Chapter 1 The Context of System Analysis and System Owner - an information system’s

Design Methods sponsor and executive advocate, usually

responsible for funding the project of
System - a group of interrelated components that
developing, operating, and maintaining the
function together to achieve a desired result
information system.
Information System - arrangement of people, data,
System User - a “customer” who will use or is
processes, and information technology that interact to
affected by an information system on a regular
collect, process, store, and provide as output the
basis – capturing, validating, entering,
information needed to support an organization
responding to, storing, and exchanging data and
Information Technology - a contemporary term that information.
describes the combination of computer technology
Internal Systems Users
(hardware and software) with telecommunications
technology (data, image, and voice networks). • Clerical and service workers
• Technical and professional staff
Types of Information Systems
• Supervisors, middle managers, and executive
• Transaction Processing System (TPS) - managers
captures and processes data about business
External Systems Users
transactions
• Management Information System (MIS) - • Customers
provides for management-oriented reporting • Suppliers
based on transaction processing and operations • Partners
of the organization • Employees
• Decision Support System (DSS) - helps to
identify decision making opportunities or Remote Users - users who are not physically located on
provides information to help make decisions the premises but who still requires access to information
• Expert System - captures the expertise of systems
workers and then simulates that expertise to the Mobile Users - users whose location is constantly
benefit of non-experts changing but who requires access to information systems
• Communications and Collaboration System - from any location
enables more effective communications between
workers, partners, customers, and suppliers to System Designers vs System Builders
enhance their ability to collaborate
System Designer - a technical specialist who translates
• Office Automation System - supports the wide system users’ business requirements and constraints into
range of business office activities that provide technical solution. She or he designs the computer
for improved work flow between workers databases, inputs, outputs, screens, networks, and
software that will meet the system users’ requirements.
System Builders - a technical specialist who constructs
information systems and components based on the
A Framework for Systems Analysis and Design design specifications generated by the system designers.
Stakeholder - any person who has an interest in Systems Analyst - a specialist who studies the problems
an existing or proposed information system. and needs of an organization to determine how people,
Information Workers - are those workers data, processes, and information technology can best
whose jobs involve the creation, collection, accomplish improvements for the business.
processing, distribution, and use of information. Programmer/analyst - includes the responsibilities of
Knowledge Workers - are a subset of both the computer programmer and the systems analyst.
information workers whose responsibilities are Business analyst – focuses on only the non-technical
based on a specialized body of knowledge. aspects of systems analysis and design.
System Owners vs Systems Users
Problems - either real or anticipated, that require E-Business – the use of the Internet to conduct
corrective action and support day-to-day business activities.
Opportunities - to improve a situation despite the Types of e-commerce and e-business
absence of complaints
• Marketing of corporate image, products, and
Directives - to change a situation regardless of whether services
anyone has complained about the current situation • Business-to-consumer (B2C)
• Business-to-business (B2B)
Skills needed by the System Analyst
Impact on information systems
• Working knowledge of information technology
• Computer programming experience and • Most new information systems are being
expertise designed for an Internet (or intranet)
• General business knowledge architecture
• General problem-solving skills • Since the only client-side software is a web
• Good interpersonal communication skills browser, the choice of client operating
• Flexibility and adaptability system is becoming less important
• Good interpersonal relations skills
Security and Privacy
• Character and ethics
Security
Other Stakeholders
• How will the business continue in the event
External Service Provider (ESP) - a systems analyst,
of a security breach, terrorist attack, or
system designer, or system builder who sells his or her
disaster?
expertise and experience to other businesses to help
• How can the business protect its digital
those businesses purchase, develop, or integrate their
assets from outside threats?
information systems solutions; may be affiliated with a
consulting or services organization. Knowledge Asset Management
Project Manager - an experienced professional who Data - raw facts about people, places, events,
accepts responsibility for planning, monitoring, and and things that are of importance in an
controlling projects with respect to schedule, budget, organization
