Modern Systems Analysis

and Design

Chapter 2
The Origins of Software
Learning Objectives
 Explain outsourcing.
 Describe six different sources of
software.
 Discuss how to evaluate off-the-shelf
software.
 Explain reuse and its role in software
development.

Chapter 2 2
Introduction
 There are various sources of software for
organizations.
 There are criteria to evaluate software
from different sources.
 The impact of reuse on software
development.

Chapter 2 3
Systems Acquisition: Outsourcing
 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.)
 Outsourcing Examples
A company that runs payroll applications
for clients.
A company that runs your applications
at your site.

Chapter 2 5
Outsourcing (Cont.)
 Reasons to outsource
Cost-effective.
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 non-core
activity for the organization.

Chapter 2 7
Sources of Software
 Information technology services
firm.
 Packaged software producers.
 Enterprise-wide solutions.

Chapter 2 8
Sources of Software (Cont.)
 Application service providers
(ASPs)
 Open source software.
 In-house developers.

Chapter 2 9
Sources of Software (Cont.)

Chapter 2 10
Information Technology (IT)
Services Firms
 Help companies develop custom
information systems for internal use.
 Develop, host, and run applications for
customers.
 Provide other services.

Chapter 2 11
Packaged Software Producers
 Serve many market segments.
 Software ranges from broad-based
packages (i.e. general ledger) to
niche packages (i.e. day care
management).

Chapter 2 12
Packaged Software Producers
 Software runs on microcomputers to
large mainframes.
 Prepackaged software is off-the-shelf
software.

Chapter 2 13
Packaged Software Producers
(Cont.)
 Prepackaged software is turnkey
software (i.e. not customizable).
 Off-the-shelf software at best meets
70 percent of organization’s needs.

Chapter 2 14
Packaged Software Producers
(Cont.)

Chapter 2 15
Prepackaged Software

Figure 2-2 Microsoft Project

Chapter 2 16
Enterprise Solutions Software
 Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems
that integrate individual traditional business
functions into modules enabling a single
seamless transaction to cut across functional
boundaries.
 SAP AG is the leading vendor of ERP systems.

Chapter 2 17
Enterprise Solutions Software
(Cont.)

Figure 2-3 Functional areas supported by Oracle’s Business Suite

Chapter 2 18
Application Service Provider (ASP)
 An organization that remotely
hosts and runs computer
applications for other companies,
typically on a per-use or license
basis.

Chapter 2 19
Application Service Provider (ASP)
(Cont.)
 Application service providers (ASPs)
buy, install, maintain, and upgrade
the applications.
 Application service providers (ASPs)
purchase or license applications from
other software vendors.

Chapter 2 20
Managed Service Provider (MSP)
 An organization that remotely
provides customized computer
applications and network-based
services for other companies for a
monthly or per-use fee.

Chapter 2 21
Managed Service Provider (MSP)
(Cont.)
 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
 Freely available including source code.
 Developed by a community of interested
people.
 Performs the same functions as
commercial software.
 Examples: Linux, mySQL, Firefox.

Chapter 2 23
In-House Development
 If sufficient system development expertise with
the chosen platform exists in-house, then some
or all of the system can be developed by the
organization’s own staff.
 Hybrid solutions involving some purchased and
some in-house components are common.

Chapter 2 24
In-House Development (Cont.)

Chapter 2 25
Off-the-Shelf Software
 Most common criteria for selecting:
 Cost: comparing the cost of
developing the same system in-house
with the cost of purchasing or
licensing the software package.

Chapter 2 26
Off-the-Shelf Software
 Functionality: the tasks that the
software can perform and the
mandatory, essential, and desired
system features.

Chapter 2 27
Off-the-Shelf Software (Cont.)
 Vendor support: whether or how
much support the vendor can
provide and at what cost.

Chapter 2 28
Off-the-Shelf Software (Cont.)
 Viability of vendor: can the
software adapt to changes in
systems software and hardware.

Chapter 2 29
Off-the-Shelf Software (Cont.)
 Flexibility:
how easy it is to
customize the software.
 Documentation: is the user’s manual
and technical documentation
understandable and up-to-date.

Chapter 2 30
Off-the-Shelf Software (Cont.)
 Response time: how long it takes the
software package to respond to the
user’s requests in an interactive
session.
 Ease of installation: a measure of
the difficulty of loading the software
and making it operational.

Chapter 2 31
Validating Purchased Software
Information
 Use a variety of information sources:
 Collect information from vendor.
 Software documentation.
 Technical marketing literature.

Chapter 2 32
Request For Proposal (RFP)
 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.

Chapter 2 33
Request For Proposal (RFP)
(Cont.)
 Sometimes called a Request For
Quote (RFQ).
 Based on vendor bids, analyst selects
best candidates.
 Use a variety of information sources.

Chapter 2 34
Information Sources For RFP
 Vendor’s proposal
 Running software through a series of tests
 Feedback from other users of the vendor’s
product
 Independent software testing services
 Articles in trade publications

Chapter 2 35
Reuse
 The use of previously written software
resources, especially objects and
components, in new applications.
 Commonly applied to two different
development technologies:
 Object-oriented
development
 Component-based development

Chapter 2 36
Reuse (Cont.)
 Commonly applied to two different
development technologies:
Object-oriented
development
Component-based development

Chapter 2 37
Reuse (Cont.)
 Object-oriented development
 Object class encapsulates data and behavior
of common organizational entities (e.g.
employees)
 Component-based development
 Components can be as small as objects or as
large as pieces of software that handle single
business functions.

Chapter 2 38
Reuse (Cont.)
 Object-oriented development
reuse is using object classes in
more than one application (e.g.
Employee).

Chapter 2 39
Reuse (Cont.)
 Component-based development
reuse is the assembly of an
application from many different
components at many different
levels of complexity and size (e.g.
Currency conversion).

Chapter 2 40
Costs and Benefits of Reuse

Chapter 2 © 2008 by Prentice Hall 41

Chapter 2 42
Approaches to Reuse (Cont.)
 Managed: the development, sharing, and
adoption of reusable assets is mandated.
 Designed: mandating assets be designed
for reuse as they are being designed for
specific applications.

Chapter 2 43
Approaches to Reuse (Cont.)

Chapter 2 44
Summary
 In this chapter you learned how to:
 Explain outsourcing.
 Describe six different sources of software.
 Discuss how to evaluate off-the-shelf
software.
 Explain reuse and its role in software
development.

Chapter 2 45