C HAPTER 20 Systems Design, Implementation, and Operation © 2008 Prentice Hall Business Publishing Accounting Information Systems, 11/e Romney/Steinbart of 173 INTRODUCTION • Questions to be addressed in this chapter include: – What are the activities that take place in the conceptual design phase of the systems development life cycle (SDLC)? – What activities take place in the physical systems design phase? – What happens during the systems implementation and conversion process? – What activities occur in the systems operation and maintenance process? © 2008 Prentice Hall Business Publishing Accounting Information Systems, 11/e Romney/Steinbart of 173 INTRODUCTION • Accountants must understand the entire systems development process, because they are involved in several ways: – Helping to specify their needs – As members of the development team – As auditors after the fact • Accountants also help keep the project on track by: – Evaluating and measuring benefits – Measuring costs – Ensuring the project stays on schedule © 2008 Prentice Hall Business Publishing Accounting Information Systems, 11/e Romney/Steinbart of 173 INTRODUCTION • Effective systems analysis and design can ensure that developers: – Correctly define the business problem – Design the appropriate solution © 2008 Prentice Hall Business Publishing Accounting Information Systems, 11/e Romney/Steinbart of 173 INTRODUCTION • The crucial phases of the SDLC include: – Systems analysis to define the new systems requirements (discussed in Chapter 18) – The phases discussed in this chapter, which include: • • • • Conceptual systems design Physical systems design Systems implementation and conversion Operation and maintenance © 2008 Prentice Hall Business Publishing Accounting Information Systems, 11/e Romney/Steinbart of 173 INTRODUCTION • The crucial phases of the SDLC include: – Systems analysis to define the new systems requirements (discussed in Chapter 18) – The phases discussed in this chapter, which include: • • • • Conceptual systems design Physical systems design Systems implementation and conversion Operation and maintenance © 2008 Prentice Hall Business Publishing Accounting Information Systems, 11/e Romney/Steinbart of 173 CONCEPTUAL SYSTEMS DESIGN • In the conceptual systems design phase, a general framework is created for implementing user requirements and solving the problems identified in the analysis phase • The three main steps are: – Evaluate design alternatives – Prepare design specifications – Prepare the conceptual systems design report © 2008 Prentice Hall Business Publishing Accounting Information Systems, 11/e Romney/Steinbart of 173 Conceptual Systems Design Evaluate Design Alternatives Systems Analysis Prepare Design Specifications Prepare Conceptual Systems Design Report Physical Design Implementation and Conversion Operation and Maintenance © 2008 Prentice Hall Business Publishing Accounting Information Systems, 11/e Romney/Steinbart of 173 Systems Analysis Evaluate Design Alternatives Prepare Design Specifications Prepare Conceptual Systems Design Report Physical Design Implementation and Conversion Operation and Maintenance © 2008 Prentice Hall Business Publishing Accounting Information Systems, 11/e Romney/Steinbart of 173 CONCEPTUAL SYSTEMS DESIGN • Evaluating design alternatives – There are many design decisions that must be made For example: • Should a document be hard-copy or sent by EDI? • Should the company use a large centralized mainframe or some form of distributed processing? • What form should data entry take, e.g., keyboard, optical character recognition, POS devices? © 2008 Prentice Hall Business Publishing Accounting Information Systems, 11/e Romney/Steinbart 10 of 173 OPERATIONS AND MAINTENANCE • Factors and questions include: – Goals and objectives – Satisfaction – Benefits • Were the expected benefits achieved? © 2008 Prentice Hall Business Publishing Accounting Information Systems, 11/e Romney/Steinbart 158 of 173 OPERATIONS AND MAINTENANCE • Factors and questions include: – Goals and objectives – Satisfaction – Benefits – Costs • Are actual costs in line with expected costs? © 2008 Prentice Hall Business Publishing Accounting Information Systems, 11/e Romney/Steinbart 159 of 173 OPERATIONS AND MAINTENANCE • Factors and questions include: – Goals and objectives – Satisfaction – Benefits – Costs – Reliability • Has the system failed, and if so, why? © 2008 Prentice Hall Business Publishing Accounting Information Systems, 11/e Romney/Steinbart 160 of 173 OPERATIONS AND MAINTENANCE • Factors and questions include: – Goals and objectives – Satisfaction – Benefits – Costs – Reliability – Accuracy • Does the system produce accurate and complete data? © 2008 Prentice Hall Business Publishing Accounting Information Systems, 11/e Romney/Steinbart 161 of 173 OPERATIONS AND MAINTENANCE • Factors and questions include: – Goals and objectives – Satisfaction – Benefits – Costs – Reliability – Accuracy • Does the system produce timely information? – Timeliness © 2008 Prentice Hall Business Publishing Accounting Information Systems, 11/e Romney/Steinbart 162 of 173 OPERATIONS AND MAINTENANCE • Factors and questions include: – Compatibility • Are hardware, software, data, and procedures compatible with existing systems? © 2008 Prentice Hall Business Publishing Accounting Information Systems, 11/e Romney/Steinbart 163 of 173 OPERATIONS AND MAINTENANCE • Factors and questions include: – Compatibility – Controls and security • Are there safeguards against unintentional errors, fraud, and intrusion? © 2008 Prentice Hall Business Publishing Accounting Information Systems, 11/e Romney/Steinbart 164 of 173 OPERATIONS AND MAINTENANCE • Factors and questions include: – Compatibility – Controls and security – Errors • Are there adequate error-handling procedures? © 2008 Prentice Hall Business Publishing Accounting Information Systems, 11/e Romney/Steinbart 165 of 173 OPERATIONS AND MAINTENANCE • Factors and questions include: – Compatibility – Controls and security – Errors – Training • Are systems personnel and users adequately trained? © 2008 Prentice Hall Business Publishing Accounting Information Systems, 11/e Romney/Steinbart 166 of 173 OPERATIONS AND MAINTENANCE • Factors and questions include: – Compatibility – Controls and security – Errors – Training – Communications • © 2008 Prentice Hall Business Publishing Is the communications system adequate? Accounting Information Systems, 11/e Romney/Steinbart 167 of 173 OPERATIONS AND MAINTENANCE • Factors and questions include: – Compatibility – Controls and security – Errors • Are structural changes that resulted from the system – Training beneficial or harmful? • If harmful, how can they be resolved? – Communications – Organization changes © 2008 Prentice Hall Business Publishing Accounting Information Systems, 11/e Romney/Steinbart 168 of 173 OPERATIONS AND MAINTENANCE • Factors and questions include: – Compatibility – Controls and security – Errors – Training – Communications • Is documentation complete and accurate? – Organization changes – Documentation © 2008 Prentice Hall Business Publishing Accounting Information Systems, 11/e Romney/Steinbart 169 of 173 OPERATIONS AND MAINTENANCE • Any problems discovered during the review should be brought to management’s attention, and adjustments should be made • When the review is complete, a postimplementation review report is prepared • User acceptance of that report is the final activity in systems development © 2008 Prentice Hall Business Publishing Accounting Information Systems, 11/e Romney/Steinbart 170 of 173 OPERATIONS AND MAINTENANCE • Control of the AIS is then passed to the data processing department • But the work is not done – About 30% of the work takes place during development – The remaining 70% is spent in maintaining the system—particularly with respect to software modifications and updates © 2008 Prentice Hall Business Publishing Accounting Information Systems, 11/e Romney/Steinbart 171 of 173 SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS • You’ve learned in more depth about the activities that take place in the conceptual design phase of the systems development life cycle (SDLC) • You’ve also learned about activities that take place in the physical systems design phase • You’ve explored what happens during the systems implementation and conversion process • Finally, you’ve learned about the activities in the last phase of the systems development life cycle —the systems operation and maintenance process © 2008 Prentice Hall Business Publishing Accounting Information Systems, 11/e Romney/Steinbart 172 of 173 ... conceptual systems design report © 200 8 Prentice Hall Business Publishing Accounting Information Systems, 11/e Romney/ Steinbart of 173 Conceptual Systems Design Evaluate Design Alternatives Systems. .. controls © 200 8 Prentice Hall Business Publishing Accounting Information Systems, 11/e Romney/ Steinbart 41 of 173 Systems Analysis Physical Systems Design Output Design Conceptual Systems Design... devices? © 200 8 Prentice Hall Business Publishing Accounting Information Systems, 11/e Romney/ Steinbart 10 of 173 CONCEPTUAL SYSTEMS DESIGN • Also, there are many ways to approach the systems development