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Instructor's Manual, Chapter 10 Management Information Systems, Second Canadian Edition 10-1

Chapter 10Systems Development

Teaching Objectives

Students should be able to answer the following questions:

1. How could developing a new system change the way an organization works?2. How can a company make sure that the new information systems it develops fit its

business plan? 3. What are the steps required to develop a new information system? 4. What alternative methods for developing information systems are available?5. Are there any techniques or systems development approaches to help us develop

electronic commerce (e-commerce) and electronic business (e-business) applications more rapidly?

Key Terms

The following alphabetical list identifies the key terms discussed in this chapter. The page number for each key term is provided.

Acceptance testing, 339 Postimplementation audit, 341Application software package, 344 Production, 340Automation, 330 Programming, 339Benchmarking, 335 Prototype, 343Business process reengineering, 331 Prototyping, 343Conversion, 340 Rapid application development (RAD), 349Critical success factors (CSFs), 328 Rationalization of procedures, 330Customization, 344 Request for Proposal (RFP), 345Direct cutover, 340 Six sigma, 334Documentation, 340 SOAP (Simple Object Access Protocol), 350End-user development, 345 Systems analysis, 336End-user interface, 344 Systems design, 337Enterprise analysis, 327 Systems development, 336Feasibility study, 337 Systems development life cycle, 342Information centre, 346 Systems testing, 339Information requirements, 337 Test plan, 339Information systems plan, 327 Testing, 339 Joint application design (JAD), 350 Total quality management (TQM), 334Maintenance, 341 Outsourcing, 346

UDDI (Universal Description, Discovery, and Integration), 350

Paradigm shift, 331 Unit testing, 339Parallel conversion strategy, 340 Phased approach, 340

WSDL (Web Services Description Language), 350

Pilot study, 340 Web services, 350Work flow management, 333

Copyright © 2005 Pearson Education Canada Inc.


Teaching Suggestions

This chapter provides students with an introduction to the methodology of systems development. While some of the techniques and methods are considered older or less satisfactory, students have a good chance of seeing these methods in the workplace. It is not a good idea to engage in a lengthy, philosophical discussion of the superiority of methods. However, it is a good idea to help students understand that there is no one best method, that each method is appropriate depending upon the situation and the requirements. You should remind students of the largest problems: It takes too long to develop systems, and they often do not work as intended. Of course, this is not always true, but developing systems is difficult and labour intensive. The point is to familiarize students with methods, which after all, are certainly better than no formal methods at all. The traditional systems development lifecycle methodology is usually only used for very large, complex systems. It is inflexible and does not allow easy changes at any step along the way. However, it can be effective for highly-structured systems such as accounting, payroll or complex manufacturing systems. Government defense or space systems often are mandated to use the system life cycle methodology because of the rigorous milestones generated by the method.

End-user development is a hot area. You may want to note that originally, personal computers and spreadsheets were attempts by end users to provide their own end-user tools to get around application backlogs. End-user computing is difficult to manage and support. However, if user needs are not met, they have a strong incentive to get around the rules and restrictions. Make sure you emphasize that whether the organization uses end-user development or some other approach, the purpose of the system is to serve the strategies of the company and the end users.

Both object-oriented software development and Web services are very important to the changes and advancements in developing information systems because they contribute significantly to faster, easier programming. You should review these terms and concepts with your students to help them see why they are important and see the growing trend toward simplification.

Change certainly should be a theme throughout the entire course. It takes a change agent to carry out major changes, such as business process reengineering. Business process reengineering is a good example of the problems that information systems can face. First, people react negatively to what they may view as a buzzword. Secondly, business process reengineering implies, probably correctly, that the organization is either not doing things correctly or that the environment has changed and the old ways will not work anymore. It takes some crises or changes in the environment to induce or engender the call for reengineering. ERP is often the computer enterprise incarnation of business process engineering.

An excellent way to reinforce the importance of this chapter is to share your favorite systems development horror stories with students. If you have the time, ask your students to review current literature to locate recent horror stories and then share their findings with the class, or ask your students who work to share their personal stories from their jobs.



