CHAPTER 10
System Implementation
System Implementation
Six major
activities:
Coding
Testing
Installation
Documentation
Training
Support
System Implementation (Cont.)
Purpose:
To convert final physical system
specifications into working and reliable
software.
To document work that has been done.
To provide help for current and future
users.
The Process of Coding, Testing,
and Installation
Coding – Physical design specifications are
turned into working computer code.
Testing – Tests are performed using various
strategies. Testing performed in parallel
with coding.
Installation – The current system is replaced
by new system.
The Process of Documenting the
System, Training Users, and
Supporting Users
Two audiences for final documentation
Information systems personnel who will
maintain the system throughout its
productive life.
People who will use the system as part of
their daily lives.
User Training
Application-specific.
General for operating system
Software Application Testing
A master test plan is developed during the
analysis phase.
During the design phase, unit, integration,
and system test plans are developed.
The actual testing is done during
implementation.
Test plans provide improved communication
among all parties involved in testing.
System testing
Integration
testing
unit testing
Acceptance testing: the process whereby actual
users test a completed information system, the
end result of which is the users’ acceptance of
it.
Alpha testing: user testing of a completed
information system using simulated data.
Types of Alpha Test:
Recovery testing - forces software (or environment) to fail in order to
verify that recovery is properly performed.
Security testing - verifies that protection mechanisms built into the
system will protect it from improper penetration.
Stress testing - tries to break the system.
Performance testing - determines how the system performs on the
range of possible environments in which it may be used
Beta testing: user testing of a completed
information system using real data in the real user
environment.
Installation
Installation: the organizational process of
changing over from the current
information system to a new one.
Four installation strategies:
Direct Installation.
Parallel Installation.
Single-location installation.
Phased Installation.
Four Installation Strategies
1. Direct installation: changing over from
the old system to a new one by turning
off the old system when the new system
is turned on.
Current System
Install New
System
New System
Time
Four Installation Strategies
2. Parallel installation: running the old
information system and the new one at
the same time until management decides
the old system can be turned off.
Current System
Install New
System
New System
Time
3. Single-location installation: Trying out an
information system at one site and using the
experience to decide if and how the new
system should be deployed throughout the
organization. Also known as location or pilot
installation.
Current System
Install New Location 1
System
New System
Current System
Install New Location 2
System
New System
© 2008 by Prentice Hall
4. Phased Installation: changing from the old
information system to the new one
incrementally, starting with one or a few
functional components and then gradually
extending the installation to cover the whole
new system.
Current System
Current System
without Module 1 Current System without Modules 1 & 2 …
Install Install
…
Module 1 Module 2
New Module 1
New Module 2 …
Documenting the System
System documentation: detailed information about
a system’s design specifications, its internal
workings, and its functionality.
User documentation: written or other visual
information about an application system, how it
works, and how to use it.
Internal documentation: system documentation
that is part of the program source code or is
generated at compile time.
External documentation: system documentation
that includes the outcome of structured diagramming
techniques such as data flow and E-R diagrams.
Maintaining Information
Systems
Maintaining Information Systems
The Process of Maintaining
Information Systems
Process of returning to the beginning of the
SDLC and repeating development steps
focusing on system change until the change is
implemented.
Maintenance is the longest phase in the SDLC.
Four major activities:
Obtainingmaintenance requests.
Transforming requests into changes.
Designing changes.
Implementing changes.
Types of System Maintenance
Maintenance: changes made to a system to fix or
enhance its functionality.
1. Corrective maintenance: changes made to a
system to repair flaws in its design, coding, or
implementation.
2. Adaptive maintenance: changes made to a
system to evolve its functionality to changing
business needs or technologies.
3. Perfective maintenance: changes made to a
system to add new features or to improve
performance.
4. Preventive maintenance: changes made to a
system to avoid possible future problems.
Types of System Maintenance
(Cont.)
The Cost of Maintenance
Many organizations allocate eighty
percent of information systems budget
to maintenance.
New development versus maintenance as a percent of software budget
