DEVELOPMENT

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DEVELOPMENT IMPLEMENTATION PHASES
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• The purpose of the development and implementation
  phases is to construct the new or modified
  system, using the physical design specifications
  from the Design Phase, to test it, to deliver it
  and pass acceptance and to set it to work in the
  organisation.

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The Steps in the Development Phase

1. If the software is to be custom-built the
   programs are assigned to a programmer or team of
   programmers to be developed
2. Otherwise the software is purchased and modified
   if necessary
3. Hardware is purchased
4. Testing of individual components is performed
   using the testing plan from the design phase.
5. Testing of combined components is conducted using
   the testing plan from the design phase.

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The Steps in the Implementation Phase

• A conversion method to change-over from the old
  system to the new system is chosen.
• Testing of the whole system once it has been put
  in place is conducted.
• The users and technicians are trained and
  appropriate user documentation produced.
• When the system is up and running, there is a
  formal acceptance and handover from the
  developers to the organisation.
• Procedures Techniques are set up to monitor and
  maintain the new system.

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The steps on the previous slides are divided into
2 groups

• Project Management concerned with management
  procedures that need to be followed to build the
  new system, install it, test it and finally hand
  it over to the organisation - development
• Conversion Methods describes the various choices
  available for converting from an old system to a
  new system, and the various factors that need to
  be taken into account and implemented -
  implementation

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1. Project Management

• Is defined as the planning, organising, directing
  and controlling of resources to meet a certain
  objective within a specific timeframe and within
  a prescribed budget.
• A project is defined as any activity that has a
  defined start point and end point, and a number
  of steps along the way.
• The management of a project is divided into two
  main areas
• A). Production Testing Management
• B). Implementation Management

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A). Production Testing Management

• The documents specifying the physical design of
  the system needs to be turned into reality in the
  form of working programs on a working machine.
• The hardware and software need to be purchased or
  developed and thoroughly tested.

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B). Implementation Management

• Once the system has been built and tested the old
  system needs to be decommissioned and the new one
  installed and commissioned, and this requires a
  conversion plan.

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• As with any stage in the SDLC there is a
  necessity for creating a plan. The systems
  development and implementation plan can be
  graphical and it should set out the step-by-step
  requirements to complete the development and
  implementation of the project.

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Steps in Planning a Project

• Define the goals of the project so that it is
  known precisely what is required at the end of
  the project and how it is going to be achieved.
• Determine the major tasks that are involved
  incompletion of the project.
• The sequence of tasks also need to be determined.
• Identify the resources that will be needed in
  order to complete the project.
• Set up a calendar schedule to determine exactly
  how long each task will take.

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Project Management Tools

• Charts known as Gantt and PERT charts
  (Performance Evaluation and Review Techniques)
  are used to plot the progress of a project.
• They are graphical representations of the tasks
  that need to be completed in the project and the
  relationships that exists between each task.

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• Software such as MS Project and Minuteman allow
  developers to use software to plan complex
  projects.
• The software can present tasks in a Gantt or PERT
  chart, monitor resources, track the progress of
  tasks and order the progression of tasks.
• They can present critical path analysis - to
  allow project managers to determine ways of
  improving the timeline of a project, speed up
  certain tasks, and get the project back on track
  if it begins to fall behind schedule.

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2. Conversion Methods

• There are a number of approaches to the cut over
  to the full reliance upon a new system. Once the
  system is believed to be fully operational, its
  available for use in the organisation. The
  system now become part of the Conversion Phase
  during which time the changeover to the new
  system takes place.

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• Project Managers form a conversion plan, where
  the timing and management of the conversion is
  organised. This plan describes the activities
  that have to be undertaken in order to cut over
  to full scale use of the new system. The plan
  includes the activities to be undertaken and who
  will be responsible for each activity. A
  timetable should be set up that indicates when
  each activity will start and finish.

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• A good conversion plan takes into account
  possible problems and ways to deal with them.
  E.g. missing files and documents along with
  situations not taken into account during the
  design phase are just some of the problems that
  might be experienced during the changeover.

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• There are 4 main strategies for changing over
  from one system to another
• Direct Conversion
• Parallel Systems
• Pilot Systems
• Phase In

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Direct Conversion

• There is a complete change over in a very short
  time, from the old system to the new. The
  changeover is normally undertaken over a
  specified period of time to enable users to
  become comfortable with the new system as well as
  to transfer any information that might be
  necessary.

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• Direct conversion can be very effective. Users
  are required to begin using the new system
  immediately after a specified date. From a
  managerial / owners point of view, this method is
  preferred as there are no duplication costs. If
  significant problems arise they can be costly, as
  return to the old system is impossible. This
  type of conversion is often used in non-critical
  applications.

