City Design 1

Table of ContentsChapter 1 – SDLC Overview & Requirements...............................................................................2

Executive Summary Analysis......................................................................................................2

Preliminary Analysis/ Requirements/Current System Design.....................................................3

Chapter (2) – Design & Development.............................................................................................5

Develop a Use Case.....................................................................................................................5

Vision Statement..........................................................................................................................7

Functional Decomposition Graphs...............................................................................................8

Data Flow Diagram......................................................................................................................9

A Sequence Diagram.................................................................................................................10

The Storyboard Graph................................................................................................................13

Conclusion.................................................................................................................................14

Chapter 3 – Test & Quality Assurance..........................................................................................16

Introduction to SQA...................................................................................................................16

Unit Testing................................................................................................................................16

Systems Testing.........................................................................................................................18

Acceptance Testing....................................................................................................................19

Conclusion.................................................................................................................................21

Chapter 4 – Development Strategies & Acquisition......................................................................23

Introduction................................................................................................................................23

In-Sourcing.................................................................................................................................23

Insourcing and Outsourcing Combined.....................................................................................25

Outsourcing................................................................................................................................26

Conclusion.................................................................................................................................28

Chapter 5 – System Integration & Deployment............................................................................29

Introduction................................................................................................................................29

The Work Breakdown Structure................................................................................................29

Conclusion.................................................................................................................................32

City Design 2

MOSSYROCK CITY DESIGN

Chapter 1 – SDLC Overview & Requirements

Executive Summary Analysis

The purpose of this design is to lay the needed overview and specifications for the local

municipality geographically located with my home town. Between the City Hall and the Water

Works facility, only the City Hall is presently working administrative issues with programs for

the city. The water works facility does have a single computer and is not linked into the City

Hall for electronic messaging, billings or other enterprise needs. The City Hall focuses on

writing the monthly customer billings for water and sewer, conducting electronic and cash

receivables/payables, geo-mapping for the Water Works facility and Mossyrock Planning

Commission, and employee pay-rolls. The water/sewer data collection is conducted with a hand-

held Master-Link to attain all the water and sewer readings. This device is then taken to City

Hall and downloaded onto the single computer, currently being utilized as a server and

workstation. They are presently using the “Vision program, which is mandated by the state for

all municipalities, county and state. This program is written in the SQL language. Due to the

program running on a desktop computer, the performance and functional ability of the program

is extremely degraded when carrying out operational functions. This computer also holds all the

data from the Master-Link and is slightly compatible with “Vision”. The computer has an

external drive for data back-up but all back-up operations have to be conducted manually by the

city clerk. The “Vision” program also tends to lose or misconfigure data if the computer is

turned off. The “Vision” program is intended to run on a server type system for maximum

City Design 3

efficiency where it is not presently being utilized. The current machine is presently utilizing an

A8 (AMD) Advanced Micro Designs quad core processor with 6 Gig of memory to handle all

cached information.

Preliminary Analysis/ Requirements/Current System Design

Currently, there are three computers in City Hall and one is being utilized as the server

and work station. By assessing the base line requirements of the system, within the current state,

the system is only rated at 30% of maximum efficiency. The “Vision” software company

utilizes a schematics requirement (pdf) document to establish base line hardware requirements

dependent upon the number of work stations in existence. In this report, it is recommended that

all servers operating this software are highly recommend to run a server with Windows Small

Business Server 2012, Intel-i5 enterprise processor, 8 Gig of DDR3 memory and additional

SATA/HD drives in RAID 1 or 5 configuration, as a minimum. The server may be utilized, in

its current configuration, to handle up to 5 functional workstations for smooth and proficient

network operations. A single desktop running with this software is ONLY recommended if the

computer is a self-contained system with no other nodes within a network. The software is not

compatible with AMD or Cyrix type hardware systems and should use Intel exclusive reliant

hardware. The “Vision” software has the abilities of interacting between cash management

account, customer water and sewer billings and electronic funds management. It also, completes

pay-roll functions for the city workers yet the system is constantly dropping data within these

systems in “Vision”. An auto-back up is desired in the RAID (Random Array of Independent

Disks), to be functionally installed within the Server. Currently, with no auto backup, the city

clerk has to conduct this operation manually. The “Vision” technical support has not been able

City Design 4

to circumvent these problem areas of data loss and automatic back up operations. A support

patch may be applied to foster prevention of data loss and auto backup.

City Design 5

Chapter (2) – Design & Development

Develop a Use Case

The purpose of this section is to better understand the scope of implementing an overall

“case use” study of the overall City Hall system by looking at the general area of the system and

sighting where each sub-system of the network is utilized. This may then be broken down into

further sub categories as we progress. Once the “use case” study has been accomplished we will

be able to incorporate the functional decomposition diagram portion. Even though functional

decomposition diagrams do not show sequential events, they do show a descending hierarchical

organization of the business functions that comprise the business operation. The functional

decomposition diagrams main function is to simplify and break down complex business

operations into manageable chunks. The decomposition function facilitates a better

understanding of the business and hence is useful in being a good analysis and design type tool.

