MIS Design and Development Phases

Phases of MIS development Process

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Investigation Analysis Design Implementation Maintenance

Investigation
This is the first step in preparation of MIS . This stage includes the preliminary study of proposed information system solution to the end user problem. We have to conduct Feasibility study to develop MIS This study is a preliminary study which investigates the information needs of the user and determine the resources requirement ,costs, benefits and feasibility of proposed system. The goal of feasibility study is to evaluate an alternative system and to propose the most feasible and desirable system for development.

 To conduct feasibility study ,the information can be gathered in many ways like :1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Interview with the customers , employee and managers Questionnaires for end user Personal observation Go through the historic record Etc.

The feasibility study is conducted in four different areas: 1. Organizational feasibility 2. Economic feasibility 3. Technical feasibility 4. Operational feasibility

 Organizational feasibility

Phases of MIS development Process

The focus of organizational feasibility is on how well a proposed system supports values and objectives of the organization.

Economic feasibility
In Economic feasibility ,the developer conducts cost/benefits analysis, i.e whether the cost of developing a system is more than benefits ,if the development cost increases than the proposed is not an efficient MIS.

Technical feasibility
This include the study of Hardware and software requirements ,availability of these media within the organization to they have to be arranged. It also includes whether we have to develop our own system or buy ready made solutions with some modification to meet our need etc. Operational feasibility In this the willingness and ability of management employees, customer supplier and others to operate use and support a proposed system is studied.

Analysis
This is the second stage or step of development process of MIS . It is applicable to both i.e. for making an entirely new system or improving or replacing the existing system. System analysis involves knowing the information needs of the end user and the organization employees , what are the resources activities and product presently available and the information system capability to meet these information needs. The process starts with analyzing the organization present system if any , and functional requirement analysis.

Organizational analysis
To achieve effectiveness in MIS one must know something about the organization like , about its culture, management their experience, qualification , Attitude towards computerized MIS , organizational values and norms etc in detail.

 Present system Analysis

If the company has some information system in existence then it is very important to analyze that system. In this ,one must analyze each component of system like ,Hardware, Software ,people resources , networking and data sources . Whether existing system serves the purpose of Management or it is lacking at some end to serve the solution of information needs, so that proper action should be taken at the time of designing the system so that loop holes are removed.

Function Requirement Analysis

Functional requirement are end user information requirements that consist of: User interface requirements:- In which one determines what type of input and output requirements of the users are there. Processing requirements :- What are decisions rules ,calculation are required to convert input into output. How much time it takes for processing the input to O/P. Storage requirements :- What is the size of database ,whether it a common database or distributed . Control requirements:- What are the types of measuring of accuracy, validity , saftey ,security and adaptability requirements for system I/P , Processing and O/P.

Design
The previous stage i.e. System analysis show ,what user demands from the system in order to full fill their information need ,and the system design stage gives answer to the question how the system will accomplish the objective. System design consists of design activities that produce system specifications, satisfying the functional requirements developed at the analysis stage. System design consist of two steps : Conceptual design and Detail design Conceptual (abstract) design : Conceptual design represents the structure of MIS. It takes input from statement of Management information requirement and management objectives for the MIS. The Output of this stage is the performance requirement of those who will develop the detail design.

Process of Conceptual design

Define the problems

Refine the management objective to set system objective

Establishing system constraints

Determine information needs and sources

Document the system concept

Prepare the conceptual design report design

 Define the Problem:As system design is to known the problems in detail . this is achieved by a continuous and iterative process of :1. Stating the information need 2. Asking questions about that need 3. Suggesting the interpretation of that need 4. Detailing the original statement 5. Reviewing the more detailed statement of need with management This process will be repeated until we really understand the information needs and the problems to be solved.

 System objective:Like other functional area ,the manager should set objectives in terms of design of Information system. As ,setting objectives is difficult task ,because most of the organizations set their Objective roughly like improve efficiency , meet the production schedule and so on. In order to achieve the objectives successfully they should be specific. Information system objectives must ultimately be stated in terms of the objective of the department ,group, or in terms of the functions the information system is to perform. After setting the objectives ,system designer should state them by using descriptive statements or flowchart ,or DFD and so on, to convert the objectives for the managers which they want to accomplish from the rising information system. To ,conclude , the information system objective should be aligned with the overall objectives of the organization.

