Phase 5 of the SDLC focuses on systems operation and support after a new system is implemented. This involves providing user training and support through an information center, as well as performing three types of maintenance: corrective maintenance to fix errors, adaptive maintenance to enhance the system, and perfective maintenance to improve efficiency. The overall costs include both fixed operational costs and varying maintenance costs over the system's lifetime.

1. SYSTEMS ANALYSIS & DESIGN
PHASE 5
SYSTEMS OPERATION & SUPPORT
Systems Operation and Support

2. PHASE 5
2
SDLC Phases
Phase 5: Systems Operation and Support
Objectives
Provide maintenance and improvements for the
new information system
Support users and help them obtain the most
value from the new system
SYSTEMS ANALYSIS & DESIGN 3E

3. PHASE 5
3
Chapter 12
Systems Operation and Support
SYSTEMS ANALYSIS & DESIGN 3E

4. PHASE 5
4
Objectives
Explain how the systems operation and
support phase relates to the rest of the SDLC
Describe the information center concept and
how it supports user needs
Discuss the three main categories of systems
maintenance
Describe standard maintenance procedures
SYSTEMS ANALYSIS & DESIGN 3E

5. PHASE 5
5
Objectives
Discuss the role of configuration management
in systems operation
Describe the process of capacity planning,
including workload and performance
measurements
Recognize the signs of system obsolescence
SYSTEMS ANALYSIS & DESIGN 3E

6. PHASE 5
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Introduction
The new system must meet user expectations
and provide support for business objectives
Systems analysts perform maintenance, and
also act as internal consultants to help users
obtain the greatest value from the system
The more a system is used, the more features
and enhancements are requested, and the
more maintenance is required
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7. PHASE 5
7
Introduction
Chapter topics
Three types of maintenance: corrective,
adaptive, and perfective
Support techniques include maintenance teams,
configuration management, and maintenance
releases
System performance issues
CASE maintenance tools
Recognizing system obsolescence
SYSTEMS ANALYSIS & DESIGN 3E

8. PHASE 5
Overview of Systems Support and 8
Maintenance Activities
The systems operation and support phase
begins when the system becomes operational
and ends when the system is replaced
SYSTEMS ANALYSIS & DESIGN 3E

9. PHASE 5
Overview of Systems Support and 9
Maintenance Activities
After delivering the system, the analyst must
perform two tasks
Provide guidance and user training
Formal training sessions
Technical support
Creation of a centralized information center
Perform necessary maintenance
Keep the system operating properly
Increase its value to users
SYSTEMS ANALYSIS & DESIGN 3E

10. PHASE 5
10
Support Activities
User training and assistance
Current employees are trained when the new
system is introduced
New employees typically are trained by user
departments, rather than IS staff
If significant changes take place, the IS group
might develop a user training package
Special Help via e-mail or company intranet
Revisions to the user guide
Training manual supplements
Formal training sessions
Click to see Figure 12-1
SYSTEMS ANALYSIS & DESIGN 3E Package

11. PHASE 5
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Support Activities
Information centers
An information center has three main objectives
To help people use system resources more
effectively
To provide answers to technical or
operational questions
To make users more productive by teaching
them how to meet their own information
needs
An information center also is called a help desk
Click to see Figure 12-2
SYSTEMS ANALYSIS & DESIGN 3E Package

12. PHASE 5
12
Support Activities
Information centers
Typical information center tasks
Show a user how to create a data query or
report
Demonstrate an advanced system feature
Help a user recover damaged data
Offer tips for better operation
Explain an undocumented software feature
Show a user how to write a macro
Explain how to access the company’s
intranet or the Internet
SYSTEMS ANALYSIS & DESIGN 3E

13. PHASE 5
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Support Activities
Typical information centers tasks
Assist a user in developing a simple database
Answer questions about software licensing
and upgrades
Provide information about system
specifications
Recommend a system solution that integrates
data from different locations
An information center also monitors
performance and provides support
Click to see Figure 12-3
SYSTEMS ANALYSIS & DESIGN 3E Package

