Chapter VII

Systems implementation and

Maintenance

1 Compiled Yilkal B.
 Chapter Outline
 System implementation

 Systems Maintaining information

systems

Compile2d Yilkal 2
B.
 Systems Implementation &
 During Operation
implementation and operation, physical design specifications must be
turned
into working computer code.
 Then the code is tested until most of the errors have been detected and corrected,
the system is installed, user sites are prepared for the new system, and users must
come to rely on the new system rather than the existing one to get their work done.
 The implementation and operation phase of the SDLC is the most expensive and
time consuming phase of the entire life cycle.
 This phase is expensive because so many people are involved in the process.
 It is time consuming because of all the work that has to be completed through the
entire life of the system.
 Systems implementation and operation is made up of seven major activities. These
coding, testing, installation, documenCtomatpiileodnY,ilktarl Ba.ining, support, and 3
are
 I. The Process of Coding, Testing, and
Installation
 Coding is the process where by the physical design specifications created by the design
team
are turned into working computer code by the programming team.
 Once coding has begun the testing process can begin and proceed in parallel.
 As each program module is produced, it can be tested individually then as part of a
larger program, and then as part of a larger system.
 Installation is the process during which the current system is replaced by the new
system.
 This includes conversion of existing data, software, documentation, and work procedures
to those consistent with the new system.
 The most obvious outcomes of this process are the code itself, but just as important as
the code is documentation of the code.
 The results of program and systemCompiled
testingYilkalare
B. important deliverables from the 4
 Cntd…
 The next two deliverables, user guides, and the user training plan, result from
the installation process.
 User guides provide information on how to use the new system, and the training
plan is
a strategy for training users so they can quickly learn the new system.
 Coding, testing and installationwork may be done by IS professionalsin
your organization, contractors, hardware designers, and increasingly users.
 Table 1 provides the main deliverables from this process.

Compiled Yilkal B. 5
 III. Documenting the system, Training users, and Support
users
 As the team is getting ready to move on to new projects, you and the other
analysts need to prepare documents that reveal all the important information you
have learned about this system during its development and implementation.
 There are two audiences for this final documentation:
(1) the information system personnel who will maintain the system throughout
its
productive life and
(2) the people who will use the system as part of their daily lives.
 Users documentation can be paper based, but it should also include computer-based
modules.
 The training plan should be supplemented by actual training modules or at
least outlines of such modules that at a minimum address questions like who
 Cntd…
 Finally, the development team should also deliver a user support plan that
address such issues how users will be able to find help once the information
system has become integrated into the organization.
 In table 2 presents the deliverables from documenting the system, training users
and supporting users .

Compiled Yilkal B. 5
 III. Maintaining Information System
 The process of maintaining an information system is the process of returning to
the beginning of the SDLC and repeating development steps, focusing on the
needs for system change, until the change is implemented.
 Four major activities occur with in maintenance.

1. Obtaining maintenance request.

2. Transforming requests into changes.

3. Designing changes.

4. Implementing changes.
 Obtaining maintenance request requires that a formal process be established where
by users can submit system change Compiled
request. Yilkal B. 5
 Cntd…
 Once a request is received, analysis must be conducted to gain an understanding of
the scope of the request. Next a change request can be transformed into a formal
design change, which can then be fed into the maintenance implementation phase.
 Finally, the SDLC phase implementation and maintenance equates to
implementing
changes.
 Because maintenance is basically a subset of the activities of the entire development
process.

 the deliverables and outcomes from the process are the development of a new version
of the software and new version of all design documents and training materials
developed or modified during the maintenance process.
including
 This the system
means itself,
that all representcreated
documents CtohmepildedeYliilkvaleBr.ables and outcomes ss 5
or modified during the maintenance
.
 Software Application Testing
 Testing software begins earlier in the SDLC, even though many of the actual
testing activities are carried out during implementation.
 During analysis, you develop an over all test plan.
 During design, you develop a unit test plan, an integration test plan and a system test
plan.
 During implementation, these various plans are put into effect and the actual testing
is performed.
 There are Seven Types of Different Tests
 Software application testing is an umbrella term that covers several types of tests.
 Tests can be done with or without executing the code and they may be manual
or
automated.
Compiled Yilkal B. 5