Functional decomposition is instrumental in determining the functional solutions in the

requirements documents. This decomposition function is intrinsic in breaking down larger or

complex functions prior to developing a process flow diagram.

Within the City Hall we know they have many operations running on a redundant and

antiquated type computer network. The software running on these systems has already been

purported as software that should be running on a bigger capacity network. So, why is this

system not adequately standardized with matching hardware? This is where the functional

decomposition will come to fruition. Let’s view the data dictionary/repository diagram below

for an insight into a “use case” study of the City Hall and the functions within.

City Design 6

Use Case Component Functions Desired or Needed

Electronic

Funds

Employees Pay

Category

1) Weekly tracking table.

Fuels Payments

Category

Variable monthly fuel payment for city vehicles

tracking table.Administration Funds Monthly administrative costs tracking table

Operational Funds

Category

Bills receivable and funds payable.

Elect. Funds

Mngmt.

State Direct deposits from state for reimbursements

County Direct deposits from county for reimbursements

LGIP Investments Direct deposits from LGIP investments

Billing Sewer Billing Initial Connection fee and flat rate = $10 and $60

Water Billing Initial Connection fee and flat rate = $10 and $60

New Water/Sewer

Connections

Depends on hookup being new connection

($6,000) or existing connection re-hook ($10)City/Committee

Projects

Municipal Planning

Commission

Create data base for minutes and quick search

directory

Geographical

Mapping

Mapping Search

Directory

Utilize map embedded with city lines with section

and location searchSewer Line Mapping Database with streets and line positioning’s.

Water Line Mapping Database with streets and line positioning’s.

Cash

Management

Cash Receivable 1) Traffic Tickets

Figure (2-1)

Vision Statement

The vision statement, which is addressed in figure 2.2 represents the vision of the City

Hall and the overall workable structure being desired form the present state. It can also be known

as the high use case objective. As part of the project Development Company or contractor, it is

your primary responsibility to insert this analytical study at the very beginning as it will dictate

the time needed and areas to break down while development is in its life cycle. Party of this

City Design 7

vision is the company realizing the faults in the current system and applying them to the new

vision expectancy.

Figure (2-2)

Review and

refresh Vision

Develop road map, blueprint

and plan

Application

Communicate final version to

City Hall

First draft

for Vision

StatementSuggestions

for revision

to draft

Create shortlist for discussion

Review

themes with

City ClerkReview

themes with

Mayor

Initial Vision Working

Statement

Material for

first draft

statement

Revise

initial theme

with City

Transfer

ideas into

themes

OutputsProcessSte

ps

Design & Development

Gather

ideals from

employees

Evaluate old verses

new and establish

Vision with

proposed blueprint

to customer.

Preparation

Mediate with customer Strengths,

Weaknesses, Opportunities,

Threats

City Hall Vision

Integration

Design &

Developement

Contractor

Prepration

CustomerBilling

Water

$68 + $10 every 100 cubic gallons

$68. Flat rate. 300 cubic gallons

Late Fee: $10+$68 + overage per 100g

Seweradditional15% of

water bill rate

New Connection

$6000/no line

$3000 extra line

Exsisting/Start-up

$68 plus $15 to open line

City Design 8

Once the vision and the “Use Case” scenarios have been formulated for the all-around

expectancy, the next step would be to start developing a functional decomposition graph to break

down larger areas that need further emphasis to realize their base core operations. This then can

show how they can be re-integrated into the system in a more stream lined concept to work more

efficiently with the other objectives of the system.

Functional Decomposition Graphs

Taking a look back at the repository or data dictionary, we see that there are areas within

the repository that can be further broken down to view the base analysis within them. In this

case of functional decomposition we will take the “Billing” area and break it down into the

exponential factors of every billing and see how it may be integrated back into the Vision

program using a cleaner method (figure 2-3). It is currently automated but does not easily cross

reference customer/address relation between the Master Link and the Vision program.

Figure 2-3 By: Mark Simon

City Design 9

We could apply another decomposition graph line to this, at the customer billing showing how

the Master-Link program hooks to the customer billing and relays the information from the city

area field gathering. It would better relate to the full structure of the decomposition. All-in-all

decomposition is an intrinsic part of analyzing the programs fully to see how they and the user

utilize it all to perform proper data and everyday functions.

Data Flow Diagram

Send to

customers

Terminate

Cycle

information

through

vision to

New

connectivity of

existing water

Generate

Customer

Billing

Loop Limit 90

days till water

shut off

Account

status

"Defunct".

Not paid

Calculate Base

+Late + New

+percentage

Add 15%

additional of

water rate bill

depending on

Separate to

accounts

Cycle

information

through

vision to

match

Add base

$68.30 to all

accounts. .Ad

d

Separate to

accountsMaster Link

Sewer/Water

Scan

Data Flow Model Diagram

Account

Status

"Good". Paid

within 30

Cycle rate of

function and

return billingsAll Accounts

return input

Accounts

Add base

$68.30 to all

accounts.