14. PHASE 5
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Maintenance Activities
The overall cost of a system includes the
systems operation and support phase
Costs include fixed operational costs and
maintenance activities
Operational costs are relatively constant,
while maintenance costs vary over time
High costs when system is implemented
Relatively low costs during system’s useful life
High costs near end of system’s useful life
Click to see Figure 12-4
Package
Click to see Figure 12-5
SYSTEMS ANALYSIS & DESIGN 3E Package

15. PHASE 5
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Maintenance Activities
Operational costs
Supplies
Equipment rentals
Software leases
Maintenance activities
Changing programs, procedures, or
documentation to ensure correct performance
Adapting the system to changing requirements
Making the system operate more efficiently
SYSTEMS ANALYSIS & DESIGN 3E

16. PHASE 5
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Maintenance Activities
Three types of maintenance
Corrective maintenance
To fix errors
Adaptive maintenance
To add new capability and enhancements
Perfective maintenance
To improve efficiency
SYSTEMS ANALYSIS & DESIGN 3E

17. PHASE 5
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Maintenance Activities
Corrective maintenance
Diagnoses and corrects errors in the system
Investigation, analysis, design, and testing are
necessary before a solution is implemented
Typically, a user submits a systems request form
with supporting evidence, if necessary
Response depends on the priority of the
request
All maintenance is logged
Click to see Figure 12-6
SYSTEMS ANALYSIS & DESIGN 3E Package

18. PHASE 5
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Maintenance Activities
Adaptive maintenance
Adds enhancements to the system
An enhancement is a new feature or capability
Adaptive maintenance often is required in a
dynamic business environment
An adaptive maintenance project is like a mini-
SDLC, with similar phases and tasks
Can be more difficult than new systems
development, because of the constraints of an
existing system
SYSTEMS ANALYSIS & DESIGN 3E

19. PHASE 5
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Maintenance Activities
Perfective maintenance
Involves changing an operational system to
make it more efficient, reliable, or maintainable
Requests for corrective and adaptive
maintenance typically come from users, while
requests for perfective maintenance typically
come from the IS department
Techniques
Reverse engineering tools aid design
analysis
Reengineering tools can be used
interactively to correct errors
Click to see Figure 12-7
SYSTEMS ANALYSIS & DESIGN 3E Package

20. PHASE 5
Managing Systems Operation and 20
Support
Systems operation requires effective
management techniques
Maintenance team
Configuration management
Maintenance releases
SYSTEMS ANALYSIS & DESIGN 3E

21. PHASE 5
Managing Systems Operation and 21
Support
Maintenance team
Consists of systems analysts and programmers
Systems analysts on maintenance work need
Solid background in information technology
Strong analytical abilities
Solid understanding of business operations
Effective interpersonal and communication
skills
Analysis: studying the whole to understand the
individual elements
Synthesis: studying the individual elements to
understand the overall system
SYSTEMS ANALYSIS & DESIGN 3E

22. PHASE 5
Managing Systems Operation and 22
Support
Configuration management
Process for controlling changes in system
requirements
Usually involves three steps
1. The maintenance request
2. Initial action on the request
3. Final disposition of the request
Objectives of configuration management
Manage different versions of the system
Organize and handle documentation
SYSTEMS ANALYSIS & DESIGN 3E

23. PHASE 5
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TRADEOFF
Should a systems review committee evaluate
maintenance and new systems requests
separately, or together?
Some say “let the dollars go where they will do
the most good, regardless of project type”
Others feel that separate allocations are needed
to protect maintenance projects
All projects draw from the same resource pool,
but IS groups often are organized into separate
teams, and can handle separate projects better
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A KEY QUESTION
At Brightside Insurance Company, you
organized the IS group into two units — one
for new systems, one for maintenance
Now one of your best people might quit if he
is assigned to the maintenance team
Should you adopt a different policy and allow
voluntary assignments?
If you must make the assignments, what
criteria should you use?
SYSTEMS ANALYSIS & DESIGN 3E

