Systems Development Life Cycle Study of the Information Center

摘要

End user computing has penetrated most large organizations in an uncontrolled fashion. The newness of the technology, the lack of management expertise, and the inability to gain corporatewide control under the traditional organizational structure have often resulted in inefficiency, incompatibility, and missed opportunities. One solution to this situation is the Information Center (IC). ICs are centralized coordination centers for end user computing and offer end user computer expertise. ICs may be any combination of consulting services, training services, mainframe computer terminals, or microcomputers. This thesis examines the IC concept from the viewpoint of the manager tasked with implementation and provides a methodology, the Systems Development Life Cycle, to evaluate and implement an IC. Each phase of the methodology is explained and some innovative ideas on IC implementation and operation are provided. Examples of past successes and mistakes are also presented.