Chapter 08

System Operation & Support

Learning Objectives
• Know various types of maintenance and
its functions.
System Operation & Support
• Operation
– System in operation until it cannot provide any useful functions to
the users anymore.
– Users use the system to help them perform their works.
• IT personnel provide supports :
– Users face some problems while using the system
– New employees need to learn how to use the system
– Changes due to organization grows and expand
• Source of supports (maintenance) :
– In-house
– Vendors
• Forms of support : user training, help desks, and
automated support
1. User Support – User Training
• Teach existing users to use new system
• Teach new employees
• System undergone changes or
enhancement
– If changes are major – formal training
– If changes are minor - e-mail support,
training manual supplements, user guides,
online help facilities and special training
Web site.
 2. User Support – Help Desks
• Manned by some IT personnel
• Help the users in various ways :
– Answer operational or technical questions posed by the users
– Teach users how use to system to meet their information needs
– Teach users how to use system resources in more effective
manner
• Differentiated from Maintenance
– Help desk - provide assistance to the users to be more
effective in performance of their jobs and lead the users
solving problems for themselves
– Maintenance - aims to provide continuous and uninterrupted
supply of computer resources to the users.
• Help desks personnel. Strong technical and interpersonal
skills, solid understanding of the business, well trained for
the new system.
3. User Support – Automated Support
• Forms : manual (face-to-face), on-line support, outside
vendors, or by internal IT staff.
• Purpose : more supports moved online and automated to cut
cost of providing support
• Examples : e-mail responses, FAQs, bulletin boards, automated
voice mail, and online help facilities.
• On-line support forums. Allow users access to information on
bugs, their new product releases, and tips for more effective
usage of system. Online services over company intranets.
• Online chat rooms. Eg. Blackboard, popularly used in
universities and colleges to help deliver online courses and to
allow students and lecturers to meet online.
• Online knowledge. Technical and support information about
vendor products and information for on-site personnel to use in
solving problems. Some vendors allow users to access some of
these information.
• Voice-response systems. Allow users to search for some pre-
recorded messages on various issues, such as, usage,
problems and solutions. These messages are also called
podcasts.
 Maintenance
• Maintenance activities include:
– Changing program, procedure or documentation
to ensure correct system performance.
– Adapting the system to changing requirements.
– Making the system operate more efficiently, and
– Prevent system failure.
• Maintenance expenses usually are high when a
system is implemented because problems must be
detected, investigated and corrected.
4 Types / Purposes of
Maintenance
 1. Perfective (Changes in User
Requirements)
• Meaning :
– To cope with users’ new requirements due to changing
business requirements (eg. new markets, new information
required, new technologies)
– To improve software usability, performance and functionality.
• Examples:
– Exploit new technologies – that was not available when the
system was developed. For example, to provide an online link
using Internet order entries.
– Improve performance of system – eg. replacing existing codes
to more efficient codes.
– Meet users’ new requirements – eg. add new features or
reports.
– Improve user interface – eg. use GUI
1. Perfective (Changes in User
Requirements)
• Examples
– Improve the layouts of some reports produced in
an inventory system.
– Enhance the usability of the interface (to make the
system easier to use).
– Re-writing the inventory control system to speed
up its operation.
– Installing a new and larger server so as to support
increased number users and improving response
time.
– Increase the memory space of a system in order to
improve its speed of processing.
2. Corrective (Correction of Errors)
• Meaning
– To fix bugs or faults (in programs) which are unforeseen
and arise during operation.
– To keep the programs working correctly.
• Examples
– Diagnose and fix logic errors or program code.
– Data file corruption in the live system. Values on a data
file may be corrupted by unexpected or illegal termination
of the system (eg. power failure)
– Update drivers
– Restore proper configuration settings
– Replace defective network cabling
3. Adaptive (Changes in Computer and
Business Environment)
• Meaning
– To adapt the system to meet the changing environment :
• business environment (eg. new regulatory requirements)
• computer environment (eg. hardware or software
changes such as a change of OS)
• Examples
– Changes in employment law
– New systems will be added eg. OS, hardware, DBMS
– Add new online capability due to business environment
changes
– Create new reports due to business environment changes
– Add new data entry field to input screen due to business
environment changes
– Install links to Web site due to business environment
changes
4. Preventive
• Involves changes made to a system to reduce the
chance of future system failure.
• Example of preventive maintenance tasks:
– Install new antivirus software.
– Develop standard backup schedule.
– Implement regular defragmentation process.
– Tighten all cable connections.
 The Cost of Maintenance
• Information system maintenance costs are
a significant expenditure.
• Maintenance costs is significantly very
high up to up 80% of the total life cycle
costs.
 The Cost Maintenance
1. The ease with which software can be understood, corrected,
adapted and enhanced.
2. Numerous factors influence the maintainability of a system:

Number of latent defect

• Refers to the number of unknown errors existing in the system after
it is installed.
• If there are no errors in the system after it is installed, then
maintenance costs will be relatively low.
• If there are a larger number of defects in the system when it is
installed, maintenance costs will likely be high.

Number of users accessing the system

• The greater the number of users, the greater the maintenance costs.
• If only one user using the system, this mean the problem and
change requests will only from one source.

Quality of documentation
• A well-documented and well-structured program or system is much
easier to understand and fix the errors.
The End