Systems Analysis & Design 5 th Edition Chapter 10 Systems Operation and Support.

Systems Analysis & Design

5th Edition

Chapter 10

Systems Operation and Support

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Phase Description

● Systems Operation and Support is the final phase in the systems development life cycle (SDLC)

● During the systems operation and support phase, you will be supporting a functioning information system, and you will be alert to any signs of system obsolescence, which would indicate that the system has reached the end of its useful life

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Chapter Objectives

● Explain how the systems operation and support phase relates to the rest of the system development process

● Describe user support activities, including user training and help desks

● Discuss the four main types of system maintenance: corrective, adaptive, perfective, and preventive

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Chapter Objectives

● Explain techniques for managing systems operation and support, including maintenance teams, maintenance request procedures, configuration management, maintenance releases, version control, and baselines

● Describe techniques for managing system performance, including performance and workload measurement, and capacity planning

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Chapter Objectives

● List factors indicating that a system has reached the end of its useful life

● Assess future challenges and opportunities that IT professionals will face as technology continues to reshape the workplace

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Introduction

● Now that the system is operational, the real test begins. The key question is whether or not the system meets user expectations and provides support for business objectives

● Systems must be maintained and improved continuously to meet changing business demands, and users constantly require assistance

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Overview of Systems Support and Maintenance

● The systems operation and support phase begins when a system becomes operational and continues until the system reaches the end of its useful life

● After delivering the system, the analyst has two other important tasks: he or she must support users and provide necessary maintenance to keep the system operating properly

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User Support Activities

● User Training– You already are familiar with initial user

training that is performed when a new system is introduced

– In addition, new employees must learn how to use the company’s information systems

– User training package– Training users about system changes is

similar to initial training

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● Help Desk–Also called

information center (IC)–Enhance

productivity and improve utilization of a company’s information resources

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● Help Desk– Might have to perform the following

tasks:• Show a user how to create a data query or

report that displays specific business information

• Resolve network access or password problems• Demonstrate an advanced feature of a system

or a commercial package• Help a user recover damaged data

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● Help Desk–In addition to

functioning as a valuable link between IT staff and users, the help desk is a central contact point for all IT maintenance activities–Interactive support

also can be delivered in the form of an online chat–Virtual Classroom

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Maintenance Activities

● The systems operation and support phase is an important component of TCO (total cost of ownership) because ongoing maintenance expenses can determine the economic life of a system

● Operational costs● Maintenance expenses● Maintenance activities

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● Four types of maintenance tasks can be identified

● Corrective maintenance● Adaptive maintenance● Perfective maintenance● Preventive maintenance

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● Corrective Maintenance– Diagnoses and corrects errors in an

operational system– You can respond to errors in various

ways, depending on nature and severity of the problem

– For more serious situations, a user submits a systems request with supporting evidence

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● Adaptive Maintenance– Adds enhancements to an operational

system and makes the system easier to use

– The procedure for minor adaptive maintenance is similar to routine corrective maintenance

– Can be more difficult than new systems development because the enhancements must work within constraints of an existing system

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● Perfective Maintenance– Involves changing an operational system

to make it more efficient, reliable or maintainable

– Can improve system reliability– Cost-effective during the middle of the

system’s operational life– Two techniques you can use in perfective

maintenance are reverse engineering and reengineering

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● Preventative Maintenance– Reverse engineering includes changes to

an operational system that reduce the possibility of future problems

– Preventive maintenance requires analysis of areas where trouble is likely to occur

– Competes for IT resources along with other projects, and sometimes does not receive the high priority that it deserves

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Managing Systems Operation and Support

● During this phase, companies use various strategies, which can include a maintenance team, a process for managing maintenance requests and priorities, a configuration management process, and a maintenance release procedure

● In addition, firms can use version control and baselines to track system releases and analyze the system’s life cycle

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● Maintenance Team– Analysis– Synthesis– Some organizations that have separate

maintenance and new systems groups rotate people from one area to the other

– One disadvantage of rotation is that it increases overhead costs

– The training value of maintenance work outweighs the other factors

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● Managing Maintenance Requests– System administrator– Step 1: maintenance request– Step 2: initial determination– Step 3: final disposition of the request– Step 4: assignment of maintenance tasks– Step 5: user notification

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● Managing Maintenance Requests

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● Establishing Priorities– Systems review committee separates

maintenance requests from new systems development requests when evaluating requests and setting priorities

– Many believe that evaluating projects together leads to the best possible decisions

– Neither approach guarantees an ideal allocation between maintenance and new systems development

