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29 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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Paradigm shift |
High-risk high-return; more radical form of business change; involves the rethinking the nature of the business and the nature of the organization; often fail because extensive organizational change is so difficult to orchestrate |
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Redesign |
Sort of high-risk and high-return; more powerful type of organizational change then rationalization , and even more than automation, in which business processes are analyzed, simplified and redesigned; business process redesign reorganizes workflows, combining steps to cut waste and eliminate repetitive tasks |
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Rationalization |
Sort of low-risk low-return; deeper form of organizational change that follows quickly from early automation; rationalization of procedures is the streamlining of standard operating procedures; often found in programs for making continuous quality improvements e.g. Total quality management (TQM), Six Sigma |
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TQM |
Stands for total quality management; makes achieving quality an end in itself and the responsibility of all people and functions within an organization |
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Six sigma |
Is a specific measure of quality, representing 3.4 defects per million opportunities; most companies cannot achieve this level of quality but use Six Sigma as a goal for driving ongoing quality improvement programs |
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Automation |
Low-risk low-return; most common form of IT-enabled organizational change; involves mechanizing procedures to speed up the performance of existing tasks, thus increasing efficiency and replacing manual tasks |
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Business Process Management (BPM) |
1. Identofy processes for change 2. Analyze existing processes 3. Design the new process 4. Implement the new process 5. Continuous measurement BPM provides a variety of tools and methodologies analyze existing processes, design new ones and optimize those. It is never concluded because process improvement requires continual change. |
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systems development |
The activities that go into producing an information system solution to an organizational problem or opportunity are called systems development. It is a structured kind of problem solved with distinct activities that go in the following order: systems analysis➡️system design➡️programming➡️testing➡️ conversion➡️production and maintenance |
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Systems analysis |
The analysis of a problem that the organization will try to solve with an information system; consists of defining the problem, identifying its causes, specifying the solution, and identifying the information requirements that must be met by a solution; best put - it describes what a system should do to meet information requirements
Establish information requirements: at the most basic level, it is identifying who needs what information, where, when, and how; by examining documents, workpapers, and procedures, observing system operations, and interviewing key users of the systems, the systems analyst can identify the problem areas and objectives a solution would achieve
Feasibility study: used to determine whether that solution is feasible, or achievable, from a financial, technical, and organizational standpoint |
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Systems design |
Shows how the system will fulfill the objectives determined during system analysis; it is like the blueprint of a building or house because it consists of all the specifications that give the system its form and structure: The role of end users: users must have sufficient control over the design process to ensure that the system reflects their business priorities and information needs, not the biases of the technical staff |
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Programming |
During this stage, system specifications that were prepared during the design stage are translated into software program code. |
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Testing |
During this stage, the firm determines whether the system produces the desired results under known conditions |
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Types of testing |
1. Unit testing: also known as program testing; consists of testing each program separately in the system 2. System testing: test the functioning of the information system as a whole; tries to determine whether discrete modules will function together as planned and whether discrepancies exist between the way the system actually works and the way it was conceived 3. Acceptance testing: provides the final certification that the system is ready to be used in a production setting; evaluated by users and reviewed by management; when all are satisfied, the system is formally accepted for installation |
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Test plan |
The system's development team works with users to devise a systematic test plan. This includes all of the preparations for the series of tasks we learned including unit, system and acceptance testing. |
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Conversion |
The process of changing from the old system to the new system. There are four main conversion strategies that can be employed: the parallel strategy, the direct cutover strategy, the pilot study strategy, and the phased approach strategy. Step 1 of conversion: plan conversion Step 2: prepare documentation Step 3: train users and technical staff |
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Production and maintenance |
Operate the system. Evaluate the system. Modify the system. |
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What are the principal methodologies from modeling and designing systems? |
Structured methodologies and object-oriented methodologies are the most prominent. |
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Structured methodologies |
Structured means techniques are step by step, with each step building on the previous one; these methodologies are top down, progressing from the most abstract level to the lowest level of detail (from general to specific); they are process-oriented meaning they focus primarily on modeling the processes or actions that capture, store, manipulate and distribute data; these methods separate data from processe; there are four main tools used for structured analysis - data flow diagram, data dictionary, process specification and structure chart; the procedures act on data that the program passes to them |
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Data flow diagram (DFD) |
Primary tool for representing a system's component processes and flow of data between them; Offers a logical graphic model of information flow, partitioning a system into modules that show manageable levels of detail; high-level and lower-level diagrams can be used to break process down into successive layers of detail |
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Data dictionary |
Defines the contents of data flows and data stores so that systems builders understand exactly what pieces of data they contain |
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Process specifications |
Describe the transformation occurring within the lowest level of the data flow diagrams. They express the logic for each process. |
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Structure chart |
Is a top-down chart, showing each level of design, its relationship to other levels, and its place in the overall design structure. |
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Object-oriented methodologies |
Object-oriented development uses the object as a basic unit of systems analysis and design. An object combines data and the specific processes that operate on those data. Data encapsulated in an object can be accessed and modified only by the operations or methods associated with an object. Instead of passing data to procedures, programs send a message for an object to perform an operation that is already embedded in it. |
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Traditional systems life cycle |
An alternative development approach; this is the oldest method for building information systems; it is a phased-approach to building a system, dividing systems development into formal stages; follows a waterfall approach, meaning that tasks in one stage finish before work for the next stage begins; maintains formal division of labor between end users and information systems specialist; emphasizes formal specifications and paperwork so many documents are generated during the course of a systems project; still used for building large complex systems; can be costly, time-consuming and inflexible |
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Prototyping |
An alternative development approach; consists of building an experimental system rapidly and inexpensively for end users to evaluate; by interacting with prototype, users can get a better idea of their information requirements; a prototype is a working version of an information system or part of the system but it is meant to be only a preliminary model; the process of building a preliminary design, trying it out, refining it and trying again has been called an iterative process of systems development because the steps required to build a system can be repeated over and over again |
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Advantages and disadvantages of prototyping |
Advantages: 1. Useful if some uncertainty in requirements or design solutions 2. Often used for end user interface design 3. More likely to fulfill end-user requirements Disadvantages: 1. May gloss over essential steps 2. May not accommodate large quantities of data or large number of users 3. May not undergo full testing or documentation |
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End-user development |
An alternative development approach; allows end-users, with little or no formal assistance from technical specialists, to create simple information systems; reduces the time and steps required to produce a finished application; using user-friendly website development or graphics, end-users can access data, create reports and develop simple applications on their own |
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Application software packages and Outsourcing |
Software does not have to be developed in-house but instead purchased from external sources which saves time and money because the company can use the pre-written, pre-designed software programs from the vendor; many packages offer customisation if the package does not address the organization's unique requirements
Outsourcing: cloud and SaaS providers are one form of outsourcing; subscribing companies use the software and computer hardware provided by vendors; in another form of outsourcing, a company could hire an external vendor to design and create the software for its system but that company would operate the system on its own computers; domestic outsourcing is driven by the fact that outsourcing firms possess skills, resources, assets that their clients, the firms, do not have; in the case of offshore outsourcing, the decision is much more cost-driven |
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Agile development |
Shorter and more informal process; focuses on rapid delivery of working software by breaking large project into a series of small subprojects that are completed in short periods of time using iteration and continuous feedback; each other project is worked on by a team as if it were a separate complete project; emphasize face-to-face communication over written documents and encourage people to collaborate and make decisions quickly and effectively |
