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Assignment: Module Review

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  • Pages: 5
  • Word count: 1192
  • Category: Business

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Part 1
1. Planning and budgeting processes are notorious for their rigidity and irrelevance to management action.” How can planning be made relevant to the challenges facing a business?

I do not believe that planning in irrelevant, as a matter of fact, planning is a time and cost saving tool that every business should consider. Planning need to be a fluid process and adapt to the changes in the market and consumers demands. Also, planning needs to be a regular part of conducting business, as changes accrue in the market; the managing team needs to tweak the plan to accommodate the new changes and goals. A simple example would be budgeting. Many factors can affect the yearly set budget, such as natural disasters, demand and unforeseen market shifts. SWOT and PESTEL are both excellent planning tools that allow business owner and manager better to understand the advantages and disadvantages that could face the business both in the short and long terms 2.

Why has prototyping become a popular way to develop business applications?

Depending on the size of the project, prototyping can be used for both large and small application. Using this tool, IS specialists and business professionals have the ability to the develop process faster and easier especially for projects where end user requirements are hard to define. Prototyping, (sometimes called RAD), has opened up the application development process to end-users because it simplifies and accelerates systems design (Finance Magazine.com, 2015). These developments are becoming very popular because they have changed the role of end users and information systems specialists in systems development. Furthermore, it also helps analysts and users finalize the various interfaces and functions of large business systems (Marakas & O’Brien, 2013). What are prototyping’s advantages and disadvantages?

Prototyping’s Advantages
Prototyping’s Disadvantages

Used when there is some uncertainty about requirements or design solutions. Uses to design an information system’s end user interface such as online display and data entry screens, reports, or Web pages Produce systems that fulfil user requirements.

(Finance Magazine.com, 2015)
Rapid prototyping can overlook essential steps in systems development. If the completed prototype works reasonably well, management may not see the need for reprogramming, redesign, or full documentation and testing to build a polished production system.

(Finance Magazine.com, 2015)

3. What does SDLC stand for?

The systems development life cycle (SDLC) describes a set of steps that produces a new computer information system. The SDLC is a problem-solving process. Each step in the process delineates a number of activities. Performing these activities in the order prescribed by the SDLC will bring about a solution to the business situation (Reference for Business, Encyclopedia of Business, 2nd ed., 2015). What are the phases of the SDLC? Explain in one or two sentences of your own words what happens in each phase.

1. Preliminary investigation
Identifying and exploring the issue
2. Requirements definition
Defining and studying both the specifics of the current system as well as the requirements of the proposed new system. 3. Systems design
An overall design that allows the planning for the construction of a new system 4. Systems development
Creating the new system
5. System installation
Transforming the current operation to run on the new system
6. Systems evaluation and monitoring
Evaluating and monitoring the new operational system to enhance its performance and add value to its functions (Reference for Business, Encyclopedia of Business, 2nd ed., 2015). If problems occur during the SDLC, is it better to identify and solve those problems near the beginning or the end of the SDLC process?

Naturally, it is better to identify and solve those problems near the beginning of the SDLC process. If problems occur and are allowed to continue and increase through the processes, they become more problematic to correct later on. The easiest way to correct errors is early in the SDLC processes to prevent bigger and costly repairs.

4. What is the difference between the parallel, direct (or plunge), phased, and pilot forms of IS conversion?

The parallel conversion allows both the old and new system to run simultaneously until the project coordinators are fully satisfied that the new system is functioning correctly, and the old system is no longer necessary (Marakas & O’Brien, 2013). Direct conversion is the simplest conversion and the most disruptive to the organization. This method is abrupt, the new system is put in place and the old one is turned off (Marakas & O’Brien, 2013). Pilot conversion utilizes either the parallel conversion or a direct conversion but only in a single location. This site is usually selected to best represent the conditions across the organization. (Marakas & O’Brien, 2013). Which conversion strategy is best? Explain why?

I think the answer to this question is relative to the size of the business. In a small business with one location or two, I think the best conversion is the parallel conversion. Although Parallel Conversions comes with a higher price tag, I believe that the low risk and the little stress on the employees and customer overweight the cost. A large size business with multiple locations might benefit more from a pilot conversion using the parallel conversion route. This approach allows the organization to form an idea about any possible problems that might accrue t therefore implement the solutions across the entire organization when it is time to convert. Also, the staff at the pilot location can serve as training coaches or support to the other sites. Part 2

a. Would you ban end-user development as too risky? Why or why not? Although end-user development can take some of the workloads off of my IT department, and provide some productivity gain, I would ban the end-use development. Due to the risk associated with end-user development and the potential errors that might occur, this approach is out of question. There have been several examples of end-user errors reported in the media, ranging from financial reporting misstatement to perpetration of fraud through spreadsheet manipulation (Finance Magazine.com, 2015)

b. Search the Internet for risks associated with end user development and list what you find Loss of control over data (kulzick.com, 2008)
Loss of control of quality in both programs and data (kulzick.com, 2008) Incompatibles prevent sharing (kulzick.com, 2008)
Circumvent control processes, such as the steering committee (kulzick.com, 2008) Generally produces narrow, inflexible systems with short lives (kulzick.com, 2008) c. What could you do to help support end-user development in your organization? In case I allow end-user development in my organization, I would help support it by stressing three major points: Provide support in the form of training and adequate resources. Support a group of developers that can monitor the security and the quality of the applications. Set a strict quality and security standards for the end-users.

References
CEUR-WS.org. (2010, September 30). Recommendations for End-User Development. Retrieved from http://ceur-ws.org/Vol-612/paper7.pdf Finance Magazine.com. (2015). The risks of relying on end user developed applications. Retrieved from http://www.finance-magazine.com/display_article.php?i=8652 Marakas, G. M., & O’Brien, J. A. (2013). Introduction to Information Systems (16th ed.).
Newyork, NY: McGraw-Hill. Reference for Business , Encyclopedia of Business, 2nd ed. (2015). THE SYSTEMS DEVELOPMENT LIFE CYCLE. Retrieved from http://www.referenceforbusiness.com/management/Str-Ti/Systems-Analysis.html kulzick.com. (2008). End-User Development. Retrieved from http://www.kulzick.com/endusrad.htm

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