“Window On” Boxes

Window on Management: Scotiabank Outsources with IBM

What issues would Scotiabank have considered during its due diligence review?

During its due diligence review, Scotiabank would have determined each company’s global expertise, current offering of technology services and solutions, and capability to provide security, privacy, and protected access to customer data and information. They were also interested in the outsourcing company’s commitment to providing both a diverse workplace and meaningful career opportunities for affected employees. Due diligence should also determine whether the companies are “ongoing concerns,” that is, whether they are likely to still be in business at the end of the contract.

What prompted Scotiabank to outsource some of its key information technology functions?

The main reason to outsource key information technology functions was that Scotiabank wanted to focus on their core business: delivering financial services.

Did Scotiabank outsource any strategic information technology functions?

Scotiabank did outsource at least one of its functions which could be viewed as either operational or strategic when it signed a contract with Sanchez Computer Associates Inc. to use their integrated banking platform to process mortgages and loans. This system supports mortgage processing, mortgage business integration, and front-end interfaces, all of which do provide a bank with certain level of strategic advantage.

Window on Technology: The Lure of Web Services

What are the benefits of using Web services technology?

The Window on Technology box identified several benefits for SGX and SembCorp Logistics. These benefits include cost savings, the ability of companies to communicate without having to modify their existing systems, device independence, reduced complexity, lower integration costs for the customer, more functionality and features, and”plug and play" architecture.

How can they provide value to firms?

Web services provide a set of standards that enable companies to communicate with each other without having to significantly modify their current software programs. In earlier times, one or both of the parties would have to write or rewrite their sytems so they could communicate. Using Web services alllows a company to reduce the complexity involved in linking to customers using different technology platforms without worrying about the delivery mechanism.



What management, organization, and technology issues must be addressed when implementing Web services?

Web services can impact the organization's people, structure, operating procedures, politics, and culture. Issues would address how the business processes will change, security, standards, and what services are offered. Ask your students to identify additional issues.

For Discussion Questions

1. Why is selecting a systems development approach an important business decision? Who should participate in the selection process?

The development of new systems or major enhancements to existing systems is often the result of significant changes made to the business processes supported by the systems. Organizations are being faced with the requirement to meet higher quality standards, but often with fewer resources. Basically, organizations need to do more with less and do it better. This trend forces organizations to find simpler and more efficient methods for performing their work. Usually the effort to simplify the business processes themselves precedes any major systems development effort. It is appropriate that the business processes be reviewed before systems work begins, to avoid the unfortunate mistake of simply automating existing cumbersome processes. Ideally, the efforts to simplify business processes will be done by the functional office in conjunction with technical personnel, so that current technology can be considered as the business processes are reviewed.

In some cases, particularly when a vendor package is selected for implementation, the simplification of business processes may occur during the systems development or installation process. One other issue is critical. A decision on the selection of a development approach often is dependent upon the system itself. A large, complex system simply cannot be done using a quick prototype method, for example. Part of the decision has to be how important the system is, and if it is important, what will be the quality of the system if a particular method is selected. Therefore, business and functional managers should participate in the decision along with IT personnel and managers.

2. Some have said that the best way to reduce system development costs is to use application software packages or fourth-generation tools. Do you agree? Why or why not?

Student views will likely vary because no simple, straightforward answer exists. The answer to this question is dependent upon the type of problem to be solved. For example, large transaction-heavy applications are not suited to end-user software tools. Also, remember that purchasing and installing an application software package or fourth-generation tool rather than developing a system from scratch might save significant time, and often significant resources, in terms of cost. However, there are many issues to consider when deciding whether to purchase a product or develop a custom system. The following guidelines help determine if the purchase of a vendor package should be considered:



Whether packages are available on the market that can satisfy at least 80 percent of the functional requirements of the system. While it may not be possible to find a package that exactly matches the specific functional requirements, if less than 80 percent of the requirements are satisfied, then the purchase of a package is likely to be more costly than custom development.