deliverables, customer satisfaction, technical standards,
and system quality. Information - data that has been processed or
reorganized into a more meaningful form for
Business Drivers for Today’s Information System someone
Globalization of the Economy Knowledge - data and information that is further
refined based on the facts, truths, beliefs,
Global Economy brings:
judgments, experiences, and expertise of the
• New and expanded international markets recipient
• New international competitors
Business Process Redesign
Impact on Information Systems
is Business Process Redesign (BPR) the study, analysis,
• Require support of multiple languages, and redesign of fundamental business processes to
currency exchange rates, business cultures reduce costs and/or improve value added to the business.
• Require consolidation of international data Object Technologies - a software technology that
• Demand for players who can communicate, defines a system in terms of objects that consolidate data
orally and in writing, with management and and behavior (into objects).
users that speak different languages
Object-Oriented Analysis and Design - a collection of
Electronic Commerce and Business tools and techniques for systems development that will
E-Commerce – the buying and selling of goods utilize object technologies to construct a system and its
and services by using the Internet. software.
Agile Development - a system development strategy in Chapter 2 Information System Building Blocks
which system developers are given the flexibility to
Front- and Back-Office Information Systems
select from a variety of tools and techniques to best
accomplish the tasks at hand. Back-office information systems - support
business functions that extend out to the
Collaborative Technologies
organization’s customers (or constituents)
• Instant Messaging
Front-office information systems - support
• Email
internal business operations of an organization,
• Groupware
as well as reach out to suppliers (of materials,
• Workflow equipment, supplies, and services).
Systems Integration - the process of building a unified Information Systems Architecture - a unifying
information system out of diverse components of framework into which various stakeholders with
purchases software, custom-built software, hardware, different perspectives can organize and view the
and networking. fundamental building blocks of information systems.
System Development Process High-Level Goals of System Owners and System
1. Identify the problem. Users
2. Analyze and understand the problem. • Improve business knowledge
3. Identify solution requirements or expectations.
• Improve business processes and services
4. Identify alternative solutions and choose the
• Improve business communication and people
“best” course of action.
collaboration
5. Design the chosen solution.
6. Implement the chosen solution. Technology Perspectives of System Designers &
7. Evaluate the results. If the problem is not solved, System Builders
return to step 1 or 2 as appropriate.
Database technologies that support business
Simplified System Development Process accumulation and use of business knowledge
1. System initiation Software technologies that automate and support
2. System analysis business processes and services
3. System design
4. System implementation Interface technologies that support business
communication and collaboration
Focuses for Information Systems
Knowledge - the raw material used to create
Project and Process Management useful information
Project Management – the activity of defining, Process - the activities (including management)
planning, directing, monitoring, and controlling a project that carry out the mission of the business.
to develop an acceptable system within the allotted time
and budget Communication - how the system interfaces
with its users and other information systems.
Process Management – the ongoing activity that
defines, improves, and coordinates the use of an Views of KNOWLEDGE
organization’s chosen methodology (the “process”) and System Owners’ view
standards for all system development projects.
• Interested not in raw data but in information
Total Quality Management (TQM) - describes a that adds new business knowledge and helps
management approach to long-term success through managers make decisions.
customer satisfaction. In a TQM effort, all members of • Business entities and business rules.
an organization participate in improving processes,
products, services, and the culture in which they work. System Users’ view
 • View data as something recorded on forms, Application Program – a language-based, machine-
stored in file cabinets, recorded in books and readable representation of what a software process is
spreadsheets, or stored on computer. supposed to do, or how a software process is supposed to
• Focus on business issues as they pertain to accomplish its task.
data.
Prototyping – a technique for quickly building a
Data Requirement – a representation of functioning, but incomplete model of the information
users’ data in terms of entities, attributes, system using rapid application development tools.
relationships, and rules independent of data
Views of COMMUNICATION
technology.
System Owners’ View
Who (which business units, employees,
customers, and partners) must interact with the
System Designers’ view system?

