Information Systems Best Notes
Information Systems Best Notes
Outline
Chapter 1
Information Systems:
The Big Picture
Chapter 1 Objectives
Understand
Understand
Understand
failure
Understand
IS career opportunities
types of information systems
IS and organizational success or
the future of IS management
Data
Knowledge Worker
A well-educated professional who creates,
modifies, or synthesizes knowledge in ones
profession
Knowledge Society
Also called digital society, new economy
Working with brains instead of hands
The importance of education
Digital divide
IS Managerial Personnel
CIO
IS director
Account Executive
Info Center Manager
Development Manager
Project Manager
Maintenance Manager
Systems Manager
IS planning Manager
Operations Manager
Programming Manager
Systems Programming
Manager
Manager of Emerging
Technologies
Telecommunications
Manager
Network Manager
Database Administrator
Auditing or Computer
Security Manager
Quality Assurance
Manager
Webmaster
10
Technology
hardware, software, networking
Business
business, management, social,
communications
Systems
Integration, development methods, critical
thinking, problem solving
11
Office / E-mail
Languages
Applications
RDBS Administration
Development Tools
Internetworking
Operating Systems
LAN Administration
Networking
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13
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15
Questions
16
Chapter 2
Information Systems for Competitive
Advantage
Chapter 2 Objectives
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Automating:
Doing Things Faster
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Organizational Learning:
Doing Things Better
Organizational Learning
Using acquired knowledge and insights to improve
organizational behavior
21
Supporting Strategy:
Doing Things Smarter
Strategic Planning
Create a vision: setting the direction
Create a standard: performance targets
Create a strategy: reaching the goal
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Question
23
Chapter 3
Organizational
Information Systems
Chapter Objectives
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Decision-Making Levels of an
Organization
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Decision-Making Levels of an
Organization
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Data input
Manual data entry
Semiautomated data entry
Fully automated data entry
Examples:
Payroll
Sales and ordering
Inventory
Purchasing, receiving, shipping
Accounts payable and receivable
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Collaboration Technologies
Virtual teams
Videoconferencing
Groupware
Electronic Meeting Systems (EMSs)
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Chapter 4
Enterprise-Wide
Information Systems
Chapter Objectives
45
Enterprise Systems
Enterprise systems
Also known as enterprise-wide information
systems
Information systems that allow companies
to integrate information across operations
on a company-wide basis
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Packaged applications
Custom applications
Stand-alone applications
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ERP Implementation
Modules
Customizations
Best practices
Business process reengineering (BPR)
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CRM system
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Questions
1.
2.
3.
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Chapter 5
Information Systems
Development & Acquisition
Chapter Objectives
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Evolution of IS development
From art to a discipline
Standardized development methods
Software engineering
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Techniques
Processes that the analyst follows to ensure thorough,
complete and comprehensive analysis and design
Tools
Computer programs that aid in applying techniques
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System
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Characteristics of a System
Components
Interrelated Components
Boundary
Purpose
Environment
Interfaces
Constraints
Input
Output
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Decomposition
The process of breaking down a system into
smaller components
Allows the systems analyst to:
Break a system into small, manageable
subsystems
Focus on one area at a time
Concentrate on component pertinent to one
group of users
Build different components at independent times
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Modularity
Process of dividing a system into modules of
a relatively uniform size
Modules simplify system design
Coupling
Subsystems that are dependent upon each
other are coupled
Cohesion
Extent to which a subsystem performs a
single function
77
Systems Integration
Allows hardware and software from different
vendors to work together
Enables procedural language systems to
work with visual programming systems
Visual programming environment uses
client/server model
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Information
Derived from data
Organized in a manner that humans can
understand
79
Data
Understanding the source and use of data is key to good
system design
Various techniques are used to describe data and the
relationship amongst data
Data Flows
Groups of data that move and flow through the system
Include description of sources and destination for each
data flow
Processing Logic
Describe steps that transform data and events that trigger
the steps
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Process-Oriented Approach
Focus is on flow, use and transformation of
data in an information system
Involves creating graphical representations
