Systems Development: Design, Implementation, Maintenance, and Review - Principles of Information Systems - page 552

Figure 13.9

Johnson & Florin, Inc.
Systems Design Report

A Typical Table of Contents for a
Systems Design Report

Contents

PREFACE
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY of SYSTEMS
DESIGN
REVIEW of SYSTEMS ANALYSIS
MAJOR DESIGN RECOMMENDATIONS
Hardware design
Software design
Personnel design
Communications design
Database design
Procedures design
Training design
Maintenance design
SUMMARY of DESIGN DECISIONS
APPENDICES
GLOSSARY of TERMS
INDEX

SYSTEMS IMPLEMENTATION

After the information system has been designed, a number of tasks must be completed before
the system is installed and ready to operate. This process, called systems implementation ,
includes hardware acquisition, programming and software acquisition or development, user
preparation, hiring and training of personnel, site and data preparation, installation, testing,
start-up, and user acceptance. The typical sequence of systems implementation activities is
shown in Figure 13.10.
Virtualization, first introduced in Chapter 3, has had a profound impact on many
aspects of systems implementation. As mentioned in Chapter 4, virtualization software can
make computers act like or simulate other computers. The result is often called a virtual
machine. Using virtualization software, servers and mainframe computers can run software
applications written for different operating systems. Virtualization is also being used to
implement hardware, software, databases, and other components of an information system.
As discussed earlier, virtualization can be environmentally friendly, reducing power con-
sumption and requiring less space for equipment. Virtualization, however, introduces
important implementation considerations, including security and backup procedures. 36 We
start our discussion of systems implementation with hardware acquisition.

systems implementation
A stage of systems development
that includes hardware acquisition,
software acquisition or
development, user preparation,
hiring and training of personnel, site
and data preparation, installation,
testing, start-up, and user
acceptance.

Acquiring Hardware from an IS Vendor
To obtain the components for an information system, organizations can purchase, lease, or
rent computer hardware and other resources from an IS vendor. An IS vendor is a company
that offers hardware, software, telecommunications systems, databases, IS personnel, or other
computer-related resources. Types of IS vendors include general computer manufacturers
(such as IBM and Hewlett-Packard), small computer manufacturers (such as Dell and
Toshiba), peripheral equipment manufacturers (such as Hewlett-Packard and Canon), com-
puter dealers and distributors (such as Radio Shack and Best Buy), and chip makers such as
Intel and AMD. 37 Hardware vendors can provide very small or very large systems. The U.S.
Census Bureau, for example, will acquire over 1,000 small handheld devices to help it collect
census data. 38 On the other hand, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA)
purchased super computers and systems from IBM and Cray, valued at $500 million. 39
DARPA hopes its efforts to build a supercomputer will have commercial applications.