Add

Separate to

accounts

Cycle

information

through

vision to

match

Download

Water Sewer

monthly use

to computer

City Hall/ City

Clerk

Data dowload

Interconnect

with Vision

Vision App

Figure 2-

4

City Design 10

The data flow diagram (Figure 2-4), as seen above is the function of data being

downloaded or “input” into the system to begin a function within that very system. The billing

portion of the data dictionary has been able to be worked into the flowchart to see exactly what

happens from beginning to end or output. This will be used as a preliminary step to create and

overview of the system. This can later be elaborated for both software and hardware functional

performance and base lining. We won’t be able to see if it can be sequential or run in parallel

function and neither can it show the proficiency or speed. It is only to follow the path of data

and see if it can integrate with new hardware with more proficiency and function. Sequential

diagrams run pretty much on the same analogy as you will see in the next section

A Sequence Diagram

In a sequence diagram, there are a few parameters to completing one of these. Keep in

mind that they must show external sources factoring in on the formulation. These external

factors must provide messages for the sequence to basically chew on and formulate. They

should show any indication of loops in the sequence that might have to be hammered out. When

it does present iterative information, return values may be shown from the previous calculations.

One other thing to keep in mind about the sequential diagram is that is used as a partial picture to

look at a particular scenario with in the “use case dictionary. This sequence can be utilized in

performing the function on any given area given that it has an actual performing input/out

function. Below is my drawing of the billing system in sequential form (Figure 2-5). This

model incorporates the need of the Sewer and Water. It applies the requested service, use of

service and the need for such a service. This is then all calculated in using the Master Link

information to input into the sequence to perform the needed operations to accurately perform

City Design 11

the billing for the city’s customers. All given prices are added in and there is also a loop area

showing a countdown to water shut off if a customer decides to forgo paying for the service over

90 days. It then spans back to conduct final calculations and send the billing to the customer via

mail or by electronic means. Most of the town’s people usually just go with the regular snail

mail in this case. Once we have accomplished the sequential diagram, it’s on to the next

storyboard.

Figure 2-

City Design 12

The Storyboard Graph

In this section, storyboards will be shown to understand the dynamics of their utilization.

Storyboards are primarily used to understand the requirements of how the user interfaces with

the system and the usability requirements associated with this system. The storyboard may

incorporate how the user interfaces with the system before it is prototyped, created, and

integrated. The story board is part of the boundary-class use cases. They rely on dynamic

relationships applying to links, associations and aggressions, as seen in (Figure2-6).

City Design 13

Each class of the boundary is in relation to a high-level representation for a presentation or

similar construct for the user interface. There are benefits to following the storyboard approach.

First, it provides a trace to a specific use case, thereby providing a seamless integration with a

use-case-driven approach for software engineering. As a result, the user interface will be driven

by the use cases that the system is required to provide, and by the actors' (users) roles in, and

expectations of, these use cases. The graph provides a high-level view of dynamic window

relationships such as window navigation paths and other navigation paths between objects in the

user interface. It provides a way of capturing the requirements of each window or similar

construct in the user interface, by describing a corresponding boundary class. This is because

each boundary class defines responsibilities, attributes, relationships, etc. that have a

(Figure 2-

6)

City Design 14

straightforward mapping to the corresponding construct in the user interface. Finally, It provides

a high-level view of static window relationships such as window containment hierarchies and

other associations between objects in the user interface (N.A., 2002). Overall, a story board

should clarify the use case itself, keep action statements brief, avoid sequences and nodes, and

be consistent in the used case.

Conclusion

In this segment, we have taken a look at the “use case” method and drawn out a

dictionary of requirements for City Hall. An overall vision statement was added to clarify the

overall requirements with guidance on its use. We then broke off the “Billing” segment and

broke it down into a Function decomposition table giving an expanded view of this process. The

“Billing” segment was generated through a flow diagram to see the steps working within the

system and how the system uses the system to generate the billings. It was then generated into a

sequential diagram that could be better understood for coding the sequence of events needed for

the computer to run this function. Finally, I presented a story board that integrated the overall

problem of the City Hall. It doesn’t run hand-in-hand with the billing but gives the reasoning for

the extreme latency of why the billing system cannot generate the need process to adequately

define and operate the function. Designing is always and intrinsic part to your project and will

save you time in the end.

.

City Design 15

Chapter 3 – Test & Quality Assurance

Introduction to SQA

Conducting software quality assurance (SQA) ensures a means for monitoring the

software design, programming processes and methods for ensuring quality of the product. This

is done by utilizing audits of the quality management system from which the software system

was created from. The audits are standardized by standards developed from ISO9000. SQA

covers the whole development process from software design, coding, code reviews, source code

control, and various management levels all the way to release management. The whole process

may include up to 28 different methods before the product is ready for operation by the

City Design 16

stakeholders, company, or users. In this section, we will be reviewing three areas of the process

to better inform the clients in the processes needed to ensure stability, life cycle, proficiency and

performance, mean time before failure and possible maintenance cycles. The areas being

covered in this section will look at unit testing, system testing and acceptance planning measures

to ensure customer satisfaction.