 Cntd…

1.Inspection: is a testing technique in which participants examine program code

for predictable language specific errors.
 Exactly what the code does is not investigated in an inspection.
 The inspectionprocesscan also be used to ensure that design
specifications are accomplished.
Compiled Yilkal B. 5
 Cntd…
2.Walkthrough: using structured walkthrough is a very effective method of
detecting errors in a code.
 Unlike inspection, what the code does is an important question in a
walkthrough.
 The purpose of walkthrough is to detect errors, not to correct them.
 It is the programmers job to correct the errors uncovered in a walkthrough.
3. Desk Checking: a testing techniquein which the program
code is sequentially
executed manually by the reviewer.
 In one sense, the reviewer acts as the computer, mentally checking each step and
its result for the entire set of computer instruction.
 Errors in syntax are uncovered butCtohmpeilecdoYdilkeal iBs. not 5
4. Syntax Checking: is typically done by a compiler.
 Cntd
… testing.
5. Unit Testing: it is sometimes called module
 In unit testing, each module (roughly a section of code that performs a single function) is
tested alone in attempt to discover any errors that may exist in the modules code.
6. Integrated Testing: the process of bringing together all of the modules that a program
comprises
for testing purpose.
 Modules are typically integrated in a top-down, incremental fashion.

7. System Testing: the bringing together of all the programs that a system comprises for
testing purpose.
 Programs are typically integrated in a top-down, incremental fashion.
 System testing is intended to demonstrate whether a system meets its objective.
 Stub Testing: a technique used in testing modules, especially where modules are written
and Compiled Yilkal B. 5
 Acceptance Testing by
User
 Once the system tests have been satisfactorily completed, the system is ready for
acceptance
testing, which is testing the system in the environment where it will eventually be used.
 The purpose of acceptance testing is for users to determine whether the system meets
their requirements.
 The most complete acceptance testing will include:

1) Alpha Testing: user testing of a completed information system using simulated

(false)
data.
The types of tests performed during alpha testing include:
 Recovery testing: forces the software (or environment) to fail in order to verify
that recovery is properly performed.
improper Compiled Yilkal B. 5
 Security testing: verifies that protection mechanisms built into the system will protect it
 Cntd…
 Stress testing: tries to break the system (e.g., what happens when a record is written
to the database with incomplete information or what happens under extreme
online transaction loads or with a large number of concurrent users).
 Performance testing: determines how the system performs on the range of
possible
environments in which it may be used.
- often the goal is have the system perform
with similar response time and other performance measures in
each environment.
2) Beta Testing: user testing of a completed information system using real data in the
real
user environment. Compiled Yilkal B. 5
 Installation
 It is the organizational process of changing over from the current information
system to the new one.
 Four different approaches to installation have emerged over years:
 Direct
 Parallel
 Single location
 Phased
 Each installation process involves getting workers to change the way they work.
 A such installation should be looked at not as simple installing a new computer
system,
but as an organizational change process.
Compiled Yilkal B. 5
 Documenting the
System
 There are two basic types of documentation.
1. System Documentation: detailed information about a systems design
specifications,
its internal workings, and its functionality.
 System documentation can be further divided into internal and
external documentation.
I. Internal Documentation a system documentation that is part of the program source
code or is generated at compile time.
II.External Documentation a system documentation that includes the outcome
structured diagramming techniques such as data flow and entity-relation ship
diagram.
2. User Documentation: written or other Cvisual information about an application 5
The documentation lists the item necessa r y t o p e r f o rm the task the out
o mp il ed Yi lk a l B .
system,
 Training and Supporting
Users
 Training and support are critical for the success of an information system.
 Training and support help people adequately use computer systems to do
their primary work.
 Without proper training and the opportunity to ask questions and
gain assistance/consultation when needed, users will misuse, under use, or
not use the information system you develop.
 Support is providing ongoing educational and problem-solving assistance
to information system users. Support material and jobs must be designed
along with the associated information system.

Compiled Yilkal B. 5
 Conducting System
 It is the process ofMaintenance
making changes to a system to fix or enhance its functionality.
 There are several types of maintenance that you can perform on an information
system.
1. Corrective Maintenance:
 refers to changes made to repair defects in the design, coding, or implementation of
the system.
 Corrective maintenance adds little or no value to the organization.
 it simply focuses on removing defects from an existing system without adding
new
functionality.
2.Adaptive Maintenance: : involves making changes to an information system to
evolve its functionality to changing business needs or to migrate it to a different operating
organizations maintenance effort but Cdoomepsilead dYidlkalvBa. lue to the 5
environment.
 Cntd
3. Perfective Maintenance: …
 involves makingenhancements to improve processing
performance, interface
usability, or to add desired, but not necessarily required system features.
 Many system professionalsfeel that perfectivemaintenanceis not
really
maintenance but new development.
4. Preventive Maintenance:
 involves changesmade to a system to reducethe chanceof future
system failure.
 Adaptive, perfective,and preventivemaintenance
activities can lead to corrective maintenance activities if not
End of chapter
Seven Any
Question?

Compiled Yilkal B. 21