such as data flow diagrams and charts
Data are tracked from sources, through
intermediate steps and to final destinations
Natural structure of data is not specified
Disadvantage: data files are tied to specific
applications
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Data-Oriented Approach
Depicts ideal organization of data,
independent of where and how data are
used
Data model describes kinds of data and
business relationships among the data
Business rules depict how organization
captures and processes the data
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Database
Shared collection of logically related data
Organized to facilitate capture, storage and retrieval
by multiple users
Centrally managed
Designed around subjects
Customers
Suppliers
Application Independence
Separation of data and definition of data from
applications
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Analytical
Understanding of organizations
Problem-solving skills
System thinking
Ability to see organizations and information systems as
systems
Technical
Understanding of potential and limitations of technology
Managerial
Ability to manage projects, resources, risk and change
Interpersonal
Effective written and oral communication skills
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Systems Analysis
Study of current procedures and information systems
Determine requirements
Generate alternative designs
Compare alternatives
Recommend best alternative
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System Design
Logical Design
Concentrates on business aspects of the system
Physical Design
Technical specifications
Operation
System changed to reflect changing conditions
System obsolescence
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Alternative approaches
Prototyping
Building a scaled-down working version of the system
Advantages:
Users are involved in design
Captures requirements in concrete form
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Summary
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Summary
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Questions
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
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Chapter 6
Managing the Information Systems Project
Learning Objectives
101
Manufacturing Company
Product: Wood Furniture
Market: U.S.
Organized into functional areas
Manufacturing
Sales
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Project Manager
Systems Analyst responsible for
Project initiation
Planning
Execution
Closing down
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Project
Planned undertaking of related activities to reach
an objective that has a beginning and an end
Four Phases
1.
2.
3.
4.
Initiation
Planning
Execution
Closing down
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1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
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2.
3.
4.
5.
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6.
7.
8.
9.
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1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
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1.
Termination
Types of termination
Natural
Requirements have been met
Unnatural
Project stopped
Documentation
Personnel Appraisal
2.
3.
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Gantt Charts
Useful for depicting simple projects or
parts of large projects
Show start and completion dates for
individual tasks
Network Diagrams
Show order of activities
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Summary
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Questions
119
Chapter 7
Systems Planning
Learning Objectives
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First documents
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Objectives
Assures that customer and development group have
a complete understanding of the proposed system
and requirements
Provides sponsoring organization with a clear idea of
scope, benefits and duration of project
Four Sections
Introduction
System Description
Feasibility Assessment
Management Issues
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Introduction
Brief overview
Recommended course of action
Project scope defined
Units affected
Interaction with other systems
Range of system capabilities
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System Description
Outline of possible alternative solutions
Narrative format
Feasibility Assessment
Project costs and benefits
Technical difficulties
High-level project schedule
126
Management Issues
Outlines concerns that management may
have about the project
Team composition
Communication plan
Project standards and procedures
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Objectives
Assure conformity to organizational
standards
All parties agree to continue with project
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Walkthrough
Peer group review
Participants
Coordinator
Presenter
User
Secretary
Standards Bearer
Maintenance Oracle
Activities
Walkthrough review form
Individuals polled
Walkthrough action list
Advantages
Assures that review occurs during project
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Summary
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Questions
134
Chapter 8
Determining System Requirements
Learning Objectives
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Learning Objectives
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1.0
1.0
Identify
Identifythe
theright
right
Stakeholders
Stakeholders&&
Artefacts
Artefacts
0.0
0.0
Outline
Outlineinformation
information
to
tobe
besought
sought
2.0
2.0
Use
Usemost
mostappropriate
appropriate