Unit Testing

Unit testing is paramount in the initial building of programming. It entails a lot of

documentation, running and repeating of each segment before the testing and programming can

move forward. Once the units have all been formed together, the project can move into the

systems testing. Unit testing encompasses the smallest part of reviewing an application. In unit

testing, a unit may be testing a function, a procedure, or individual program. The actual

programmers are those, who building the program bit by bit to ensure the performance of each

independent block of coding. Once these units of code are tested and found to be running error-

free and at top proficiency, they will then be compiled or integrated into the larger program

components by means of what is called integration testing. Visual Studio Test Explorer is the

most reasonable program designed to help developers and teams that incorporate unit area testing

into their projects. By unit testing it will ensure the accuracy of the program by verifying the

actual code is doing what is expected of it. The project may be tested using discrete testable

behaviors that can be tested as individual units. This should all be acutely documented. Before

initiating the desired code, under unit testing, the programmer should devise pre-testing modules

to analyze areas of concern why developing the code. This method is known as test driven

development. It will verify the behavior of the desired code in response to incorrectly inputting

data, boundary specifications, and over all response to the standards.

City Design 17

First, each peripheral program needs to be interfaced with the “Vision” program. This

constitutes implementing code to easily talk with Vision for sewer, water, maps, pay-roll,

backup, city planning and water works. We can name each of these as a test bank in IntelliSense

from Visual Studio. For example we could apply “waterInterfaceTest” or “sewerInterfaceTest”

and designate them as a test class. Nice thing about Visual Studio IntelliSense is that it will aid

in your creating a test for the proposed code project. IntelliSense will also provide assertion

statements and method attributes to aid in the presentation of a failed or passed test module.

Lastly when writing the test method for these, the IntelliSense will provide optional setup and

tear down methods before dismissing the class type (MSDN, 2013).

For City Hall, the primary utilization of programming will entail coordination of a better

connection between computers and server, interaction between Vision and Master Link and

being able to utilize city maps through the network. This is needed in order for Public Works,

the mayor, and the city planners to better assess water and sewer routes. These all need to be

integrated into a database server and able to interconnect between all three. Cross application

graphics user interfaces need to be established to perform a quick access to all areas using one

module. Further, an automated back-up program needs to be generated to glean new information

into the data bank with having to manually conduct the procedure weekly. Object oriented

security will be implemented ensuring only authorized personnel have access to billings with the

system for water and sew.

Systems Testing

Under the systems testing module, the systems personnel need to generate tests that will validate

booting, graphics user interface, performance, data transfer rates, vulnerabilities, imports and

City Design 18

exports of files, Bit-locker password protection, encryption functions, data retrieval, audio

synchronizing, network connections, drivers and much more. Since all of these programs run on

Windows, we will be testing most of the software to hardware and programming through the

Window’s Hardware Certification Kit (HCK). This kit certifies the devices for the hardware

portion of the programming. It will go through every requirement for the code to integrate into

the hardware. Windows supplies the HCK for Windows and Server 2008, with an HCK product

type test matrix to define the needed drivers, compatible devises and operating systems that may

be integrated using this style of system testing. Microsoft Developers Network also provides

supplemental test content and HCK filters, which enables the systems operator to help integrate

and pass the testing of the system (MSDN, 2013).

As the system is being tested for integration of software, hardware, drivers interconnect,

and program interfacing; it is important to keep a sequential track plan of the tests throughout the

project. Microsoft Developer Network has also created the perfect functional program for

monitoring these areas. It is called the Microsoft Test Manager (MTM). The MTM can easily

track your progress on any of the devised test suites for the project. The tests can be marked as

failed or passed, can be monitored and recorded individually and the test can also be blocked or

rest to active directory when you are ready to reinitiated the program and or test. The program

will track how many test cases that are ready to run, track your plan progress, track regression

and failure analysis and create custom test reports. Once this phase is completed using the

Windows Test Manager, the project may move on to the acceptance plan phase.

City Design 19

Acceptance Testing

This portion of the project will encompass tests that integrate the user into the

interactions with using the newly designed software. They can be done on a graphics user

interface for working on the web based or application software. The Web Based test entails

three sub area test procedures regarding build verification testing, scale testing and stress testing.

Build verification testing involves application functionality from the view of the end user. The

scale test is a test of the application to determine if it can handle the required number of users

under normal conditions. This is especially true of web based servers. The stress test verifies

that the application can handle very high volumes of user interface being executed at one time.

The primary purpose of this test is to drive the system way passed it’s acceptable tolerances to

see how it will behave. In the City Hall project case, we will have to define the usage of five

different computer system work stations within the server and how they will interface with it.

Depending on whether they want an actual web page for auto pay to the city, this could require

web based acceptance testing programs for customers accessing the web page, to pay the utility

bills. This will all have to be assessed by the assistant clerk, City Clerk, Mayor and City Council

for user acceptance testing.

