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Modern Systems Analysis and Design: Chapter 2 The Origins of Software
Modern Systems Analysis and Design: Chapter 2 The Origins of Software
and Design
Prof. David Gadish
Chapter 2
The Origins of Software
Learning Objectives
ü Explain outsourcing.
ü Describe six different sources of
software.
ü Discuss how to evaluate offtheshelf
software.
ü Explain reuse and its role in software
development.
Chapter 2 2
Introduction
n There are various sources of software for
organizations.
n There are criteria to evaluate software
from different sources.
n The impact of reuse on software
development.
Chapter 2 3
Systems Acquisition: Outsourcing
n Outsourcing: Turning over
responsibility of some or all of an
organization's information systems
applications and operations to an
outside firm.
Chapter 2 4
Systems Acquisition: Outsourcing
(Cont.)
n Outsourcing Examples
¨A company that runs payroll applications
for clients.
¨A company that runs your applications
at your site.
Chapter 2 5
Outsourcing (Cont.)
n Reasons to outsource
¨Costeffective.
¨Take advantage of economies of
scale.
¨Free up internal resources.
Chapter 2 6
Outsourcing (Cont.)
¨Reduce time to market.
¨Increase process efficiencies.
¨System development is a noncore
activity for the organization.
Chapter 2 7
Sources of Software
n Information technology services
firm.
n Packaged software producers.
n Enterprisewide solutions.
Chapter 2 8
Sources of Software (Cont.)
n Application service providers
(ASPs)
n Open source software.
n Inhouse developers.
Chapter 2 9
Sources of Software (Cont.)
Chapter 2 10
Information Technology (IT)
Services Firms
n Help companies develop custom
information systems for internal use.
n Develop, host, and run applications for
customers.
n Provide other services.
Chapter 2 11
Packaged Software Producers
n Serve many market segments.
n Software ranges from broadbased
packages (i.e. general ledger) to
niche packages (i.e. day care
management).
Chapter 2 12
Packaged Software Producers
n Software runs on microcomputers to
large mainframes.
n Prepackaged software is offtheshelf
software.
Chapter 2 13
Packaged Software Producers
(Cont.)
n Prepackaged software is turnkey
software (i.e. not customizable).
n Offtheshelf software at best meets
70 percent of organization’s needs.
Chapter 2 14
Packaged Software Producers
(Cont.)
Chapter 2 15
Prepackaged Software
Figure 22 Microsoft Project
Chapter 2 16
Enterprise Solutions Software
n Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems
that integrate individual traditional business
functions into modules enabling a single
seamless transaction to cut across functional
boundaries.
n SAP AG is the leading vendor of ERP systems.
Chapter 2 17
Enterprise Solutions Software
(Cont.)
Figure 23 Functional areas supported by Oracle’s Business Suite
for small to medium businesses
Chapter 2 18
Application Service Provider (ASP)
n An organization that remotely
hosts and runs computer
applications for other companies,
typically on a peruse or license
basis.
Chapter 2 19
Application Service Provider (ASP)
(Cont.)
n Application service providers (ASPs)
buy, install, maintain, and upgrade
the applications.
n Application service providers (ASPs)
purchase or license applications from
other software vendors.
Chapter 2 20
Managed Service Provider (MSP)
n An organization that remotely
provides customized computer
applications and networkbased
services for other companies for a
monthly or peruse fee.
Chapter 2 21
Managed Service Provider (MSP)
(Cont.)
n MSPs provide the ability to gain
access to large and complex systems
without the expense and time
consuming implementation.
Chapter 2 22
Open Source Software
n Freely available including source code.
n Developed by a community of interested
people.
n Performs the same functions as
commercial software.
n Examples: Linux, mySQL, Firefox.
Chapter 2 23
InHouse Development
n If sufficient system development expertise with
the chosen platform exists inhouse, then some
or all of the system can be developed by the
organization’s own staff.
n Hybrid solutions involving some purchased and
some inhouse components are common.
Chapter 2 24
InHouse Development (Cont.)
Chapter 2 25
OfftheShelf Software
n Most common criteria for selecting:
n Cost: comparing the cost of
developing the same system inhouse
with the cost of purchasing or
licensing the software package.
Chapter 2 26
OfftheShelf Software
n Functionality: the tasks that the
software can perform and the
mandatory, essential, and desired
system features.
Chapter 2 27
OfftheShelf Software (Cont.)
n Vendor support: whether or how
much support the vendor can
provide and at what cost.
Chapter 2 28
OfftheShelf Software (Cont.)
n Viability of vendor: can the
software adapt to changes in
systems software and hardware.
Chapter 2 29
OfftheShelf Software (Cont.)
n Flexibility: how easy it is to
customize the software.
n Documentation: is the user’s manual
and technical documentation
understandable and uptodate.
Chapter 2 30
OfftheShelf Software (Cont.)
n Response time: how long it takes the
software package to respond to the
user’s requests in an interactive
session.
n Ease of installation: a measure of
the difficulty of loading the software
and making it operational.
n Request for proposal (RFP) is a
document provided to vendors to ask
them to propose hardware and
system software that will meet the
requirements of a new system.
n Commonly applied to two different
development technologies:
¨Objectoriented development
¨Componentbased development
n Objectoriented development
reuse is using object classes in
more than one application (e.g.
Employee).
n Componentbased development
reuse is the assembly of an
application from many different
components at many different
levels of complexity and size (e.g.
Currency conversion).