• Data structures, database schemas, fields, Where are these business units, employees,
indexes, and constraints of particular customers, and partners located?
database management system (DBMS).
What other information systems will the system
System Builders’ view have to interface with?

• DBMS or other data technologies System Designers’ View

Views of PROCESS System Designer - Concerned with the technical

design of both the user and the system-to-system
Business Function– a group of related processes that communication interfaces.
support the business. Functions can be decomposed into
other subfunctions and eventually into processes that do Interface Specifications - technical designs that
specific tasks. document how system users are to interact with
a system and how a system interacts with other
Cross-functional Information System – a system that systems.
supports relevant business processes from several
business functions without regard to traditional User Dialogue – a specification of how the user
organizational boundaries such as divisions, moves from window to window or page to page,
departments, centers, and offices. interacting with the application programs to
perform useful work.
Business Processes - activities that respond to business
events. System Users’ View

Process Requirements - a user’s expectation of the Concerned with the information system’s inputs
processing requirements for a business process and its and outputs.
information systems. System Builders’ View
Policy - a set of rules that govern a business process. Concerned with the construction, installation,
Work Flow - the flow of transactions through business testing and implementation of user and system-
processes to ensure appropriate checks and approvals are to-system interface solutions.
implemented.
Procedure - a step-by-step set of instructions and logic Middleware – utility software that allows
for accomplishing a business process. application software and systems software that
Software Specifications – the technical design of utilize differing technologies to interoperate.
business processes to be automated or supported by Network Technologies and the IS Building Blocks
computer programs to be written by system builders.
Clean-Layering approach allows any one
building block to be replaced with another while
 having little or no impact on the other building 5. Observe and evaluate the solution’s impact, and
blocks refine the solution accordingly.
Chapter 3 Information Systems Development Manage the Process and Projects
Process of System Development Process Management – an ongoing activity that
documents, manages, oversees the use of, and
System Development Process – a set of
improves an organization’s chosen methodology
activities, methods, best practices, deliverables,
(the “process”) for system development. Process
and automated tools that stakeholders use to
management is concerned with phases,
develop and continuously improve information
activities, deliverables, and quality standards
systems and software.
should be consistently applied to all projects.
Capability Maturity Model (CMM) - a
Project Management - the process of scoping,
standardized framework for assessing the
planning, staffing, organizing, directing, and
maturity level of an organization’s information
controlling a project to develop an information
system development and management processes
system at a minimum cost, within a specified
and products. It consists of five levels of
time frame, and with acceptable quality.
maturity:
Justify Information Systems as Capital Investments
1. Initial
2. Repeatable Cost-effectiveness – The result obtained by
3. Defined striking a balance between the lifetime costs of
4. Managed developing, maintaining, and operating an
5. Optimizing information system and the benefits derived
from that system. Cost-effectiveness is measured
System Development Process – a set of
by a cost-benefit analysis.
activities, methods, best practices, deliverables,
and automated tools that stakeholders use to Strategic information systems plan – a formal
develop and continuously improve information strategic plan (3-5 years) for building and
systems and software. improving an information technology
infrastructure and the information system
Life Cycle versus Methodology
applications that use that infrastructure.
System Life Cycle – the factoring of the lifetime
Strategic enterprise plan – a formal strategic
of an information system into two stages, (1)
plan (3-5 years) for an entire business that
systems development and (2) systems operation
defines its mission, vision, goals, strategies,
and maintenance.
benchmarks, and measures of progress and
System Development Methodology – a formalized achievement. Usually, the strategic enterprise
approach to the systems development process; a plan is complemented by strategic business unit
standardized development process that defines (as in plans that define how each business unit will
CMM Level 3) a set of activities, methods, best contribute to the enterprise plan. The
practices, deliverables, and automated tools that system information systems plan is one of those unit-
developers and project managers are to use to develop level plans.
and continuously improve information systems and
Risk Management – the process of identifying,
software.
evaluating, and controlling what might go wrong in a
Use a Problem-Solving Approach project before it becomes a threat to the successful
completion of the project or implementation of the