The end user has the primary responsibility for finding the bugs in the system once it has

advanced to this stage. The question is, how will you, as the project coordinator or manager

receive the need information for further project improvement? When I conducted projects in

the military, there were many ways to improve tweaking of our mission requirements. The big

one was running a real-time exercise and monitoring where the problem areas were coming up

short. Each of these would be documented in an after-action report. This way we knew the

shortfalls and could study them to rectify the short falls. It is the same with the client. As the

City Design 20

technician, it is your job to monitor the progress of the program under real-time use. After the

real-time functions have been established in the (wet-run) scenario, there will be bugs and other

things that show up. These should all be documented by either the user, of the technician as the

sequence progresses. This can then be re-base lined, bugs and loops removed, and the process

started again for further disruptions, performance inadequacies, and bugs (MSDN, 2013). Once

the parameters have been set with the above three sections, as the coordinator, it is imperative to

flow a quality assurance program.

Quality Assurance Program

Even from the very start, quality assurance is the backbone of any given project.

Even though testing is being conducted throughout the whole process, it’s the coordinator’s

responsibility to ensure every step is being carried out, as designated throughout the plan. But

how can every step be audited for success? It’s quite easy. Just as we have testers, who are in

the actual testing phases, there should be personnel conducting over site of the phases to ensure

those tests are being conducted accurately and effectively with no cutting of corners. This entails

the use of audits throughout the process. They can be done manually by an oversight coordinator

or by some piece of qualitative monitoring software. The biggest quality assurance comes from

the very clients or customers you are building the system for. They expect that software and

hardware to have reliability, maintainability, manageability, resource efficiency, testability, and

be failure free from defects. In order to have baseline objectives of the software being developed,

there should be objective measurements, software qualitative attributes, and process and software

metrics should be in place. The visual Basic program also has quality assessment tools for

monitoring the quality of the product being constructed. FX-Cop, VS2012Code Analysis, Early

Warning and freeware like Source Monitor are just a few of the audit programs ensuring quality

City Design 21

of the processed product. FX-Cop is a code analyzer that monitors .NET framework managed

assemblies for conformance to the design guidelines. It uses parsing, reflection and calligraphic

analysis to inspect assembly language. Early Warning comes enhanced with VB.NET 2012,

which is a back ground compiler for catching runtime errors when the coder is writing the script.

VS Code Analysis does pretty much the same thing as FX-Cop. This is run in the team version

of Visual Studio 2012. Even a freeware program like Source Monitor is good for monitoring

source code and configures calculations of some metrics. It literally saves checkpoints for

comparison during your projects so that they can be compared to the final script areas. There are

many others for quality assurance. These are just a couple, which monitor certain steps along the

pathway. Others are even more reliable, like “Orcas” and “N-Depend”. These two quality

assurance programs do many audits throughout the task but are fee-based and might not query

well within the budget.

Conclusion

In this section we have covered the unit testing, systems testing, acceptance testing and

quality assurance testing. Throughout the SDLC there are many steps generated before the finish

product is ready for the customer or client. As a Systems Analyst and Designer, each of these

test areas is paramount to the accomplishment of a proper project tasking. You, as the designer

have the ability to follow each of the steps generated or try an circumvent a procedure or two.

However, quality assurance stems itself across the expanse of the project. Therefore, a shabby

project is not feasible. There are too many cyber eyes watching every process.

City Design 22

Chapter 4 – Development Strategies & Acquisition

Introduction

Now that we have developed a design approach using graphs, flowcharts, and conducting

initial assessments, it is time to look at the broad spectrum of network hardware needed within

the system. As was stated in chapter one of this review, the City Hall is composed of three work

areas or stations and is utilizing one of the computers as a workstation and server. Any Network

administrator would most likely be pulling their hair our about now having to create data bases

and operationally function water, sewer, billing, payroll, street maps for water and sewer and a

myriad of other components within this system. This is where we need to present the potential of

City Design 23

system overload and how to prevent it. There are a few options available to alleviate the present

problem within the City Hall under this venue. The city could purchase their own hardware and

software, have it all outsourced to a network vendor, or conduct a combination of both. In this

section we will present an overview of these areas in order to aid the customer in the best overall

choice. There are many factors involved that look at the advantages and disadvantages of all

three concepts. Most businesses to day like the sound of owning their own, but is it really cost

effect?

In-Sourcing

All too often a lot of businesses think that if they are able to maintain their own network systems

and they will also save a smoking bundle of money by doing so. Depending on the size of the

business and the depth of the purse strings, this could be a viable answer. Internal control of a

system may be very beneficial, if the system is capable of being managed, maintained, and

outweighs the overhead costs that comes with the system. Most of the time, small companies

and businesses believe a computer network can run forever, as it is small and doesn’t need much

to keep the network operational. This is a huge fallacy as systems need daily upkeep and

monitoring for vulnerabilities, attacks and expansion of the system. This can be properly

conducted if the business or company has sufficiently trained personnel capable of handling the

business skills, resources and equipment needed to do the job through network management

skills. Luckily, employees should already understand how the system works and this can be

beneficial to internal cost. On the other hand, if the employees are under skilled or

inexperienced in network management, this may be seen as an additional work tasking on the

employee. It may cause them to be stressed out and work less efficiently in their present

responsibilities (Finch, 2014). Cost is the main driving factor for insourcing verses outsourcing.