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• Advantages
• A fast and efficient changeover
• Can save money
• Disadvantages
• Staff can be alienated due to the quick
  changeover
• Can lead to loss of productivity and profits if
  managed badly.

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Parallel Systems

• Involves running both the old and the new system
  side-by-side for a period of time.
• An advantage of this system is the security it
  affords i.e. where there are doubts about the new
  system then the organisation can revert to the
  old system.

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• The main advantage of using this system is that
  the results of the new system can be checked and
  rechecked against the results of the old system.
  Any bugs in the new system can be fixed before
  the old system is decommissioned.
• The disadvantages are that the costs could be
  high, because two systems are running at the same
  time and therefore jobs/ procedures are performed
  twice. This could lead to confusion by the
  employees performing the jobs.

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Pilot System

• Where a new system involves drastic changes in an
  organisation or very new techniques are to be
  used it is advisable to implement a working
  version of the system in one small department of
  the organisation before launching the application
  on the organisation as a whole. Once the system
  is fully working in one part of the organisation
  then it can be installed throughout the
  organisation.

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• Advantages
• ability to make changes to the new system as a
  consequence of trials in a real situation is very
  useful.
• The members of the organisation who participated
  in the pilot can be assets in the full
  implementation of the system, because they can be
  considered experts

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• Disadvantages
• If the pilot system is not properly handled,
  users may form the impression that the new system
  is accident prone.
• It is time consuming to implement and its not
  always effective in picking up problems.

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Phase-in Method

• In a very large organisation it may be best to
  implement the new system through a phase-in
  method. It may be that an application is large
  or complex, that large numbers of staff require
  training or that equipment has to be purchased
  over time. It may not be possible or desirable
  to implement the new system all at once in the
  whole organisation.

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• Differences between Pilot and Phased in are
• Pilot used as an aid in the development of an
  application.
• Phased In application fully developed but takes
  time to completely install throughout the
  organisation.

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3. Other Factors that need to be implemented

• To have the new system fully implemented there
  are a number of other areas that may also need to
  be considered
• Manually stored files must be converted to
  computer-based files
• The physical environment may need to be modified
  to accommodate the new system.

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• Consumables such as stationary, printer
  cartridges, disks and disk storage facilities
  will need to be purchased.
• Ergonomic requirements such as glare filters for
  computer screens, ergonomic desks, etc need to
  be attended to.

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4. Procedural Requirements of the New System

• Any changes to procedures that were used in the
  old system or any new procedures will need to be
  documented and used in the training of staff.
• Examples of procedures

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5. Data and information

• Data from the old system needs to be transferred
  to the new system. Since file formats of the old
  and new system may be different fields may be
  merged or split, or extra fields may be needed
  care needs to be taken in planning for the
  transfer of data and careful planning must be
  undertaken for this to be successful.

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6. Cost of implementation

• The financial cost involved with implementation
  of a new or modified system can be quite
  considerable. Cost of hardware and software,
  training or disruption to work may cause the
  organisation to reconsider the conversion method.

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7. Effects on Organisations and Individuals

• There are many effects associated with
  implementing an Information System. There can be
  positive and negative effects. These effects on
  people and the organisation have to be taken into
  account and planned for in the conversion
  changeover.

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• Positive
• Providing job enrichment
• Staff learning new skills and receiving training
  to help with new tasks
• Negative
• Depersonalisation of services
• Customers and employees who have to adapt to a
  new system

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• Lists of people who will be affected and how they
  will be affected need to be produced. Also plans
  should be made that detail what communication and
  training affected users will receive prior to
  changeover.

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8. Training of Staff and Customers

• One of the major issues when implementing a new
  or modified system is the training of staff and
  customers. Two main reasons why training is
  important
• the users of the system need to learn how to
  perform the procedures that are part of the new
  system

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• the necessity to build confidence in the system
  while overcoming any negative attitudes that
  might have formed about the new system. Customers
  who need to use the system have to be trained as
  well as staff eg. Automated payment of bills over
  the phone or Internet. The training is of the
  form of step-by-step instructions that the user
  listens to on each occasion the service is used.

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• General Users Staff that uses the system in
  their day-to-day work need to be trained and made
  familiar with the system so that a smooth
  transition can be made on the day of changeover
  without loss of production or inconveniences for
  customers and other staff.
• Customers they need to be informed of any
  changes that will affect them. This could be
  different documentation on paper or on the
  screen. The reasons why the change has occurred
  needs to be explained and a contact person,
  address or phone number given if further
  explanation or help is required..

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• A training strategy needs to be developed that
  should be out into place before the full
  implementation

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Training Strategy

• Who is to be trained within most organisations
  there will be experienced and inexperienced
  users/operations, as well as managers,
  programmers and/or technicians who are
  responsible for the system. Each group needs
  specialised training. Consideration needs to be
  given to the needs of the customers who will use
  the system.
• The training to take place - its important to
  be clear about what each group needs to learn, to
  be able to use the new system efficiently and
  effectively.

