MGMT7020 Chap.11 Systems Development, IT Strategy and ERP
Systems Development, IT Strategy and ERP
How systems are built
Week 8 covers the systems development lifecycle, including Agile, IT strategic planning and enterprise resource planning.
This chapter compares sequential and iterative development and links the choice to requirement stability, using evidence from the readings.
Strategy and integration
It sets out a strategic planning sequence from business goals to a technology roadmap, and explains what an ERP system integrates and why ERP projects test every governance idea in the course.
Why the debate matters
The project management video this semester set a statement about whether Agile has much to do with managing an information systems project.
Whatever position you took, the technology module asks the same question from the other side: how development methods, strategic plans and enterprise systems connect to governance, ownership and benefits.
Common errors on this topic
A frequent error is to present Agile and governance as alternatives.
Another is to describe an ERP purely as software, ignoring the standard processes it brings and the organisational change it demands. A third is a strategic plan that lists projects without linking them to business goals.
What this chapter covers
- 01
Phases of the systems development lifecycle
- 02
Sequential versus Agile delivery
- 03
Agile product owner versus project owner
- 04
IT strategic planning steps
- 05
ERP integration and standard processes
- 06
Customisation and change in ERP projects
Worked example · free
Recommend a delivery approach for two systems
- 1(a) Agile: requirements are unclear, so short iterations let staff react to working features.
- 1(b) Largely sequential: the format and date are fixed, so requirements can be frozen early.
- 2Unchanged in both: a business case, a project owner accountable for benefits, risk management and a benefits plan.
Key terms
- Waterfall
- A sequential development approach in which each phase finishes before the next begins.
- Agile
- An iterative development approach that delivers working increments in short cycles.
- Product Owner
- In Agile teams, the member responsible for maximising the business value of what is built.
- Enterprise Resource Planning
- An integrated package that runs core business processes on one shared database.
- IT Roadmap
- A sequenced plan of technology initiatives linked to business goals.
Systems Development, IT Strategy and ERP FAQ
When is a sequential lifecycle better than Agile?
When requirements are stable, well understood and expensive to change late, such as a fixed regulatory format. Agile suits work where users cannot fully state their needs until they see something working.
Is the Agile product owner the same as the project owner?
No. Zwikael and Meredith note the product owner maximises business value inside the development team, while the project owner sits in the funding organisation and answers to the funder for the business case.
Why are ERP projects so difficult?
An ERP touches every function, so it combines cross-department requirements, large data migrations and organisation-wide changes in how people work. Heavy customisation adds cost and makes upgrades harder.
What does IT strategic planning produce?
A roadmap of technology initiatives linked to business goals, prioritised by value, risk, cost and dependency. It should include review points, because a plan that is never revisited turns into a list of old approvals.
Why should ERP customisation be limited?
Heavy customisation raises cost, lengthens delivery and makes future upgrades harder, and it often carries old process inefficiencies into the new system. Adapting processes to the package is frequently the better strategic choice, and it is a decision for the owner.
What happens in the maintenance phase of the lifecycle?
After deployment the system is corrected, updated and enhanced until it is retired. Maintenance often costs more over the system's life than the original build, so decisions made during development, such as heavy customisation, have long-running effects.
Can an organisation combine sequential and Agile approaches?
Yes. Many plan and fund work in stages with formal approvals while building iteratively within each stage, which keeps governance checkpoints and still lets users react to working software.
Exam move
Prepare a two-minute position on the claim that Agile is only a development method, granting what it changes and naming the governance it leaves in place. For ERP, prepare one benefit, one risk and the governance role that manages each.
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