City Design 24

Most network systems and software have between a three and five year life cycle. I have seen

systems go for a lot longer, but if the proficiency of the system is paramount, and the business or

company is stuck on internal sourcing; the best approach would be to budget for a new system

every five years. Most companies fail to peer into their crystal ball and see an antiquated system

sitting in front of them with no budget forecast. This has become a divergent, systemic,

troubling affect throughout a lot of companies. What is even more frightening is the

implementation of Federal and State Laws emphasizing the higher standards of securities to be

met. Under Washington (RCW) Revised Codes of Washington 19.255.010, state, county and

municipal areas are required to implement strict security prevention and vulnerability tactics to

ensure the safety of personal information for customers within the system. Federal laws execute

the oversight to ensure these laws are enforced by the municipalities. They are “The Sarbanes-

Oxley Act of 2002” (SOX) and the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA), which ensures the safety

of customer’s information from impenetrable means. Failing to do this can result in hefty fines

and law suits from Federal, state and customer venues. City Hall already has all the main

components’ needed to maintain a functional system, minus a server to make it all run smoothly

and efficiently. By current estimates, if the City Hall were to invest in a server system and

hardware firewall at the subscriber line, the performance and security of the overall network

would be within legal as well as efficiency means. For City Hall’s needs, a Dell PowerEdge

T420 would be the ultimate in performance and streamlining for the City Hall. Base price on

one of these is around $1300, but after all required additions are added for a RAID 5 backup and

connections are made throughout the office, the final price could be around $5000. Since the

town is also a municipality, it is authorized to shop for hardware in the Western States

Contracting Alliance for all government municipalities. This is a placed specifically set up for

City Design 25

municipalities to purchase insource networks for their towns. Inevitably, this server and firewall

could also be leased as well and they could still have their permanent workstations they now use.

Insourcing and Outsourcing Combined

Various companies and businesses have found that it is easier to outsource portions of

their network systems, since it’s easier to have professional help and technical assistance 24

hours a day, seven days a week. Most software venders assist in making this happen.

Companies still want control of their hardware make ups, but are realizing it may be cheaper to

outsource software functions to an outside vender. The same can be said for the hardware

application as well. There are downfalls to this escapade in that the software vendors will sale

software to anyone and will give prompt assistance, but they are there to sale software. They

don’t care if the network system is out of date, or isn’t up to performance standards for their

typical software. In their minds, they will make it work as they want the almighty business and

dollar. It’s not exactly the way to do business, but a reputable software vendor will give the

customer the appropriate information concerning hardware to software use and acceptability.

This has been seen by the author on multiple occasions. When partial systems software has

been outsourced, the response of most companies towards outsourcing has brought forth negative

responses. The primary reasons for going back to insourcing entails the lack of quality vender

service, the subject-matter expert doesn’t know squat, poor business communications, and

account management and affordability (McCafferty, 2013). The tables can also be turned using

outsourced hardware and insourced software. Dell and (HP) Hewlett-Packard are both prime

examples of outsourcing that the business owner, company, or organization may rack up a

contract with to enhance their networking experience. Both of these companies will come out,

suggest what you might need for your facilities and write up a contract for total Systems

City Design 26

Development Life Cycle of the hardware. You can apply your own software needs or use

whatever may be provided by the vender to interface all the components. The advantages of

having someone contracting your hardware is that if anything goes awry, its 24 hours a day,

seven days a week, 365 days a year response time, or so they say. The downside to the

outsourcing and insourcing is that when these companies do come and assess the needed

abilities, they may take from 24 to 43 weeks to get it all planned together and operational. This

brings us to the last card in the pile.

Outsourcing

Outsourcing can have benefits but it is also a snake pit of downfalls as well. Some will

tell you that it is the greatest thing in the world. Contact with your venders any hour of the day,

quick response time to everyday and catastrophic failures to a system with plans for easy

backups. Vendors will say that the cost of leasing their equipment far outweighs the cost of

system life cycle and budgeting internally. It also gives the company, business and users ample

time to renegotiate feasible terms for upgrades, so the users will never be left behind in the

digital explosion age. The company also doesn’t have to worry about budgeting for upgrades

every three to five years. It’s now just a rental agreement with one easy, low, monthly

PAYMENT! What they don’t tell you is how it is hard to work with diversities of the user and

the IT vendors, who are not there to monitor system reliability, accessibility, and serviced ability

of the systems, which are required constantly. Many corporations have seen an influx in going

back to insourcing, as outsourcing opens a big cataclysmic channel between vendor and users.