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• Who should conduct the training the key
  requirement for good training is to have an
  instructor who knows the software extremely well
  and has good communication skills. It doesnt
  matter if the instruction is an outside expert or
  in-house trainer.
• The length of the training course this will
  depend on the needs of the person being trained.
  One-off sessions without follow up are poor
  ways in which to deliver effective training.
  On-going support is often necessary.

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• Where and when the training will take place
  when a new system is implemented, time taken for
  training is regarded as time away from the job
  a common mistake. The time and place for
  training should be clearly described to the uses
  and sessions should take place when users are
  fresh and able to concentrate

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9. Types and Purposes of User Documentations

• Instructions about how to sue software must
  accompany the new system, known as User
  Documentation. This documentation can be
  presented in a number of ways, each suited to
  different types of personnel associated with the
  system. User Documentation should be in place
  before the changeover is completed.

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The types of User Documentation

• Technical Reference manual created for
  technicians and describes how the system operates
  and also describes the specifications of the
  hardware and software. Information is also
  provided on how to perform modifications to the
  system if the need arises. Other information
  contained would include details on how to
  maintain the system.

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• User Guide a non-technical guide to support the
  use of the system. Its a basic set of
  instructions, which may include how to perform
  such functions as access, the system, save files,
  print files and generally how to navigate around
  the program.

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• User Manual contains more extensive details
  about the program than the user guides.
• Quick Manual a non-technical guide that allows
  the user to get started on installing and using
  the program. Only provides very basic details on
  the most common features of the program and is
  often only one page.

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• Trouble-shooters guide a guide briefly
  describing how to deal with malfunctions of the
  system. It gives tips and hints on how to
  overcome problems that are to be performed before
  the technicians are called.

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• Procedures Manual illustrates the steps and
  procedures that must be followed when operating
  the system. It gives details of which tasks need
  to be performed, by whom and when.
• An example is the procedure for backing up of
  data that will specify what files need to be
  backed up, when it is to be done, by whom, the
  extent of the backup and where the backups will
  be stored.

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• Trouble-shooters guide a guide briefly
  describing how to deal with malfunctions of the
  system. It gives tips and hints on how to
  overcome problems that are to be performed before
  the technicians are called.

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10. Disaster Recovery Plans

• A disaster recovery plan is a written plan
  detailing the procedures that need to take place
  if there is a major disaster such as power
  outages, virus, fire, etc. The steps in the plan
  are to guide the restoration of the computer to
  an operational state.
• A disaster recovery plan should be developed and
  tested before the new system is completely
  implemented.

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There are four components to a DRP

• (a) The Emergency Plan
• (b) The Backup Plan
• (c) The Recovery Plan
• (d) The Test Plan

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(a) The Emergency Plan

• This plan states the actions to be taken as soon
  as the disaster has happened. Because each
  disaster will be different, there will be
  different emergency procedures to follow. Each
  procedure has a number of steps leading to a
  consistent outcome despite the type of disaster.

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• The plan would include
• Names and telephone numbers of people and
  emergency authorities (police/fire) to contact.
• Certain procedures need to be followed in
  relation to computer equipment such as shutting
  down the computers.
• Employees evacuated
• Procedure that allows for re-entry into the
  facility.

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(b) The Backup Plan

• The development of a system for making effective
  backup needs to have been developed for this plan
  to be effective. The appropriate people should
  be trained and documentation detailing the exact
  procedures to be followed needs to be produced.

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• The backup plan specifies how the organisation
  will use their backup files to resurrect the
  files necessary to resume operations. If, due to
  the disaster, a change of location is needed, a
  source of replacement equipment needs to have
  been organised.
• The backup plan is activated directly after the
  Emergency plan.

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(c) The Recovery Plan

• This plan specifies the operations that need to
  take place so that the system can be fully
  operational. There could be possibly two
  committees that would look after the situation.
  One committee could look after the software
  replacement and the other could be responsible
  for hardware replacement.

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(d) The Test Plan

• The test plan is a dry-run of the disaster
  recovery plan. It is a simulation of a disaster
  and is written so that tests on how the
  organisation would respond to the disaster can be
  conducted.

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11. System Access Controls

• A successful changeover method would need to
  cater for any data and information security and
  access requirements. All passwords and other
  security arrangements need to be documented and
  in place before the system is put into service.

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12. Maintaining the new system

• Once the system has been tested, procedures and
  techniques are needed to establish a maintenance
  routine, so that I can achieve its goals and
  objectives. The maintenance of a system involves
  responding to small difficulties and problems
  that can occur and to perform routine tasks such
  as printer ink replacement and installation of
  upgrades to software.

