This report examines the implementation stage of a business information system development project for International Lumberyards, Inc. Building on a completed needs assessment and reengineering analysis, the paper walks through the six major activities of the implementation phase: coding, testing, installation, documentation, training, and support. It details how four simultaneous system upgrades—web development, local area networking, new hardware, and computerized business functions—were managed in parallel. The report also discusses the value of well-defined, repeatable processes for quality control, documentation practices, and ongoing system maintenance within the System Development Life Cycle framework.
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This report is an add-on to the analysis of a work-related project using a systems analysis tool for the implementation of a specific business and information system. The focus is on the actual implementation stage of the development process. The typical implementation process entails a project team installing applications and systems on a customer's or organization's production platform, which is usually followed by whatever training and acceptance testing is needed, ultimately leading to customer sign-off on the application or system.
This implementation is for International Lumberyards, Inc., which first conducted a detailed needs assessment that verified the need for a new, more modern software and hardware approach — one that could be financially justified in regard to the organization's overall return on investment. The company had successfully completed the necessary information-gathering and utilized various other techniques in the reengineering project, and was prepared to implement the new code and equipment.
Insights into the six major activities of the System Development Life Cycle (SDLC) implementation stage are described throughout this report: coding, testing, installation, documentation, training, and support. Each of these six activities is examined to explain specifically how each was planned for and how the various aspects of the software and hardware upgrades were affected. In addition, a brief discussion about the benefits of using a well-defined and repeatable process for meeting implementation objectives is provided.
During the coding phase, the newly formed development teams are responsible for many activities, all of which lead up to an operational system or program. International Lumberyards, Inc. was implementing four new processes simultaneously, each of which had to work with the others to achieve success. Specifically, the company's website had to be integrated with the new branding process, new hardware — including a new operating system and Local Area Networking communications technology — and an overhaul of the computerized business functions, such as lumber yard inventory. Implementing any one of these functions is a significant undertaking; International Lumberyards was implementing all four at once.
The website may seem like the most difficult component, but in practice the coding aspects of internet-bound software are relatively straightforward for professional programmers. The truly difficult aspects of the web page would have already been resolved during the design phase. Creating output from a design blueprint is not especially difficult, because coding in languages such as HTML, Perl, JavaScript, and other web-based languages is well within the capabilities of experienced programmers.
The greater coding and implementation challenge lies in the Local Area Network (LAN) and operating system for the organizational network layer and hardware systems. The project involved linking various departments and sites with more than fifty nodes or devices. The objective was to provide appropriate Internet Protocol (IP) address schemes for routers and to establish a sound communication protocol for the internal network, or intranet. The hardware requirements were complex and included:
The physical writing of software code requires many additional steps of testing, performed before, during, and after each programming task is completed. The key is to utilize a testing process that is specific, detailed, and measurable. Testing systems against predetermined and predefined test plans allows for repeatable processes. Utilizing repeatable and measurable processes helps reduce programming and testing errors, and also enforces quality controls at multiple levels of the coding phase. In other words, as coding begins, testing begins as a parallel process — and even when installation has started, testing should continue.
Installation is the process of replacing the current system or programs with the new ones. Coding, testing, and installation together create several deliverables that can serve as sign-off points for management. The testing and implementation process should allow for back-out points where new direction or error and bug elimination can occur. These deliverables act as fail-safes: a subsequent task should not begin until the previous task has been approved by management. This process puts a system of checks and balances in place and ensures that the software testing lifecycle is carried out rigorously.
"Why documentation and user training are critical"
"Ongoing SDLC cycles and maintenance requests"
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Grabski, S. V. (2002). International Lumberyards, Inc.: An information system consulting case. Journal of Information Systems, 9(22).
Knight, L. V. (2001, November 1). System development methodologies for web-enabled e-business: A customization paradigm. Retrieved January 16, 2005, from
Peacock, E. (2004). Accounting for the development costs of internal-use software. Journal of Information Systems, 3(22).
Wikipedia. (n.d.). System development life cycle. Retrieved January 16, 2005, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/System_Development_Life_Cycle
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