Whether available packages are compatible with the organization's current technical environment (or planned for installation in the immediate future).

Whether the overall cost of purchasing, installing, and maintaining a package will be no more than (and preferably less than) the cost of custom development and maintenance.

Whether or not the vendors for the packages have a proven track record of installation and support and can show evidence of financial stability (this is particularly critical for large systems).

Review Questions

1. Why can an information system be considered a planned organizational change?

An information system is a sociotechnical entity, an arrangement of both technical and social elements. Information systems change involves hardware and software, but in addition, it involves changes in jobs, skills, management, and organization. When we design a new information system, we are redesigning the organization, reordering its technical and social elements. This must be well thought out and planned in accordance with an appropriate methodology.

2. What are the major categories of an information systems plan?

The major categories of an information systems plan can be found in the MIS in Action, Manager’s Toolkit box. The major categories include Purpose of the Plan, Strategic Business Plan, Current Systems, New Developments, Management Strategy, Implementation Plan, and Budget Requirements.

3. How can enterprise analysis and critical success factors be used to establish organization-wide information system requirements?

Both approaches attempt to gain a clear understanding of the organization's long- and short-term information requirements. Both use interviews of managers to gain the information needed. And both rest ultimately on the strategy of the company.

Enterprise analysis approaches the problem by looking at the entire organization in terms of organizational units, functions, processes, and data elements. This approach takes a large sample of managers and asks them how they use information, where they get the information, what their environment is like, what their objectives are, how they make decisions, and what their data needs are. The data are aggregated into subunits, functions, processes, and data matrices. From



this information, conclusions are drawn about the organization-wide information systems requirements.

The CSF approach interviews a smaller number of top managers who are asked to identify their goals and the objectives essential to those goals. These critical success factors (CSFs) are aggregated to develop a picture of the overall organization's CSFs. Systems that are needed to deliver these critical success factors are then developed.

4. Describe each of the four kinds of organizational change that can be promoted with information technology.

Information technology enables automation, rationalization, reengineering, and paradigm shifts. Automation uses the computer to speed up the performance of existing tasks. This approach to organizational change changes the organization less than the other three. It may release staff to other jobs, reduce the number of employees needed, or enable the organization to process more transactions. Rationalization of procedures refers to the streamlining of standard operating procedures, eliminating obvious bottlenecks, so that automation makes operating procedures more efficient. By making such changes, rationalization can eliminate some tasks and enable the organization to make more changes than automation, but the organization still has not made changes in the goals or strategy of the company.

Business process reengineering refers to the radical redesign of business processes, combining steps to cut waste and eliminating repetitive, paper-intensive tasks in order to improve cost, quality, and services, and to maximize the benefits of information technology. This is a more powerful type of organizational change because an organization can use it to rethink and streamline its business processes and to improve speed, service, and quality. A paradigm shift is a radical reconceptualization of the nature of the business and the nature of the organization. The strategy of the business can be changed, and sometimes even the business the company is in.

5. What is business process reengineering? What steps are required to make it effective?

The textbook defines business process reengineering as the radical redesign of business processes, combining steps to cut waste and eliminate repetitive, paper-intensive tasks in order to improve cost, quality, and service, and to maximize the benefits of technology. Business process reengineering can be used to reshape how the organization carries out its business, even the nature of the business itself. The steps include developing the broad business vision and process objectives, identifying the processes to be redesigned, understanding and measuring the performance of existing processes, understanding the opportunities for applying information technology, and developing a prototype of the new process. Examine Figure 10-3 with the students to help them understand both the approach and the impact of business process reengineering.

6. What is the difference between systems analysis and systems design? What activities are involved in each?



Systems analysis is the analysis of the problem that the organization is trying to solve with an information system. It consists of defining the problem, identifying its causes, specifying solutions, and identifying the information requirements that must be met by a system solution. Systems design shows how the system will fulfill the information requirements specified in system analysis.

