Systems Design Fundamentals Quiz

Introduction to Systems Analysis and Design

• The text outlines the seventh edition of "Systems Analysis and Design in a Changing World" by Satzinger, Jackson, and Burd.
• Chapter 6 focuses on foundational concepts for systems design.
• This chapter details Systems Analysis and Design, including major activities like modeling, environment description, and security measures.

Learning Objectives

• This chapter aims to define and contrast systems design with systems analysis.
• Identify relevant documents and models essential to systems design.
• Explain every key design activity.
• Describe various security protocols and methods.

Overview and Analysis to Design to Implementation

• Analysis determines "what" a system needs to accomplish, while design outlines the "how" of implementation.
• Chapters 2-5 cover systems analysis, leading to requirements.
• The core of the systems design process involves defining, organizing, and structuring components for the final system.
• Design facilitates translating requirements into an actionable plan for implementation.

Design Models

• Design is a model-building activity.
• Formal projects dictate complex models.
• Agile/iterative projects use fewer models, still crucial for development.
• Design ensures optimum solutions avoid rework.

Analysis Models to Design Models

• The chapter provides a graphic illustrating the flow from requirements models to design models, detailing the necessary diagrams like domain model, use case diagrams, and activity diagrams.
• Also included are deployment diagrams, design class diagrams, system sequence diagrams, interaction diagrams(sequence diagrams), design state machine diagrams, and package diagrams.

Design Activities

• The process encompasses defining components of the new system, including the environment, application components, user interface, database, and software classes and methods.
• These activities are linked with core processes of project identification, planning, detail discovery, component design, testing, and system deployment.

Design Activities and Iterations

• The process of system design involves core activities and repetitions.
• The stages include identifying the problem, system planning and monitoring, detail discovery, component designs, testing and integration, and system deployment.
• These processes are iterative, allowing revisiting and adjustments as needed throughout the project.

Key Design Questions for Each Activity

• Each design activity requires specific considerations, for example:
• Environment: Interaction with external systems and existing technologies.
• Application Components: The components' role in the information system.
• User interface: User interaction with the system.
• Database: Data storage and management aspects.
• Software Classes and Methods: Software efficiency and reliability.

Describe the Environment

• The environment is crucial, encompassing communications with external systems, message formats, networks, protocols, security measures, error handling, and adherence to technology standards, (discussed further in Chapter 7).

Design the Application Components

• Defines application component as well-defined software units.
• Discusses crucial considerations like scope, size, functions, boundaries, interfaces, programming languages, and decision of build vs. buy.

Design the User Interface

• The user interface is the system for the user.
• User interface design has a major role in user productivity, requiring substantial user involvement.
• Includes both analysis and design tasks, needing multiple interfaces for diverse devices and needs.

Design the Database

• Information systems need data, typically stored in a database.
• Current systems commonly use Relational Database Management Systems (RDBMS).
• Converting the relevant data model into a relational structure is key, requiring careful attention to technical details such as throughput, response time, and security.

Design Software Classes and Methods

• Detailed design, modeled as activities such as design class diagrams, sequence diagrams, and state diagrams to implement the design.

System Controls and Security

• Integrity controls maintain input, output, and data/program integrity.
• Security controls protect from internal and external threats.

Design Integrity Controls

• Controls are built into application programs and DBMSs.
• Focus on appropriateness of business transactions, correct and complete recordings and to safeguard assets.

Input Controls

• Value and Limit Controls check input range and validity.
• Completeness Controls ensure all input data is included.
• Validation Controls verify input accuracy.
• Combination Controls verify data consistency across multiple fields.

Output Controls

• Output controls ensure accuracy and delivery to the correct recipients.
• Examples: Correct physical access, preventing dumpster diving of data, and proper label to aid verification of output data source.

Redundancy, Backup, and Recovery

• Systems protection from catastrophic events is crucial.
• Procedures and copies for databases, hardware, software, and networks are needed.
• Distinction between on-site and off-site backup methods is important.

Fraud Prevention

• Internal fraud prevention is essential.
• Fraud-prevention efforts may target opportunities, motives, and rationalizations.
• The fraud triangle model explains this.

Fraud Risk—Factors and Techniques

• Separation of duties, records and audit trails, monitoring, asset control and reconciliation, and security measures are important factors and techniques to prevent fraud.

Designing Security Controls

• Designing security controls include: protecting assets from external threats, maintaining a stable operating environment, protecting information during transfer across various networks.

Types of Users

• Registered users: includes employees, suppliers, developers, and others with authorized access.
• Unauthorized users: excludes those without the permission to access a system.
• Privileged users: Users with essential access to systems.

Data Encryption

• Techniques are for storing data in transmittal, altering data, decryption, and mathematical transformation to secure data.
• The encryption key is crucial for producing unique encryptions.

Symmetric and Asymmetric Encryption

• Symmetric encryption uses the same key for encryption and decryption.
• Asymmetric encryption uses different keys for encryption and decryption, and public and private keys are important.

Digital Signatures and Certificates

• The process of digitally signing documents using encryption.
• A digital certificate includes organization name and public key encrypted and validated by an authorized third party.
• A certifying authority authenticates the digital certificates.

Secure Transactions

• Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) and Transport Layer Security (TLS) protocols provide authorization and authentication.
• IP Security is designed for low-level transmissions.
• Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS) facilitates secure transmission of web pages.

Summary

• Chapter 6 introduces systems design emphasizing its crucial link between analysis and implementation.
• Detailed activities of systems design, environmental description, application component and user interface design, database design, and the design of software classes and methods are examined.
• Chapter 6 also examines the controls for security and integrity including output, error detection, redundancy, fraud prevention, access, data encryption, and secure transactions.