IMPORTANT: Format your typewritten answers in the color, BLUE*** Please exceed requirement in number of words, whenever there is one stated, in answering aquestion.*** Whenever a single question contains two or more parts (for example, a question that ends with:Why or Why Not?), please make sure that you address ALL parts of the question when providing youranswer.Newinformationsystemsarebeingintroducedandexistinginformationsystemsarebeingupdatedbecausemanagers/employeesneedthosesystemstohelpthembetterperformtheirjobs.Forexample,ahumanresourcemanagermightrequesttheacquisitionforaninformationsystemusedtotrackemployeevacationandsickdays.Oftentimes,newsystemintroductionsareresultsofsomeonefromthe top management championing for radical business process restructuring.Almostanypositionyouholdwithinanorganizationwillrequireyou(anend-user)toworkwithsomeformofcomputer-basedinformationsystem.Youasinformationsystemsend-userwillcertainlybeaffectedbyhowthoseinformationsystemsaredesigned.Aprofessionalinformationsystemdevelopmentteamwillalwayswanttoinvolveyou,especiallyifyouarefamiliarwiththebusinessprocesseswithintheorganization,inadevelopmentproject.Yournarrativesofhowinformationsystemsmustfunction(includinghowtheuser-interfaceshouldlook)andunderstandingofyourcompany’sbusinessprocesseswillbecarefullydocumentedbythedevelopmentteaminordertodesignandbuildinformationsystemsthatmeetyourneedsandsupportbusinessprocessesthatarespecifictoyourcompany.Therefore,itiscrucialthatyouhelpyourorganizationdevelopthe“best”systemspossible in an information acquisition or development effort.Question 1:End-usersofinformationsystemsaretoclearlyconveyinformationsystemrequirementstoI.T.professionalsbuildingthesystem.ListanddescribewhataresomeoftheconsequencesofnothavingclearlycommunicatedallsystemrequirementsovertoI.T.professionalswhoarebuildingyoursystems(one example is financial repercussions).(Your response must be more than 50 words in length)[Enter your response here]Aninformationsystemdevelopmentlifecycledescribesastep-by-stepapproachtoinformationsystems development. In general, it consists of four major phases.[1]ThePlanningphasefocusesondeterminingifthereisjustificationtobuildandinformationsystemand developing a plan to accomplish the development project.TheprojectsponsorworkswiththeI.T.departmenttodevelopapreliminaryassessmentoftheproject’seconomic,technicalandorganizationalfeasibilities.Questionsaddressedinclude:isitworthdoing,isittechnically possible for the organization, will it be used?

Uponreviewofthesefeasibilitiesifcommitteeapprovestheproject,aprojectplanwillbedeveloped.Componentsofaprojectplanincludeprojectstaffingrequirements,workscheduleandtimelines,andproject management procedures and policies.[2]TheAnalysisphaseisfocusedonunderstandingtheexistingsituationanddeterminingneedsandrequirements expected from new information system.Analyzethecurrentinformationsystem(evenifit’samanualsystem).Listitsstrengthsandweaknessesandusedtheproblemsidentifiedtoformulateobjectivesforthenewinformationsystembydefiningthe functions and capabilities it should have.Next,expressideasfornewinformationsystem’sprocessinganddatarequirementswithmodelsbusinessprocessmodels(suchasthedataflowdiagramthatdocumentsthebusinessprocessesanddatathatpassesamongthem,inotherwords,thetransformationprocessinconvertinginputsintooutputs) and data models (such as the entity relationship diagram).Then,prepareandpresentaformalinformationsystemproposalbyassemblingtheanalysesresults.Theapprovalcommitteewilldetermineifthenewinformationsystemhasenoughmerittocontinuedevelopment. If there is, move on to the next phase.[3]TheDesignphaserefinestheinformationsystemrequirements(fromAnalysis)anddevelopsspecifications for how the new information system will fulfill those requirements.Inthisphase,theappropriatemeansofdevelopingtheinformationsystem(in-housedevelopment,purchase of pre-written software, or outsourcing development to a third party) will be decided.Next,basichardware,softwareandnetworking(datacommunications)requiredaredetermined.Inaddition,theoveralluserinterfacestructureoftheinformationsystem,includingscreendisplays,inputsand outputs views of the system, and users’ navigation through the information system are designed.Then,designthedatabaseandtables(files)fromwhichdatawillbedrawnfrom,and,developplansandoutlineforeachapplicationprogramthatwillbewrittentoimplementthefunctionsandcapabilitiesofthe new information system.ArisingfromalltheaboveistheInformationSystemSpecificationwhichformstheprimarybasisofconstruction work.[4]TheImplementationphaseinvolvesconstructingorinstallingthenewinformationsystem,testing,converting, training, and providing support for the new information system.Inthisphase,programsaredevelopedandtestedtoverifyperformance,variousdatacommunicationinfrastructure components are installed.Transitiontothenewinformationsystemisaidedbydevelopmentandconductingtrainingprogramsinordertoenableenduserstogetthoroughlyfamiliarizedwiththenewinformationsystem.Usermanuals, procedure manuals, training manuals and materials are developed.

