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Application software packages are common to all business organizations and are built
around universal functions with standard processes that don’t change a great deal over
time. Examples include payroll, accounts receivable, general ledger, or inventory control.
Software packages provide several advantages:
• the vendor has already established most of the design that may easily consume
up to 50 percent of development time.
• programs are pretested, reducing testing time and technical problems.
The disadvantages of application software packages are:
• there are high conversion costs for systems that are sophisticated and already
automated,
Define end-user development and describe 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
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
Management should develop controls over end-user computing in the following areas:
• Cost justification of end-user information system projects.
• Hardware and software standards for user-developed applications.
Describe the advantages and disadvantages of using outsourcing for building
information systems.
Outsourcing is the process of turning over an organization’s computer center
operations, telecommunications networks, or applications development to external
vendors who provide these services. Outsourcing is seen as a way to control costs or
to develop applications rather than try to use in-house staff.
Advantages of outsourcing are:
• Outsourcing firms possess skills, resources, and assets that clients don’t.
The main disadvantage is that firms hiring outsourcers tend to underestimate costs of:
• Identifying and evaluating vendors.
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5. What are new approaches for system-building in the digital firm era?
Define rapid application development (RAD) and agile development and explain
how they can speed up system-building?
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
Explain how component-based development and Web services help firms build
and enhance their information systems.
Component-based development expedites application development by grouping
objects into suites of software components that can be combined to create large-scale
business applications. Systems are built by assembling and integrating existing
Explain the features of mobile application development and responsive Web
design.
Because mobile devices have a much smaller screen size, it’s easier to use fingers and
multi-touch gestures rather than a keyboard to maneuver through Web sites and
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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
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
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3. Why is it so important to understand how a business process works when trying
to develop a new information system?
Business process management provides a variety of tools and methodologies to
analyze existing processes, design new processes, and optimize those processes.
Hands-on MIS Projects
Management Decision Problems
1. Sears Repair Service: Customers purchasing appliances can purchase a three-year
service contract that provides free repair service and parts. When a customer needs
Sears’ appliance repair service they call for an appointment that make take up to two
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• Diagram the existing process: Students should use Figure 13-2 as an example of
• What is the impact of the existing process on Sears’ operational efficiency
and customer relationships? Customers can be inconvenienced and without the
use of their appliances for up to five weeks. Customers may have to take off work
• What changes could be made to make this process more efficient? How could
information systems support these changes? Diagram the new improved
2. Agricultural chemicals corporation: Management at your agricultural chemicals
corporation has been dissatisfied with production planning. Production plans are
At the end of each month, orders are totaled and manually keyed into the company’s
production planning system. Data from the past month’s production and inventory
systems are manually entered into the firm’s order management system. Analysts
from the sales department and from the production department analyze the data from
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• Draw a diagram of the existing production planning process. Students should
use Figure 13-2 as a guide for diagramming the existing production planning
process.
• Analyze the problems this process creates for the company. The main problem
this process creates for the company are the potentially lost sales or extra costs in
maintaining additional inventory to prevent stock-outs if customers place
• How could an enterprise system solve these problems? In what ways could it
lower costs? Diagram what the production planning process might look like
if the company implemented enterprise software. The first step is to eliminate
having to manually key in any data into any system. Production planning should
be based on data derived from both systems (production planning system and the
order management system) and not on best guesses. That eliminates having
Improving Decision Making: Using Database Software to Design a Customer
System for Auto Sales
Software skills: Database design, querying, reporting, and forms
Business skills: Sales lead and customer analysis
Prepare a systems analysis report detailing Ace’s problem and a system solution
that can be implemented using PC database management software. Then use
database software to develop a simple system solution. Your systems analysis report
should include the following:
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1. Description of the problem and its organizational and business impact.
2. Proposed solution, solution objectives, and solution feasibility.
On the basis of the requirements you have identified, design the database and
populate it with at least ten records per table. Consider whether you can use or
modify the existing customer database in your design. Print out the database design.
Then use the system you have created to generate queries and reports that would be
of most interest to management. Create several prototype data input forms for the
system and review them with your instructor. Then revise the prototypes.
The example solution file represents one of many alternative database designs that would
Achieving Operational Excellence: Analyzing Web Site Design and Information
Requirements
Visit the Web site of your choice and explore it thoroughly. Prepare a report
analyzing the various functions provided by that Web site and its information
requirements. Your report should answer these questions: What functions does the
Web site perform? What data does it use? What are its inputs, outputs, and
processes? What are some of its other design specifications? Does the Web site link
to any internal systems or systems of other organizations? What value does this
Web site provide the firm?
Because Web systems play such a central role in today’s information systems world, the
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Video Cases
Video cases and Instructional Videos illustrating some of the concepts in this chapter are
available. Contact your instructor to access these videos.
Collaboration and Teamwork: Preparing Web Site Design Specifications
In MyMISLab you will find a Collaboration and Teamwork Project dealing with
Case Study: Honam Petrochemical’s Quest for Better Management Reports
1. List and describe the information requirements of HPC’s new management
system What problems was the new system designed to solve?
Honam needed reliable reports that could accurately measure management
performance and provide useful, accurate information for increasing sales and
reducing costs. Executive decision-makers wanted up-to-the-minute reports that they
2. To what extent were “people” problems affecting management decision-making
at HPC? What were some of the management organization, and technology
issues that had to be addressed by the new system? How did the system’s
designers make the system more “people–friendly?”
Management: Managers were sanitizing data to make their departments look better
to executive managers. Executives didn’t want each department’s own interpretation
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Technology: Report data were outdated and inaccurate. Technology was not
preventing managers from manipulating data. Some reports included too much data
3. What role did end users play in developing HPC’s new system? How did the
project team make sure users were involved? What would have happened to the
project if they had not done this?
End-users appear to have had quite a lot of input into designing the new reporting
system. The information systems team asked executives to list existing reports they
4. What other steps did HPC take to make sure the system was successful?
A very intuitive Web-based user interface was created to make the system accessible.
The interface was so simple and well-designed that users required minimal training
5. What types of system-building methods and tools did HPC use for building its
system?
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HPC used a phased approach in its system implementation. Rather than pushing a
new system onto executives in a direct cutover strategy, HPC waited until the
6. What were the benefits of the new system? How did it change the way Honam
ran its business? How successful was this system solution?
A highly intuitive Web-based user interface was created to make the system very
accessible. The interface was so simple and well-designed that users required minimal