investigation
investigationtechniques
techniques
4.0
4.0
Document
Documentthe
the
requirements
requirements
3.0
3.0
Determine
Determineduration
duration
Performing Requirements
Determination
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Performing Requirements
Determination
Impartiality
Find the best organizational solution
Relaxation of constraints
Attention to detail
Reframing
View the organization in new ways
140
Types of deliverables:
Information collected from users
Existing documents and files
Computer-based information
Understanding of organizational components
Business objective
Information needs
Rules of data processing
Key events
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Be neutral
Listen
Seek a diverse view
Interview Questions
Open-Ended
No prespecified answers
Close-Ended
Respondent is asked to choose from a set of specified responses
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Administering Questionnaires
More cost-effective than interviews
Choosing respondents
Should be representative of all users
Types of samples
Convenient
Random sample
Purposeful sample
Stratified sample
Design
Mostly closed-ended questions
Can be administered over the phone, in person or over
the Internet or company intranet
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Prototyping
Repetitive process
Rudimentary version of system is built
Replaces or augments SDLC
Goal: to develop concrete specifications for ultimate
system
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Participants
Session Leader
Users
Managers
Sponsor
Systems Analysts
Scribe
IS Staff
End Result
Documentation detailing existing system
Features of proposed system
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Prototyping
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Prototyping
Drawbacks
Tendency to avoid formal documentation
Difficult to adapt to more general user
audience
Sharing data with other systems is often not
considered
Systems Development Life Cycle (SDLC)
checks are often bypassed
158
Summary
Interviews
Open-ended and close-ended questions
Preparation is key
Questionnaires
Must be carefully designed
Can contain close-ended as well as openended questions
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Summary
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Questions (1)
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Questions (2)
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Chapter 9
Structuring System Requirements:
Process Modeling
Learning Objectives
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Learning Objectives
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Process Modeling
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Process Modeling
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Process Modeling
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Data Flow
Depicts data that are in motion and moving
as a unit from one place to another in the
system
Drawn as an arrow
Select a meaningful name to represent the
data
170
Data Store
Depicts data at rest
May represent data in:
File folder
Computer-based file
Notebook
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Process
Depicts work or action performed on data so
that they are transformed, stored or
distributed
Drawn as a rectangle with rounded corners
Number of process as well as name are
recorded
172
Source/Sink
Depicts the origin and/or destination of the
data
Sometimes referred to as an external entity
Drawn as a square symbol
Name states what the external agent is
Because they are external, many
characteristics are not of interest to us
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Context Diagram
A data flow diagram (DFD) of the scope of an
organizational system that shows the system
boundaries, external entities that interact with the
system and the major information flows between the
entities and the system
Level-O Diagram
A data flow diagrams (DFD) that represents a
systems major processes, data flows and data stores
at a higher level
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Process
Data Store
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Source/Sink
Data Flow
directly from a
source to a sink
A source/sink has a
noun phrase label
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Decomposition of DFDs
Functional decomposition
Act of going from one single system to many
component processes
Repetitive procedure
Lowest level is called a primitive DFD
Level-N Diagrams
A DFD that is the result of n nested decompositions
of a series of subprocesses from a process on a level0 diagram
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Balancing DFDs
186
Balancing DFDs
Example (Continued)
Notice Figure 5-5. We have the same inputs
and outputs
No new inputs or outputs have been
introduced
We can say that the context diagram and
level-0 DFD are balanced
187
Balancing DFDs:
An Unbalanced Example
In context diagram,
we have one input to
the system, A and one
output, B
Level-0 diagram has
one additional data
flow, C
These DFDs are not
balanced
188
Balancing DFDs
189
Balancing DFDs:
Four Additional Advanced Rules
190
1.
Completeness
DFD must include all components necessary for
system
Each component must be fully described in the
project dictionary or CASE repository
2.
Consistency
The extent to which information contained on one
level of a set of nested DFDs is also included on
other levels
191
3.
Timing
Time is not represented well on DFDs
Best to draw DFDs as if the system has never
started and will never stop
4.
Iterative Development
Analyst should expect to redraw diagram several
times before reaching the closest approximation to
the system being modeled
5.
