Objectives: Introduction Over View of System Analysis and Design
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- 10.7 Software Selection
| 10.6 Vendor Selection This step determines the winner among the list of vendors available. The vendor with the best combination of reputation, reliability, service record, training delivery time, lease / finance terms & conversion schedule is selected. Initially a decision is made as to which vendor to contact. The sources available to check on vendors include 1. Users 6. Vendor software list 2. Software houses 7. Vendor referral directories 3. Trade Associations 8. Published Directories 4. Universities 9. Consultants 5. Publications 10. Industry Contacts Vendors annual financial statement. After this data is gathered about a vendor, it is matched with the selection criteria. Few of the selected vendors are invited to give presentation of their system. The system chosen goes though contract negotiations before implementation. 10.7 Software Selection Software selection is a critical aspect of system development. The search starts with the software, followed by the hardware. There are two ways of acquiring software custom – made or off – the shelf packages. Today’s trend is toward purchasing packages, which represent roughly 10 percent of what it costs to develop the same in house. In addition to reduced cost, there are other advantages 1. A good package can get the system running in a matter of days rather than the weeks or months required for homegrown packages. 2. MIS personnel are released for other projects. 3. Packages are generally reliable and perform according to stated documentation. 4. Minimum risks are usually associated with large – scale systems and programming efforts. 5. Delays in completing software projects in house often occur because programmers quit in midstream. 6. It is difficult to predict the cost of homegrown software. 7. The user has a change of seeing how well the package performs before purchasing it. There are drawbacks, however, to software packages 1. The package may not meet user requirements adequately. 2. Extensive modification of a package usually results in loss of the vendor’s support. 3. The methodology for package evaluation and selection is often poorly defined. The result is a haphazard review based on a faulty processor questionable selection criteria. 4. For first – time software package users, the overall expectation from a package is often unclear and ill defined. It can be seen, then, that the quality of a software package cannot be determined by price alone. A systematic review is crucial. Download 0.94 Mb. Share with your friends:
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