Chapter 10

Systems Operation and Support

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Phase Description Systems Operation and Support is the final

phase in the systems development life cycle (SDLC)

During the systems operation and support phase, you will be supporting a functioning information system, and you will be alert to any signs of system obsolescence, which would indicate that the system has reached the end of its useful life

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Chapter Objectives Explain how the systems operation and

support phase relates to the rest of the system development process

Describe user support activities, including user training and help desks

Discuss the four main types of system maintenance: corrective, adaptive, perfective, and preventive

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Chapter Objectives Explain techniques for managing systems

operation and support, including maintenance teams, maintenance request procedures, configuration management, maintenance releases, version control, and baselines

Describe techniques for managing system performance, including performance and workload measurement, and capacity planning

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Chapter Objectives

List factors indicating that a system has reached the end of its useful life

Assess future challenges and opportunities that IT professionals will face as technology continues to reshape the workplace

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Introduction Now that the system is operational, the

real test begins. The key question is whether or not the system meets user expectations and provides support for business objectives

Systems must be maintained and improved continuously to meet changing business demands, and users constantly require assistance

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Overview of Systems Support and Maintenance

The systems operation and support phase begins when a system becomes operational and continues until the system reaches the end of its useful life

After delivering the system, the analyst has two other important tasks: he or she must support users and provide necessary maintenance to keep the system operating properly

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User Support Activities User Training

You already are familiar with initial user training that is performed when a new system is introduced

In addition, new employees must learn how to use the company’s information systems

User training package Training users about system changes

is similar to initial training

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User Support Activities Help Desk

Also called information center (IC)

Enhance productivity and improve utilization of a company’s information resources

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User Support Activities

Help Desk Might have to perform the following

tasks: Show a user how to create a data query or

report that displays specific business information

Resolve network access or password problems Demonstrate an advanced feature of a system

or a commercial package Help a user recover damaged data

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User Support Activities Help Desk

In addition to functioning as a valuable link between IT staff and users, the help desk is a central contact point for all IT maintenance activities

Interactive support also can be delivered in the form of an online chat

Virtual Classroom

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Maintenance Activities

The systems operation and support phase is an important component of TCO (total cost of ownership) because ongoing maintenance expenses can determine the economic life of a system

Operational costs Maintenance expenses Maintenance activities

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Maintenance Activities Four types of maintenance tasks can

be identified Corrective maintenance Adaptive maintenance Perfective maintenance Preventive maintenance

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Maintenance Activities

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Maintenance Activities

Corrective Maintenance Diagnoses and corrects errors in an

operational system You can respond to errors in various

ways, depending on nature and severity of the problem

For more serious situations, a user submits a systems request with supporting evidence

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Maintenance Activities Adaptive Maintenance

Adds enhancements to an operational system and makes the system easier to use

The procedure for minor adaptive maintenance is similar to routine corrective maintenance

Can be more difficult than new systems development because the enhancements must work within constraints of an existing system

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Maintenance Activities Perfective Maintenance

Involves changing an operational system to make it more efficient, reliable or maintainable

Can improve system reliability Cost-effective during the middle of the

system’s operational life Two techniques you can use in perfective

maintenance are reverse engineering and reengineering

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Maintenance Activities Preventative Maintenance

Reverse engineering includes changes to an operational system that reduce the possibility of future problems

Preventive maintenance requires analysis of areas where trouble is likely to occur

Competes for IT resources along with other projects, and sometimes does not receive the high priority that it deserves

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Managing Systems Operation and Support

During this phase, companies use various strategies, which can include a maintenance team, a process for managing maintenance requests and priorities, a configuration management process, and a maintenance release procedure

In addition, firms can use version control and baselines to track system releases and analyze the system’s life cycle

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Managing Systems Operation and Support

Maintenance Team Analysis Synthesis Some organizations that have separate

maintenance and new systems groups rotate people from one area to the other

One disadvantage of rotation is that it increases overhead costs

The training value of maintenance work outweighs the other factors

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Managing Systems Operation and Support

