Information Systems Life Cycle.

ished. Answers to various questions (e.g. �€" What’s wrong with the current system in place? Should improvements be made to the current system or is a totally new system design the most intuitive and advantageous and necessary?)

It’s also important to note that each phase has its own life cycle, which involves much more than can be described in this post. The growth and development phase starts with strategically grouping tasks into phases, obtaining input from systems’ end-users (because after all, they are the ones expected to efficiently and effectively operate these systems) and developing unambiguous procedures and standards of operations for end-users to follow (Cerritos Online, 2008) and after a few more internal steps, ends with organizational plans to transition into full preparation of the IS’s eventual implementation and use (Essential Strategies, n.d.). So with the timecard system, it is important to incorporate end-users into the system functionality; it needs to be user-friendly, straight forward and fully executable. The end-users, in this case, all employees, need input into the design and functionality so that as few anomalies as possible occur. Incorporating them into the overhaul of the old system and the building and launch of the new system also does something else�€"it lets them know that the company and those it leaves in charge of managing them do care about the value-added commentary they bring to the conversation.

That can only create or build on positive morale, which is great for the company’s bottom line because it then has employees who know they are positively regarded. Aparicio et al (2005) describe it succinctly in that it’s “…the part of the cycle process in which a desirable spreading of the systems starts, as a result of adequate implementation (p. 2).” So during this phase, end-users begin to use the system(s), taking the systems’ life cycle to an inevitable maturing phase.

In the maturity phase of the IS life cycle, system maintenance and end-user support are paramount, and more specifically, “The existence of rules to standardize this process generally contributes to the improvement of the performance of the system and people that use it (Aparicio et al, 2005).” This means that everything from assessing systems’ performance to logging end-user activities to adequately assessing systems’ security are all important, mutually exclusive yet interdependent factors during the maturity phase. This is where the end-users will assist in identifying and making known any kinks or hiccups in the system as they use it. In this event, they are likely to be the most willing because it’s a timecard system, something that affects their own personal bottom lines�€"their pay.

Finally, the decline (or senior) phase, the system succumbs to the unavoidable eventuality of becoming a dinosaur and now must prepare to make room for new developments�€"new babies�€"whose lives will run the same course (Aparicio et al, 2005). This, of course, could take years and years depending on how adequate and competitive the system proved to be at its inception and usefulness over the years as well as the expenses incurred to implement and maintain it. In a phase of decline, it may even be possible to extend the life cycle of the IS by “perpetuating the actual system (Aparicio et al, 2005, p. 2)” which Aparicio et al also states is practically impossible but is accomplishable to some degree by “intelligent use of maintenance (p. 2).” If there is no way to perpetuate the system (extend its life), the change process must be managed and the transition from one IS to another must be closely and strategically managed.

Note: if using a more traditional approach to defining an IS life cycle, one might break it down this way: 1. Planning & Analysis (Launch); 2. Design (Growth & Development); with some cross-over into infantile Implementation (early Maturity); 3. Implementation (Maturity over time); 4. Operating, Support & Security