Inthisphase,theprojectteamnotonlyshouldevaluatethedevelopmentprocessforlessonslearnedfromtheproject,butalsoestablishmethodsforidentifyingandimplementingchangetotheinformationsystem as needed and plans for information system support.Question 2:Notallinformationsystemdevelopmenteffortsaresuccessful.Apartfromissuesrelatedtofailureincommunicatingaclearsetofend-usersinformationsystemrequirementstoI.T.professionalsbuildingthesystem,whatotherfactors(provideasmanyasyoucanprovide),inyouropinion,mightcontributeto the failure of an information system development effort?(Your response must be more than 50 words in length)[Enter your response here]“Gradual refinement” in the context of information systems development life cycle?Ingeneral,clarityandunderstandingofproposednewinformationsystemaregraduallyrefinedasprojectteamprogressesfromonephasetoanother.Thedepthofdetailsisincreasedasaresult,incontrasttorequirementsbeingonlyvaguelyunderstoodattheinitialphase.Documentsinpreviousphases are also often examined in the course of developing further details.Brief descriptions of the major roles of a project team:[1] Business Analyst:Addressesbusinessprocessissuesandensuresproposedsystemssupporttheprocess.Evaluatesvalueof the new systemIdentifies problems and opportunitiesRevises business process and policies[2] Systems Analyst:Works with end users and business analyst to obtain a clarified view of user requirementsDetermineshowinformationtechnologyandinformationsystemscanbeusedtosupportbusinessprocessesDesigns information systemsEnforces information systems standardsBusinessanalystrepresentssponsor/userinterests,whilesystemanalystknowshowtoapplyIT/IStosupportbusinessneeds.Theyworktogethertodevelopinformationsystemsthatconformtoappropriate Information Systems standards while adding value to the business.[3] Infrastructure Analyst:Addressestechnicalissues,includinghardware&softwarecomponents,constraintsandrequiredchanges,relatedtointegratingnewinformationsystemstotechnical/datacommunicationsinfrastructures

[4] Change Management Analyst:Identifies and manages organization’s resistance to change and assures adequate trainingFacilitates organization’s adaptation to new information systems in any way appropriate[5] Project Manager:Monitors time and monetary resourcesSupervises project teamManagesexpectationsandrelationshipsamongdifferentgroupsofpeopledirectlyandindirectlyinvolved in the projectDimensions of feasibility, what does each assess?Technicalfeasibilityevaluateswhethertheorganizationpossessorcanobtaintechnicalexpertiserequired to develop the proposed information system.Economicfeasibilityconcernswhetherestimatedbenefits,bothtangibleandintangible,oftheinformation system will outweigh estimated cost of the project (total cost of ownership).Organizationalfeasibilityassesseswhethertheorganizationanditspeoplewillbeabletosuccessfullyadapt to the new information system effectively.Whatismeantby“systemconversion”?Nameandbrieflydescribethreemajorapproachesthatmaybe used during this process.Systemconversionistheprocessofmovingfromtheoldsystemtothenewsystem.Theorganizationstops doing things the old way and start doing things the new way.Approach#1:DirectCutover–useofoldsystemisstoppedandreplacedimmediatelywithuseofnewsystem.Approach#2:ParallelConversion–oldandnewsystemsareusedsimultaneouslyforatimeuntilthenew system’s performance is satisfactory.Approach#3:PhasedConversionApproach–systemisinitiallyinstalledinonepartofthebusiness,usedandrefinedthereuntilbug-free,andthenisgraduallyinstalledinotherorganizationalunitsovertime.Question 3:Toplevelmanagersareoftenalsomanagersofchange.AccordingtopublishedInformationSystemsresearch,oneofthegreatestdifficultiesinintroducingneworvastlyrevisedInformationSystemstoacompanyisinmanagingcompanyemployees’resistancetochange.Inordertohelpreduceemployees’resistancetochangebroughtaboutbyintroducingneworvastlyrevisedinformationsystems,whatcouldyou,asamanagerofchange,proposeordoingeneral,toalleviateemployees’resistance-to-change?Organizeyouranswersaroundthefollowingtwodifferentdegreesofchange(Business Process Reengineering versus Continuous Improvement):

Information systems proposed/acquired/developed for Business Process Reengineering[1]BusinessProcessReengineering:Aradicalredesignofbusinessprocessesthatthecompanyhasbeenusedto.Changeswouldbecuttingacrossallmajordepartmentsandmakingchangesarenecessaryinorganizationstructure,culture,etc.InformationSystemsthataccompanyoraccommodatesuchdegreeofchangeisofteninitiatedorchampionedbytacticalortop-levelmanagement.Top-levelmanagersareinvolvedinmakingdecisionsthathavelong-termimpactsonthecompany.Decisionstheymakehavewide scopes and are not focused only on one or a few minor areas.(Your response must be more than 50 words in length)[Enter your response here]Information systems proposed/acquired/developed for Continuous Improvement[2]ContinuousImprovement:Thisdegreeofchangeisusuallyonlyfocusedonasingleareaordepartmentandthechangeisgradual.Itisofteninitiatedbymiddletolowerlevelmanagersoremployeesworkinginanareaordepartment.Hence,changedoesnotusuallycutintootherareasordepartments.(Your response must be more than 50 words in length)[Enter your response here]*** The End ***