Primitive DFDs
Lowest logical level of decomposition
Decision has to be made when to stop
decomposition
192
Gap Analysis
The process of discovering discrepancies
between two or more sets of data flow
diagrams or discrepancies within a single
DFD
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After Business
Reprocess
Engineering, IBM was
able to process 100
times the number of
transactions in the
same amount of time
195
Summary
196
Questions
197
Chapter 10
Structuring System Requirements:
Conceptual Data Modeling
Learning Objectives
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Learning Objectives
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Two perspectives
Top-down
Data model is derived from an intimate
understanding of the business
Bottom-up
Data model is derived by reviewing specifications
and business documents
206
Introduction to Entity-Relationship
(E-R) Modeling
207
Entity
A person, place, object, event or concept in the user
environment about which the organization wishes to
maintain data
Represented by a rectangle in E-R diagrams
Entity Type
A collection of entities that share common properties
or characteristics
Attribute
A named property or characteristic of an entity that
is of interest to an organization
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Identifier
A candidate key that has been selected as
the unique identifying characteristic for an
entity type
Selection rules for an identifier
Choose a candidate key that will not change its
value
Choose a candidate key that will never be null
Avoid using intelligent keys
Consider substituting single value surrogate keys
for large composite keys
211
Multivalued Attribute
An attribute that may take on more than
one value for each entity instance
Represented on E-R Diagram in two ways:
Double-lined ellipse
Weak entity
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Relationship
An association between the instances of one
or more entity types that is of interest to the
organization
Association indicates that an event has
occurred or that there is a natural link
between entity types
Relationships are always labeled with verb
phrases
213
Goal
Capture as much of the meaning of the data
as possible
Result
A better design that is easier to maintain
214
Degree of Relationship
Degree
Number of entity types that participate in a
relationship
Three cases
Unary
A relationship between the instances of one entity type
Binary
A relationship between the instances of two entity
types
Ternary
A simultaneous relationship among the instances of
three entity types
Not the same as three binary relationships
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Cardinality
Maximum Cardinality
The maximum number of instances of entity B that
may be associated with each instance of entity A
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Summary
Entity-Relationship Modeling
Entities
Attributes
Candidate keys and identifiers
Multivalued attributes
Degree of relationship
[email protected]
223
Summary
Cardinality
Associative entities
Conceptual data modeling and Internet
development
224
Questions
225
Chapter 11
Object-Oriented Analysis and Design
Learning Objectives
227
Benefits
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
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229
Analysis Phase
Model of the real-world application is developed
showing its important properties
Model specifies the functional behavior of the
system independent of implementation details
Design Phase
Analysis model is refined and adapted to the
environment
Implementation Phase
Design is implemented using a programming
language or database management system
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An architecture-based vision
Functional
Functional needs
needs
Major
Major classes
classes
coding
coding
Logical
Logical View
View
Components
Components View
View
Use
Use Case
Case View
View
Process
Process View
View
Deployment
Deployment View
View
Servers
Servers and
and
network
network organization
organization
System
System performances
performances
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1
Statecharts Diagrams
Dynamic modelling,
focusing on an object.
