System Analysis and Design - Exam 1

System analyst role

Focuses on the IS issues surrounding the system and finds way to support and improve business processes

System analyst skills

Technical, business, analytical, interpersonal, manage, and work ethically

SLDC Phases

Planning, analysis, design, implementation

Planning

Fundamental process of understanding why an IS should be built and determine how it will be built

Planning Deliverable

System Request

Analysis

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

Analysis Deliverable

System Proposal

Design

Decides how the system will operate in terms of the hardware, software, and network infrastructure

Design Deliverable

Alternative matrix - system specification

Implementation

System construction and installation, on going system support

Implementation Deliverable

Test plan

Business Process Management

A methodology used by organizations to continuously improve end-to-end business processes

Importance of BPM

Enhanced process agility, increased process efficiencies, and aligns with the industry’s best practices

Scope of BPM

Broad and extensive scope

Business Value

The benefits that the system will create for the organization, both tangible and intangible

Business Requirements

Describes the capabilities the system will provide the organization, so the business needs are met

System Request

Document that describes business reasons for project, defines systems expected values, and lists the project’s key elements

Feasibility

Guides the organization in determining whether to proceed with the project and identifies the important risks associated with the project

Project portfolio management

A process of selecting, prioritizing, and monitoring project results

Waterfall development

Move from phase to phase - emphasis on deliverables from one phase following into the next phase

Strengths of Waterfall

System requirements identified long before construction begins

Weaknesses of Waterfall

Takes a long time and testing may be treated as an afterthought

Rapid Application

Incorporates special techniques and tools to speed up the process and the goal is to get some portion of the system developed quickly and into the user’s hands

Strengths of Rapid

Improves the speed and quality of the systems development

Weaknesses of Rapid

Introduces problems in managing user expectations

Agile

Requires discipline, recommended for small, highly motivated, stable teams and focus on short cycles that produce a complete software product

Strengths of Agile

Fast delivery of results and works well in projects with changing requirements

Weaknesses of Agile

Requires discipline

Parallel Development

Subdivide the project into subprojects that can be worked on at the same time

Strengths of Parallel

Reduces overall project time

Weaknesses of Parallel

Integrating subprojects can be complex and difficult

V-Model

Starts on left side and creates test plans thru process, at the base of the V code is written

Strengths of V-Model

Quality improves through the emphasis on testing

Weaknesses of V-Model

Rigid and difficult to use in dynamic environment

Staffing Plan

Lists the roles that are required for the project and the proposed reporting structure for the project

Staffing Consideration

Match skills to project needs whenever possible and consider technical and interpersonal skills

Timeboxing

Sets a fixed deadline for a project and delivers the system by that deadline no matter what, even if functionality needs to be reduced

Scope Creep

New requirements are added to the project after the original project scope was defined

Project Management

Make tradeoffs among three important concepts - the size of the project, the time it takes to complete, and the cost

Analysis Phase

The planning phase deliverables are the key input into this phase. The systems analyst works extensively with the business users to understand their needs for the new system

Requirement

Statement of what the system must do or what characteristics it needs to have

Functional Requirements

What the system should do

Nonfunctional Requirements

Characteristics the system should have

Interviews

Most important and most used fact-finding technique, the system analyst collects information from individuals face to face

Strengths of interviews

Interviewee can respond freely and openly to questions and their nonverbal communication can be observed

Weaknesses of Interviews

Very time consuming and costly

JAD

Information gathering technique that allows a project team, users, and management to work together to identify requirements for the system

Strengths of JAD

Directly involves project sponsor, key managers, and key users with system analysts

Weakneses of JAD

Expensive and some people tend to dominate the conversation making it so not everyone participates

Document Analysis

Collects facts and you learn as much as you can from existing documentation

Strengths of Document Analysis

Widespread availability of documents and they lack obtrusiveness

Weaknesses of Document Analysis

Most systems are not well documented

Observations

The act of watching processes being performed, powerful tool to gain insight into the as is system

Strengths of observations

Data gathered is highly reliable and you can see exactly what is being done

Weaknesses of observations

People will perform differenty when being observed

Questionnaires

A set of written questions for obtaining information from individuals, mass produced and distributed

Strengths of questionnaires

Can be quickly answered and allows individuals to maintain anonymity

Weaknesses of questionnaires

Response rate is often low, and incomplete questionnaires can be returned

Requirement analysis strategies

Analyst encourages stakholder to identify critical needs and true requirements

Small improvements

Problem and root cause analysis

Moderate Improvements

Duration analysis, activity based costing, informal benchmarking

Major improvements

Outcome, technology, activity elimination strategies

Problem Analysis

Ask users directly to identify problems with the as-is system and to describe how to solve them in the to-be system

Strengths of problem

Effectively improves a system efficiency and ease of use

Weaknesses of problem

Provide only minor improvements in business value

Root Cause Analysis

Focuses on problems first rather than solutions

Strengths of root cause

Traces symptoms to their causes to discover the real problem

Weaknesses of root cause

Solutions may address symptom and not root cause itself

Duration Analysis

Requires a detailed examination of the amount of time it takes to perform each process in the current as is system

Weaknesses of duration

Process is badly fragmented - many different people must perform different activities before the process is completed

Acitvity Based Costing

Examines cost of each major process or step in business process rather than time taken

Strengths of activity

Assigning costs is conceptually simple

Weaknesses of activity

There are indirect costs that can also be included into the activity costs

Informal Benchmarking

How other organizations perform business processes to learn how your organization can do something better

Outcome Analysis

Focuses on understanding the fundamental outcomes that provide value to customers

Technology

identifies how each technology could be applied to the business process and identifies how the business would benefit

Activity Elimination Strategies

Eliminate activity in process and how function could operate without it and what effects are likely to occur

Goal of small improvements

Useful in situations with a narrow focus where efficiency gains are sought. Improvements tend to be small and incremental

Goal of Moderate Improvements

Helps the team find the most broken business processes to help them get redesigned and improved. Helps improve efficiency and effectiveness

Goal of Major Improvements

Helps the team think outside the box and helps create completely new ways of accomplishing the business process. Expect significant impact and value to the organization