1. Study and understand the problem, its context, information system. Risk management is drive by risk
and its impact. analysis or assessment.
2. Define the requirements that must be meet by
any solution. Creeping Commitment – a strategy in which feasibility
3. Identify candidate solutions that fulfill the and risks are continuously reevaluated throughout a
requirements, and select the “best” solution. project. Project budgets and deadlines are adjusted
4. Design and/or implement the chosen solution. accordingly.
Unplanned Projects - Triggered by a specific problem, Analysis Paralysis – a satirical term coined to
opportunity, or directive that occurs in the course of describe a common project condition in which
doing business. excessive system modeling dramatically slows
progress toward implementation of the intended
Steering committee – an administrative body of system
system solution.
owners and information technology executives that
prioritizes and approves candidate system development Decision Analysis Phase
projects.
Candidate solutions evaluated in terms of:
Technical Feasibility – Is the solution
Backlog – a repository of project proposals that cannot technically practical? Does our staff have the
be funded or staffed because they are a lower priority technical expertise to design and build this
than those that have been approved for system solution?
development.
Operational Feasibility – Will the solution
Scope Definition Phase fulfill the users’ requirements? To what degree?
How will the solution change the users’ work
Problem statement – a statement and
environment? How do users feel about such a
categorization of problems, opportunities, and
solution?
directives; may also include constraints and an
initial vision for the solution. Synonyms include Economic Feasibility – Is the solution cost-
preliminary study and feasibility assessment. effective?
Constraint – any factor, limitation, or restraint Schedule Feasibility – Can the solution be
that may limit a solution or the problem-solving designed and implemented within an acceptable
process. time?
Scope creep – a common phenomenon wherein Risk Feasibility – What is the probability of a
the requirements and expectations of a project successful implementation using the technology
increase, often without regard to the impact on and approach?
budget and schedule.
Physical Design & Integration Phase
Statement of work – a contract with
Physical Design – the translation of business user
management and the user community to develop
requirements into a system model that depicts a technical
or enhance an information system; defines
implementation of the users’ business requirements.
vision, scope, constraints, high-level user
Common synonyms include technical design or
requirements, schedule, and budget. Synonyms
implementation model.
include project charter, project plan, and service-
level agreement. Two extreme philosophies of physical design:
Logical Design Phase Design by specification – physical system models and
detailed specification are produced as a series of written
Logical Design – the translation of business user
(or computer-generated) blueprints for construction.
requirements into a system model that depicts
only the business requirements and not any Design by prototyping – Incomplete but functioning
possible technical design or implementation of applications or subsystems (called prototypes) are
those requirements. Common synonyms include constructed and refined based on feedback from users
conceptual design and essential design. and other designers.
System Model – a picture of a system that Final Phase of System Development Methodologies
represents reality or a desired reality. System
models facilitate improved communication Installation and Delivery Phase
between system users, system analysts, system Number of Scope - ???
designers, and system builders.
Chapter 4 Project Organizing - making sure members understand
their roles and responsibilities
Project s and Project Managers
Directing - coordinating the project
Project - a [temporary] sequence of unique,
complex, and connected activities having one Controlling - monitoring progress
goal or purpose and that must be completed by
Closing - assessing success and failure
specific time, within budget, and according to
specification. Project Management Tools & Techniques
Project Manager - the person responsible for Pert Chart - a graphical network model used to
supervising a systems project from initiation to
conclusion
Projects Management and Process Management
Project Management - the process of scoping,
planning, staffing, organizing, directing, and
controlling the development of an acceptable
system at a minimum cost within a specified
time frame
Process Management - the activity of
documenting, managing, and continually
improving the process of systems development.
Causes of Project Failure
1. Overoptimism
2. Failure to establish upper-management
commitment to the project depict the interdependencies between a project’s
3. The mythical man-month tasks
4. Lack of organization’s commitment to the
methodology
5. Inadequate people management skills
6. Taking shortcuts through or around the
methodology
7. Failure to adapt to business change
8. Poor expectations management
9. Insufficient resources
10. Premature commitment to a fixed budget and
schedule
11. Failure to “manage to the plan”
12. Poor estimating techniques Gantt Chart - a bar chart used to depict project
Project Management Functions tasks against a calendar

