Information Systems Analysis and Design

• Information Systems Analysis and Design consists of complex organizational processes
• These processes are used by business professionals to develop and maintain systems

Application Software

• Software is designed to support organizational functions or processes

Systems Analyst

• The organizational role with primary responsibility for the analysis and design of information systems

Historical Systems Development Approaches

• 1950s focused on efficiency of processing and automation of existing processes
• Applications were developed in machine or assembly language
• 1960s introduced procedural (third-generation) languages
• Enabled development of smaller, faster, less expensive computers
• 1970s saw system development become more disciplined
• The focus shifted from process first to data first, similar to engineering
• 1980s had major breakthroughs as microcomputers became key organizational tools
• The software industry expanded with off-the-shelf software
• 4th generation language development allowed instructing computers on what to do
• 1990s focused on system integration
• Developers used visual programming environments like Visual Basic
• Relational and object-oriented databases were developed
• Enterprise-wide systems were developed, and web began to expand
• The present day focuses on developing Internet and intranet systems, with three-tier design
• Three-tier design includes a database on one server, application on a second, and client logic on user machines
• Wireless components use programs and components purchased off-the-shelf

Systems Development Life Cycle (SDLC)

• SDLC is a traditional methodology used to develop, maintain, and replace systems
• It is a circular process that is iterative
• The end of the useful life leads to the start of another cycle

SDLC Phases: Planning

• Identifies the need for a new or enhanced system
• Needs are identified, analyzed, prioritized, and arranged
• The scope of the proposed system is determined
• A baseline project plan is developed

SDLC Phases: Analysis

• System requirements are studied from user inputs and structured
• Current systems, manual and computerized, are studied to determine if they can be replaced or enhanced
• The output is a description of the alternate solution recommend by the analysis team

SDLC Phases: Design

• Analysts convert the alternate solution into logical and physical specifications
• Logical Design focuses on independent hardware
• Physical Design uses logical design and transforms it into technology-specific details

SDLC Phases: Implementation

• When systems is coded, tested, and installed
• New systems become part of the daily activities

SDLC Phases: Maintenance

• Information System is systematically repaired
• Improved based on needs
• System changes based on users
• System updates use documentation training

Agile Methodologies

• Agile is adaptive rather than predictive
• Focus is on the people rather than their roles
• Key principles are that the processes are self-adaptive

Agile Methodology Considerations

• Not for every project
• Best used when there are dynamic requirements with responsible developers

The Agile Manifesto

• Agile values individuals and interactions over processes and tools
• Agile values working software over comprehensive documentation
• Agile values customer collaboration over contract negotiation
• Agile values responding to change over one plan

Key Agile Practices

• Customer satisfaction is a high value
• Welcome changing requirements, agile transforms it for competitive advantage
• Working software is delivered frequently from weeks to months
• Businesspeople and developers work together daily through motivation
• The most information is conveyed in the environment and it trusts them
• Face to face is the most efficient way teams convey information and software

Agile vs Traditional Methodologies

• Agile is well matched with small teams, while traditional can handle mass teams
• Agile is reliant on tacit knowledge and thus limits scalability
• Traditional methods evolved to incorporate safety measures while Agile lacks that
• Agile is dynamic when stable while traditional is stable when dynamic

eXtreme Programming

• Uses short incremental cycles
• Focuses on automated texts written by programmers
• uses 2 person teams to monitor
• Relevant parts include how planning, analysis, design and construction fused into one.
• Coding and testing related
• Increases communication among developers

Scrum

• Scrum originated in 1995 by Sutherland and Schwaber
• The most popular agile methodology, as 87% of companies report using it
• The framework includes artifacts, roles, rules and events
• Each team has a product owner, a development team and scrum master
• Scrum uses a sprint for functional product releases
• Sprint is a period of 2 weeks to 1 month
• Sprint starts with planning meeting
• There is a daily 15 minute standup meeting to evaluate progress
• At the end of the sprint, there's a sprint review and retrospective
• Three primary artifacts in the Scrum process
• Product Backlog contains potential requirements
• Sprint Backlog lists items being addressed in a particular sprint
• Increment represents the sum of all product backlog items completed during the sprint

Agile Practice

• Agile offers managers and programmers choices for systems in budget
• Agile requires top management support and the understanding that you must over come changes
• 42% of companies use combination of agile and waterfall approaches

This lesson covers information systems analysis and design, focusing on how business professionals develop and maintain systems. It also looks at the role of the systems analyst and the historical development of systems development approaches.