 Establish system constraints :Constraints means problems, boundaries or restriction that enable the designer to specify the condition under which objective may be attained and to consider the limitation that restricts the design. Constraints are a limitation on the freedom of action taken by the designer himself or imposed by the system user the system owner. Determine information need :A clear statement of information need is fundamental and necessary for a good system design . If the manager does not convey his or her information needs .a good design will not be prepared. The type of information needs depends on two factor one is personal managerial attributes of the individual manager and the organization environment in which the decision are made .

 Document the system concept:In this stage manager contribution to the design process shows what I/P ,O/P ,master files and rules for processing are required. System flow also reflects the design efforts before and after this stage. At this stage the formats of I/P are designed . The input received from outside sources is then converted into machine usable forms. The O/P data definition includes the specification of the destination like where rthey go and in what form etc. After preparing the O/P and after I/P has been documented ,the last step is prepare a report for the manager.

 Detail design
In order to make a detailed design ,first of all the system designer have to gain the support of all the staff members from Top to Bottom level. To seek their acceptance it is better to involve them in the designing process. the designer uses four sources for the design of the MIS. The are task force meeting:for a larger system an interview with the Top , intermediate level manager and a selected group of operating staff study the internal and external source documents , and last personal observation of operation and communication.

Implementation:Implementation means to introduce the designed system into practice or in use. The implementation process covers following :1. Purchase of H/W and S/W resources required by the proposed system. 2. Develop the computer program or perform any modification in the existing programs or the S/W packaged. 3. Train the end user. 4. Test the system and remove errors if any. 5. Conversion process, i.e. introduce a new system.

 Maintenance :System maintenance is the last or concluding stage of MIS development process. But its importance is not less being the last stage , because an effective system can fail if they are not implemented properly. Maintenance involves control , evaluation and modification to make a better system. Maintenance is required , because sometime operators develop their own private procedure or make some shortcuts , or some unauthorized person introduces some changes in the present system without taking permission . Maintenance activity is initiated by error reports , a user change request a member of maintenance team or by the management. Proper planning is done for maintenance:1. Collect all request for change 2. Give priority to each request after analyzing their long run benefit and cost effects. 3. Prepare short plans 4. Document the maintained as it occurs. Management activity is related to make some modification i.e. To change the policy statement To change forms To change operating system

 Difference between Conceptual and detailed design

Conceptual design

Detailed design

It gives a structural and overall performance It gives operational and construction specifications specifications. The I/P of the conceptual design is statement of management information requirement s and objectives of MIS Conceptual design provides the structure The I/P of the detailed design are conceptual design reports. Detailed design makes that structure operational.

MIS vis a vis computer Academic and Users

MIS and Academics The foundation of MIS is the management theory. It uses the principles and practices of management while designing the system, and gives appropriate regard to the theory of organizational behavior. It considers the human mind as a processor of information. While designing the report format and forming communication channels, MIS takes into account the behavior of the manager as an individual and in a group. It gives appropriate view to the personal factors such as partiality, thinking with a fixed frame of reference, risk dislike, strengths and weaknesses. Another area of academics is operational research. The operational research is used for developing the models of management problem and they are then incorporated in MIS as decision support systems. The inventory control, queuing theory, and resource programming are used in the MIS as decision support systems. In the area of accounting application, it uses the accounting principles to ensure that the data is correct and valid. It uses the accounting methodology for generating a trial balance, balance sheet and other books of accounts.

MIS vis a vis computer Academic and Users

The MIS uses the communication theory in a significant manner. The principle of feedback is used while designing analysis and reporting systems. While designing the report format, attention is paid to avoid noise and distortions in the communication process. The MIS is based on database and uses the database for generating information. The three types of data structures, viz., hierarchical, network and relational database have roots in the mathematics and the set theory. The MIS becomes rich in content and more useful when it becomes more and more a decision-making or decision support system. This is possible when it builds decision making systems in MIS which in turn is possible if it draws tools, techniques, methods, rules and principles from pure science and application science, and uses them as an integral part of the system. The MIS uses knowledge from management, business management, mathematics, accounting, psychology, communication theory, operations research and probability theory for building processes, methods, and decision-support systems in designing business applications.