Activities done in each
state correspond to
operations
Collaboration diagram
Dynamic modelling,
focusing on spatial
relationships between
objects
Class Diagrams
Static modelling
Systems structure
Objects Diagrams
Static modelling
Context
Sequence Diagrams
Dynamic modelling of
scenarios
Activity Diagrams
Dynamic modelling,
focusing on an activity
[email protected]
233
Use-Case Modeling
Actor
An external entity that interacts with the system
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Use-Case Modeling
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Explanation
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Online HR system
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Dynamic Modeling:
Sequence Diagrams
Sequence Diagram
A depiction of the interaction among objects during
certain periods of time
Activation
The time period during which an object performs an
operation
Messages
Means by which objects communicate with each other
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Explanation
250
Collaboration diagram
251
Collaboration diagram
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Activity diagram
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Class diagrams
255
Class notations
256
Class stereotypes
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Example
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Representing Associations
Association
A relationship between object classes
Degree may be unary, binary, ternary or higher
Depicted as a solid line between participating
classes
Association Role
The end of an association where it connects to a
class
Each role has multiplicity, which indicates how
many objects participate in a given association
relationship
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Representing Generalization
Generalization
Abstraction of common features among multiple
classes, as well as their relationships, into a more
general class
Subclass
A class that has been generalized
Superclass
A class that is composed of several generalized
subclasses
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Representing Generalization
Discriminator
Inheritance
Abstract Class
Concrete Class
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Representing Aggregation
Aggregation
A part-of relationship between a component
object and an aggregate object
Example: Personal computer
Composed of CPU, Monitor, Keyboard, etc
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Packages
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Object diagrams
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Object Modeling
Object Diagrams
Object Diagram
also called an instance diagram
Object is represented as a rectangle with two
compartments
Operation
A function or service that is provided by all the
instances of a class
Encapsulation
The technique of hiding the internal
implementation details of an object from its
external view
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Objects notations
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277
Statecharts diagram
State Transition
The changes in the attribute of an object or in the links an object
has with other objects
Shown as a solid arrow
Diagrammed with a guard condition and action
Event
Something that takes place at a certain point in time
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Example
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Explanation
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Moving to Design
Deployment Diagram
A diagram that shows how the software components,
process and objects are deployed into the physical
architecture of the system
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Summary
Use-case modeling
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Summary
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Chapter 12
Designing the Human Interface
Learning Objectives
289
Learning Objectives
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Form
A business document that contains some predefined
data and may include some areas where additional
data are to be filled in
An instance of a form is typically based on one
database record
Report
A business document that contains only predefined
data
A passive document for reading or viewing data
Typically contains data from many database records
or transactions
292
User-focused activity
Follows a prototyping approach
Requirements determination
Who will use the form or report?
What is the purpose of the form or report?
When is the report needed or used?
Where does the form or report need to be delivered
and used?
How many people need to use or view the form or
report?
293
Prototyping
Initial prototype is designed from
requirements
Users review prototype design and either
accept the design or request changes
If changes are requested, the constructionevaluation-request cycle is repeated until
the design is accepted
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Highlighting
Use sparingly to draw user to or away from
certain information
Blinking and audible tones should only be
used to highlight critical information
requiring users immediate attention
Methods should be consistently selected
and used based upon level of importance of
emphasized information
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Displaying Text
Display text in mixed upper- and lowercase and use
conventional punctuation
Use double spacing if space permits. If not, place a
blank line between paragraphs
Left-justify text and leave a ragged right margin
Do not hyphenate words between lines
Use abbreviations and acronyms only when they are
widely understood by users and are significantly
shorter than the full text
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Designing Interfaces
Designing Layouts
Standard formats similar to paper-based
forms and reports should be used
Screen navigation on data entry screens
should be left-to-right, top-to-bottom as on
paper forms
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Designing Layouts
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Entry
Defaults
Units
Replacement
Captioning
Format
Justify
Help
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Providing Feedback
1.
Status Information
Keeps users informed of what is going on in system
Displaying status information is especially important
if the operation takes longer than a second or two
2.
Prompting Cues
Best to keep as specific as possible
3.
