Information System Development - Essay Example

System developers can create new systems according to the needs of users on request or they can have foresight and anticipate users’ needs then create systems with this in mind (Whetten 2002, p. 45-71,). As systems are created by human beings, they cannot be entirely perfect, but trying to reach perfection and minimizing errors should be priority when creating systems. This is because users tend to move on fast from systems that are prone to failures, errors and mistakes, thus running the reputation of firms creating such systems and wasting time and money.

With this in mind, system developers should strive to get as many details as possible about users’ needs in order to create systems in line with their needs, and one that works efficiently to meet these needs and requirements. Development of systems usually follows a systematic set of steps in order to ensure that systems produced work in accordance with the way they were supposed to. Missing any step in the development might lead to errors that could easily be avoided. These steps also make it easy to pinpoint where mistakes have been made, hence it is easy to go back and rectify the errors, rather than tearing down the whole system to find the error.

The order of steps in system development begins with a feasibility study to determine if the system is worth creating in the first place or not. After the worthiness of the project has been established, the planning process is next. Planning involves setting goals, timelines and determining all the necessities required in order for the project to be carried out successfully. Planning also involves coming up with a budget, creation of a team that will be in charge of the project, assigning of duties to the various team members, determining the chain of commands and to whom progress of the project will be reported, determining external; players and partners and the parts they will be playing in the project and sorting out other details.

Failing to plan on any aspect touching the development of a system will have disastrous effects on the whole project (Blanchard & Fabrycky 2006). Systems analysis is a step that involves looking into the current systems in order to determine what users want that is not in these systems, then going ahead to create systems that give users what they need and require. After this has been determined, the system has to be designed, with the needs of users in mind and other anticipated needs (Caspi et al. 2005). In the designing of the system, several aspects are considered including detailed descriptions of its main features and how they work, screen layouts, business principles, legalities involved and other forms of documentation.

This part is where the load of the work lies. After this is the implementation stage. Here, the code that is unique to the system being built is written. Code writing involves various numerical, alphabets and symbols that should not be easy to crack or identify by unauthorized users or authorities. Next is the integration of all the various separate parts of the system, as developed by the different people in the team, in order to make a whole part. The integration step involves the setting up of the system and testing it in order to determine if the end product is as required, to check for errors and potential weak points that might lead to the system not operating.

Any errors found are rectified at this stage, and the