7. What are information requirements? Why are they difficult to determine correctly?

Information requirements involve identifying who needs what information, where, when, and how. They define the objectives of the new or modified system and contain a detailed description of the functions the new system must perform. Gathering information requirements is perhaps the most difficult task of the systems analyst, and faulty requirements analysis is a leading cause of systems failure and high systems development costs.

Information requirements are difficult to determine because business functions can be very complex and poorly defined. A manual system or a routine set of inputs and outputs may not exist. Procedures may vary from individual to individual, and users may disagree on how things are or should be done. Defining information requirements is a laborious process, requiring a great deal of research and often several reworks by the analyst.

8. Why is the testing stage of systems development so important? Name and describe the three stages of testing for an information system.

Testing is critical to the success of a system because it is the only way to ascertain whether the system will produce the right results. Three stages of information system testing are unit testing, system testing, and acceptance testing. Unit testing refers to separately testing or checking the individual programs. With system testing, the entire system as a whole is tested to determine whether program modules are interacting as planned. With acceptance testing, the system undergoes final certification by end users to ensure that it is ready for installation.

9. What role do programming, conversion, production, and maintenance play in systems development?

Programming translates the design specification into software, thus providing the actual instructions for the computer. Programming constitutes a smaller portion of the systems development cycle than design and perhaps even testing activities. Conversion is the process of changing from the old system to the new system. Production is the operation of the system once it has been installed and conversion is complete. The system will be reviewed during production by both users and technical specialists to determine how well it has met its original objectives and to decide whether any revisions or modifications are needed. Maintenance is modifications to hardware, software, documentation, or procedures to a production system to correct errors, meet new requirements, and improve processing efficiency.



10. What is the traditional systems development lifecycle? Describe each of its steps and its advantages and disadvantages for systems developing.

The traditional systems lifecycle is a formal methodology for managing the development of systems and is still the principal methodology for medium and large projects. The overall development process is partitioned into distinct stages, each of which consists of activities that must be performed to fashion and implement an information system. The stages are usually gone through sequentially with formal “sign-off” agreements among end users and data processing specialists to validate that each stage has been completed. Users, managers, and data processing staff have specified responsibilities in each stage. The approach is slow, expensive, inflexible, and is not appropriate for many small desktop systems.

The systems development lifecycle consists of systems analysis, systems design, programming, testing, conversion, and production and maintenance. Systems analysis is the phase where the problem that the organization is trying to solve is analyzed. Technical specialists identify the problem, gather information requirements, develop alternative solutions, and establish a project management plan. Business users provide information requirements, establish financial or operational constraints, and select the solution. During systems design, technical specialists model and document design specifications and select the hardware and software technologies for the solution. Business users approve the specifications.During the programming phase, technical specialists translate the design specifications into software for the computer. During the testing phase, technical specialists develop test plans and conduct unit, system, and acceptance tests. Business users provide test data and scenarios and validate test results.During the conversion phase, technical specialists prepare a conversion plan and supervise conversion. Business users evaluate the new system and decide when the new system can be put into production. During the production and maintenance phase, technical specialists evaluate the technical performance and perform maintenance. Business users use the system and evaluate its functional performance.

The advantages of using this method for developing information systems include it is highly structured; it has a rigorous and formal approach to requirements and specifications and tight controls over the system development process; it is appropriate for developing large transaction processing and management information systems and for developing complex technical systems. The disadvantages include it is very costly and time-consuming; it is inflexible and discourages change even though requirements will change during the project due to the long time this method requires; it is ill-suited to decision-oriented applications which can be rather unstructured and for which requirements may be difficult to define.

11. What do we mean by information system prototyping? What are its benefits and limitations? List and describe the steps in the prototyping process.

Information system prototyping is an explicitly interactive system design methodology that develops an experimental model of a system as a means of determining information requirements. Prototyping develops an experimental



system quickly and inexpensively for demonstration and evaluation so that users can better determine information requirements. Preliminary models of a system or important parts of the system are developed rapidly for users to experiment with. The prototype is modified and refined until it conforms precisely to what users want. Information requirements and design are determined dynamically as users interact with and evaluate the prototype.