MIS and Users

Every person in the Organization is a user of the MIS. The people in the organization operate at all levels in the hierarchy. A typical user is a clerk, an assistant, an officer, an executive or a manager. Each of them has a specific task and a role play in the management of business. The MIS caters to the needs of all persons. The main task of a clerk is to search the data, make a statement and submit it to the higher level. A clerk can use the MIS for a quick search and reporting the same to higher level. An assistant has the task of collecting and organizing the data, and conducting a rudimentary analysis of it. The MIS offers the user tools to perform these tasks. An officer has a role of integrating the data from different systems and disciplines to analyze it and make a critical comment if anything adverse is found. In MIS offers the methods and facilities to integrate the data and report the same in a proper format. An executive plays the role of a decision maker. He is in a position of responsibility and accountability; a position of a planner and a decision maker. He is responsible for achieving the targets and goals of the organization. The MIS provides facilities to analyze the data and offers the decision support systems to perform the task of execution. The MIS provides action-oriented information.

MIS and Users

The manager has a position of responsibility and accountability for the business results. His management role expands beyond his management function. The MIS provides information in a structured or unstructured format for him to react. The MIS caters to his constant changing needs of information. The user of the MIS is expected to be a rational person and the design of the MIS is based on this assumption. However, in reality the impact created on individuals by MIS is difficult to explain. The recent major technological advances in communication such as Multimedia, Imaging, Graphical User Interface (GUI) etc and the ability to access the data stored at different locations on the variety hardware of platforms would make MIS more attractive and efficient proposition. An intelligent user of information can demonstrate the ability of decision making, since his manipulative capability is considerably increased, with the information now being available on his desktop. Through the MIS, the information can be used as a strategic weapon to counter the threats to business, make businesses more competitive, and bring about the organizational transformation through integration. A good MIS also make an organization seamless by removing all the communication barriers.

Role of the Management information system

The role of the MIS in an organization can be compared to the role of hear in the body. The information is the blood and MIS is the heart. In the body the heart plays the role of supplying pure blood to all the elements of the body including the brain. The heart works faster and supplies more blood when needed. It regulates and controls the incoming impure blood, processes it sends it to the destination in the quantity needed. It fulfills the needs of blood supply to human body in normal and also in crisis. The MIS plays exactly the same role in the organization. The system ensures that an appropriate data is collected from the various sources, processed, and sent further to all the needy destinations. The system is expected to fulfill information needs of an individual, a group of individuals, the management functionaries; the managers and the top management. The MIS satisfies the diverse needs through a variety of systems such as Query Systems, Analysis Systems, Modeling Systems and Decision Support Systems. The MIS helps in Strategic Planning, Management Control Operational Control and Transaction Processing.

Role of the Management information system

The MIS helps the clerical personnel in the transaction processing and answers their queries on the data pertaining to the transaction, the status of a particular record and references on a variety of documents. The MIS helps the junior management personnel by providing the operational data for planning, scheduling and control, and helps them further in decision making at the operations level to correct an out of control situation. The MIS helps the middle management in short term planning, target setting and controlling the business functions. It is supported by the use of the management tools of planning and control. The MIS helps the top management in goal setting, strategic planning and evolving the business plans and their implementation. The MIS plays the role of information generation, communication problems and helps in the process of decision making. The MIS, therefore, plays a vital role in the management, administration and operations of an organization.

The impact of the Management Information System

The impact of MIS on the functions is in its management. With a good MIS support, the management of marketing, finance, production and personnel becomes more efficient, the tracking and monitoring the functional targets becomes easy. The functional managers are informed about the progress, achievements and shortfalls in the activity and the targets. The manager is kept alert by providing certain information indicating the probable trends in the various aspects of business. This helps in forecasting and long-term perspective planning. The manager'' attention is brought to a situation which is exceptional in nature, inducing him to take an action or a decision in the matter. A disciplined information reporting system creates a structured database and a knowledge base for all the people in the organization. The information is available in such a form that it can be used straight away or by blending and analysis, saving the manager's valuable time. The MIS creates another impact in the organization which relates to the understanding of the business itself. The MIS begins with the definition of a data entity and its attributes. It uses a dictionary of data, entity and attributes, respectively, designed for information generation in the organization. Since all the information systems use the dictionary, there is common understanding of terms and terminology in the organization bringing clarity in the communication and a similar understanding of an event in the organization.

