soft eng prelims

Systems Analysis

Consists of activities that enable a person to understand and specify what the new system should accomplish

Systems Design

Consists of activities that enable a person to describe in detail how the information system will be implemented to provide the needed solution

Systems Analysis and Design

Plays an integral role in the development of an information system (IS) and provides the tools and techniques needed as an information system developer to complete the development process

Project

A planned undertaking that has a beginning and an end and produces some result

System Development Life Cycle (SDLC)

A framework that identifies all the activities required to research build deploy and often maintain an IS

Planning Phase

The fundamental process of understanding why an information system should be built and determining how the project team will go about building it

Analysis Phase

Answers the questions of who will use the system what the system will do and where and when it will be used

Design Phase

Decides how the system will operate in terms of hardware software and network infrastructure; user interface forms and reports; and the specific programs databases and files that will be needed

Implementation Phase

The phase in which the system is built or purchased tested installed and a support plan is established

System Development Process or Methodology

A set of comprehensive guidelines for carrying out all of the activities of each core process of the SDLC

Agile Development

An information system development process that emphasizes flexibility and rapid response to anticipate new and changing requirements during development

Iterative Development

An approach to system development in which the system is grown piece by piece through multiple mini-projects called iterations

System Requirements

All the activities the new system must perform or support and the constraints that the new system must meet

FURPS

A framework used in identifying and classifying requirements into functional usability reliability performance and security categories

Functional Requirements

Requirements that relate directly to a process a system has to perform or information it needs to contain

Nonfunctional Requirements

Requirements describing system characteristics such as usability reliability performance and security

Usability Requirements

Operational characteristics related to users such as user interface work procedures online help and documentation

Reliability Requirements

The dependability of a system including how often it exhibits service outages and how it recovers from problems

Performance Requirements

Operational characteristics related to measures of workload such as throughput and response time

Security Requirements

How access to the application will be controlled and how data will be protected during storage and transmission

Stakeholders

People who have an interest in the successful implementation of the system

Internal Stakeholders

Persons within the organization who interact with the system or have a significant interest in its operation or success

External Stakeholders

Persons outside the organization's control and influence who interact with or are affected by the system

Operational Stakeholders

Persons who regularly interact with a system in the course of their jobs or lives

Executive Stakeholders

Persons who do not interact directly with the system but who either use information produced by it or have a significant financial interest in its operation

Client

The person or group that provides the funding for the project

Model

A representation or abstraction of some aspects of the system being built

Textual Models

Models using memos reports narratives and lists to describe requirements that are detailed

Graphical Models

System models that use pictures and other graphical elements to create a diagram to make complex relationships easier to understand

Mathematical Models

System models that describe requirements numerically or as mathematical expressions

Unified Modeling Language (UML)

A standard set of information system model constructs and notations defined by the Object Management Group (OMG)

Workflow

A sequence of work steps that completely handle one business transaction or customer request

Activity Diagram

A UML diagram that describes user or system activities the person or component that completes each activity and the sequential flow of these activities

Synchronization Bar

An activity diagram component that either splits a control path into multiple concurrent paths or recombines concurrent paths

Swimlane

An activity diagram component that divides the workflow activities into groups showing which agent performs which activity