BIS440

Integrated Computer Applications

 Overview
• Plan, design, develop, test, implement and
document a customized solution to business
problems as set forth in an in-depth,
comprehensive business case.
 System Development Life Cycle
Objectives
• Explain the SDLC
• Discuss the DBLC
• Create relationships
between entities
• Describe business rules
 Database
• Organized collection of related data
• Can be manual or computerized
• Terminology
• Data – raw facts
• Information – data presented in a usable manner, including
interpretation

• Part of an information system

The Information System
– provides the conditions for data collection, storage,
and retrieval
– facilitates the transformation of data into information
– provides management of both data and information.

Components of an information system

-People -Hardware
-Software -Database(s)
-Procedures -Application programs
 The Information System
System analysis
– process that establishes the need for and the extent of an IS.

Systems Development
– process of creating an IS.

Applications
– transforms data into information.
– composed of two parts: the data and the code.
Generating Information
for Decision Making
The Systems Development Life
Cycle
• Traces the history (life cycle) of an IS.
• Five phases of SDLC:
– Planning
– Analysis
– Detailed Systems Design
– Implementation
– Maintenance
 Planning
• Overview of company and its objectives
• Questions to ask
– Should the existing system be continued?
– Should the existing system be modified?
– Should the existing system be replaced?
• Feasibility study
– Hardware and software requirements
– System cost
 Analysis
• Audit user requirements
– What are the precise requirements of the
current system's end users?
– Do those requirements fit into the overall
information requirements?
• Define the logical system
• Data flow diagrams (DFD)
• ER diagrams
 Detailed System Design
• Design of system's processes
• Technical specifications for
– Screens
– Menus
– Reports
• Conversion from old system to new system
 Implementation
• Hardware, DBMS software, application
programs, etc. are installed
• Database design is implemented
• Actual database is created and customized
• Convert data from legacy system
• Testing the system
• Takes 50-60% of total development time
 Maintenance
• Corrective maintenance in response to
system errors
• Adaptive maintenance due to changes in the
business environment
• Perfective maintenance to enhance the
system
 Tools to Assist with SDLC
• CASE
– Computer-Assisted Systems Engineering
– System Architect
– Visio
– Cheaper to update and maintain using CASE
tools
SDLC Diagram
Database Life Cycle (DBLC)
 Conceptual Design
• Data modeling is used to create an abstract database
• Minimal data rule
– All that is needed is there, and all that is there is needed
• GIGO
– Garbage in garbage out

• Business rules describe the main and distinguishing

characteristics of the data as viewed by the company.
• The collection of data is meaningful only when
business rules are defined
 Business Rules
• A customer may make many payments on account
• Each payment on account is credited to only one customer
• A machine operator may not work more than 10 hours in
any 24-hour period
• A business trip destination must be at least 200 miles away
for an airline ticket to be purchased
• A training session cannot be scheduled for fewer than 10
people or for more than 30 people
• A customer may generate many invoices
• Each invoice is generated by only one customer.
 Benefits of Business Rules
• Standardize the company's view of data
• Constitute a communications tool between users
and designers
• Allow the designer to understand the nature, role,
and scope of the data
• Allow the designer to understand the business
processes
• Allow the designer to develop appropriate
relationships and foreign key constraints
 Using Business Rules
• Business rules can be used to:
– Define entities, attributes, primary keys, foreign
keys
– Draw ER diagram
– Normalize data
– Create data dictionary
– Create standard naming convention
 Modules
• Database design is done in teams
• Design components as modules
– Delegate to design groups
– Simplify design work
– Prototype quickly
– Implement one or more modules to begin
serving end users for testing before entire
system is finished
 DBMS Software Selection
• Cost
– Purchase, maintenance, operational, license, installation, training, and
conversion costs
• DBMS features and tools
– QBE (query by example)
– Report generations
– Ease of use and performance
• Underlying model
– Hierarchical, network, relational, object-oriented
• Portability
– Across platforms, systems and languages
• DBMS hardware requirements
– Processor, RAM, disk space
A Special Note about Database Design
Strategies

Two Classical Approaches to Database

Design:
• Top-down design

• Bottom-up design
 Centralized vs Decentralized
Design
• Two Different Database Design Philosophies:
– Centralized design
Decentralized design
 Example User Problem
• The marketing manager says:
– I'm working with an antiquated filing system. We
manufacture more than 1700 specialty machine parts.
When a regular customer calls in, we can't get a very
quick inventory scan. If a new customer calls in, we
can't do a current parts search by using a simple
description, so we often do a machine setup for a part
that we have in inventory. That's wasteful. Besides,
some new customers get irritated if we can't give a
quick response.
 Design
• Find precise answers about the relationships
between the business units
• Inventory query and input must be
improved
• Solution must stay within constraints of
time, budget, personnel, etc.
 Key concepts
• Information system
• SDLC
• DBLC