Week 9 Selecting the Best Alternative

Design Strategy & Developing a Dark Site

This lecture is based on materials in Essentials of Systems Analysis and Design by Valacich, George, and Hoffer and/or Information Systems Management In Practice 6E by McNurlin & Sprague and the summary slides available on their website. However, some material herein also represents the perspective of Gregory Rose of Washington State University. Where materials are taken verbatim from the textbook slides, they represent the views of the book and are copyrighted by the authors and the publisher. Where the sequence or content differ, the content is considered the work of Gregory Rose with all copyrights reserved.

Overview

Discuss two general concepts today1. How to come up with your criteria for

choosing between your 3 alternatives

2. What a dark site is for you to include in your project

Selecting the Best Alternative Design Strategy

Two basic steps1. Generate a comprehensive set of alternative design

strategies2. Select the one design strategy that is most likely to result in

the desired information system

Process Divide requirements into different sets of capabilities Identify different potential implementation environments

that could be used to deliver the different sets of capabilities

Propose different ways to source or acquire the various sets of capabilities for the different implementation environments

Selecting the Best Alternative Design Strategy

Deliverables1. At least three substantially different

system design strategies for creation or acquisition of the new information system

2. Criteria for selecting between your three

Selecting the Best Alternative Design Strategy

Three alternatives need to differCan differ by many characteristics; I offer three

1. Features2. Sourcing3. Legacy compatibility

If they don’t differ, they are not decision criteria but are requirements. You still need to go through this list to decide if you are going to go with a specific plan on each of these items or if you are going to select based on differences in them (ala the decision matrix)

Generating Alternative Design Strategies- by Features

Three alternatives by features Low-end

Provides all required functionality users demand with a system that is minimally different from the current system

High-end Solves problem in question and provides many

extra features users desire Midrange

Compromise of features of high-end alternative with frugality of low-end alternative

Drawing Bounds on Alternative Designs

Minimum RequirementsGoes by features and constraints, just like in decision matrix

1. Features Mandatory features versus desired features Forms of features

Data Outputs Analyses User expectations on accessibility,response time

and turnaround timeLow end needs to meet all minimum requirements. That is where you draw the bottom.

Drawing Bounds on Alternative Designs

2. Constraints on System Development Time Financial Contractual

Low end will meet every constraint. High end will push limits of many or most

Issues to Consider in Generating Alternatives

Besides features, three other issues to consider:

2. Sources of system

3. Legacy Hardware and Systems Software Issues

4. Implementation Issues May be that these issues were resolved in advance

of making feature-based alternatives (i.e., have static set and then differ on other factors)

-or- they may show up as defining differences between the three alternatives

-or- may be combination of any of these

Issues to Consider in Generating Alternatives -Sources of system

Two Sourcing Issues:

1. Inside vs. Outside

2. Customized vs. Off-the-Shelf Software

Sourcing Issues: Inside or OutsideOutsourcing The practice of turning over responsibility of some to all

of an organization’s information systems applications and operations to an outside firm

Why use? Can be cheaper because outsourcers offer economies of

scale Outsourcing firms typically maintain a high level of

technical expertise Frees up an organization to focus on its core mission

Issues to Consider in Generating Alternatives -Sources of system

Types of outsourcing for evaluation: Single outsourcer Transitional Best of breed outsourcing E-Business outsourcing (SaaS, ASPs, Cloud) Shared services (insourcing)

Issues to Consider in Generating Alternatives -Sources of system

IT outsourcing Single outsourcer Big bang (common pre-1990)

Sell IT assets to outsourcer Move personnel to outsourcer Get fixed costs off books and change to variable costs Outsourcers took loss for 2 years and then got economy of

scale to keep costs down Many problems with transition and culture shock of ex-

employees being treated like “temps”

Outsourcing Alternatives

Transitional outsourcing (common early 1990s) Single outsourcer Stopgap outsourcing for a one-shot specific need Example 1- Y2K Example 2- Need to transition to new tech frame

Two strategies: Outsource maintenance of legacy systems to

focus on building new systems in new frame (C/S or Internet)

Or outsource development of new frame while maintaining legacy and then transition with turnkey system

Outsourcing Alternatives

Best-of-breed outsourcing (common throughout 1990s) Multiple outsourcers Choose each outsourcer based on their expertise Alternatively, could be “collaborative outsourcing”

General contractor and subcontractor system

Outsourcing Alternatives

E-Business outsourcing Hosted off-site You don’t buy anything and it isn’t run by you Gets up fast and can basically share services with

multiple firms (ala a co-op) [note: this type of outsourcing is commonly provided

by a firm. Alternatively known as Software as a Service (SaaS), Cloud Computing, or an Application Service Provider (ASP)]

Outsourcing Alternatives

Shared services Insourcing within organization Across large organization, create centralized service

unit that deals with services of all sorts (like a spin off company that has its own management and autonomy and in some cases is legal corporate entity)

Specialties within types of service (like IT or mailroom or legal) have autonomous subunits within service unit

Insource group can subsequently outsource

Outsourcing Alternatives

Sourcing Issues: Customized or Off-the-Shelf SoftwareIf customized, who from?