Managing Maintenance Requests System administrator Step 1: maintenance request Step 2: initial determination Step 3: final disposition of the request Step 4: assignment of maintenance

tasks Step 5: user notification

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Managing Systems Operation and Support

Managing Maintenance Requests

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Managing Systems Operation and Support

Establishing Priorities Systems review committee separates

maintenance requests from new systems development requests when evaluating requests and setting priorities

Many believe that evaluating projects together leads to the best possible decisions

Neither approach guarantees an ideal allocation between maintenance and new systems development

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Managing Systems Operation and Support

Configuration Management Configuration management (CM) As enterprise-wide information systems grow

more complex, configuration management becomes critical

Most maintenance projects require documentation changes

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Managing Systems Operation and Support

Maintenance Releases Maintenance release methodology Maintenance release A numbering pattern distinguishes the

different releases Reduces the documentation burden But new features or upgrades are available

less often Service packs

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Managing Systems Operation and Support

Version Control Version control is the process of tracking

system releases Systems librarian Many companies use software such as

Merant’s PVCS Version Manager

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Managing Systems Operation and Support

Baseline The three types of baselines are: Functional baseline Allocated baseline Product baseline

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Managing System Performance

A system’s performance directly affects users who rely on it to perform their job functions

To ensure satisfactory support for business operations, the IT department monitors current system performance and anticipates future needs

Benchmark testing

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Managing System Performance

Capacity Planning Most important, you need an accurate

forecast of future business activities If new business functions or

requirements are predicted, you should develop contingency plans based on input from users and management

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System Obsolescence Even with solid support, at some

point every system becomes obsolete Signs:

The system’s maintenance history indicates that adaptive and corrective maintenance is increasing steadily.

Operational costs or execution times are increasing rapidly, and routine perfective maintenance does not reverse or slow the trend

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System Obsolescence Signs:

A software package is available that provides the same or additional services faster, better, and less expensively than the current system

New technology offers a way to perform the same or additional functions more efficiently

Maintenance changes or additions are difficult and expensive to perform

Users request significant new features to support business requirements

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System Obsolescence Systems operation and support

continues until a replacement system is installed

At some point in a system’s operational life, maintenance costs start to increase, users begin to ask for more features and capability, new systems requests are submitted, and the SDLC begins again

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Facing the Future: Challenges and Opportunities

The only thing that is certain about the future is continuous change

Change itself is neither good nor bad — the real issue is how people and companies deal with the challenges and opportunities that are bound to occur

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Facing the Future: Challenges and Opportunities

Predictions It is clear that companies will continue to face

intense competition and global change, especially in the wake of economic, social, and political uncertainty

Although disruptions will occur, technology advances will spur business growth and productivity

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Facing the Future: Challenges and Opportunities

Predictions It is interesting to note that some firms, such as

ZONAR Corporation, believe that computer systems eventually will become so powerful and user-friendly that people will create information applications easily and without technical assistance

What does seem clear is that the future world of IT must be envisioned, planned, and created by skilled professionals

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Strategic Planning for IT Professionals

An IT professional should think of himself or herself as a business corporation that has certain assets, potential liabilities, and specific goals

Working backwards from your long-term goals, you can develop intermediate mile-stones and begin to manage your career just as you would manage an IT project

Planning a career is not unlike planting a tree that takes several years to reach a certain height

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IT Credentials and Certification

Credentials Certification Many IT industry leaders offer

certification, including Cisco, Microsoft, Novell, Oracle, and Sun Microsystems

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Chapter Summary

Systems operation and support covers the entire period from the implementation of an information system until the system no longer is used

A systems analyst’s primary involvement with an operational system is to manage and solve user support requests

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Chapter Summary A maintenance team consists of one or

more systems analysts and programmers Systems analysts need the same talents

and abilities for maintenance work as they use when developing a new system

Configuration management is necessary to handle maintenance requests

System performance measurements include response time, bandwidth, throughput, and turnaround time

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Chapter Summary All information systems eventually

become obsolete An IT professional should have a strategic

career plan that includes long-term goals and intermediate milestones

An important element of a personal strategic plan is the acquisition of IT credentials and certifications that document specific knowledge and skills

Chapter 10 Complete