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• In large organisations help-desk and technical
  staff need to be employed and trained.
• The use of help desk and technical staff is very
  important in the first few weeks after the new
  system is put into place.
• Also monitoring procedures need to be set up that
  will record performance data that will be used in
  evaluation phase and the solving of problems that
  arise.
• Software upgrades are a major maintenance task.
• There are four types

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• Slipstream upgrade
• This is a relatively small upgrade to the
  software. It happens routinely and is often
  without inconveniencing the user of the system.
• Patch
• A patch is a small change that corrects a
  problem. Patches are often used to rectify small
  bugs that may appear in a program. Anti virus
  program manufactures often release patches to
  their in field installed code to detect and
  provide remedies for new viruses.

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• New Release
• A new release improves on some parts of the
  software, but it fundamentally operates the same
  as before. It will require minor alterations to
  user documentation and also possibly involves
  more training.
• New Version
• The program is currently on the system, however a
  new version will upgrade the current version,
  because there are new functions and features that
  can be used

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• Part of the maintenance requires arrangements
  that need to be made with the suppliers of
  equipment (hardware and software) to rectify
  future problems that may occur.
• A maintenance agreement should be entered into
  when the equipment is purchased. This ensures
  that the suppliers or their designated
  maintenance organisation are the designated
  people that the purchaser has contact with to
  ensure that the equipment can be replaced or
  fixed as soon as possible

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EVALUATION PHASE
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• The final phase of the SDLC involves monitoring,
  evaluating and maintaining the system.
• The system is evaluated to determine how
  effectively it meets the objectives identified in
  the Feasibility Study.

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• The objectives are continually assessed over the
  life of the system in three aspects
• Performance,
• Reliability and
• Management of Change.
• If the objectives are not adequately met, then
  the process of Analysis begins again.

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a) Performance Evaluation

• At this stage the system is fully tested and
  implemented.
• Now the systems analyst is concerned with
  evaluating the efficiency and productivity of the
  technology.
• These characteristics can be objectively measured
  and compared to the estimates indicated in the
  analysis and design phase.

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• Efficiency is measured in terms of the times,
  cost and effort to complete a set task Eg we
  might measure the time taken for a robot arm to
  weld a car piece, or the effort needed to produce
  a report.
• Productivity is concerned with the efficiency of
  the overall process Eg we could measure how many
  cars are produced in a full working day.

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• Efficiency and Productivity could be evaluated in
  the following ways
• Observing the systems capacity to handle peak
  periods of demand.
• Surveying staff to determine tasks completed
  during a set period such as one day or one hour.
• Timing the completion of a task
• Calculating the total cost of one working day
  including wages, electricity and materials used.

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b) Reliability

• Many problems with a system only appear after the
  system has been implemented.
• These can include faulty equipment, incorrect
  procedures and inadequate training.

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• The reliability of the system should be
  continually supervised to ensure that procedures
  are producing their desired effect.
• Procedures such as security, backup and
  validation could be assessed in the following
  ways

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• Random shut downs of the computer system to
  determine if processes can be carried out
  manually.
• Removal of selected files to determine if backup
  procedures are reliable.
• Using computer professionals to test security
  measures

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c) Management of Change

• An essential part of evaluating the system is
  assessing the effects of change on job
  specifications, work environment, procedures,
  etc.
• These changes can be monitored in the following
  ways

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1. Surveying staff reactions to the new system.
2. Testing staff knowledge of the procedures
3. Monitoring frequency and cause of sick days
4. Assessing adequacy of training (can be also
   achieved by surveying people being trained).

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Maintenance

• A program of ongoing maintenance of the system,
  which considers technology, procedures and
  personnel requirements, needs to be established.
• This could include replacing faulty equipment,
  modifying procedures or training new staff.

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Costs and Benefits

• The function of top level management in this
  process is to evaluate the overall costs and
  benefits of the system.

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Economic Costs

• The introduction of the new system will have both
  direct and indirect economic costs
• Cost of new equipment
• Employment of design team and computer
  professionals.
• Possible loss of production during implementation
  of system
• Disruption to staff and possible redundancy
  payments.

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Social Costs

• Changes in information systems can lead to
  negative effects on personnel and society
• Repetitive strain injury
• Deskilling
• Loss of employment
• Stress due to change and technology.

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Economic Benefits

• The introduction of new system should have
  economic benefits
• Increased efficiency and productivity.
• Improved quality control
• Improved customer service
• Enhanced decision making

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Social Benefits

• Changes in information systems can lead to
  benefits for personnel and society
• Increase in staff skills and job satisfaction
• Health and safety reforms
• Higher level of flexibility