the system and thus increases productivity, not detailed, users are not technical people. Typically simple, system implementation can happen faster because users require less training to learn how to use the new system.
Give 7 types of user documentation
- Manual
- Self instruction/ self-study
- Embedded assistance or integrated user assistance
- Frequently asked questions (FAQ) page
- Live chat session
- Online portals
- Remote desktop connection