The impact of the Management Information System

The MIS calls for a systemization of the business operations for an effective system design. This leads to streamlining of the operations which complicate the system design. It improves the administration of the business by bringing a discipline in its operations everybody is required to follow and use systems and procedures. This process brings a high degree of professionalism in the business operations. Since the goals and objective of the MIS are the products of business goals and objectives, it helps indirectly to pull the entire organization in one direction towards the corporate goals and objectives by providing the relevant information to the people in the organization. A well designed system with a focus on the manager makes an impact on the managerial efficiency. The fund of information motivates an enlightened manager to use a variety of tools of the management. It helps him to resort to such exercises as experimentation and modeling. The use of computers enables him to use the tools and techniques which are impossible to use manually. The ready-made packages make this task simpler. The impact is on the managerial ability to perform. It improves the decision making ability considerably.

Management Information System and Computer

Translating the real concept of the MIS into reality is technically, an infeasible proposition unless computers are used. The MIS relies its ability to store, process, retrieve and communicate with no serious limitations. The variety of the hardware having distinct capabilities make it possible to design the MIS for a specific situation. For example, if the organization needs a large database and very little processing, a computer system is available for such a requirement. Suppose the organization has multiple business locations at long distances and if the need is to bring the data at one place, process, and then send the information to various locations, it is possible to have a computer system with a distributed data processing capability. If the distance is too long, then the computer system can be hooked through a satellite communication system. The ability of the hardware to store data and process it at a very fast rate helps to deal with the data volumes, its storage and access effectively. The ability of the computer to sort and merge helps to organize the data in particular manner and process it for complex lengthy computations. Since the computer is capable of digital, graphic word, image, voice and text processing, it is exploited to generate information and present it in the form which is easy to understand for the information user.

Management Information System and Computer

The software, an integral part of a computer system, further enhances the hardware capability. The software is available to handle the procedural and nonprocedural data processing. For example, if you want to use a formula to calculate a certain result, an efficient language is available to handle the situation. If you are not required to use a formula but have to resort every time to a new procedure, the nonprocedural languages are available. The advancement in computer and the communication technology has made the distance, speed, volume and complex computing an easy task. Hence, designing the MIS for a specific need and simultaneously designing a flexible and open system becomes possible, thereby saving a lot of drudgery of development and maintenance of the system. The concept of user friendly systems and the end user computing is possible, making information processing a personalized function. However, the application of the management principles and practices in today's complex business world is possible only when the MIS is based on a computer system support.

Chp-2 Process of MIS

The Need For System Analysis

When you asked to computerise a system, as a requirement of the data processing or the information need, it is necessary to analyze the system from different angles. While satisfying such need, the analysis of the system is the basic necessity for an efficient system design. The need for analysis stems from the following point of view. System Objective: It is necessary to define the system objective(s). Many a times, it is observed that the systems are historically in operation and have lost their main purpose of achievement of the objectives. The users of the system and the personnel involved are not in a position to define the objective(s). Since you are going to develop a computer based system, it is necessary to redefine or reset the objective(s) as a reference point in the context of the current business requirement. System Boundaries: It is necessary to establish the system boundaries which would define the scope and the coverage of the system. This helps to sort out and understand the functional boundaries of the system, the department boundaries in the system, and the people involved in the system. It also helps to identify the inputs and the outputs of the various sub-systems covering the entire system.

The Need For System Analysis

System Importance: It is necessary to understand the importance of the system in the organization. This would throw more light on its utility and would help the designer to decide the design features of the system. It would be possible then to position the system in relation to the other systems for deciding the design strategy and development. Nature of The System: The analysis of the system will help the system designer to conclude whether the system is the closed type or open, and a deterministic or probabilistic. Such an understanding of the system is necessary, prior to design the process to ensure the necessary design architecture. Role of the System as an Interface: The system, many a times, acts as an interface to the other systems. Hence through such an interface, it activates or promotes some changes in the other systems. It is necessary to understand the existing role of the system, as an interface, to safeguard the interests of the other systems. Any modifications or changes made should not affect the functioning or the objective of the other systems.