25. PHASE 5
Managing Systems Operation and 25
Support
Maintenance releases
With a maintenance release methodology, all
noncritical changes are held until they can be
implemented at one time
Each new system version is called a release
Numbering systems
Whole number = significant change
After decimal = relatively minor changes or
fixes
There are pros and cons to this approach
SYSTEMS ANALYSIS & DESIGN 3E

26. PHASE 5
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Managing System Performance
System performance directly affects users
Centralized operations are easier to measure
than complex networks and client/server
systems
Various statistics can be used to assess
system performance
Capacity planning uses operational data to
forecast system capability and future needs
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27. PHASE 5
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Managing System Performance
Performance and workload measurement
Response time
Turnaround time
Throughput
SYSTEMS ANALYSIS & DESIGN 3E

28. PHASE 5
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Managing System Performance
Response time
Response time is the overall time between a
request for system activity and the delivery of
the response
Response time includes three elements
The time necessary to transmit or deliver the
request to the system
The time the system needs to process the
results
The time it takes to transmit or deliver the
results back to the user
Response time is critical for user satisfaction
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29. PHASE 5
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Managing System Performance
Turnaround time
Turnaround time measures the efficiency of
centralized computer operations, which still are
used for certain tasks, such as credit card
processing
Turnaround time is the amount of time between
the arrival of a request at a computer center and
the availability of the output for delivery or
transmission
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30. PHASE 5
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Managing System Performance
Throughput
Throughput measures the efficiency of the
computer itself
Throughput is the time from the input of a
request to the central processor until the output
is delivered to the system
SYSTEMS ANALYSIS & DESIGN 3E

31. PHASE 5
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Managing System Performance
Capacity planning
Monitors current activity and performance levels
Anticipates future activity
Forecasts the resources needed to provide
desired levels of service
In capacity planning you can use a technique
called what-if analysis, where you vary one or
more elements in a model to see the effect on
other elements
Click to see Figure 12-8a Package
Click to see Figure 12-8b
SYSTEMS ANALYSIS & DESIGN 3E Package

32. PHASE 5
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CASE Tools for System Maintenance
A CASE toolkit provides valuable tools for
system evaluation and maintenance, such as
A performance monitor
A program analyzer
An interactive debugging analyzer
A restructuring or reengineering tool
Automated documentation tools
Network activity monitors
Workload forecasting software
SYSTEMS ANALYSIS & DESIGN 3E

33. PHASE 5
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System Obsolescence
A system becomes obsolete when its
functions are no longer required by users or
when the platform becomes outmoded
Typical signs of obsolescence
Adaptive and corrective maintenance is
increasing steadily
Operational costs or execution times are
increasing rapidly, and routine perfective
maintenance does not reverse the trend
SYSTEMS ANALYSIS & DESIGN 3E

34. PHASE 5
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System Obsolescence
Typical signs of obsolescence
A software package is available that provides
the same or additional services faster, better, and
less expensively
New technology offers a way to perform the
same or additional functions more efficiently
Maintenance changes or additions are difficult
and expensive to perform
Users request significant new features to support
business requirements
Click to see Figure 12-9 Package
Click to see Figure 12-10
SYSTEMS ANALYSIS & DESIGN 3E Package

35. PHASE 5
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SOFTWEAR, LIMITED
Status report: in mid-December 1999, the
payroll package and the ESIP system both are
operating successfully and SWL users are
satisfied
Corrective maintenance has been performed
Printing and alignment problems were resolved
Adaptive maintenance has been requested
Human resources department wants to develop
an annual employee benefits statement, and add
additional ESIP deduction choices
SYSTEMS ANALYSIS & DESIGN 3E

36. PHASE 5
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SOFTWEAR, LIMITED
New developments
Pacific Software announced the latest version of
its payroll package, which supports integration
of payroll and human resources functions
SWL decides to investigate the possibility of a
human resources information system (HRIS)
After a preliminary investigation, IS staff
recommends that SWL upgrade to the new
payroll package and study the development of a
company-wide human resources system
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37. PHASE 5
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SOFTWEAR, LIMITED
The future
The business environment is changing rapidly
SWL must investigate new information
management technology constantly
At this point, the systems development life cycle
for SWL begins again
SYSTEMS ANALYSIS & DESIGN 3E