Systems Analysis and Design Methods

Flashcards for reviewing key concepts from the Systems Analysis and Design Methods lecture notes.

Systems analysis

A problem-solving technique that decomposes a system into its component pieces for the purpose of studying how well those component parts work and interact to accomplish their purpose.

Systems design

A complementary problem-solving technique (to systems analysis) that reassembles a system’s component pieces back into a complete system—hopefully, an improved system.

Information systems analysis

Those development phases in an information systems development project that primarily focus on the business problem and requirements, independent of any technology that can or will be used to implement a solution to that problem.

Repository

A location (or set of locations) where systems analysts, systems designers, and system builders keep all of the documentation associated with one or more systems or projects.

Model-driven analysis

A problem-solving approach that emphasizes the drawing of pictorial system models to document and validate both existing and/or proposed systems. Ultimately, the system model becomes the blueprint for designing and constructing an improved system.

Model

A representation of either reality or vision.

Structured Analysis

Focuses on the flow of data through processes; key model is a data flow diagram.

Information Engineering

Focuses on the structure of stored data; key model is the entity relationship diagram.

Object-Oriented Approach

Integrates data and process concerns into objects.

Object

The encapsulation of the data (called properties) that describes a discrete person, object, place, event, or thing, with all the processes (called methods) that are allowed to use or update the data and properties.

Accelerated Systems Analysis

Accelerated systems analysis approaches emphasize the construction of prototypes to more rapidly identify business and user requirements for a new system.

Prototype

A small-scale, incomplete, but working sample of a desired system.

Discovery prototyping

A technique used to identify the users’ business requirements by having them react to a quick-and-dirty implementation of those requirements.

Rapid architected analysis

An approach that attempts to derive system models (as described earlier in this section) from existing systems or discovery prototypes.

Reverse engineering

The use of technology that reads the program code for an existing database, application program, and/or user interface and automatically generates the equivalent system model.

Requirements discovery

The process, used by systems analysts of identifying or extracting system problems and solution requirements from the user community.

Fact-finding

The process of collecting information about system problems, opportunities, solution requirements, and priorities.

Joint requirements planning (JRP)

Use of facilitated workshops to bring together all of the system owners, users, and analysts, and some systems designer and builders to jointly perform systems analysis.

Business process redesign (BPR)

The application of systems analysis methods to the goal of dramatically changing and improving the fundamental business processes of an organization, independent of information technology.

Agile method

Integration of various approaches of systems analysis and design for applications as deemed appropriate to problem being solved and the system being developed.

Steering body

A committee of executive business and system managers that studies and prioritizes competing project proposals to determine which projects will return the most value to the organization and thus should be approved for continues systems development.

Project charter

The final deliverable for the preliminary investigation phase. A project charter defines the project scope, plan, methodology, standards, and so on.

Cause-and-effect analysis

A technique in which problems are studied to determine their causes and effects.

Context Diagram

A pictorial model that shows how the system interacts with the world around it and specifies in general terms the system inputs and outputs.

Objective

A measure of success.

Constraint

Something that will limit your flexibility in defining a solution to your objectives. Essentially, constraints cannot be changed.

Functional requirement

A description of activities and services a system must provide.

Nonfunctional requirement

A description of other features, characteristics, and constraints that define a satisfactory system.

Use case

A business scenario or event for which the system must provide a defined response.

Timeboxing

A technique that delivers information systems functionality and requirements through versioning.

Technical feasibility

Is the solution technically practical? Does our staff have the technical expertise to design and build this solution?

Operational feasibility

Will the solution fulfill the users’ requirements? To what degree? How will the solution change the users’ work environment? How do users feel about such a solution?

Economic feasibility

Is the solution cost-effective?

Schedule feasibility

Can the solution be designed and implemented within an acceptable time period?