Systems Analysis and Design Chapter on Requirements

Systems Analysis and Design

• This is a 5th edition textbook
• Authors are Roberta Roth, Alan Dennis, and Barbara Haley Wixom
• The chapter focuses on requirements determination

Planning Phase

• Focus: Understanding why a system needs to be built and how it's structured
• Step 1: Identify opportunity and analyze feasibility
  • Techniques: Project identification, technical feasibility, economic feasibility, organizational feasibility
  • Deliverable: System request and feasibility study
• Step 2: Develop workplan
  • Techniques: Time estimation, task identification, work breakdown structure, PERT chart, Gantt chart, scope management, project staffing, project charter, CASE repository, standards, documentation, timeboxing, risk management
  • Deliverable: Project plan, staffing plan, standards list, risk assessment

Analysis Phase

• Focus: Determining who, what, where, and when regarding the system
• Step 3: Develop analysis strategy
  • Techniques: Business process automation, business process improvement, business process reengineering, interview, JAD session, questionnaire, document analysis, observation
  • Deliverable: System proposal and requirements definition
• Step 4: Create use cases
  • Technique: Use case analysis
  • Deliverables: Use cases
• Step 5: Model processes
  • Techniques: Data flow diagramming
  • Deliverables: Process models
• Step 6: Model data
  • Techniques: Entity relationship modeling, normalization
  • Deliverables: Data model

Chapter 3 Outline

• Analysis phase
• Requirement determination
• Requirement elicitation techniques

Analysis Techniques

• Apply requirement analysis techniques (business process automation, business process improvement, business process reengineering)
• Use requirement gathering techniques (interview, JAD session, questionnaire, document analysis, observation)
• Develop requirement definition

The Analysis Phase

• System Development Life Cycle (SDLC): The process an organization uses to move from the current system (as-is) to a new system (to-be)
• Requirement definition: The most critical step in the SDLC
• Analysis: Breaking down a whole into its parts for understanding nature, functions, interrelationships
• Planning phase deliverables: Key inputs for the analysis phase

The Analysis Phase (continued)

• Basic process of analysis: Understanding the existing situation (as-is system), identifying improvements, defining requirements for the new system (to-be system)
• Final deliverables: System proposal

Requirements Determination

• Determining requirements is a crucial aspect of the SDLC.
• Incorrect or incomplete requirements lead to rework, increasing time and cost.

What is a Requirement?

• A requirement is a statement of what a system must do or its characteristics. It describes business, user, functional, and non-functional requirements, as well as system requirements.

What Is a Requirement (continued)

• Design phase requirements: Written from a developer's perspective; called system requirements
• These requirements change during design and implementation
• Functional requirement (FR): Directly related to a process or information the system needs
• Non-functional requirement (NFR): Refers to the system's behavioral properties

Functional Requirements (examples)

• Process-oriented: Processes the system must perform
• Information-oriented: Information the system must contain

Non-Functional Requirements (examples)

• Operational: Physical and technical environment in which the system will operate
• Performance: Speed, capacity, and reliability of the system
• Security: Authorized access to the system
• Cultural and Political: Factors and legal requirements affecting the system

The Process of Determining Requirements

• Both business and IT perspectives are needed to determine requirements
• Effective approach: Have businesspeople and analysts work together
• Analyst's role: Consider how best to elicit requirements from stakeholders
• Requirements evolve during the analysis phase

Requirements Elicitation Techniques (in practice)

• Important side effects: Building political support for the project and establishing trust between the project team and users
• Determining who is involved in eliciting requirements

Requirements Elicitation Techniques

• Interview
• Joint Application Development (JAD)
• Questionnaires
• Document analysis
• Observation

Interviews

• Commonly used technique (one-on-one or group) due to time constraints
• Steps for any interview: Selecting interviewees, designing interview questions, preparing for the interview, conducting the interview, post-interview follow-up

Selecting Interviewees

• Include people at different organizational levels (managers, users, staff, technicians)
• Include administrative and financial authority, and other key stakeholders

Designing Interview Questions

• Closed-ended questions (e.g., how many telephone orders are received per day?)
• Open-ended questions (e.g., what are some improvements you would like to see?)
• Probing questions (e.g., Can you give me an example?)

Preparing for the Interview

• Prepare a general interview plan (list of questions, anticipated answers, follow-up questions)
• Confirm areas of knowledge
• Set priorities in case of time shortage
• Prepare the interviewee (schedule, inform of reason, areas of discussion)

Conducting the Interview

• Be professional and unbiased
• Record all information
• Understand discussed issues
• Separate facts from opinions
• Give interviewees time to ask questions
• Briefly explain next steps

Post-interview Follow-up

• Prepare an interview report, send to interviewees for review and clarification, and gather updates
• Look for gaps and new questions

Joint Application Development (JAD)

• Information gathering technique that brings together project team, users, and management to identify system requirements
• Reduces scope creep by up to 50%
• Structured process: 10-20 users meet under a skilled facilitator

Selecting JAD Participants

• Similar to interview participants selection

Designing and Preparing for JAD Sessions

• JAD sessions can range from half a day to several weeks, depending on project size and scope
• Success depends on careful planning
• Most sessions aim to collect specific information from users
• Prepare both analysts and participants for the JAD session

Conducting the JAD Session

• Most follow formal agendas and ground rules
• Facilitator's responsibilities: Keeps session on track, helps the group understand terminology, records group input.
• Facilitator must remain neutral throughout the process.

Post-JAD Follow-up

• Prepare and circulate a post-session report to all attendees within a week or two of the session.

Questionnaires

• A set of written questions to gather information from individuals.
• Select participants representative of the entire group.
• Design the questionnaire using good practice guidelines.
• Administer the questionnaire and improve response rates.
• Develop a report for questionnaire follow-up.

Good Questionnaire Design

• Begin with non-threatening and interesting questions
• Arrange questions logically
• Avoid crowding pages with too many items
• Put important questions elsewhere than at the end
• Avoid abbreviations & biased/suggestive items
• Number questions to avoid confusion
• Pretest the questionnaire
• Provide anonymity

Document Analysis

• Use documents (forms, reports, manuals, organization charts) to understand the as-is system.
• Identify differences between formal and informal systems to determine necessary changes.
• User creation of new forms/reports often indicates needed system changes

Observation

• Process of watching processes being performed.
• A powerful method for gaining insights into the as-is system and confirming information from other sources.
• Note that people may change behavior when being observed.

Summary

• Analysis focuses on capturing business requirements
• Requirement determination: Project team transforms stated business requirements into a precise list of requirements
• Five techniques for eliciting business requirements: Interview, JAD, questionnaires, document analysis, observation

This quiz covers key concepts from the Systems Analysis and Design textbook, specifically focusing on the requirements determination phase. You will explore the planning and analysis phases, including techniques for project identification and feasibility studies. Test your understanding of how to develop workplans and analyze system necessities.