Hardware manufacturers – sw integrated with hw for ease of integration and support

Packaged software producers – niche expertise + “alteration tailoring”

Custom software producers – “custom made suit” but may not know niche

Enterprise solution software – integrated software and data across firm

In-house development – firm retains org. learning; thus gains independence for maint. & support & future core competencies

Issues to Consider in Generating Alternatives -Sources of system

Sourcing Issues: Customized or Off-the-Shelf SoftwareCriteria for Choosing Off-the-Shelf Software (“as is” vs. customized) Functionality

Mandatory vs. desired Paying for someone else’s they don’t even want

Flexibility Ease of customization (4GL? APIs?)

Documentation User documentation Technical documentation

Ease of Installation

Issues to Consider in Generating Alternatives -Sources of system

Sourcing Issues: Customized or Off-the-Shelf SoftwareCriteria for Choosing Off-the-Shelf Software (“as is” vs. customized, cont.) Vendor Support

Installation? Training? Technical Support? Response Time?

Viability of Vendor Costs

Tangibles and intangibles (see above)…is it still a bargain after they factor these in? At what point is it cheaper to have it customized? Are they paying too much for functionality they don’t really need or want?

Issues to Consider in Generating Alternatives -Sources of system

Validating Off-the-Shelf Software Information Information from vendor Software evaluation period Customer references from vendor Independent software testing service Trade publications

Issues to Consider in Generating Alternatives -Sources of system

Existing Platform1. Lower costs2. Information system staff

is familiar with operation and maintenance

3. Increased odds of successfully integrating system with existing applications

4. No added costs of converting old systems to new platform or transferring data

New Hardware and System Software1. Some software

components will only run on new platform

2. Developing system for new platform gives organization opportunity to upgrade technology holdings

3. New requirements may allow organization to radically change its computing operations

3. Legacy Hardware and Systems Software Issues3. Legacy Hardware and Systems Software Issues

Issues to Consider in Generating Alternatives –Legacy Compatible

Part TwoOperations: Security and Disaster

Recovery

Will discuss what a dark site is You need to include in your project

Operations: Security and Disaster Recovery

Security and disaster recovery: they are really 2 sides of a coin.  One is how to prevent a problem and the other is how to recover from one.  Granted, security is not the only problem that can create the need for disaster recovery, but it is one of them.  Regardless of cause of disaster or discontinuity of service, you need a strategy for getting the IT services back in place. (see review questions 8.9, 8.12, and 8.14, as well as the discussion about post-9/11/01 thinking about disaster recovery planning).

Operations: Developing a Dark Site

Reasons for Crisis Management

Disaster Recovery

Digital Complaint Services

Strategic Planning

Developing a Dark Site - Reasons for Crisis Management

Dark site is a secret server set up to replace the regular server to display content in times of crisisHelp manage legal crisis in real time and on global basisUse to limit impact of emergencies & recallsCompanies turn them on (w/in 30 min) and contact the pressThey should have backups on CD to send to ISPs in emergency in case of problems with primary site

Developing a Dark Site - Disaster Recovery

If there is a defect or emergency, the dark site may contain confidential data (product or personal) that needs to go public fastCan also be used to counter misunderstanding & rumorGives consumers the company’s side of a story Alternatively, consumers will get details from other Web sites (in 1999 there were 20,000 links to www.flamingfords.com even though the issue was resolved in a 1995 recall)

Developing a Dark Site - Online Experience

Two outcomes of different responsiveness: Intel: Pentium chip bug and Pentium III

privacy PR disaster. Both handled badly and slowly and with expensive impacts

Odwalla: 90% of existing customers still willing to buy their product after E-coli outbreak. Had dark site up in 12 hours.

Developing a Dark Site – Example, Pilgrim’s Pride Lunchmeat (10/14/02)

First day of recall, site was given major overhaul to inform customers and soothe investor fears. Links clear on homepage

Developing a Dark Site - Strategic Planning

8 steps: Regular Risk Audit Identify and delegate responsibilities prior to crisis Keyword monitoring: can pay service to do this Develop crisis manual and put on Intranet Develop dark site Run crisis simulations (ala fire drills) Know who to contact in press and public ahead of time Maintain the above to be current

Developing a Offsite Recovery Plan

Offsite Recovery - not like a Darksite Need a plan how to keep company going if there is

a natural disaster at headquarters Contingency should include some offsite solution

that allows business operations to continue if main facilities are inaccessible or destroyed.