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MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEM

MIS

Development of MIS
System development is regarded as another form
of problem-solving which consists of activities like
understanding the problem,
deciding a plan for a solution,
coding the planned solution, and
testing the coded program

Development of MIS
SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT STAGES
In order to develop a system successfully, it is managed by
breaking the total development process into smaller basic
activities or phases. Any system development process, in
general, is understood to have the following phases:
Investigation,
Analysis,
Design,
Construction,
Implementation, and
Maintenance

Development of MIS
SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT STAGES
System Investigation
Some problem may be bothering a business organisation. The
managers in the organisation (user) may or may not be very
clear about the problem. The user may invite a system
analyst or information analyst (consultant) to assist him/her
in defining and resolving the problem in a clear way.

Development of MIS
SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT STAGES
System Investigation
Preliminary investigation
development project.

is

the

first

step

in

system

The preliminary investigation is a way of handling the user's


request to change, improve or enhance an existing system.
The objective is to determine whether the request is valid and
feasible before any recommendation is made to do nothing,
improve or modify the existing system, or build altogether a
new one.

Development of MIS
SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT STAGES
System Investigation
System investigation includes the following two sub-stages:
Problem definition, and
Feasibility study.

Problem Definition
Although the need for problem definition may seem obvious,
this is perhaps the most frequently bypassed step in the
entire system development process.

Development of MIS
SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT STAGES
System Investigation
So the first responsibility of a system analyst is to prepare a
written statement of the objectives and scope of the problem.
Based on interviews with the user, the analyst writes a brief
description of his/her understanding of the problem, and
reviews it with both groups, ideally in a joint user/information
analyst meeting. People respond to written statements. They
ask for clarifications and they correct obvious errors
misunderstandings. This is why a clear statement of
objectives is so important.

Development of MIS
SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT STAGES
System Investigation
In other words, proper understanding and definition of the
problem is essential to discover the cause of the problem and
to plan a directed investigation by asking questions like what
is being done? Why? Is there an underlying reason different
from the one the user identifies?

Development of MIS
SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT STAGES
System Investigation
Here are some possible definitions of problems:

The existing system has a poor response time, i.e. it is slow.


It is unable to handle the workload.
The problem of cost, i.e. the existing system is not
economical.
The problem of accuracy and reliability.
The requisite information is not produced by the existing
system.
The problem of security

Development of MIS
SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT STAGES
System Investigation
Similarly, a system analyst should provide a rough estimate
of the cost involved for the system development. is again a
very important question, which also is not asked until it is
quite late in the system development process.

Development of MIS
SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT STAGES
System Investigation
Feasibility Study

The literal meaning of feasibility is vitality. This study is


undertaken to know the likelihood of the system being useful
to the organisation.
Feasibility study, is basically, a high-level capsule version of
the entire process, intended to answer a number of questions
like what is the problem? Is the problem even worth solving?
However, as the name indicates in preliminary investigation,
feasibility study should be relatively brief.

Development of MIS
SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT STAGES
System Investigation
Feasibility Study
The finding of this study should be formally presented to the
user management. This presentation marks a crucial decision
point in the life of the project.
If the management approves the project, the feasibility study
report represents an excellent model of the system analyst's
understanding of the problem and provides a clear sense of
direction for the subsequent development of the system.

Development of MIS
SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT STAGES
System Investigation
Feasibility Study
The aim of a feasibility study is to assess alternative systems
and to propose the most feasible and desirable for
development.
Thus, feasibility study provides an overview of the problem
and acts as an important checkpoint that should be
completed before committing more resources.

Development of MIS
SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT STAGES
System Investigation
Feasibility Study
The feasibility of a proposed system can be assessed in terms of
four major categories.
Organizational Feasibility
The extent to which a proposed information system supports the
objective of the organisation's strategic plan for information
systems determines the organisational feasibility of the system
project. The information system must be taken sub-set of the
whole organisation

Development of MIS
SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT STAGES
System Investigation
Economic Feasibility

In this study, costs and returns are evaluated to know whether


returns justify the investment in the system project. The economic
questions raised by analysts during the preliminary investigation
are for the purpose of estimating:
The cost of conducting a full system investigation.
The cost of hardware and software for the class of application
being considered.
The benefits in the form of reduced costs, improved customer
service, improved resource utilisation or fewer costly errors.

