Systems Development Life Cycle

Systems Development Life Cycle Introduction SDLC, The systems development life cycle (SDLC) is a conceptual model used in project management that describes the stages involved in an information system development project, from an initial feasibility study through maintenance of the completed application. Hence an array of system development life cycle (SDLC) models has been created: Fountain, Spiral, rapid prototyping, synchronize and stabilize and Incremental. Although in the academic sense, SDLC can be used to refer to various processes followed during the development of software, SDLC is typically used to refer to the oldest of the traditional models a waterfall methodology. Software Engineering Process The SDLC supports a list of important phases that are essential for developers, such as planning, analysis, design, and implementation, and are explained more in detail later in this report. Traditionally the waterfall model was regarded as the original: which adhered to a sequence of stages in which the output of each stage became the input for the next. No definitive models exist, but the steps can be describe and divided as follows: Project planning, feasibility study, Initiation: A feasibility study is a quick examination of the problems, goals and expected cost of the system. Projects are usually evaluated in three areas of feasibility: economical, operational, and technical. In addition, it is also used as a guide to keep the project on track and to evaluate the progress of project (Post Anderson, 2006). Thus the goal of the feasibility studies is to evaluate alternative systems solutions and to propose the most feasible and desirable business application for development, (Obrien Marakas, 2006) states that the feasibility of a proposed business system can be evaluated in four major categories Organizational Feasibility: An illustration of how a business supports the strategic business priorities of the organization. Economic feasibility: Identifies whether expected cost savings, increase revenue, increase profits and reductions in required investments will exceed the cost of developing and operating a proposed system. Technical feasibility: can be demonstrated if reliable hardware and software capable of meeting the needs of a proposed systems can be acquired or developed by the business in the required time. Operational feasibility: can be measured by the ability and willingness of management, employees, customers, suppliers and others to operate, use, and support a proposed system. for example if Tescos was to change its software platform at the tills to something entirely different, employees may begin to make to many errors and find ways around using it or just all together quite, thus it will fail to show operational feasibility. Requirements gathering and Systems Analysis: (Hawrzyszkiewycz 2004) This step defines the proposed business solutions and any new or changed businesses processes. The goal at this stage is to find any problems and attempt to fix the system or improve its productivity and efficiency. The technique here is to break the system into smaller pieces as it is easier to be explained to others and can be split up amongst different development team. A draw back of this though is that it takes time and effort to reintegrate all of the pieces (Post Anderson, 2006). Systems design: Functions and operations are described in detail during the design stage, including screen layouts, business rules, process diagrams and other documentation. The output of this stage will be to describe the new system as a collection of modules or subsystems. (Hawrzyszkiewycx 2004) states that system designs is a two step process, Broad design: which indentifies the main architecture of the proposed system which may include the language use to develop the databases, network configurations, software requirements and whether programs are to be developed using internal programmers or external contractors. Detailed design: only after the design phase is completed the detailed design phase can be initiated, during this phase the database and program modules are design and detailed user and system interaction procedures and protocols are documented. Build: Software developers may install (or modify and then install) purchased software or they may write new or custom design programs (Senn 1989). Just like the design phase, this phase is broken up into two separate sub phases, development and implementation. During the implementation phase the components built during the development are put into operational use. Usually this means that the new and old systems run parallel until users are trained in system operations and existing processes converted to the new system. (Hawrzyszkiewycz 2004) Testing: During the integration and test stage, the software artefacts, online help, and test data are migrated from the development environment to a separate test environment. At this point, all test cases are run to verify the correctness and completeness of the software. Successful execution of the test suite confirms a robust and complete migration capability. In addition, reference data is finalized for production use and production users are identified and linked to their appropriate roles. The final reference data (or links to reference data source files) and production user list are compiled into the Production Initiation Plan and the system is used experimentally to ensure that the software does not fail, also the code is tested iteratively at each level (Senn 1989). Installation, Implementation and Deployment: Implementation is a vital step in the deployment