BTEC Unit 29 – Lesson 01

To Upgrade or Not Upgrade…

That is the Question

Mr C JohnstonICT Teacher

www.computechedu.co.uk

Session Objectives Understand the reasons why we install and upgrade

software, Understand factors which must take into consideration

when deciding on whether to go ahead with an installation or upgrade.

Why change / upgrade your

software??

Prompts for Change Problems with existing systems,

Out-dated, vulnerable, no longer supported, incompatible Additional functionality required,

Sometimes an upgrade, sometime complete new installation New hardware requiring new or upgraded software,

New drivers, new OS External prompts for software bug fixes,

Often automatic updates to patch bugs Other e.g. company policy

Upgrade period, meet industry standards so compatible

Justifying Change Just because there is a prompt for change, it doesn't mean

that an organisation will do it. Costs are involved including:

Cost of the software, training, down-time needed to install, incompatibility issues

However there are also benefits including: Easier to use, able to do more, improved system security

It is important that there is a good business case made for the change to go ahead.

Perceived benefits must be shown to outweigh the costs of the new software or upgrade before it can go ahead.

The Change SeesawCO

STS

BENS

Perceived costs outweigh the

benefits

X

The Change Seesaw

COSTS

BENSPerceived benefits

outweigh the costs

Justifying Change

Justifying Change+ve -ve

Could run faster May run slower as requires more system resources

Better ways of completing tasks will lead to better productivity

May need additional training o users can run the software - additional expense, mistakes, slow productivity whilst getting used to it

Old bugs and faults fixed May be new bugs and faults to deal with

May be compatible with existing hardware???

May not be compatible with existing hardware – old system might not support new

May not work properly

Support and updates for foreseeable future

Support and updates may have ceased

Organisation policy may be to update every so many years

BTEC Book – Unit 29 pp4-5

P1, M1, D1 Evidence This task requires you to write a short report

explaining the rationale behind changing software. P1 requires you to describe why you might consider to

upgrade software, M1 needs you to explain the advantages and

disadvantages of installing and upgrading software, For the award of D1 you need to use the content

already considered to justify why the antivirus software, used by the charity needs upgrading.

• For P1 a paragraph or two describing the different prompts which have been looked at will meet this criterion – remember describe means give a detailed account.

• For M1 a table comparing the advantages and disadvantages of installations and upgrades would help to meet this criterion. Explain means you need to give a reason for a point being an advantage or disadvantage

• For D1 you need to apply the theory learnt in P1 and M1 to the situation given and give a good business case for or against the upgrade. Think about as many of the aspects covered in the unit so far and include them all within your recommendation.

P1 – describe the potential prompts that initiate the installation of new or upgraded softwareM1 - explain the advantages and potential disadvantages of installation or upgrade of new softwareD1 - justify a particular installation or upgrade

P1 – describe the potential prompts that initiate the installation of new or upgraded softwareM1 - explain the advantages and potential disadvantages of installation or upgrade of new softwareD1 - justify a particular installation or upgrade

Risks of Change Potential loss of service

Downtime – depends of what doing Time to adapt to new software – training required

Incompatibility issues Old application software not compatible with new OS Drivers not compatible Hardware not compatible Old file formats not read by new software (unlikely as normally

backwards compatible)

Risk Reduction Measures Backups

Before you start make a backup of all data and software – can roll back if goes wrong – using imaging software is good

Install at low risk times Overnight, weekends, annual shut down – downtime doesn’t matter as

business not functioning - allows time to solve any problems without pressure,

Incremental install Install on a few systems first then roll it out gradually across all. If

problems do arise only a few computers are affects not entre system, Test it first

Have a test environment which mimics the real system so can see the effects before changes are rolled out

P2, D2 Evidence This task requires you to expand the short report

written for P1/M1/D1 which explains the rationale behind changing software.

P1 requires you to describe the potential risks of installing or upgrading software,

For the award of D2 you need to use evaluate the impact of each risk (is it worth the risk or not??) and explain how the effects of the risk could be minimised.

• P2 requires you to broadly consider what risks can occur rather than restricting the purpose to a particular system.

• You can use the internet to research the risks of installing and upgrading software. To achieve P2 you only need to write a paragraph to identify and describe each risk.

• D2 is likely to take the form of a written report – it needs to evaluate the risks and explain how to minimise their effects. Remember evaluate means give an opinion based on good and bad points whilst explain means give reasons

P2 – Describe the potential risks of installing or upgrading software. D2 - Evaluate the risks involved in the installation or upgrade ofsoftware and explain how the risks could be minimised.

P2 – Describe the potential risks of installing or upgrading software. D2 - Evaluate the risks involved in the installation or upgrade ofsoftware and explain how the risks could be minimised.