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Providing Help
Organization
Information in help messages should be easily
absorbed by users
Demonstrate
It is useful to explicitly show users how to perform an
operation
314
Providing Help
Context-Sensitive Help
Enables user to get field-specific help
315
Designing Dialogues
Dialogue
Sequence in which information is displayed to
and obtained from a user
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Designing Dialogues:
Building Prototypes and Assessing
Usability
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320
Web-based Application:
Designing Interfaces and Dialogues for Pine Valley
Furnitures Webstore
General Guidelines
Several factors have contributed to poor
design of Web interfaces
Webs single click-to-act method of loading
static hypertext documents
Limited capabilities of most Web-browsers to
support finely grained user interactivity
Limited agreed-upon standards for encoding Web
content and control mechanisms
Lack of maturity in Web scripting and
programming languages
321
Web-based Application:
Designing the Human Interface at Pine Valley
Furniture
Design Guidelines
Navigation via cookie crumbs
A technique that uses a series of tabs on a Web
page to show users where they are and where
they have been in the site
Tabs are hyperlinks to allow users to move
backward easily within the site
Two important purposes
Allows users to navigate to a point previously
visited
Shows users where they have been and how far
they have gone from point of entry into site
322
Web-based Application:
Design Guidelines
Lightweight Graphics
The use of small images to allow a Web
page to be displayed more quickly
323
Summary
324
Questions
325
Chapter 13
Systems Implementation and Operation
Learning Objectives
327
Learning Objectives
328
Purpose
To convert final physical system specifications into working
and reliable software
To document work that has been done
To provide help for current and future users
329
Coding
Physical design specifications are turned into
working computer code
Testing
Tests are performed using various strategies
Testing can be performed in parallel with coding
Installation
Process during which the current system is replaced
by the new system
330
Deliverables
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Deliverables
Documentation
System documentation
User documentation
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Deliverables
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Types of Testing
Inspection
A testing technique in which participants examine
program code for predictable language-specific
errors
Walkthrough
A peer group review of any product created during
the systems development process; also called a
structured walkthrough
Desk Checking
A testing technique in which the program code is
sequentially executed manually by the reviewer
338
Types of Testing
Unit Testing
Each module is tested alone in an attempt to
discover any errors in its code, also called module
testing
Integration Testing
The process of bringing together all of the
modules that a program comprises for testing
purposes. Modules are typically integrated in a
top-down, incremental fashion
339
Types of Testing
System Testing
The bringing together of all the programs that a
system comprises for testing purposes. Programs
are typically integrated in a top-down,
incremental fashion
Stub Testing
A technique used in testing, especially where
modules are written and tested in a top-down
fashion, where a few lines of code are used to
substitute for subordinate modules
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Alpha Testing
User testing of a completed information system
using simulated data
Recovery testing
Forces the software (or environment) to fail in order to
verify that recovery is properly performed
Security testing
Verifies that protection mechanisms built into the
system will protect it from improper penetration
Stress testing
Tries to break the system
Performance testing
Determines how the system performs on the range of
possible environments in which it may be used
344
Beta Testing
User testing of a completed information
system using real data in the real user
environment
345
Installation
Parallel Installation
Running the old information system and the new one
at the same time until management decides the old
system can be turned off
346
Installation
Phased Installation
Changing from the old information system to the
new one incrementally, starting with one or a few
functional components and then gradually
extending the installation to cover the whole new
system
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348
Planning Installation
Considerations
Data conversion
Error correction
Loading from current system
349
System documentation
Detailed information about a systems
design specifications, its internal workings
and its functionality
Internal documentation
System documentation that is part of the program
source code or is generated at compile time
External documentation
System documentation that includes the outcome
of structured diagramming techniques such as
data flow and entity relationship diagrams
350
User Documentation
Written or other visual information about an
application system, how it works, and how
to use it
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Training methods
Resident expert
Computer-aided instruction
Formal courses
Software help components
Tutorials
Interactive training manuals
External sources, such as vendors
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360
Evaluate team
Reassign members to other projects
361
Corrective maintenance
Changes made to a system to repair flaws in its
design, coding, or implementation
Adaptive maintenance
Changes made to a system to evolve its functionality
to changing business needs or technologies
Perfective maintenance
Changes made to a system to add new features or to
improve performance
Preventive maintenance
Changes made to a system to avoid possible future
problems
362
363
Number of failures
Time between each failure
Type of failure
Mean time between failures (MTBF)
A measurement of error occurrences
that can be tracked over time to
indicate the quality of a system
364
365
366
Configuration Management
System librarian
A person responsible for controlling the checking out
and checking in of baseline modules when a system
is being developed or maintained
Build routines
Guidelines that list the instructions to construct an
executable system from the baseline source code
367
Summary
368
Summary
Documentation
System
User
User training
Providing support for end users
Systems implementation failures
369
Summary
Maintenance
Corrective
Adaptive
Perfective
Preventive
Cost of maintenance
Measuring effectiveness of
maintenance
370
Summary
371