Prototyping is most valuable when requirements are uncertain and cannot be entirely prespecified or when the appropriate design solution is unclear. Prototyping is especially helpful for designing end-user interfaces (screens and reports) and for determining elusive requirements of decision-support type applications. Prototyping can help reduce implementation costs by capturing requirements more accurately at an earlier point in the implementation process. It is not so useful for a very structured, well-understood, or routine problem.

It is best suited for smaller applications oriented toward simple data manipulation. Large systems with complex processing may only be able to have limited features prototyped. A prototype may be developed so rapidly that design is not well thought out or must be reworked for a production environment. The problem arises when the prototype is adopted as the production version of the system without careful analysis and validation. Prototypes are developed so rapidly that documentation and testing are glossed over. The system is so easily changed that documentation may not be kept up-to-date.

The steps in prototyping include identifying the user's basic requirements; developing a working prototype of the system outlined in the basic requirements, using the prototype, and revising and enhancing the prototype based on the users' reaction. The third and fourth steps are repeated until users are satisfied with the prototype.

12. What is an application software package? What are the advantages and disadvantages of developing information systems based on software packages?

An application software package is a set of prewritten, precoded application software programs that are commercially available for sale or lease. Packages range from very simple programs to very large and complex systems, encompassing hundreds of programs. Packages are normally used when functions are common to many companies, data processing resources, for in-house development, are in short supply, or when desktop microcomputer applications are being developed for end users.

Software packages provide several advantages: (1) the vendor has already established most of the design that may easily consume up to 50 percent of development time; (2) programs are pre-tested, cutting down testing time and technical problems; (3) the vendor often installs or assists in the installation of the package; (4) periodic enhancement or updates are supplied by the vendor; (5) vendors also maintain a permanent support staff well-versed in the package, reducing the need for individual organizations to maintain such expertise in-house, and (6) the vendor supplies documentation.



The usage of software packages has several disadvantages: (1) there are high conversion costs for systems that are sophisticated and already automated; (2) packages may require extensive customization or reprogramming if they cannot easily meet unique requirements, and (3) a system may not be able to perform many functions well in one package alone.

13. What do we mean by end-user development? What are its advantages and disadvantages? Name some policies and procedures for managing end-user development.

End-user development refers to the development of information systems by end users with minimal or no assistance from professional systems analysts or programmers. This is accomplished through sophisticated "user-friendly" software tools and gives end users direct control over their own computing.

Advantages include improved requirements determination, realizing large productivity gains when developing certain types of applications, enabling end users to take a more active role in the systems development process, many end-user systems can be used for prototyping, and some have new functions such as graphics, modelling, and ad hoc information retrieval.

Disadvantages include not being suited for large transaction-oriented applications or applications with complex updating requirements, standards for testing and quality assurance may not be applied, and proliferation of uncontrolled data and private information systems.

End-user development is suited to solving some of the backlog problem because the end users can develop their needed applications themselves. It is suited to developing low-transaction volume systems. End-user development is valuable for creating systems that access data for such purposes as analysis (including the use of graphics in that analysis) and reporting. It can also be used for developing simple data-entry applications.

Policies and procedures to manage end-user development include the following:

The organization must establish sufficient support facilities for end-user computing: information centers or distributed end-user computing centers.

Training and support should be targeted to the specific needs of those being trained.

End-user application development should not be allowed to be undertaken randomly but should be incorporated into the organization's strategic plan.

Management should develop controls over end-user computing in the following areas:

Cost justification of end-user information system project. Hardware and software standards for user-developed applications. Company-wide standards for microcomputers, word processing software,

database management systems, graphics software, and query and reporting tools.



Quality assurance reviews that specify whether the end-user systems must be reviewed by information systems and internal audit specialists.

Control for end-user developed applications covering testing, documentation, accuracy, and completeness of input and update, backup, recovery and supervision.