Development of MIS
SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT STAGES
System Investigation
Technical Feasibility
Whether reliable hardware and software capable of meeting
the needs of the proposed system can be acquired or
developed by the organisation in the required time is a major
concern of the technical feasibility.

Development of MIS
SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT STAGES
System Investigation
Technical Feasibility
In other words, technical feasibility includes questions like:
Does the necessary technology exist to do what is
suggested, if it does then can it be acquired?
Does the proposed equipment have the technical capacity
to hold the data required to use the new system?
Will the proposed system provide adequate responses to
inquiries, regardless of the number of locations and
Can the system be expanded?
Is there any technical surety of accuracy, reliability, ease of
access and data security

Development of MIS
SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT STAGES
System Investigation
Operational Feasibility

The willingness and ability of the management, employees,


customers, suppliers, etc., to operate, use and support a
proposed system come under operational feasibility.
In other words, the test of operational feasibility asks if the
system will work when it is developed and installed.

Development of MIS
SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT STAGES
System Investigation
Operational Feasibility

Are there major barriers to implementation questions are


asked in operational feasibility:
Is there sufficient support from the management? From
employees? From customers? From suppliers
Are current business methods acceptable to the users?
Have the users been involved in the planning and
development of the system project?

Development of MIS
SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT STAGES
System Investigation
Operational feasibility
Operational feasibility would pass the test if the system is
developed as per rules, regulations, laws, organisational
culture, union agreements, etc., and above all with the active
involvement of the users.

Development of MIS
SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT STAGES
System Investigation
Besides these four main categories, the system should also
be assessed in terms of legal feasibility and schedule
feasibility. Whereas legal feasibility refers to the viability of
the system from the legal point of view, i.e.it checks whether
the system abides by all laws and regulations of the land.
The schedule feasibility evaluates the probability of
completing the system in the time allowed for its
development, since for the system to be useful, it must be
finished well before the actual requirement of its usage.

Development of MIS
SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT STAGES
System Investigation
For determining feasibility, a project proposal must pass all
these tests. Otherwise, it is not a feasible project.
For example, a production management system, that is
economically feasible and operationally attractive, is not
feasible if the necessary technology does not exist.
Infeasible projects are abandoned at this stage, unless they
are reworked and resubmitted as new proposals

Development of MIS
SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT STAGES
System Investigation
Following are the methods for conducting a preliminary
investigation:
Methods of Preliminary Investigation
During a preliminary investigation, the following two main methods
are used:
Reviewing documents, and
Interviewing selected persons.

Development of MIS
SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT STAGES
System Investigation
Methods of Preliminary Investigation
Reviewing Organization Documents
The analysts conducting the investigation first learn about the
organisation involved in, or affected by, the project.
For example, to review an inventory systems proposal means knowing
first how the inventory department operates and who the managers
and supervisors are?
This can be learnt by examining the organisation charts and studying
written operating procedures. The procedures describe how the
inventory process should operate and identify the most important
steps involved in receiving, managing and dispensing stock.

Development of MIS
SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT STAGES
System Investigation
Methods of Preliminary Investigation
Conducting Interviews
Written documents do not give user-views about current
operations.
To learn these details, analysts conduct interviews. Interviews
allow analysts to learn more about the nature of the system
project request and the reason for submitting it.

Development of MIS
SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT STAGES
System Investigation
Methods of Preliminary Investigation
Conducting Interviews
To accomplish the purpose of the interview, analysts must be
sure to emphasise the request and the problem it addresses.
In other words, interviews should provide details that further
explain the project and show whether assistance is merited
economically, operationally and technically. It must be kept in
mind that working out a solution to the situation comes later,
during detailed investigation.

Development of MIS
SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT STAGES
System Investigation
Methods of Preliminary Investigation
The following format is suggestive of the preliminary investigation
scope:
Project Title
Problem Statement : Concise, possibly in a few lines, stating the
problem.
Project Objectives : State objectives of the project defined by the
problem.
Preliminary Ideas : Possible solutions, if any, occurring to user
and/or analyst could be stated here.
Project Scope
: Give overall cost estimate.
Feasibility Study : Indicate here time and cost for the next step.

