Software Limited

SoftWear, Limited (SWL) is a continuing case study that illustrates the knowledge and skills described in each chapter. In this case study, the student acts as a member of the SWL systems development team and performs various tasks.

Background

Systems analyst Rick Williams and programmer/analyst Carla Moore continued to work on a logical model of the payroll system. Meanwhile, the information systems department recently purchased and installed Visible Analyst, a CASE toolkit that supports logical and physical modeling. Rick and Carla traveled to Massachusetts to attend a one-week work-shop to learn how to use the package. After returning from their trip, Rick and Carla decided to create the logical model for the payroll system with Visible Analyst. They felt that the time spent now would pay off in later phases of the project. Rick and Carla used the manual DFDs they created in Chapter 5 to create computerized DFDs using Visible Analyst. Now all related items for the new system are stored in the CASE tool. Over the next month, Rick and Carla looked at various alternatives and spent their time evaluating the potential solutions. They determined that the best solution was to purchase a payroll package, but the ESIP processing was so unique that none of the available software packages would handle SWL’s specific requirements. They concluded that SWL should purchase a payroll package and develop the ESIP system in-house. Jane Rossman and Ann Hon agreed with their recommendation. The systems analysts completed work on the logical model, alternative evaluations, and cost and time estimates and then prepared the system requirements document for the pay-roll system. The document was printed and distributed and a management presentation was scheduled at the end of the following week. At this point, the IT team members were confident that they had done a good job. They had worked closely with SWL users throughout the development process and received user approval on...