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● Configuration Management– Configuration management (CM)– As enterprise-wide information systems

grow more complex, configuration management becomes critical

– Most maintenance projects require documentation changes

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● Maintenance Releases– Maintenance release methodology– Maintenance release– A numbering pattern distinguishes the

different releases– Reduces the documentation burden– But new features or upgrades are available

less often– Service packs

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● Version Control– Version control is the process of tracking

system releases– Systems librarian– Many companies use software such as

Merant’s PVCS Version Manager

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● Baseline– The three types of baselines are:– Functional baseline– Allocated baseline– Product baseline

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Managing System Performance

● A system’s performance directly affects users who rely on it to perform their job functions

● To ensure satisfactory support for business operations, the IT department monitors current system performance and anticipates future needs

● Benchmark testing

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● Performance and Workload Measurement– Response time– Bandwidth and throughput

• Kbps (kilobits per second)• Mbps (megabits per second)• Gbps (gigabits per second)

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● Performance and Workload Measurement– Turnaround time– The IT department often measures

response time, bandwidth, throughput, and turnaround time to evaluate system performance both before and after changes to the system or business information requirements

– Management uses current performance and workload data as input for the capacity planning process

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● Capacity Planning– What-if analysis– You need detailed information about the

number of transactions; the daily, weekly, or monthly transaction patterns; the number of queries; and the number, type, and size of all generated reports

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● Capacity Planning– Most important, you need an accurate

forecast of future business activities– If new business functions or requirements

are predicted, you should develop contingency plans based on input from users and management

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● System Maintenance Tools– Many CASE tools include system evaluation

and maintenance features– In addition to CASE tools, you also can use

spreadsheet and presentation software to calculate trends, perform what-if analyses, and create attractive charts and graphs to display the results

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System Obsolescence

● Even with solid support, at some point every system becomes obsolete

● Signs:– The system’s maintenance history

indicates that adaptive and corrective maintenance is increasing steadily.

– Operational costs or execution times are increasing rapidly, and routine perfective maintenance does not reverse or slow the trend

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System Obsolescence

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System Obsolescence

● Signs:– A software package is available that

provides the same or additional services faster, better, and less expensively than the current system

– 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

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System Obsolescence

● Systems operation and support continues until a replacement system is installed

● At some point in a system’s operational life, maintenance costs start to increase, users begin to ask for more features and capability, new systems requests are submitted, and the SDLC begins again

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Facing the Future: Challenges and Opportunities

● The only thing that is certain about the future is continuous change

● Change itself is neither good nor bad — the real issue is how people and companies deal with the challenges and opportunities that are bound to occur

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● Predictions– It is clear that companies will continue to

face intense competition and global change, especially in the wake of economic, social, and political uncertainty

– Although disruptions will occur, technology advances will spur business growth and productivity

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● Predictions– It is interesting to note that some firms,

such as ZONAR Corporation, believe that computer systems eventually will become so powerful and user-friendly that people will create information applications easily and without technical assistance

● What does seem clear is that the future world of IT must be envisioned, planned, and created by skilled professionals

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Strategic Planning for IT Professionals

● An IT professional should think of himself or herself as a business corporation that has certain assets, potential liabilities, and specific goals

● Working backwards from your long-term goals, you can develop intermediate mile-stones and begin to manage your career just as you would manage an IT project

● Planning a career is not unlike planting a tree that takes several years to reach a certain height

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IT Credentials and Certification

● Credentials● Certification● Many IT industry leaders offer

certification, including Cisco, Microsoft, Novell, Oracle, and Sun Microsystems

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A Microsoft Certification Example

● Analyzing Requirements and Defining Solution Architectures (Exam 70-100)

● Individuals who pass this exam achieve Microsoft Certified Professional (MCP) status and earn credit toward the Microsoft Certified Solution Developer (MCSD) certification

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Chapter Summary

● Systems operation and support covers the entire period from the implementation of an information system until the system no longer is used

● A systems analyst’s primary involvement with an operational system is to manage and solve user support requests

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Chapter Summary

● A maintenance team consists of one or more systems analysts and programmers

● Systems analysts need the same talents and abilities for maintenance work as they use when developing a new system

● Configuration management is necessary to handle maintenance requests

● System performance measurements include response time, bandwidth, throughput, and turnaround time

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Chapter Summary

● All information systems eventually become obsolete

● An IT professional should have a strategic career plan that includes long-term goals and intermediate milestones

● An important element of a personal strategic plan is the acquisition of IT credentials and certifications that document specific knowledge and skills

Systems Analysis & Design

5th Edition

Chapter 10 Complete

Systems Analysis & Design 5 th Edition Chapter 10 Systems Operation and Support.

Documents

support slide

maintenance releases

maintenance teams

necessary maintenance

operational system

existing system slide

system changes

system performance