Development of MIS
SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT STAGES
System Analysis
Analysis is a detailed study of the various operations of a
business activity (system), along with its boundaries. The
objective of this phase is to determine exactly what must be
done to solve the problem. Many system analysts have a
technical background. The temptation of many technically
trained people is to move too quickly to program design, to
become pre-maturely physical. Such a temptation must be
avoided. Rather a logical model of the system should be
developed using various modern tools such as data flow
diagrams, an elementary data dictionary and rough
descriptions of the relevant algorithms

Development of MIS
SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT STAGES
System Analysis
System analysis involves a detailed study of:

The information needs of the organisation and its end


users.
Existing information systems (their activities, resources and
products).
The expected information system (in terms of capabilities
of IS required to meet the information needs of users).

Development of MIS
SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT STAGES
System Analysis
The final product of system analysis is a set of system
requirements of a proposed information system. Keeping in
view the importance of system analysis, this has been
discussed in detail. The analysis phase provides the analyst
with a clear understanding of what is to be done. The next
step is to decide as to how the problem might be solved.

Development of MIS
SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT STAGES
System Design

System analysis describes WHAT a system should do to meet


the information needs of users.
System design specifies HOW the system will accomplish this
objective.
The term design refers to the technical specification
(analogous to the architect's blue prints) that will be implied
in constructing the system.

Development of MIS
SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT STAGES
System Design

System design should stress on the following three activities:

User interface,
Data design, and
Process design.

Development of MIS
SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT STAGES
System Design
Where an interface design activity focuses on designing the
interactions between end users and computer systems.
The data design activity focuses on the design of the logical
structure of database and files to be used by the proposed
information system.
Process design activity focuses on the design of the software
resources, that is, the programs and procedures needed by
the proposed information system.

Development of MIS
SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT STAGES
System Design
In this phase, system designers should use their knowledge
of business operations, information processing and hardware
and software to specify the physical design of an information
system. The design must specify what type of hardware
resources, software resources programs and procedures), and
people resources (end users and system staff) would be
needed. These specifications are also known as system
specifications.

Development of MIS
SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT STAGES
System Design
Construction and Testing
Once the system specifications are understood, the system is
physically created. The required programs are coded,
debugged, and documented. The system should be tested
with some test data to ensure its accuracy and reliability. In
fact, construction of the system takes place on the basis of
the system design specifications. So in this phase, the various
directions as per system
specifications are followed. In
addition to the activities performed during system
development, some activities are performed after the basic
development is complete. Such activities are covered under
the implementation phase and maintenance phase.

Development of MIS
SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT STAGES
System Design
Implementation
The system implementation stage involves hardware and
software acquisition, site preparation, user training and
installation of the system. Here again, testing of the system,
involving all components and procedures should be done. It
must be realised that implementation may be the most
crucial phase of System Development Life Cycle, because this
step is vital in assuring the success of any newly developed
system. Even a well-designed system will fail if it is not
properly implemented.

DEVELOPMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION OF THE


MIS

Having made the plan of the MIS; the development of the MIS
calls for determining the strategy of development.
The development strategy determines where to begin and in
what sequence the development can take place with the sole
objective of assuring the information support.

DEVELOPMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION OF THE


MIS

The choice of the system or the subsystem depends on its


position in the total MIS plan, the size of the system, the
user's understanding of the systems and the complexity and
its interface with other systems.
The designer first develops systems independently and starts
integrating them with other systems, enlarging the system
scope and meeting the varying information needs.

DEVELOPMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION OF THE


MIS
Determining the position of the system in the MIS is easy. The
real problem is the degree of structure, and formalization in
the system and procedures which determine the timing and
duration of development of the system. Higher the degree of
structure and formalization, greater is the stabilization of the
rules, the procedures, decision making and the understanding
of the overall business activity. Here, it is observed that the
user's and the designer's interaction is smooth, and other's
needs are clearly understood and respected mutually. The
development becomes a methodical approach with certainty
in inputs process and outputs.

Development of MIS
SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT STAGES
System Design
Maintenance

System maintenance involves the monitoring, evaluating and


modifying of a system to make desirable or necessary
improvements. In other words, maintenance includes
enhancements, modifications or any change from original
specifications. Therefore, the information analyst should take
change as his/her responsibility so as to keep the system
functioning at an acceptable level.

Development of MIS
SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT APPROACHES

A system development model specifies how these activities are


organised in the total system development effort. Various models for
system development are discussed below.

