By Raul Bernardino
Introduction:
In this fourth week
assignment, it has very tricky question. With the simple mathematics calculation and a little bit has an economic knowledge, it will be allowing us to make very
quick decision for purchasing equivalent or similar system rather than have to
build a new system. It stated that, to build the new system, it will cost us about
$800,000; while in the market, there is an equivalent system that will cost us about
$125,000. This means that, if we going to acquiring the system, it will be
saving about $675,000.
In the software
development, we cannot guarantee that lower price of purchasing the system is a
good investment for the company. For instance, we only bought the license of the
application in order to use them; however we did not have the source code. Therefore
to do an adjustment of the requirements needs, we have to upgrade the license
and doing the maintenance. This will be having additional fees on the top of
the original license fee ($125,000). In other end, it is also requiring to have
training to the end users and support team. It is also including the annually
maintenance fees. In the long run, the cost this software application will be
ending up with the millions of dollars. For instance the maintenance cost or licensing
cost $20,000 per year. In this scenario the cost will be ending up $720,000 in
the next three years. In the software environment, “often we bought the
service, the product, or both of them”, Hall, P. A.V. & Fernandez-Ramil, J. (2007, P. 131).
There are some advantages
and disadvantages of deciding to purchase any software application system. The advantages
of getting or buying the software applications from application service
providers (ASPs) are: “Lower cost or cost saving, market is ready and
it has a quick of the implementation (no time delay), and it has clear support line
and maintenance. This software has a quality because many companies are using
the same product or services. Some
disadvantages of purchasing from ASPs are: The features may not fit with the
business requirement needs, totally depends on external services, and more cost
for long term business”,
Hall, P.
A.V. & Fernandez-Ramil, J. (2007, P. 137). “It is also having the trade-off. If we are going
to build the software application inside the company; the advantages are: We
will be having the source code, we can easily adjust and adapt at any time as
it is business required. The disadvantages are: Time consuming to develop the
application, more cost in the initial investment,” Martin (2005).
It is important to have
concrete planning towards to the acquisition of the any software application;
whereas it is starting from business requirement needs, establishes a consensus
of the needs among the stakeholders, and makes a listing of the essential
features and functions of the system; it is also including the relative
features and functions and the integration of the relationship. The business
requirement needs can be elicited from interviewing the stakeholders, uses case
modeling or simulation to the current situation, brainstorming the ideas with
all parties that are involving the project either they are direct or
indirect, and makes some observation in
normal working environment. The facilitation has to elicit those requirements
and documented. If there are conflicts and disagreement between the
stakeholders, the facilitator has to facilitate all parties in order to reach a
consensus or at least to reconcile the ideas or needs.
In some software package
that is not fit with the business requirements needs, then first of all, we
have to think how the technical integration to the current application system
especially to the operation system and hardware of the target computers. In other
hand we have to think of customizing and modifying the features and functions
in order to fit the business needs. Another step is re-engineering the business
process of the application whereas to imitate the real world of the working
environment.
There are several
strategic to implement new package of software as follows:
a)
Strategic Parallel: In
this strategic the production mode using the old system while in the testing
mode uses the new software. Whenever, the stakeholders are confident with the
new system, then they can move to new software application.
b)
Strategic Piloting: In
this strategic, the organization or company are selecting several end users to
test the new application and do a correction of the problem and updates the
codes in necessary.
c)
Strategic of phasing: In
this scenarios organization can benefit from achievement from phasing
strategic.
d)
Strategic of cutover: in
this scenarios ask the organization to adopt new operating system.
The software
implementation phase has several sections as follows:
a)
Installation: this is a
first phase of the implementation. In this phase it has several processes such
as: Plan for the installation, training plan, data backup, data clean up, and
conversion.
b)
Operation: In this phase
the operation is important, because it will be seeing as it is operable or
useable. How is it integrated with other current application? It integrated to
other system and system operation.
c)
Maintenance: It is
important to have a support from the vendor and it has to base on the service level
agreement.
In conclusion: In any software
application development, it has to base on business requirement needs and how
the stakeholders are for seeing the needs, and decides the features and
functions. If the software application is intending to buy from the available
in the market, it has to be able to do a technical integration to the other
system, customization, and in line with business process. If it is intending to
build the system internally, first of all, it has to start with the requirements
such as feasibility study/ elicitation, analysis and specification. Second, on the
designing such as high level design and details of the design asks more
concentration on the block level. The third construction: in this phase it is
doing a coding, testing and integration, and the last part is the
implementation such as installation, support and maintenance, including operations
References:
Hall, P. A.V. & Fernandez-Ramil, J. (2007) Managing the Software
Enterprise:
Software Engineering and
Information Systems in Context. London: Thomson Learning.
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