(BQ) Part 2 book "Managing information, technology" has contents: Basic systems concepts and tools, methodologies for custom software development, methodologies for purchased software packages, IT project management, leading the information systems function,.and other contents. | CHAPTER 8 Basic Systems Concepts and Tools “It’s the SYSTEM’s fault!” “The SYSTEM is down.” “My SYSTEM can’t be beat!” “Don’t buck the SYSTEM.” Phrases such as these remind us that the term system can be used to refer to an information system with hardware, software, and telecommunications components (discussed in Part I) or that the term system can be used to refer to something much broader than an information system. For example, a systems perspective helps us to understand the complex relationships between different business units and different types of events within an organization so that when we change one aspect of a business we can anticipate the impact on the entire business. The ability to manage organizations as systems with interrelated processes is crucial for success in today’s fast-changing business environments. Today’s business managers are being asked to play major roles in systems project teams with internal information systems (IS) specialists and/or outside vendors and consultants, and one of their key roles will be to help provide a high-level systems perspective on the business. Business and information technology (IT) managers must work together to determine the best scope for a systems project to meet the business’s needs, as well as the business’s requirements for financial returns on its IT investments. With IS personnel, business managers will also help develop and review graphical diagrams of the ways in which the organization currently works, as well as new ways. This chapter will therefore familiarize you with some of the specific methods and techniques that software developers use to describe both current (As-Is) and future (To-Be) systems in the abstract. In other words, this chapter is about design, whereas the next few chapters are about construction. Today there is also a heightened sensitivity to system security and reliability. At the end of this chapter, we describe a variety of controls that are associated with best .