Scoping - setting the boundaries of the project

Planning - identifying the tasks required to
complete the project
Estimating - identifying the resources required
to complete the project
Scheduling - developing the plan to complete
the project
 A Simple Process Model
Joint Project Planning Strategy - a strategy in which
all stakeholders attend an intensive workshop aimed at
reaching consensus on project decisions
Scope – the boundaries of a project – the areas of a
business that a project may (or may not) address.
Includes answers to five basic questions:
• Product • Cost
• Quality • Resources
• Time
Statement of Work – a narrative description of the work
to be performed as part of a project. Common synonyms
include scope statement, project definition, project
overview, and document of understanding.

Guidelines for selecting and recruiting team members

Chapter 5 System Analysis

A Simple Data Model
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. This may
involves adding, deleting, and changing pieces relative
to the original system. Accelerated Systems Analysis approaches
emphasize the construction of prototypes to
Information Systems Analysis – those development more rapidly identify business and user
phases in an information systems development project requirements for a new system.
the primarily focus on the business problem and
requirements, independent of any technology that can or Prototype – a small-scale, incomplete, but
will be used to implement a solution to that problem. working sample of a desired system.

Model-Driven Analysis Methods Requirements Discovery – the process, used by

systems analysts of identifying or extracting
Model-driven Analysis – a problem-solving system problems and solution requirements from
approach that emphasizes the drawing of the user community.
pictorial system models to document and
validate both existing and/or proposed systems. Requirements Discovery Methods
Ultimately, the system model becomes the
blueprint for designing and constructing an Fact-finding – the process of collecting
improved system. information about system problems,
opportunities, solution requirements, and
Model – a representation of either reality or priorities.
vision. Since “a picture is worth a thousand
words,” most models use pictures to represent
the reality or vision.
 Joint Requirements Planning (JRP) –use of
facilitated workshops to bring together all of the Problem Analysis Phase
system owners, users, and analysts, and some
systems designer and builders to jointly perform Cause-and-effect Analysis – a technique in
systems analysis. which problems are studied to determine their
causes and effects.
Business Process Redesign (BPR) – the application of • In practice, effects can be symptomatic of
systems analysis methods to the goal of dramatically more deeply rooted problems which, in turn,
changing and improving the fundamental business must be analyzed for causes and effects until
processes of an organization, independent of information the causes and effects do not yield
technology. symptoms of other problems.

FAST Systems Analysis Phases Context Diagram – a pictorial model that

shows how the system interacts with the world
• Scope Definition Phase around it and specifies in general terms the
Is the project worth looking at? system inputs and outputs.
• Problem Analysis Phase
Is a new system worth building? Objective – a measure of success. It is
• Requirements Analysis Phase something that you expect to achieve, if given
What do the users need and want from sufficient resources.
the new system?
• Logical Design Phase Constraint – something that will limit your
What must the new system do? flexibility in defining a solution to your
• Decision Analysis Phase objectives. Essentially, constraints cannot be
What is the best solution? changed.

Scope Definition Phase Decision Analysis Phase

Steering Body - a committee of executive Technical Feasibility – Is the solution

business and system managers that studies and technically practical? Does our staff have the
prioritizes competing project proposals to technical expertise to design and build this
determine which projects will return the most solution?
value to the organization and thus should be
approved for continues systems development. Operational Feasibility – Will the solution
fulfill the users’ requirements? To what degree?
• Also called a steering committee. How will the solution change the users’ work
environment? How do users feel about such a
Project Charter – the final deliverable for the solution?
preliminary investigation phase. A project
charter defines the project scope, plan, Economic Feasibility – Is the solution cost-
methodology, standards, and so on. effective?
• Preliminary master plan includes
preliminary schedule and resource Schedule Feasibility – Can the solution be
assignments (also called a baseline plan). designed and implemented within an acceptable
time period?
• Detailed plan and schedule for completing
the next phase of the project.
Chapter 6 Fact-Finding Techniques for Advantages
Requirements Discovery • Often can be answered quickly
• People can complete at their
Introduction to Requirements Discovery convenience
• Relatively inexpensive way to gather
Requirements Discovery – the process and data from a large number
techniques used by systems analysts to identify • Allow for anonymity
or extract system problems and solution • Responses can be tabulated quickly
requirements from the user community.
Disadvantages
System Requirement – something that the • Return rate is often low
information system must do or a property that it • No guarantee that an individual will
must have. Also called a business requirement. answer all questions
• No opportunity to reword or explain
Ishikawa Diagram - Graphical tool used to identify,
misunderstood questions
explore, and depict problems and the causes and effects
• Cannot observe body language
of those problems. It is often referred to as a cause-and-
• Difficult to prepare
effect diagram or a fishbone diagram.
Types of Fixed-Formats:
Sampling – process of collecting a representative
sample of documents, forms, and records. • Multiple-choice questions
• Rating questions
Sampling Techniques • Ranking questions