Critical applications that supply data to other important systems should be flagged and subjected to more rigorous standards.

14. What is outsourcing? Under what circumstances should it be used for developing information systems?

Outsourcing is the process of turning over an organization's computer centre operations, telecommunications networks, or applications development to external vendors who provide these services. Outsourcing is an option often considered when the cost of information systems technology has risen too high. Outsourcing is seen as a way to control costs or to develop applications when the firm lacks its own technology resources to do this on its own. It is seldom used for a system that is strategically important.

15. What is the difference between object-oriented software development and traditional systems development? What are the advantages of using object-oriented software development in developing systems?

The traditional structured methodology focuses on what the new system is intended to do and then develops the procedures and data to do it. Object-oriented development de-emphasizes system procedures and instead creates a model of a system composed of individual objects that combine data and procedures. The objects are independent of any specific system. These objects can then be placed into any system being developed that needs to make use of the data and functions. In addition, in traditional structured methodologies all work is done serially, with work on each phase begun only when the previous phase is completed. Object-oriented development theoretically allows simultaneous work on design and programming. These systems usually are easier to develop and more flexible. Moreover, any objects created this way are reusable for other programs.

16. What is rapid application development (RAD)? How can it help system developers?

RAD is a process for developing systems in a very short time period by using prototyping, fourth-generation tools, and close teamwork among users and systems specialists. RAD allows the creation of working software in a very short time through objects and automation of much of the code generation. Usually they depend on interfaces to databases.



17. What are Web services? How can they help firms develop and enhance their information systems?

Web services are software components that are deliverable over the Internet. They enable one application to communicate with another with no translation required. They allow this communication and sharing of data regardless of operating system, programming language, or client device. The benefit is the ease of enabling the exchange of data and the major savings that result when the traditional translations no longer have to be created or maintained.

Application Software Exercise

This is actually quite a challenging assignment and will take much longer to solve than the other Application Software exercises. Students will have to perform a systems analysis and then design a system solution using database software. They will need to identify information requirements and then map out entities, attributes, and relationships to guide the design of database tables. They will need to populate the database and generate queries and reports that satisfy management information requirements. This project should not be assigned unless students have the requisite database skills.

Ace’s customer information is primarily paper-based. There is valuable customer information in those paper records, but it is of little use to the company because it cannot be easily organized or analyzed. The company cannot easily find out which customer touch points are most effective, customer preferences in models or luxury options, or whether repeat customers or Subaru owners return again to become buyers. The dealership is wasting dollars by not being able to channel its advertising and promotions more precisely. By not fully understanding their customers, the overall business performance of both Ace and Subaru may be negatively impacted.

A new system with a database of customers and prospects could help Ace make better sales and marketing decisions. The system could help Ace find the most important sources of customers, better allocate advertising and promotional budgets, and identify trends in customer preferences and demographics. If Ace automated this information, it would be more useful to Subaru in helping it stock dealers’ inventory with models and options that are the most popular. The company could also have more accurate numbers on customer acquisition costs.

Key information requirements include: Identifying where potential customers are obtaining information about the

dealership Identifying repeat customers or Subaru owners Identifying prospects and buyers Identifying what car models and options customers are purchasing Identifying how much is being financed

Some organizational changes will be required. Sales associates will need to make sure that customer and prospect information has been entered into the database.



Managers will need to learn how to make use of the information in the database to help them run their dealership.

The solution file represents one of many alternative database designs that would satisfy Ace’s requirements. This particular design simplifies information on options to prevent the design from becoming too complicated for students. The base price of the car is assumed to be the list price. The total price paid by the customer is the list price (which includes the cost of luxury options) minus the discount offered by the dealer at the time of sale. A VIN number is used to identify the model of interest to the showroom visitor, which assumes that all models of interest to showroom visitors are actual vehicles with VIN numbers that are in dealer inventory. The VIN number of interest during the visit may not necessarily be the VIN number identifying the vehicle the customer actually purchased. The Customer_Prospect table contains information on both customers and prospects, including everyone who has visited the dealer, with customers identified when this table is joined to the Orders table.