of information technology to support employees, customers, and other business stakeholders, the system implementation stage involves hardware and software acquisition, software development, testing of programs and procedures, conversion of data resources and additionally involves the educating and training of end users and specialist who will operate the new system. All together this is the final stage where the project is finally used by the business (Obrien Marakas, 2006). Maintenance: Once a system is fully implemented and is being used in business operation, the maintenance function begins; this involves the life of the system which may include changes and enhancements before its decommissioning. (Obrien Marakas, 2006) states that the maintenance activity includes a post implementation review process to ensure that newly implemented systems meet the business objectives establish for them. (Hawrzyszkiewycx (2004) supports the argument that maintenance is required to eliminate errors in the system during its working life and to improve the system in the light of changes by monitoring, evaluating and modifying operational business systems to make desirable or necessary improvements. Evaluation and Reason for Adopting SDLC for a small Pc Application The adoption of the SDLC for the development of a small application on a pc will not be appropriate because the SDLC is just what is says it is the Life Cycle of the system software. The SDLC is a process use to manage time and resources on a project, from the identification of a need for the system Initiation) to rolling it out to the user (Implementation) to de-supporting or no longer needing it (Disposition), Each phase of the SDLC requires documentation, reporting, and approval. This assures that a project cannot get out of hand either by changing the direction or becoming a financial black hole and the project sponsors are aware at every step of exactly what is going on as it is documented. Therefore it is reasonable to assume that the development of a small application on a pc does not require the adoption of the SDLC model whereas a large systems which have teams of architects, analysts, programmers, testers and users must work together to create the millions of lines of cust om-written code that drive enterprises today, will without a doubt need to adopt an SDLC solution to manage the resources of such a project. Evaluation Of the Traditional SDLC Strengths Limitations The Waterfall Model The waterfall model is the most classical sequential life cycle; each phase must be completed in its entirety before the next phase can begin. (Post Anderson, 2006) states that one advantage of the SDLC is the formality aspect which makes it easier to train employees and to evaluate the progress of the development as well as ensuring that steps are not skip, such as user approval, documentation and testing. In addition with eighty percent of MIS resources spent of maintenance, adhering to standards whilst building the system makes it easier to modify and maintain in the future because of the documentation generated and the sustain consistency, however the formality of the SDLC approach can be problematic as it increases the cost of development and lengthens the development time (Post Anderson, 2006) The formality of the SDLC method also causes problems with projects that are hard to defined, unlike newer methods like Agile which helps software development teams to respond to the unpredictability of building software through incremental, iterative work cadences, known as sprints (Cohn, Mike 2006). Agile Methods aim at allowing organizations to deliver quickly, change quickly and change often. While, agile techniques vary in practice and emphasis, they share common characteristics, including iterative development and a focus on inter-action and communication. Maintaining regularity allows development teams to adapt rapidly to changing requirements, and working in close proximity, focusing on communication, means teams can make decisions and act on them immediately, rather than wait on correspondence. It is also important to reduce non-value adding intermediate artefacts to allow more resources to be devoted to product development for early completion. The SDLC however works best if the entire system can be accurately specified in the beginning. That is, users should know what the system should do long before the system is created. (Post Anderson, 2006) further explains that because of the rigidity of the SDLC, the development of more modern applications are difficult, hence the combination of existing SDLC models and the creation of other alternatives models and methodologies are adopted as outlined later in this paper. Advantages Easier to use. Easier to manage because of rigidity Phases are completed at specific phase intervals Requirements are very well understood. Disadvantages scope adjustment during the life cycle can kill a project Working software is not produced until the life cycle is complete. Not suited for long and ongoing projects. In appropriate where requirements are at a moderate to high risk of changing Alternative development mythologies One management advantage of the traditional SDLC method is the sequential series of tasks; on the other hand using the traditional SDLC has many drawbacks. For example, when adopting a traditional SDLC methodology, the rigid chain of phases may subsequently make it impossible for developers to improved ways to provide functional requirements as the project is being built, which results in the designers redoing their work. Instead programmers should be involved in the planning and design phases, so that they may be able to identify improvements much earlier in the process, thus enhancing the effectiveness of project activities, (FFIEC IT Handbook (2009). Development solutions such as iterative and Rapid prototyping address many of the shortcomings of a traditional SDLC. And a brief description of two the newer methodologies are outlined below along with some advantages and disadvantages for comparison purposes. Agile Development Model Agile software development is a conceptual framework for undertaking software engineering projects. Agile methods attempt to minimize risk and maximize productivity by developing software in short iterations and de-emphasizing work on secondary or interim work artefacts. The key differences between agile and traditional methodologies are as follows: Development is incremental rather than sequential. People and interactions are emphasized. Working software is the priority rather than detailed documentation. Customer collaboration is used, rather than contract negotiation. Responding to change is emphasized, rather than extensive planning. Rapid Prototyping model Rapid prototyping is a process for creating a realistic model of a products user interface (Najjar, L. J. (1990) ,Using rapid prototyping, you model the look and feel of the user interface without investing the time and labour required to write actual code (Najjar, L. J. (1990). Advantages Saves time and money Promotes consistency in user interface design Allows early customer involvement Reduces time required to create a product functional specification Disadvantages Usually does not produce reusable code Lacks an obvious stopping point Conclusion It can be seen from the above comparison that differing philosophies can produce radically different views of a system. Nevertheless, both the Traditional SDLC and the alternatives produce valid working systems as well as their share in drawbacks The one size fits all approach to applying SDLC methodologies is no longer appropriate. Each SDLC methodology is only effective under specific conditions. (Traditional SDLC methodologies are often regarded as the proper and disciplined approach to the analysis and design of software applications but the drawback is that it takes a considerable amount of time and all of the system details have to be specified upfront. Methodologies like Rapid Prototyping alternatively are a compromise of rigidity and no rigidity. These new hybrid methods were created to bridge the gap with the evolution of more modern application developments requirements. Newer the less methodologies like Agile are most appropriate when volatility and uncertainty exist in the development requirements, and the SDLC is good when the requirements are already defined. Bibliography Najjar, L. J. (1990). Rapid prototyping (TR 52.0020). Atlanta, GA: IBM Corporation. http://www.lawrence-najjar.com/papers/Rapid_prototyping.html FFIEC IT Handbook (2009). Alternative development methodologies http://www.ffiec.gov/ffiecinfobase/booklets/d_a/02.html Senn James A. (1989), Analysis Design of Information Systems, Introduction to Information Systems, pg27 32 Ch1 McGraw-Hill Co- Singapore Post. G Anderson. D (2006), Management Information Systems, Organizing Business Solutions, pg 448 459 Ch 4 McGraw-Hill Co- New York Igor Hawryszkiewycz. (1998), Introduction to System Analysis Design, The Development Process, pg120 136 Ch 7 Prentice Hall- Australia Obrien A. O Marakas .M. (1989), Management Information Systems, Introduction to Information Systems, pg27 32 Ch1 McGraw-Hill Co- Singapore Systems development life cycle Systems development life cycle 1. Introduction SDLC, The systems development life cycle (SDLC) is a conceptual model used in project management that describes the stages involved in an information system development project, from an initial feasibility study through maintenance of the completed application. Hence an array of system development life cycle (SDLC) models has been created: Fountain, Spiral, rapid prototyping, synchronize and stabilize and Incremental. Although in the academic sense, SDLC can be used to refer to various processes followed during the development of software, SDLC is typically used to refer to the oldest of the traditional models a waterfall methodology. 2. Software Engineering Process The SDLC supports a list of important phases that are essential for developers, such as planning, analysis, design, and implementation, and are explained more in detail later in this report. Traditionally the waterfall model was regarded as the original: which adhered to a sequence of stages in which the output of each stage became the input for the next. No definitive models exist, but the steps can be describe and divided as follows: †¢ Project planning, feasibility study, Initiation: A feasibility study is a quick examination of the problems, goals and expected cost of the system. Projects are usually evaluated in three areas of feasibility: economical, operational, and technical. In addition, it is also used as a guide to keep the project on track and to evaluate the progress of project (Post Anderson, 2006). Thus the goal of the feasibility studies is to evaluate alternative systems solutions and to propose the most feasible and desirable business application for development, (Obrien Marakas, 2006) states that the feasibility of a proposed business system can be evaluated in four major categories Organizational Feasibility: An illustration of how a business supports the strategic business priorities of the organization. Economic feasibility: Identifies whether expected cost savings, increase revenue, increase profits and reductions in required investments will exceed the cost of developing and operating a proposed system. Technical feasibility: can be demonstrated if reliable hardware and software capable of meeting the needs of a proposed systems can be acquired or developed by the business in the required time. Operational feasibility: can be measured by the ability and willingness of management, employees, customers, suppliers and others to operate, use, and support a proposed system. for example if Tescos was to change its software platform at the tills to something entirely different, employees may begin to make to many errors and find ways around using it or just all together quite, thus it will fail to show operational feasibility. †¢ Requirements gathering and Systems Analysis: (Hawrzyszkiewycz 2004) This step defines the proposed business solutions and any new or changed businesses processes. The goal at this stage is to find any problems and attempt to fix the system or improve its productivity and efficiency. The technique here is to break the system into smaller pieces as it is easier to be explained to others and can be split up amongst different development team. A draw back of this though is that it takes time and effort to reintegrate all of the pieces (Post Anderson, 2006). †¢ Systems design: Functions and operations are described in detail during the design stage, including screen layouts, business rules, process diagrams and other documentation. The output of this stage will be to describe the new system as a collection of modules or subsystems. (Hawrzyszkiewycx 2004) states that system designs is a two step process, Broad design: which indentifies the main architecture of the proposed system which may include the language use to develop the databases, network configurations, software requirements and whether programs are to be developed using internal programmers or external contractors. Detailed design: only after the design phase is completed the detailed design phase can be initiated, during this phase the database and program modules are design and detailed user and system interaction procedures and protocols are documented. †¢ Build: Software developers may install (or modify and then install) purchased software or they may write new or custom design programs (Senn 1989). Just like the design phase, this phase is broken up into two separate sub phases, development and implementation. During the implementation phase the components built during the development are put into operational use. Usually this means that the new and old systems run parallel until users are trained in system operations and existing processes converted to the new system. (Hawrzyszkiewycz 2004) †¢ Testing: During the integration and test stage, the software artefacts, online help, and test data are migrated from the development environment to a separate test environment. At this point, all test cases are run to verify the correctness and completeness of the software. Successful execution of the test suite confirms a robust and complete migration capability. In addition, reference data is finalized for production use and production users are identified and linked to their appropriate roles. The final reference data (or links to reference data source files) and production user list are compiled into the Production Initiation Plan and the system is used experimentally to ensure that the software does not fail, also the code is tested iteratively at each level (Senn 1989). †¢ Installation, Implementation and Deployment: Implementation is a vital step in the deployment of information technology to support employees, customers, and other business stakeholders, the system implementation stage involves hardware and software acquisition, software development, testing of programs and procedures, conversion of data resources and additionally involves the educating and training of end users and specialist who will operate the new system. All together this is the final stage where the project is finally used by the business (Obrien Marakas, 2006). †¢ Maintenance: Once a system is fully implemented and is being used in business operation, the maintenance function begins; this involves the life of the system which may include changes and enhancements before its decommissioning. (Obrien Marakas, 2006) states that the maintenance activity includes a post implementation review process to ensure that newly implemented systems meet the business objectives establish for them. (Hawrzyszkiewycx (2004) supports the argument that maintenance is required to eliminate errors in the system during its working life and to improve the system in the light of changes by monitoring, evaluating and modifying operational business systems to make desirable or necessary improvements. 3. Evaluation and Reason for Adopting SDLC for a small Pc Application The adoption of the SDLC for the development of a small application on a pc will not be appropriate because the SDLC is just what is says it is the Life Cycle of the system software. The SDLC is a process use to manage time and resources on a project, from the identification of a need for the system Initiation) to rolling it out to the user (Implementation) to de-supporting or no longer needing it (Disposition), Each phase of the SDLC requires documentation, reporting, and approval. This assures that a project cannot get out of hand either by changing the direction or becoming a financial black hole and the project sponsors are aware at every step of exactly what is going on as it is documented. Therefore it is reasonable to assume that the development of a small application on a pc does not require the adoption of the SDLC model whereas a large systems which have teams of architects, analysts, programmers, testers and users must work together to create the millions of lines of cust om-written code that drive enterprises today, will without a doubt need to adopt an SDLC solution to manage the resources of such a project. 4. Evaluation Of the Traditional SDLC Strengths Limitations The Waterfall Model The waterfall model is the most classical sequential life cycle; each phase must be completed in its entirety before the next phase can begin. (Post Anderson, 2006) states that one advantage of the SDLC is the formality aspect which makes it easier to train employees and to evaluate the progress of the development as well as ensuring that steps are not skip, such as user approval, documentation and testing. In addition with eighty percent of MIS resources spent of maintenance, adhering to standards whilst building the system makes it easier to modify and maintain in the future because of the documentation generated and the sustain consistency, however the formality of the SDLC approach can be problematic as it increases the cost of development and lengthens the development time (Post Anderson, 2006) The formality of the SDLC method also causes problems with projects that are hard to defined, unlike newer methods like Agile which helps software development teams to respond to the unpredictability of building software through incremental, iterative work cadences, known as sprints (Cohn, Mike 2006). Agile Methods aim at allowing organizations to deliver quickly, change quickly and change often. While, agile techniques vary in practice and emphasis, they share common characteristics, including iterative development and a focus on inter-action and communication. Maintaining regularity allows development teams to adapt rapidly to changing requirements, and working in close proximity, focusing on communication, means teams can make decisions and act on them immediately, rather than wait on correspondence. It is also important to reduce non-value adding intermediate artefacts to allow more resources to be devoted to product development for early completion. The SDLC however works best if the entire system can be accurately specified in the beginning. That is, users should know what the system should do long before the system is created. (Post Anderson, 2006) further explains that because of the rigidity of the SDLC, the development of more modern applications are difficult, hence the combination of existing SDLC models and the creation of other alternatives models and methodologies are adopted as outlined later in this paper. Advantages Easier to use. Easier to manage because of rigidity Phases are completed at specific phase intervals Requirements are very well understood. Disadvantages scope adjustment during the life cycle can kill a project Working software is not produced until the life cycle is complete. Not suited for long and ongoing projects. In appropriate where requirements are at a moderate to high risk of changing Alternative development mythologies One management advantage of the traditional SDLC method is the sequential series of tasks; on the other hand using the traditional SDLC has many drawbacks. For example, when adopting a traditional SDLC methodology, the rigid chain of phases may subsequently make it impossible for developers to improved ways to provide functional requirements as the project is being built, which results in the designers redoing their work. Instead programmers should be involved in the planning and design phases, so that they may be able to identify improvements much earlier in the process, thus enhancing the effectiveness of project activities, (FFIEC IT Handbook (2009). Development solutions such as iterative and Rapid prototyping address many of the shortcomings of a traditional SDLC. And a brief description of two the newer methodologies are outlined below along with some advantages and disadvantages for comparison purposes. Agile Development Model Agile software development is a conceptual framework for undertaking software engineering projects. Agile methods attempt to minimize risk and maximize productivity by developing software in short iterations and de-emphasizing work on secondary or interim work artefacts. The key differences between agile and traditional methodologies are as follows: Development is incremental rather than sequential. People and interactions are emphasized. Working software is the priority rather than detailed documentation. Customer collaboration is used, rather than contract negotiation. Responding to change is emphasized, rather than extensive planning. Rapid Prototyping model Rapid prototyping is a process for creating a realistic model of a products user interface (Najjar, L. J. (1990) ,Using rapid prototyping, you model the look and feel of the user interface without investing the time and labour required to write actual code (Najjar, L. J. (1990). Advantages Saves time and money Promotes consistency in user interface design Allows early customer involvement Reduces time required to create a product functional specification Disadvantages Usually does not produce reusable code Lacks an obvious stopping point 5. Conclusion It can be seen from the above comparison that differing philosophies can produce radically different views of a system. Nevertheless, both the Traditional SDLC and the alternatives produce valid working systems as well as their share in drawbacks The one size fits all approach to applying SDLC methodologies is no longer appropriate. Each SDLC methodology is only effective under specific conditions. (Traditional SDLC methodologies are often regarded as the proper and disciplined approach to the analysis and design of software applications but the drawback is that it takes a considerable amount of time and all of the system details have to be specified upfront. Methodologies like Rapid Prototyping alternatively are a compromise of rigidity and no rigidity. These new hybrid methods were created to bridge the gap with the evolution of more modern application developments requirements. Newer the less methodologies like Agile are most appropriate when volatility and uncertainty exist in the development requirements, and the SDLC is good when the requirements are already defined. 6. Bibliography Najjar, L. J. (1990). Rapid prototyping (TR 52.0020). Atlanta, GA: IBM Corporation. http://www.lawrence-najjar.com/papers/Rapid_prototyping.html FFIEC IT Handbook (2009). Alternative development methodologies http://www.ffiec.gov/ffiecinfobase/booklets/d_a/02.html Senn James A. (1989), Analysis Design of Information Systems, Introduction to Information Systems, pg27 32 Ch1 McGraw-Hill Co- Singapore Post. G Anderson. D (2006), Management Information Systems, Organizing Business Solutions, pg 448 459 Ch 4 McGraw-Hill Co- New York Igor Hawryszkiewycz. (1998), Introduction to System Analysis Design, The Development Process, pg120 136 Ch 7 Prentice Hall- Australia Obrien A. O Marakas .M. (1989), Management Information Systems, Introduction to Information Systems, pg27 32 Ch1 McGraw-Hill Co- Singapore

Irony in Sophocles Oedipus the King Essays -- Oedipus Rex Essays

Irony in Sophocles' Oedipus In the play "Oedipus," irony is used frequently as and as eloquently by Sophocles to the reveal theme of seeking knowledge. Not knowing the King of Thebes, Oedipus, gives speeches on finding the murderer of the King of Laias and how wretched the poor soil will be when the truth is revealed. " Then once more I must bring what is dark to light†¦, whoever killed King Laios might- who knows?-might decide at any moment to kill me as well. By avenging the murder of the King, I protect myself, (Sophocles 1109). The speech shows how dedicated Oedipus in the pursuit of the murderer and not only the avenge of the King but to save himself. He will not be saving but adding down to his life. Oedipus doesn't realize he is in pursuit of himself. He continues his speech "Moreover: If anyone knows the murderer to be foreign, Let him not keep silent: he shall have his reward from him," ( 1112). With his own words he asks for the truth. But he can't handle the truth, for he has no idea what he is asking for or for whom he is searching for. He also states that he wants t...

Hand washing

â€Å"Researchers in London estimate that if everyone routinely washed their hands , a million deaths a year could be prevented†¦ (CDC, 2013)† Studies have shown that hand washing may be the single most important act to help stop the spread of infection. Hand hygiene is one of the most important steps we can take to avoid getting sick and spreading germs to others. A lot of diseases are spread by not washing hands with soap and water. sometimes clean running water may not be available, so use soap and the available water or hand sanitizer.Though sand sanitizers may help they may not eliminate all germs and may not be effective when there is visible dirt. Hands should be washed before and after procedures, preparing food, eating, caring for the sick, using the restroom, changing diapers , blowing the nose, coughing and sneezing . People should be taught the right way to wash hands, after touching animal waste or handling pets. By simply hand washing the government can save not only lives but money, that can go to improve people's lives.The Center for Disease Control (CDC) provides healthcare workers and patients with a variety of resources including guidelines for providers , patient empowerment materials , latest technology advances and educational tools (CDC, 2002). The findings have changed my nursing practice in that if I have to be a good advocate for my patients I have to educate them on life saving habits.During admissions to the hospital patients are encouraged to wash their hands and to report if or refuse care if they notice a healthcare worker not wash their hands. the staff cannot reason with the patients , we have teams of investigators who watch staff go in and out of patients rooms . Sometimes they take pictures in â€Å"got you in a good act,† it is only the hands that are taken so people are conscious of this health habit that saves lives. The WHO guidelines on hand hygiene in healthcare are a thorough review of evidence on ha nd hygiene in healthcare to improve practices and reduce transmissions of pathogenic microorganisms to patients and healthcare workers (CDC, 2009).Through research there are findings about factors that influence compliance or adherence to hand hygiene practices. Some of these are hand washing agents causing irritation and dryness, sinks being inconveniently located or shortage of the same, lack of supplies, too busy or insufficient time, overcrowding, patients needs take priority, wearing gloves /beliefs that glove use replaces the need for hand hygiene, additional perceived ideas to appropriate hand hygiene and so many more (CDC, 2002).Research examines these factors to provide guidelines through evidence based research, and better ways to help the public and healthcare workers adhere to life saving practice. At my hospital we have two pumps one for the sanitizer and lotion based sanitizer to encourage staff and patients to sanitize without the fear of irritation.

Examining And Analyzing Astrazeneca In The Pharmaceutical Industry - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 4 Words: 1304 Downloads: 7 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Finance Essay Type Research paper Did you like this example? The UK leads Europe in Biotechnology and is second in the world in terms of capitalisation, beaten only by the US. 46% of Europes biotech companies are British. More than 50% of European drugs in clinical trials are British. This is partly due to the consolidation of maturing companies and in the continuing investment by venture capital groups and institutional investors (theÂÂ  venture capital industry has invested some 344ÂÂ  million in biotechnology over the last tenÂÂ  years). There are three distinct types of pharmaceutical companies in the UK: Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Examining And Analyzing Astrazeneca In The Pharmaceutical Industry" essay for you Create order Research and Development (An Integrated Company) Research Only i.e. Biotechnology Contract Pharmaceutical Organization (CPO) The Pharmaceutical Industry is the second largest contributor to Gross Domestic Product behind Financial Services. There are several very big players in the UK with GlaxoWelcome, SmithKline Beecham and AstraZeneca being the three largest UK based companies. In America the largest organization (in capital terms) is Merck Sharp and Dohme (MSD), and until recently this was the worlds largest company. In recent years with the merger of Glaxo Welcome and Smith Kline Beecham to form GSK, Merck Sharp Dohme have been relegated to second position. Here in this report we will have a detailed look on AstraZenecas business. ASTRAZENECA AstraZeneca is a global, innovation-driven, integrated biopharmaceutical company. They discover, develop, manufacture and market prescription medicines for six important areas of healthcare, which include some of the worlds most serious illnesses: cancer, cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, infection, neuroscience, and respiratory and inflammation. The company has a senior executive team and highly experienced Board and Senior Executive Team. The Board sets the Companys strategy and policies, and monitors progress towards meeting their objectives. This includes regular reviews of financial performance and critical business issues. The Senior Executive Team, led by Chief Executive Officer David Brennan, focuses on the day-to-day running of our business operations and our Company development, regularly reviewing and deciding all major business issues. They have a global reach but local knowledge, being active in over 100 countries, with a growing presence in emerging markets such as China, Brazil, India and Russia. In 2009 they had sales of $15,981 million in North America, $12,471 million in Other Established Markets and $4,352 million in Emerging Markets. Combining the disease area expertise with country-specific knowledge helps us to market and sell medicines that best meet local needs. Of the 62,700 employees worldwide, 47% are in Europe, 31% in the Americas and 22% in Asia, Africa and Australasia around 11,600 people work in our RD organisation and they have 17 principal RD centres in eight countries, including Sweden, the US and the UK. They have 9,500 employees at 20 manufacturing sites in 16 countries. AstraZeneca sells to over 100 countries mostly through their own local marketing companies and has 10 medicines with sales of over $1Billion each in 2009 and their products are marketed mainly to physicians and other healthcare specialists. AstraZeneca uses the internet to strengthen relationships with their customers, stakeholders and suppliers and to improve their speed and efficiency. AstraZeneca has a major manufacturing presence in Macclesfield, Cheshire and another at Avon, near Bristol, and also Luton is their base for sales and marketing. Astra Zeneca was formed on 6 April 1999 through the merger of Astra AB of Sweden and Zeneca Group PLC of the UK two companies with similar science-based cultures and a shared vision of the pharmaceutical industry. The merger gave the company global power and it is now a leader in a number of specialist markets, including oncology and anaesthesia. Strategy The executive team, with the endorsement of the Board, believes that the most value-creating strategy for AstraZeneca is to remain a focused, integrated, innovation-driven, global, prescription-based biopharmaceutical business: Focused in that they will continue to be selective about those areas of the industry in which we choose to compete, targeting those product categories where medical innovation or brand equity continues to enable them to make acceptable levels of returns on their investments Integrated in that they believe the best way to capture value within this industry is to span the full value chain of discovery, development and commercialisation Innovation-driven in that they believe our technology base will continue to deliver innovative products that patients will want and for which payers will pay Global in that they believe we have the ability efficiently and effectively to meet healthcare needs in both Established and Emerging Markets. AstraZeneca believe that there are continued opportunities to create value for those who invest in pharmaceutical innovation and that AstraZeneca has the skills and capabilities to turn these opportunities into long-term value. 4. Financial Highlights 32.8bn Sales up 7% to $32,804 million ($31,601 million in 2008) 23% Core operating profit up 23% to $13,621 million ($10,958 million in 2008) 7.7bn Strong cash flows reduced net debt by $7,709 million resulting in net funds of $535 million Sales $m (+7%) Net cash flow from operating activities $m Sales growth 7% 2009 3% 2008 7% 2007 Core operating profit $m (+23%) Reported operating profit $m (+24%) Core gross margin $m (+10%) Reported gross margin $m (+11%) Core earnings per Ordinary Share $ (+23%) Reported basic earnings per Ordinary Share $ (+22%) Operational overview Distributions to shareholders $m 2009 2008 2007 Dividends 2,977 2,739 2,641 Share re-purchases 610 4,170 29% Crestor up 29% to $4,502 million 23% Symbicort up 23% to $2,294 million 4 Four major regulatory submissions 4 In-licensing/acquisition of four late-stage projects $1.6bn Annualised savings of $1.6 billion from restructuring 6% Top 6% in the sector in the Dow Jones Indexes In brief Sales Crestor sales were up 29% to $4,502 million; Symbicort up 23% to $2,294 million; Seroquel up 12% to $4,866 million; and Arimidex up 7% to $1,921 million. Nexium sales fell by 1% to $4,959 million and Synagis sales fell by 12% to $1,082 million Sales of Toprol-XL and H1N1 influenza (swine flu) vaccine in the US accounted for 3 percentage points of the global revenue growth Emerging Markets growth was 12%, accounting for 13% of total revenue Pipeline developments include Four major regulatory submissions made Complete Response Letter submitted for fifth regulatory submission In-licensing/acquisition of four late-stage projects 89 projects in clinical development Restructuring programme delivered annualised savings of $1.6 billion in 2009 and expanded to deliver further savings Positioned in the top 6% in the sector in the Dow Jones World and STOXX (European) Indexes Up to $1 billion in Ordinary Shares will be re-purchased by the Company during 2010 Note: All growth rates are at CER. Despite the difficult world economic conditions, 2009 was a successful year for AstraZeneca. Our strong performance and considerable achievement in making a real difference to patient health around the world meant that our shareholders were also able to benefit. Group sales increased by 7% in 2009 to a total of $32,804 million. Reported operating profit was $11,543 million, up 24%. Reported earnings per share for the full year were $5.19 (2008: $4.20). The Board has recommended a second interim dividend of $1.71, a 14% increase over the second interim dividend awarded in 2008. This brings the dividend for the full year to $2.30 (141.4 pence, SEK 16.84), an increase of 12% from 2008. In 2009, cash distributions to shareholders through dividends totalled $2,977 millions. Inventories 2009 $m 2008 $m 2007 $m Raw materials and consumables 445 409 579 Inventories in process 726 631 806 Finished goods and goods for re-sale 579 596 734 1,750 1,636 2,119 Inventory write-offs in the year amounted to $83m (2008: $51m; 2007: $95m). The inventory table above shows the write offs of 2009 and compare them to the previous years. 2007. The Company used double entry method in evaluating the stock and perform inventory as seen in the financial reports by using the trial balance and balance sheet. The method used here for depreciation is a straight line method. The earnings per share for the shareholders are as follow. Dividend for 2009 ÂÂ   $ Pence SEK Payment date First interim dividend 0.59 36.0 4.41 14 September 2009 Second interim dividend 1.71 105.4 12.43 15 March 2010 Total 2.30 141.4 16.84 ÂÂ   $2.30 Dividend per Ordinary Share 2009.However the reported basic earning per share in 2009 was $6.32 while it was $5.10 in 2008 and $4.38 accordingly. Conclusion AstraZeneca is a global company with a great and every expanding profit and looking at the previous annual reports I have observed that its business is expanding day by day and so is the value of its shares as we have seen above a gradual rise in the eps every year therefore I would recommend and would love to buy its shares as there is minimum risk and huge profit.