• Randomization – a sampling technique

characterized by having no predetermined Interviews - a fact-finding technique whereby the
pattern or plan for selecting sample data. systems analysts collect information from individuals
through face-to-face interaction. (The personal interview
• Stratification – a systematic sampling is generally recognized as the most important and most
technique that attempts to reduce the often used fact-finding technique.)
variance of the estimates by spreading out
the sampling—for example, choosing Types of Interviews and Questions
documents or records by formula—and by
avoiding very high or low estimates. • Unstructured Interview –conducted with only
a general goal or subject in mind and with few, if
any, specific questions. The interviewer counts
Questionnaire – a special-purpose document that allows on the interviewee to provide a framework and
the analyst to collect information and opinions from direct the conversation.
respondents.
• Structured interview –interviewer has a
Free-format Questionnaire – a questionnaire specific set of questions to ask of the
designed to offer the respondent greater latitude interviewee.
in the answer. A question is asked, and the
respondent records the answer in the space • Open-ended Question – question that allows
provided after the question. the interviewee to respond in any way.

Fixed-format Questionnaire – a questionnaire

• Closed-ended Question – a question that
containing questions that require selecting an
restricts answers to either specific choices or
answer from predefined available responses.
short, direct responses.
Chapter 7 Modeling System Requirements with Use Primary system actor
Cases - The stakeholder that directly interfaces with
the system to initiate or trigger the business or
User-Centered Development and Use-Case Modeling system event.
- e.g. the bank teller entering deposit information
User-centered Development – a process of
systems development based on understanding External server actor
the needs of the stakeholders and the reasons - The stakeholder that responds to a request from
why the system should be developed. the use case.
- e.g. the credit bureau authorizing a credit card
Use-case Modeling – the process of modeling a charge
system’s functions in terms of business events,
who initiated the events, and how the system External receiver actor
responds to those events. - The stakeholder that is not the primary actor
but receives something of value from the use
Use Case – a behaviorally related sequence of steps case.
(scenario), both automated and manual, for the purpose - e.g. the warehouse receiving a packing slip
of completing a single business task.
- Description of system functions from the Use Case Relationships
perspective of external users in terminology they
understand. Association – a relationship between an actor and a use
case in which an interaction occurs between them.
Use-case Diagram – a diagram that depicts the
interactions between the system and external systems Extension Use Case – use case consisting of steps
and users. extracted from another use case to simplify the original.
- graphically describes who will use the system
and in what ways the user expects to interact Abstract Use Case – use case that reduces redundancy
with the system. in two or more other use cases by combining common
steps found in both.
Use-case Narrative – a textual description of the
business event and how the user will interact with the Depends On – use case relationship that specifies which
system to accomplish the task. other use cases must be performed before the current use
case.
Use Case – subset of the overall system functionality
- Represented by a horizontal ellipse with name of
use case above, below, or inside the ellipse.

Actor – anyone or anything that needs to interact with

the system to exchange information.
- human, organization, another information
system, external device, even time.

Temporal Event – a system event triggered by time.

- The actor is time.

Four Types of Actors

Primary business actor
- The stakeholder that primarily benefits from
the execution of the use case
- e.g. the employee receiving the paycheck