Waterfall Model

Waterfall model, which follows the SDLC (System Development Life


Cycle) approach, became popular in 1970s. The model states that the
phases are organised in a Linear Order. In other words, the output of one
phase becomes the input for the next phase. The waterfall model is
shown below.

In SDLC approach, the system is visualised as a living organism. The


system takes birth, reaches the maturity stage through adolescence and
ultimately dies its natural death

Development of MIS
SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT APPROACHES

Waterfall Model

Development of MIS
SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT APPROACHES

Limitations of Waterfall Model


In the waterfall model, every phase is considered as a distinct
phase, which can be isolated from the rest or the next phase. To
elaborate, the model assumes that the requirements of a system
can be frozen before the design begins. But for a new system,
determining requirements is a difficult process as the user
himself does not know his/her information requirements and thus
to freeze them before design is not practical.

Freezing the requirements usually requires the choice of


hardware to be made. However, in the case of large projects,
which might take a few years to be completed, the earmarked
hardware technology may become obsolete even before the
system becomes physical.

Development of MIS
SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT APPROACHES

Limitations of Waterfall Model


The model stresses that the requirements should be
completely specified before the beginning of the next phase.
But in some of the situations, it might be desirable to first
develop a part of the system completely and later enhance
the system in phases

Development of MIS
SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT APPROACHES

Prototyping

In the prototyping approach, a prototype of the system is


developed, instead of the complete system. A prototype is a
comprehensive system and does not include all the requirements
of the user. This model is based on the evolutionary method of
system development ( see the figure in the next slide).
Prototyping is used in those systems, in which identification of
requirements is difficult and requirements may change during the
development process. This model advocates the development of a
throw-away prototype to be given to the user to help understand
his/her requirements. On the basis of feedback, the actual system
is developed. The model, in general, has the following four steps.

Development of MIS
SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT APPROACHES

Prototyping

Development of MIS

SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT APPROACHES


Prototyping
Identify the user's basic information requirements
In this step, the user identifies his requirements in
the form of outputs required from the system The
information analyst, on the basis of user
expectations, estimates the cost of a workable
prototype.
Develop the initial prototype system

Development of MIS
SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT APPROACHES
Prototyping
Here, the initial prototype system, which meets the user's basic
information requirements, is developed. It is developed in the
minimum possible time. The speed of building rather than
efficiency of the prototype is the main consideration.

Use of the prototype system to refine the user's requirements


The initially-developed prototype is delivered to the user to allow
him to gain hands-on experience with the system to identify
further refinements/changes required in the prototype.

Development of MIS

SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT APPROACHES


Revise and enhance the prototype system
In this stage, the designer makes the necessary
changes/refinements pointed out by the user after
using the prototype.
These Steps are repeated again and again till the
prototype is refined to the satisfaction of the user.
Prototyping approach may not be cost-effective in
small organisations.
It is more suitable for larger organizations, where it is
difficult to identify user requirements.

Development of MIS

SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT APPROACHES

The prototyping approach has the following significant


advantages in the development of a system;

Ability to 'try out' ideas without incurring large costs.


Lower overall development costs when requirements
change frequently.

The ability to get a functioning system into the


hands of the user quickly.

Development of MIS

SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT APPROACHES


Revise and enhance the prototype system
Disadvantages

It may become an unending process of


refinement, which may take too much time, effort
and money.
Second, it is also criticised because prototypes
are usually not complete systems and many of
the details are not built in the prototype.
Third, due to frequent changes, management of
the development process also becomes difficult

Development of MIS
LIFE CYCLE
There are many systems which have a life cycle that is
starting and ending step which indicates that the system is
very much structured and rule based.
They have 100% clarity of input & their resources, definite set
of o/p in terms of the contents and formats. This system can
be developed in systematic manner
eg; accounting , payroll etc

Development of MIS
SDLC

Development of MIS
For the successful implementation of the system. The system
designer should

Satisfy all the information needs of the user


Respect the demands of the user
Offer the services to the user.
Not to recommend the modification of the needs unless
technically feasible.
Explain the nature of the system to the user to realise the
information requirement of the current system.

Development of MIS

Have a better decision making capability


Not expect the perfect understanding from the user as he
may be the user of non-computerized system.
Conduct a periodical user meeting on system where it is
easier to get the opportunities to know the ongoing
difficulties of the user.

Development of MIS
SDLC

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