Is the relationship of business processes and information systems is many to many?

CHAPTER 12: Information Systems Development

How are business processes, IS, and Applications developed?

Understand that Business processes, Information systems, and Applications are all different. To not be confused, one must understand and know those differences, and realize how they relate to each other.

The activities in a business process often involve information systems,

The actors of participants in the business process are the users of the information systems. They employ IS procedures to use information systems to accomplish tasks in process activities.

Application: means a combination of hardware, software, and data components that accomplishes a set of requirements.

One business process can potentially use many IS, and a single IS can support potentially many business processes.

Every information system has at least one application because very IS includes a software component.

Business process, information systems, and applications have different characteristics and components.

The relationship of business processes to information systems is many-to-many, or N:M A business process need no relate to any information system, but an information system relates to at least on business process.

Every IS has at least on application because every IS has a software component.

Scrum is a new development process that was created to overcome problems that occur when using SDLC.

Scrum is generic enough that it can be used for the development and adaptation of business processes, information systems, and applications.

Business Analyst: someone who is well versed in Porter’s models and in the organization’s strategies and who focuses, primarily on ensuring that business processes and information systems meet the organization’s competitive strategies.

Systems analysts: are IS professionals who understand both business and information technology. Focus primarily on IS development.

Systems analysts are also involved in the business analyst on the management of business process.

How do Organizations use business process management (BPM)?

Business process: as a network of activities, repositories, roles, resources, and flows that interact to accomplish a business function.

Roles: which are collections of activities.

Resources: people or computer applications that are assigned to roles.

Control Flow: A flow that directs the order of activities.

Data Flow: A flow that shows the movement of data among activities and repositories.

Roles is similar to job title.

Improve process quality, efficiency (use of resources) and effectiveness (accomplish strategy)

Change in technology is a reason for managing processes.

Modify Business processes: Market (change in customer characteristics), Product lines, Supply Chains, Company policy, Company organization, internalization, business environment.

Business process management (BPM): a cyclical process for systematically creating, assessing, and altering business processes.

As-is-Model: a model of the existing business process.

COBIT (Control Objectives for Information and related Technology: That are often used in the assessment stage of the BPM cycle. The standard practices.

How is business process modeling notation (BPMN) used to model processes?

Need for standard for business processing notation.

Object Management Group (OMG) created a standard set of terms and graphical notations for documenting business processes.

Business Process Modeling Notation (BPMN) is documented at www.bpm.org.

Swim-lane layout: each role in the business process is given its own lane. All activities for a given role is in that swim lane.

Once the as-is-model has been documented, that model can then be analyzed for problems or for improvement opportunities.

The problem involves allocations.

One fix is to define an independent process for Reject Order that would mean placing a box with a + in the reject order…

What are the phases in the systems development life cycle (SDLC)?

Systems Development life cycle (SDLC) is the traditional process used to develop information systems and applications.

By 1970s most seasoned project managers agreed on the basic tasks that neeed to be performed to successfully build and maintain information systems.

Five phase process:

Define system, determine requirements, design system components, implement system, and maintain system.

Cost feasibility: an assessment of whether the anticipated benefits of the system are likely to justify the estimated development and operational costs.

Schedule Feasibility: difficult to determine because it is hard to estimate the time it will take to build the system.

Technical feasibility: refers to whether existing information the technology is likely to be able to meet the needs of the new system.

Organizational feasibility: concerns whether the new system fits within the organization’s customs, culture, charter, or legal requirements.

Implementation: implement information systems components only, or implement the information system and the business processes that use the system.

Test plan: which is a formal description of the system’s response to use and misuse scenarios.

System Conversion: used for activity because it implies the process of converting business activity from the old system to the new.

Pilot installation: the organization implements the entire system/business processes on a limited portion of the business.

Phase installation: new system/business processes are installed in phases across the organization.

Plunge Installation: or direct installation. Final style conversion.

What are the keys for successful SDLC projects?

SDLC projects are difficult to manage.

Create a work breakdown structure.

Estimate time and costs.

Create a project plan.

Adjust the plan via trade-offs.

Manage development challenges.

Deliverables: every task should culminate in one or more results.

Work breakdown structure (WBS), which is a hierarchy of the tasks, required completing a project.

Critical Path: the sequence of activities that determine the earliest date by which the project can be completed.

Critical path analysis: the process by which project managers compress the schedule by moving resources, typically people, from noncritical path tasks onto critical path tasks.

Trade-off is a balancing of three critical factors: requirements, costs and time.

Diseconomies of scale: adding more people., the situation that occurs when adding more resources creates inefficiencies.

Brooks’ Law: which states that adding more people to a late project makes it later.

Baseline WBS: shows planned tasks, dependencies, durations, and resource assignments.

Configuration control: refers to a set of management policies, practices, and tools that developers use to maintain control over the project’s resources.

How can scrum overcome the problems of the SDLC?

Waterfall method: progress goes in a linear sequence from requirements to design to implementation.

SDLC is very risky

Just-in-time design: only those portions of the design that are needed to complete the current work are done.

Velocity: As teams work together, they will learn the total number of points ofwork they can accomplish each scrum period.

2026?

You will be involved in a systems development project between now and 2026.

A key element of this new business model is the alignment of the goals of the loose coupling of workout studios and mind body, both make more money when customer purchase.