The response times are poor at best, they can never resolve interface issues, and there might be a

cultural wedge between those who service and those who use the equipment. I know most

people have been on the phone with someone from India, fighting about a bill, or credit card or

City Design 27

something of that nature. Imagine having a cultural dialect so strong that it is impossibly

understandable and they are trying to explain the functionality of the server so you can get it

back on line. Most people are on fire around their collar by the end of the phone call and

ultimately the problem was never resolved. Software is one of the other areas where everyone is

renting it for a fee versus buying it. But it can really be financially smart, or so they (the

venders) say. For example, Microsoft Corporation sells its’ Office 365 for $99 a year and that is

for a single user. Multiple licenses have discounts applied. All you documents can now be sent

to THE CLOUD!!!! Ok…so where is this cloud at? Have you ever seen it? Most people

haven’t. It is actually a huge 12 block by five block server system located somewhere in the

United States and that is where all your information is backed up data to. Just think, all this data,

on the cloud all rests with your little own rental. However, you can buy the full version for

$399.00. It doesn’t necessarily have a cloud attached though. What is funny about buying retail

is that the life expectancy of Office 365 is about 4 years anyway. So…do you rent the software

form a vender through outsourcing or do you just buy and own it? At least by buying it, the

customer is able to keep it a while longer before moving on. They just won’t get the updated

advantages of rental software and the almighty cloud service. The choice to outsource ultimately

falls with the customer. In most instances, outsourcing may be beneficial to a business, if it is

small enough and a fair price can be established. As the business grows into a bigger

corporation, it is then that the company needs to review the necessity of doing an in-house

approach towards IT rather than letting it be consummated to outside sources. Overall, size is a

factor in the final outcome.

City Design 28

Conclusion

In this section, we have addressed three ways of integrating a network into the business,

company or corporation. All three ways of integrating a new system, can have advantages over

the others, as well as pitfalls. Finances play a key role as well as the ability for the company’s

ability to work with the diversities of outside vendors. Insourcing puts a little more stress on

employees as they have to step up to be something they never knew existed. WALLA!!!…you

are now a technician in IT. Some employees don’t take kindly to that new job title and prestige.

Maybe it just takes a mix of outsourcing and insourcing to make it all come together. Whatever

the case might be, the owner of the company, business or corporation has the final vote as they

are the one’s footing the bill.

Chapter 5 – System Integration & Deployment

Introduction

Now that the accumulation of the phases have been addressed, it is time to go over the

find details of the overall working break down (WBD) structure to ensure no steps to the project

are missed . In this chapter, we will incorporate the graphs needed to verify our overall WBD

structure is being followed. This will incorporate the preliminary analysis, systems analysis and

City Design 29

requirements definition, systems design, actual planned development, integration and testing,

acceptance, installation, deployment and finally operational support and maintenance. These are

all important aspects as even if one procedure is missed, it can cause stoppage and detrimental

effects in the overall accomplishment of the project being pursued.

The Work Breakdown Structure

All too often when a project is underway, some companies don’t take the time to review

the progression of the project. To nullify this problem, one of the paramount structures needing

addressed is the work breakdown

structure to ensure nothing is

overlooked. It’s like putting the cart

before the horse in laymen’s terms.

On the next page is a graphing of the

City Hall break down to ensure

everything is followed according to

plan. Each area must be fully covered

before moving on to the next scope in the project. (Figure 5-1) shows the overall steps to the

WBD and (Figure 5-2) does a more detailed scope of each of the steps. When the systems analyst

has completed the initial assessment of the project, it will then be easily managed using this

diagram to splice the project into manageable segments.

Fig 5-1

City Hall Project

2. Requirements 1. Design 4. Construction 3. Testing

1. Product Investigation

City Design 30

The WBS is also important for cost assessments from bottom on up to the hierarchy in the

executive branches and details possible cost overruns to keep the project on line without the

additional expenditures. The WBD also monitors potential risks within the project that precludes

potential break down from occurring within early segments of the project and causing a ripple

effect later on down the road. The break down risks can be tracked and reviewed as the project

proceeds. These assist in the communication interconnect within the segments of the project.

Thus, it prevents further work stoppages from occurring during the project progression. Subject

matter experts (SME) should be directly involved during the analysis phase as they bring

expertise from other projects that could be instrumental in solving certain problems within the

current project. To the left is a good example of how a work break down should look step-by-

step. From initial planning all the way to the final product, everything is emphasized to ensure

proper cost effectiveness with a fully functional product at the end. A work structure break

down graph can also be applied to ensure clarity within each hierarchical area (University of

Wisconsin, 2006).

