Development and implementation of Information Systems

This is Part 2 of a 3-part series on building Information Systems:

Part 1 - Six types of Information Systems…

Part 2 - [You Are Here] - How To Develop and Implement Information Systems

Part 3 - Why Information Systems are a thing of the past…

 

In the previous article we looked at the different types of information systems we use in companies.

In the field of information systems where a systems specialist develop an information system to improve an existing system or develop a new system based on user requirements is called as Information Systems Development.

The Development of an Information Systems is really a combination of a process for planning, creating, testing, and deploying an information system. When you combine all these components you are (almost) guaranteed that you've covered all bases.

The development of information systems can either be acquired through In-sourcing, Out-sourcing, Self-sourcing, or Prototyping.

 

The following are steps in the information systems development:

1.Feasibility Study - the stage where information analyst makes a study of whether the managements' concept of having the desired new system is achievable. It may be that development of a new system is not needed instead an update of the existing is enough.

Remember from the first article in this series that there are many types of Information system, so a feasibility study needs to be completed for each of these systems. There may be a strong case for a management information system, but not so much for a knowledge management system (or the other way around) - be honest with the reasons WHY you want a system like this in your company - what are the benefits, both in financial gain and improved decision making.

2. Analysis - the stage where users and IT specialists work together to collect and comprehend the business requirements. Based on requirements, both will work on the design and discuss the tasks to be done. The user and IT specialists signs on the joint application design to formalize the business requirements.

3. Design - the stage where the system's blueprint is created. The technical architecture is designed which includes telecommunications, hardware and software suited for the system..

4. Development and Testing - the stage where building of the technical architecture, database and programs are executed. It is also the stage where the system is tested using the established test scripts and compare the expected outcomes to actual outcomes.

5. Implementation- the stage where system is in place and is used by the actual workforce. User guide manual and training are provided to users.

6. Evaluation - the stage where system need to be evaluated for any bug from time to time. (AKA Testing - again!)

7. Maintenance - the stage where system needs to be enhanced or strengthened in order to meet the goals of the organization.

The overall budget for an Information System MUST include all 7 steps - including the ongoing maintenance of the system. Technology changes, as do the business requirements. For this reason it's important to identify the annual effort required to have

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PS: Want to know more about Information Systems? Our Art of Service LAB has 1636 Information Systems related Files in 12 Toolkits: