Untitled Quiz

Topic 1: Introduction to Systems Analysis and Design

• Course presented by Ts. Elmy Nahida Othman, Senior Lecturer, Informatics and Analytics Section, UniKL MIIT
• Topic Learning Outcomes (TLO):
  • Explain fundamental systems development life cycle and its four phases
  • Describe the evolution of systems development methodologies
  • Review different roles played by and skills of a systems analyst

System vs Information System

• What, who, when, why, where, how?

What is System Development?

• Process of examining a business situation to improve it using better procedures and methods
• Two major components:
  • System Analysis: Analyzing current system for problems, demerits, and additional requirements for a new system
  • System Design: Planning a new system to replace the old one

Beginning of a System Development

• System development usually begins when a problem or opportunity is identified by managers
• Reasons include:
  • New design idea to smoothen process
  • Evolving environmental changes (such as competition)
  • Adding new business or product line to present business
  • Present system does not satisfy user information needs
  • System no longer efficiently meets organizational goals
  • Excessive time spent in correcting errors
  • Current reports/outputs not meeting user decision-making skills
  • Escalating customer complaints

What is an Information System (IS)?

• Hardware, software, data, people, and procedures that work together to produce quality information
• System: Set of components interacting to achieve a common goal
• Businesses use many different types of systems

Tools

• Software support for creating models or other project components, ranging from simple drawing programs to complex CASE tools

Some Tools

• Project management applications
• Drawing/graphics applications
• Word processing/text editor
• Computer-aided system engineering (CASE) tools
• Integrated development environment (IDE)
• Database management applications
• Reverse-engineering tool
• Code generators

Techniques

• Collection of guidelines to help analysts complete system development activity or task
• Step-by-step instructions
• Strategic planning
• Project management
• User interviewing
• Data-modeling
• Relational database design

Methodology

• Defined as manner, ways, routine
• Guideline to follow for completing every activity in the SDLC
• Writing code without a thorough system request may work for small programs but rarely for large ones

System Development Methodologies

• Approach to implement SDLC
• Methodologies can be based on business process or data

Structured Design

• Projects move methodically from one step to the next
• Generally, a step is finished before the next step begins

Structured – Waterfall Approach

• Project planning phase
• Planning specifications are frozen
• Analysis phase
• Analysis specifications are frozen
• Design phase
• Design specifications are frozen
• Implementation phase
• Finished system delivered exactly as specified

Systems Development Life Cycle (Waterfall Model)

• Project Initiation and Planning
• Analysis
• Design
• Implementation
• Maintenance

Waterfall Model

• Problems:
  • Dependent on documents (particularly completing requirements and design phases)
  • Tendency to hide poorly understood requirements with elaborate specifications

Pros and Cons of the Waterfall Method

• Pros: Identifies system requirements long before programming begins
• Cons: Design must be specified on paper before programming begins; long time between system proposal and delivery of new system

Prototyping

• Principle: a user can tell you better what they DON'T want than what they DO want
• Types:
  • Expendable (throw-away) prototyping: discarded after use, supports analysis and design phases
  • Evolutionary prototyping: prototype evolves into final system

Agile Development

• Focus on developer working conditions, working software, customer, and addressing changing requirements
• Fewer rules and practices, easy to follow
• Principles:
  • Software delivered frequently and continuously, satisfying customer
  • Changing requirements embraced regardless of when they occur
  • Working software delivered frequently to the customer
  • Collaboration between customers and developers to solve the business problem
  • Motivated individuals with provided tools and environment
  • Face-to-face communication within development team is most effective for requirement gathering

How to Select Appropriate Methodology?

• Clarity of user requirements
• Familiarity with the technology
• System complexity
• System reliability
• Short time schedule
• Schedule visibility

The System Development Life Cycle

• Planning: Review project requests, prioritize project requests, allocate resources, identify project development team, conduct preliminary investigation, perform detailed analysis, study current systems, determine user requirements, recommend solutions
• Analysis: Conduct preliminary investigation, also called feasibility study, perform detailed analysis
• Steps involved (Analysis): Analysis strategy, Requirement gathering, System proposal
• Design: Acquire hardware and software, develop all details of new or modified information system
• Steps involved (Design): Design strategy, Basic design architecture, Database, File Structure and Specifications, Program Design
• Implementation: Develop programs (if necessary), install and test new system, train users, convert to new system
• Support: Conduct post-implementation system review, identifying errors and enhancements, monitor system performance

What are the Guidelines for System Development?

• Arrange tasks into phases (groups of activities)
• Involve users (anyone for whom the system is built)
• Establish clearly defined standards (procedures company expects to follow)

Who participates in the system development life cycle?

• List of various participant roles involved in the process

What is a systems analyst?

• Responsible for designing and developing information systems
• Acts as a liaison between users and IT professionals

What is the project team?

• Formed to work on a project from beginning to end
• Consists of users, systems analysts, and other IT professionals
• Includes a project leader who manages budget and schedule

Planning

• Planning phase - WHY Information System should be built?
• How project team going to build? 2 steps involved:
• Project Initiation
  • Technical feasibility
  • Economic feasibility
  • Organizational feasibility
• Once approved, project management
• Deliverable: Project plan

Analysis

• Team investigates, identifies improvements and develops a new concept
• Analyze - WHO will use the system?
• WHAT the system will do?
• WHERE and WHEN it will be used?

Analysis

• Involved 3 Steps:
  • Analysis Strategy
  • Requirement gathering
  • System proposal
• Deliverable: System proposal

The Preliminary Investigation

• Determine exact nature of problem or improvement and whether it is worth pursuing
• Findings presented in feasibility report (also known as feasibility study)

What is detailed analysis?

• Study how current system works
• Determine user's wants, needs, and requirements
• Recommend solution (sometimes called logical design)

What is the System Proposal?

• Assesses feasibility of each alternative solution
• Recommends the most feasible solution for the project
• Presented to steering committee

What are possible solutions?

• Buy packaged software (prewritten software)
• Write own custom software
• Outsource (outside source develops software)
  • Horizontal market software (meets needs of many companies)
  • Vertical market software (designed for particular industry)

What is the design phase?

• Acquire hardware and software
• Develop details of new or modified information system

Design

• Decides HOW the system will operate
• Determine hardware, software, network infrastructure, interface, database, reports, etc.

Design

• Design phase steps:
• Design strategy
• Basic design architecture
• Database, file structure, and specifications
• Program design
• Deliverable: System specification

What is needed to acquire new hardware and software?

• Identify all hardware and software requirements of new or modified system
• Talk with other systems analysts
• Visit vendors' stores
• Surf Web
• Read print and online trade journals, newspapers, and magazines

What is detailed design?

• Detailed design specifications for components in proposed solution
• Includes activities (database design, input and output design, program design)

What is a mockup?

• Sample of input or output that contains actual data

What is a prototype?

• Working model of proposed system
• Beginning a prototype too early may lead to problems

What is computer-aided software engineering (CASE)?

• Software tools designed to support activities of system development cycle

What is the implementation phase?

• Purpose is to construct or build new or modified system and then deliver it to users
• Convert to new system
• Train users
• Install and test new system
• Develop programs

Implementation

• Final phase where system is built and used
• 3 steps involved:
  • System construction (built and test)
  • Installation (conversion and training)
  • Establish support plan (review, identify major/minor changes)

What is training?

• Showing users exactly how they will use new hardware and software in the system

What is the support phase?

• Provides ongoing assistance after system implementation
• Conduct post-implementation system review
• Identify errors
• Identify enhancements
• Monitor system performance

Project Team Roles

• List of roles and their responsibilities

Knowledge and Skills Required of a Systems Analyst

• Technical knowledge
• Technical skills
• Business knowledge
• Business skills
• People knowledge
• People skills

Technical Knowledge and Skills

• Analysts should grasp many types of technology, including how computers work, computer peripherals, network technology, protocols, DBMS, OOPL, and class libraries, OS, and utilities
• Analysts should be knowledgeable about tools (software products used to develop analysis and design specifications and system components) and techniques for completing specific system development activities
• Common software tools include IDEs and CASE tools
• Common techniques include project planning, cost-benefit analysis, architectural analysis, information gathering, requirement modeling, database design, network configuration, and interface design

Business Knowledge and Skills

• Analysts should understand business functions, organizational structure, management, business nature (finance, marketing, manufacturing, customer service, retailing, etc.)
• A deeper understanding of a specific industry allows analysts to solve complex problems for companies within that industry
• Best practice: ensure understanding of the organization, culture, mission, and objectives before jumping to conclusions about system solutions

People Knowledge and Skills

• Crucial for system analysts to understand how people think, learn, react to change, communicate, and work
• Utilize people knowledge to adapt systems to users
• Most critical skill: ability to listen empathetically

Analyst Personal Integrity and Ethics

• Sense of personal integrity and ethics is essential
• Analysts often encounter personal information (salary, health, job performance, students' results)
• Analysts encounter confidential proprietary information (strategic plans, top-secret information, company security processes)
• Keep confidential and sensitive information private
• Improprieties can ruin an analyst's career

Why do so many projects fail?

• Characteristics of failed projects include inaccurate understanding of end-user needs, inability to deal with changing environments, late discovery of serious project flaws, poor software quality, modules that do not fit together, unacceptable software performance
• These are symptoms of deeper underlying problems

Thank You