Group Project

With three or four of your classmates, select a system described in this text that uses the Web. Examples might include the WestJet site in this chapter, the RadioShack Canada Web site in Chapter 9, or the Direct Wines Web site in Chapter 6. Review the Web site for the system you select. Use what you have learned from the Web site and the description in this book to prepare a report describing some of the design specifications for the system you select. Present your findings to the class.

Because Web systems play such a central role in today's information systems world, the purpose of this project is to give the students experience in evaluating a Web system and think through how well it meets IS requirements. After selecting the Web system, the groups should begin this project by developing a set of requirements they conclude the system will have met (strengths and weaknesses must be measured against some standards).

Students also need to ask hardware and operating system requirements questions, such as: What are the operating systems under which it will run? What are the minimum and optimal amounts of RAM needed and the minimum and optimal amounts of disk storage space required (including holding data)?

Finally, students need to examine the user interface with such questions as: Does it use or require a mouse? How many keystrokes are necessary to access a given function? Is it easy to learn? Is there an expert operating mode so that the expert will not need to go through a long series of menus to access a function?



Case Study – Albertans Get ASP Solution for HealthCare

1. Analyze the Internet and World Wide Web as a source of opportunities for Alberta Wellnet.

Students will have several reasons why the Internet and World Wide Web provide opportunities for the Alberta Wellnet project. In general, the Internet and World Wide Web provide a globally-accessible, redundant, high-speed network that can transmit any type of information securely, using the proper technology. If the Wellnet project was to use its own communications infrastructure, it would lose the benefits the Internet has to offer, and definitely cost millions of dollars more.

2. What additional Web-based systems not mentioned in the case do you think Alberta Wellnet could implement?

Students will come up with several Web-based systems that the Alberta Wellnet initiative could implement. Some example systems are:

A central repository for specialized information about newly-discovered diseases and problems.

First-aid services and instructions using the Web, in the form of an expert system.

Instant messaging service between doctors to allow the sharing of knowledge and expert advice when diagnosing or treating patients.

3. Do you think using the pilot conversion strategy helped Alberta Wellnet? How?

The pilot project had two goals: to prove the scalability and reliability of the Microsoft platform for handling mission-critical applications with an ASP delivery model in both urban and rural environments, and to demonstrate the value of such a model to physicians. Using the pilot conversion strategy helped to prove the viability of the project, work out any problems that may occur on a large scale rollout, and acclimatize the users to this new information system.

4. Was the ASP model a good way to implement the practice management application? Would a different model, such as in-house development, have worked as well? Why, or why not?

Student answers will vary for this question. Implementing the practice management application using an ASP model provided an end-to-end managed solution, which eliminates many of the technological barriers at clinics. It also replaces the costly one-time investment with an affordable monthly subscription fee. The ASP system from Microsoft provided a scalable architecture that can easily and remotely handle large numbers of concurrent users, saving both time and money. In addition to losing all the benefits of the ASP service model, in-house development would require permanent expert staff, in-house development and maintenance teams, and require clinic to implement expensive technological solutions.



5. What are the management, organization, and technology issues that Alberta Wellnet need to consider in implementing its ASP solution? The Pharmaceutical Information Network? The human resources and payroll systems? Are these all the same issues for each system?

The number of management, organization, and technology issues that the implementers of these systems needed to consider is limitless. Students will come up with several different types of concerns, ranging from privacy, security, efficiently, vendor trustworthiness, and human acceptance. In general, the issues seem to be very similar between the different systems, since all initiatives involve ASP models. Some key issues to concern are:

Alberta Wellnet: maintaining high speeds and connectivity, security concerns, scalability, and physician acceptance.

Pharmaceutical Information Network: protection of client medical information, non-repudiation mechanisms, and employee training.

Human Resource and Payroll Systems: privacy of employee information, security, and error checking and correction.


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