IT and Business Systems Solutions

Lecture
IT and Business Systems Solutions
Software engineering versus project management versus business management
Business management is in the business of keeping the business surviving and hopefully
growing. A business vision statement is put in place to guide the people of the
organization to achieve a common set of goals. IT solutions help achieve those goals.
Project management is put in place to ensure IT project solution meets the goals of the
customer on time and within budget. Software engineering management seeks the most
productive means to meet the objectives of the project with the most effective and
efficient solution possible.
Peopleware and Productivity
Good software engineering is based on the principles of user-centered requirements

analysis, modular design of high cohesion and low coupling, information hiding, data
abstraction, code reuse, and clearly written supporting documentation.
As DeMarco and Lister state: “The major problems of our work are not so much
technological as sociological in nature….Most managers are willing to concede the idea
that they’ve got more people worries than technical worries. But they seldom manage that
way.”
The real focus should be on “peopleware” instead of “software”. According to Yourdon

“attention to peopleware issues can literally cause 10-fold productivity improvements,
while investments in CASE, methodologies, or other technologies rarely cause more than
30-40 percent improvement.” Yourdon points out the key peopleware issues for success:
a. Hiring the best people

b. Engaging in the ongoing training and education of existing staff
c. Motivating people for higher levels of performance
d. Developing performance management ideas to align personal goals with
corporate goals
e. Offering an adequate working environment, with particular emphasis on
adequate office facilities rather than the pigsties in which most software
engineers find themselves squatting for 10 hours a day.
f. Placing more emphasis on creating and maintaining effective teams of people
who can work together to create high-quality software products.
Who are the people of software engineering?

a. Infotect: Information systems architect who is responsible for the overall
design of the IT solution.
b. Softect: Software architect. This person is responsible for the software design
of the system.
c. Software engineer: This person translates the requirements into the software
design of the system.
d. Specialist software engineer. This person has a specialized, focused skill set to
find the optimum solutions to a problem set. This person can be a specialist in
networks, databases, integration, or other specialized areas.
e. Softcrafter. This person builds the software according to the design of others;
in other words a programmer.
f. Moderator. Focuses on the administrative functions to control the quality of
the software such as Total Quality Management and Configuration Control.
g. Tester. This person independently tests the software at various levels of
implementation.
Tom Gilb’s principles regarding “people productivity” in software development

projects
a. Productivity must be project-defined; there is no universal measure: Real

productivity is giving end users the results they need-and different users have
different result priorities, so productivity must be user-defined.
b. Architecture change gives the greatest productivity change: The most
dramatic productivity changes result from radical change to the solution
architecture, rather than just working harder or more effectively.
c. Design-to-cost is an alternative to productivity increases: You can usually re-
engineer the solution so that it will fit within your most limited resources. This
may be easier than finding ways to improve the productivity of people
working on the current solution.
d. Do the juicy bits first: There will never be enough well qualified
professionals, so you must have efficient selection rules for sub-tasks, so that
the most important ones get done first.
A personal overview of the “people process” to solve an IT business solution
Start at a very high level of the IT business problem to be solved. The high level is
analyzing the problem, who is involved, alternative solutions, and expected end results.
You need good people to accomplish this process. They have to be leaders and willing to
take charge of the systems analyst function to solve the IT problem.
a. Explicit problem identification.

(1) What are the associated problems.
(2) Identify the real or underlying problem
(3) Generate assumptions and constraints about the problem
(4) Generate a set of requirements to address the problem
b. Determine who should be involved
(1)Who from upper management?
(2)How much internal versus external engineering support?
(3)Who represents the end-user?
(4)Who is the customer?
(5)Is legal and financial support required?
(6)Will an independent team to support testing, configuration
management, and quality control be needed?
c. Generate alternative solutions. You should have at least three solutions
(1) Low cost, fast implementation – probably will not meet all the
requirements, but at least the key ones. Could be an interim solution
while you wait for improvements in technology.
(2) High cost, very detailed implementation-should meet all the
requirements. Could be technologically risky in terms of leading or
bleeding edge characteristics
(3) Medium cost, moderate risk in terms of schedule and technology-
normally proven technology that would meet the majority of the
requirements.
d. Research all of the solution in terms of the following:
(1) Is it feasible?
(2) What is required?
(3) How much will it cost?
(4) How much technical risk is there?
(5) How long to implement?
(6) Is there a real benefit?
(7) Should requests for proposals or quotes (RFP or RFQ) go out to other
vendors and contractors?
e. Develop exit criteria for each phase of the project for the solution you choose.
(1) What are the expected results of the requirements, design, testing, and
implementation phases?
(2) What are the expected results the end-user should see to satisfy the
requirements?
Summary
More than anything else, qualified people who follow a well-established process are the
key to a success IT solution that meets the needs of the end-user. The best systems
analyst/engineer/architect is one who “listens” and has an “open mind”. “Listen” to what
the customer is really trying to say. Have an “open mind” to explore alternative solutions
that will met the real requirements of the problem to be solved.
Reference:
DeMarco, Tom, and Timothy R. Lister. (1987). Peopleware. New York: Dorset House,
1987.
Gilb, Tom (1988). Principles of Software Engineering Management. Great Britain, The
Bath Press, Avon.
Yourdon, Edward.(1993). Decline & Fall of the American Programmer. Englewood

Cliffs, NJ: Yourdon Press.
Yourdon, Edward. (1989). Modern Structured Analysis. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Yourdon
Press.

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Lecture

IT and Business Systems Solutions

Software engineering versus project management versus business management

Peopleware and Productivity

Good software engineering is based on the principles of user-centered requirements

The real focus should be on “peopleware” instead of “software”. According to Yourdon

a. Hiring the best people

Who are the people of software engineering?

Tom Gilb’s principles regarding “people productivity” in software development

a. Productivity must be project-defined; there is no universal measure: Real

A personal overview of the “people process” to solve an IT business solution

a. Explicit problem identification.

Yourdon, Edward.(1993). Decline & Fall of the American Programmer. Englewood

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