The Need For System Analysis

Participation of Users: The strategic purpose of the analysis of the system is to seek the acceptance of the people to a new development. System analysis process provides a sense of participation to the people. This helps in breaking the resistance to the new development and it also ensure the commitment to the new system. Understanding of Resource Needs: The analysis of the system helps in defining the resource requirements in terms of hardware and software. Hence, if any additional resources are required, this would mean an investment. The management likes to evaluate the investment form the point of view of return on such investment. If the return on the investment is not attractive, the management may drop the project. Assessment of Feasibility: The analysis of the system helps to establish the feasibility from different angles. The system should satisfy the technical, economic and operational feasibility.

The Need For System Analysis

Many times, the systems are feasible from the technical and economic point of view: but they may be infeasible from the operational point of view. The assessment of feasibility will save the investment and the system designer's time. It would also save the embarrassment to the system designer as he is viewed as the key figure in such projects. One can approach the system analysis and design exercise in a systematic manner in steps, as shown in the Table below :

Steps in system Analysis and Design

Steps Need for information
Define the Systems Feasibility

Detailing the requirements Conceptual system Detailing the system Structuring the system design Conceptual model of computer system Break the system in programme modules Develop the test data for checking the system ability

Explanation Identify the users and application of the information for achieving the objectives. Helps to determine the system ownership, its benefits and complexity. Hardware and software availability and capability, for implementation. Study the investment and benefits. Assess the improvement in value of the information. Determine the return on investment. Examine whether the system will perform as desired in terms of time and results. Are the users ready to use the system? Study the sources of generating the Information. Establish I/O linkages. Modify the existing system to satisfy the needs. Conceptualization is necessary to understand the system process. Helps in bringing a clarity in the data-flow. The responsibility centres and the process centres are identified. Helps in understanding the data-flow from one level to the other and the processes carried out at each level. Helps to put down the data processing flow in the computerized system. Draw the computer system charts. Modules will be data entry, data validation, data processing, reporting and storing.
Confirms whether the system design is satisfactory. Suggests the modifications.

The Need For System Analysis

Steps Install the system

Implementation Review and maintenance

Explanation Install, test and run the system before the user is exposed in alive mode.
Help to identify the problems and provide solutions. Helps to maintain the system quality and the quality of information through modification, if necessary.

System Analysis Of A New Requirement

It is not always necessary that the analysts are required to conduct the analysis of the existing system. In a number of cases when legacy systems have outlived their utility or a new business environment requires a totally radical approach, the analyst is called for redesigning the processes, practices and procedures. Today's business world of a company is beyond the four walls of the organization. The vendors and the customers are being treated as trusted business partners of the organization. This change in the management policy calls for a change in the information management function in the organization. It cuts across all the facets of processing the data and the information, right from the input to the output and its distribution. The conventional confidential access to the information, and the practice of authorizing a person to make decisions has undergone a substantial change. The decision centres in the organization have been diffused and a substantial delegation of decision making has taken place at the lower level. The characteristic change in the organization is that it is being looked as a process organization as against a functional organization. The work culture is changing from the single hierarchical command control principle. These work groups are empowered to make decisions with an access to support the information. In such changed environment, the information system architecture, the design and processes, and the hardware-software configuration should be structured to meet this changed requirement of information. The trend is towards building a system which is potentially flexible, adaptable to the new technology, easy to use, and which enables the user to meet his own needs through his knowledge and expertise.

System Analysis Of A New Requirement

The system analyst, in such a virgin situation of policy change, has to think globally, taking into consideration the technology, the user, and the business it serves. He is required to make analysis to evolve the system and the technology strategy, and configuring them to work for executing the business strategy through the information support. Hence, the System Analysis and Design, in such situations, in an exercise at a macro level with a top-down approach in understanding the requirement. The information system development cycle for a new application consists of the five major stages: Definition of the system and its objective. Development of the system (Analysis-Design-Programming) Installation of the system. Operations of the system. Review and evaluation.