2. Product Survey

3. Assess Product Serviceability

1. Concept Design

2. Final Design

1. Purchase Materials

2. Build System

1. Test Functionality

a. Detailed Design

b. Drawings

c. Design Review and Approval

b. Mark Out Dimensions

a. Routine Testing

c. Install Infrastructurea. Install Media

b. Random Inspections

Fig 5-2

1.1.2 Define Requirements1.1.3 Identify High-Level Roles1.1.4 Develop High-Level Budget1.1.5 Identify High-Level Control Strategies1.1.6 Finalize Manual and Gain Approvals1.1.6.1

Consolidate and Publish Project Charter

1.1.6.2

Hold Review Meeting

1.1.6.3

Revise Project Manual

1.1.6.4

Gain approvals

2 Plan Project2.1 Develop Work Plan2.1.1 Develop Work Breakdown Structure2.1.2 Develop Project Staffing Plan2.1.3 Develop Project Schedule2.1.4 Develop Project Budget2.2 Develop Project Control Plan2.2.1 Develop Communication Plan2.2.2 Develop Quality Management Plan2.3 Finalize Project Plan and Gain Approvals3 Execute and Control Project3.1 Design Framework3.1.1 Define framework stages and activities3.1.2 Design framework content formats3.1.3 Design web framework delivery tool3.2 Build the Framework3.2.1 Write the framework content3.2.2 Review framework content for quality3.2.3 Build web tool prototype3.3 Test the Framework3.3.1 Test usability of web tool3.3.2 Test usability of content3.3.3 Adjust framework based on user feedback3.4 Implement Framework3.4.1 Move framework to production environment3.4.2 Announce availability of framework4 Close the Project4.1 Conduct Post-Project Review

City Design 31

.

Conclusion

Ultimately, we want to ensure that

all steps are taken to ensure all phases of

the project are completed on time, within

budget and what is considered favorable

for the business and customer. The only way of accomplishing this is through the use a

coordinated work break down to ensure conformity and consistency throughout the project. It is

important to keep all parties in the loop throughout the whole process so that work stoppages and

expenditure over runs, due to stoppages, don’t end up eating the customer’s huge dream into a

pile of uncoordinated night mares. Once it is all done and in, the customer will have a system

they can be proud of and the project company will still have the reputation needed to address

another project.

1.1.2 Define Requirements1.1.3 Identify High-Level Roles1.1.4 Develop High-Level Budget1.1.5 Identify High-Level Control Strategies1.1.6 Finalize Manual and Gain Approvals1.1.6.1

Consolidate and Publish Project Charter

1.1.6.2

Hold Review Meeting

1.1.6.3

Revise Project Manual

1.1.6.4

Gain approvals

2 Plan Project2.1 Develop Work Plan2.1.1 Develop Work Breakdown Structure2.1.2 Develop Project Staffing Plan2.1.3 Develop Project Schedule2.1.4 Develop Project Budget2.2 Develop Project Control Plan2.2.1 Develop Communication Plan2.2.2 Develop Quality Management Plan2.3 Finalize Project Plan and Gain Approvals3 Execute and Control Project3.1 Design Framework3.1.1 Define framework stages and activities3.1.2 Design framework content formats3.1.3 Design web framework delivery tool3.2 Build the Framework3.2.1 Write the framework content3.2.2 Review framework content for quality3.2.3 Build web tool prototype3.3 Test the Framework3.3.1 Test usability of web tool3.3.2 Test usability of content3.3.3 Adjust framework based on user feedback3.4 Implement Framework3.4.1 Move framework to production environment3.4.2 Announce availability of framework4 Close the Project4.1 Conduct Post-Project Review

Work Breakdown Structure OutlinePROJECT NAME1 Activity1.1 Task1.1.1 Sub-Task

2 Activity2.1 Task2.1.1 Sub-task2.1.2 Sub-Task2.2 Task2.2.1 Sub-Task2.2.2 Sub-Task2.2.3 Sub-Task

3 Activity3.1 Task3.1.1 Sub-Task3.1.2 Sub-Task3.2 Task3.2.1 Sub-Task3.2.2 Sub-Task3.2.3 Sub-Task

Figure 5-4

City Design 32

References

Finch, C. (2014, May 21). Advantages & Disadvantages of Insourcing. Retrieved Sep 10, 2014, from http://www.ehow.com/info_10015686_advantages-disadvantages-insourcing.html

McCafferty, D. (2013, May 13). Ten Considerations for CIOs Seeking to Insource. Retrieved Sep 11, 2014, from The Voice of the CIO Community: http://www.cioinsight.com/it-services/outsourcing/slideshows/ten-considerations-for-cios-seeking-to-insource-10/

MSDN. (2013). Unti Test Basics. Retrieved Sep 04, 2014, from http://msdn.microsoft.com: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ff798502.aspx

N.A., R. S. (2002, May 25). Guidelines: Use-Case Storyboard, 1.1. (R. S. Corporation, Producer) Retrieved Aug 29, 2104, from sce.uhcl.edu: http://sce.uhcl.edu/helm/rationalunifiedprocess/process/modguide/md_ucstb.htm

University of Wisconsin. (2006, Feb 01). Stage 3: Plan the Project, ver 1.0. Retrieved Sep 16, 2014, from Do IT Project Manager Advisor: http://www.pma.doit.wisc.edu/plan/2-1/print.html

Vision Software. (2014). Computer Sytem Requirements, 1. (Insight Software) Retrieved Aug 22, 2014, from My Vision Express: http://www.myvisionexpress.com/computer-requirements/

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