System analysis Fundamentals

System Analysis & Design

UOG 5
Contents ● Overview of Information
Systems
● Introducing SA & D
● The system Development
life cycle
● Stakeholders
Overview of Information Systems

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Data and Information
• Data are set of facts which describes a particular thing in the real world.
• For example, a price of a particular good in a supermarket
represents a single value data.
• prices of many goods in a bill represent multiple value data.

• Information is a kind of data which will be very useful for decision

making in different contexts. (processed data)
• Examples: In a company: monthly salary of an individual in the
salary slip, total sales in a particular month of the company

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System

● A system is a collection of components or subsystems which work together

to achieve a specific goal.

● Examples: The Human Body, A School

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 Information System
• An information system (IS) is a set of interrelated elements or components that
collect (input), manipulate (process) and store, and disseminate (output) data and
information and provide a feedback mechanism to meet an objective.

• The major goal of any Information System is provide information.

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 Computer based Information Systems
Computer-based information system
(CBIS) is a single set of
-hardware
-software
-databases,
-telecommunications,
-people
-procedures
that are configured to collect,
manipulate, store, and process data
into information.

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Hardware
• Hardware consists of the parts of the computer you can touch.
• Input devices
• Mouse, Stylus, Joysticks, Scanner

• Processing devices
• CPU and main memory.

• Output devices
• Printers, Monitor, Speakers
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Software
• Set of instructions, or programs associated with the documentation to
operate computers and execute specific tasks.

• Or in simple words it is a collection of computer programs and related

data that provides the instructions for telling a computer what to do and
how to do it.

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Generic Software/Off the Shelf Software
○ can be purchased, installed & used immediately.

○ written to solve a specific problem,

■ designed to do one particular task,
■ e.g. order entry, payroll, stock control, appointments.

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Advantages of buying an off-the-shelf package

• Generally less expensive than custom-written

• readily available
• large, established user-base
• software is tried and tested
• software runs on a wide range of hardware
• standard file format

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Disadvantages of buying an off-the-shelf packages
• Expensive or impossible to change.

• Total cost of ownership can be high

• annual subscription
• upgrades may be expensive

• Unnecessary features and functionality.

• Limits your control on how your business operates.

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 Bespoke /Customer Build Software

● Tailor-made, bespoke software

● Designed and written specifically for a company

■using a programming language or a DBMS
■tested by the developers before installation

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Advantages in buying Bespoke Software

●Designed to do exactly what the user wants.

●End-user owns the software.

●Can be written to run on user-specified hardware.

●Can be integrated with existing software.

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Disadvantages in buying tailor-made software

● Time consuming.
● Expensive.
● Limited support.
● New staff unlikely to be familiar with software.

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The major types of software
System Software

Operating Systems
Schedules computer events
Allocates computer
resources
Users Monitor events
Application software
Language translators
System software Interpreters
Compilers
Hardware Assemblers
Utility programs
Routine operations (print)
Manage data (e.g. create files,
merge files

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 System Software
● Manages the fundamental operations of the computer, such as
loading programs and data into memory, executing programs, saving data to
disks, displaying information on the monitor and transmitting data through a
port to a peripheral device.

● System software: operating systems, utilities like Ant-virus,

compression ,device drivers.

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Translators
●Compilers
●Interpreters
●Assembler

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 Application Software

• Serves user requirements

○ Real time software
○ Business software
○ Engineering and Scientific software
○ Embedded software
○ Personal software
○ Web based software
○ AI software

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Database

• A database is a collection of information stored in one or more computers.

• A structured database is organized in a uniform format of records and fields.
• A structured database contains data that describes a collection of similar entities.
For examples,
- student academic records, medical records.
Name:
Student Number
Number of courses
Student
GPA

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Telecommunications and Network

● Telecommunications is described as the electronic transmission of

signals (i.e. data, voice, messages) for communications.

● A computer network is a group of computers that are connected to

each other for the purpose of communication and share resources.

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People or Liveware

● Computer based Information systems (CBIS) are designed and developed by

a group of people to another set of people who will use it to do some tasks.

● Practitioners and users

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Why System development & analysis

● Organizations develop IT systems to meet important business objectives,

such as,
⮚ improving competitiveness,
⮚ increasing productivity ,
⮚ efficiency ,
⮚ accelerating growth ,
⮚ supporting innovation ,
⮚ reducing costs.
Introduction to Systems
Analysis and Design
System Analysis and Design

System analysis and design is a

structured approach to developing
information systems.

It aims to create efficient and

effective solutions that meet
specific business needs.
System Development Life cycle
SDLC
• Software development life cycle (SDLC) is an outline identifying tasks
executed at each stage in the software development process.

• It also defines a methodology for improving the quality of software and

the overall development process.

• Seven phases in SDLC,

▪ Planning
▪ Analysis
▪ Design
▪ Development
▪ Testing
▪ Deployment
▪ Maintenance
Stages of
SDLC
Phase 1: Planning
• This phase determine project goals, and establish a high-level plan for
the intended project
• The three primary activities involved in the planning phase are as
follows,
1. Identification of the system for development
2. Feasibility assessment
3. Creation of project plan
Phase 2: Analysis

• End-user business requirement analysis takes place during this phase.

• Project goals are converted into the defined system functions that the
organization intends to develop.
• The three primary activities involved in the analysis phase are as follows,
1. Gathering business requirement
2. Creating process diagrams
3. Performing a detailed analysis
Phase 3: Design

• Describe the desired features and operations of the system.

• This phase includes business rules, flow charts, pseudo-code,
screen layouts, and other necessary documentation.
• The two primary activities involved in the design phase are as
follows,
1. Designing the IT infrastructure
2. Designing the system model
Phase 4: Development

• In this phase all documents from the phase 3 will be transferred into the
system.
• During the design phase, the IT infrastructure blueprint is provided.
• The organization purchases and installs the respective software and
hardware to support the IT infrastructure during the development phase.
• Creating the database and actual code can begin to complete the
system according to the specifications.
Phase 5: Testing
• All pieces of code are integrated during the testing phase and
organized in the testing environment.
• Testers then work through activities to check the system for
errors, bugs, and defects to verify the system’s functionalities work
as expected.
The two primary activities involved in the testing phase are as
follows:
▪ Writing test cases (specification of the inputs)
▪ Execution of test cases
Phase 6: Deployment

• During this phase, the system is organized to a real-life (the client’s)

environment where actual users can operate the system.

• All data and components are present in the production environment.

Phase 7: Maintenance

• Any necessary enhancements, corrections, and changes are made during the
maintenance phase, to ensure the system continues to work and remain
updated to meet business goals.
• It is necessary to maintain and upgrade the system to adapt to the future
needs.
• The three primary activities involved in the maintenance phase are as follows:
1. Support the system users
2. System maintenance
3. System changes and adjustment
The Importance of SDLC

• The main advantage of using software development life cycle is

the control it provides for the development process.
• It helps to ensure the system meets with all specified
requirements.
• Helps in reducing unnecessary costs during development.
Stakeholders

Stakeholder is an individual, team, or organization (or

classes )with interests in, or concerns relative to, a system

Important Stakeholders

- System analyst
- Designer
- End Users
The Systems Analyst: Roles
● Business Analyst
○ Focuses on the business issues
● Systems Analyst
○ Focuses on the IS issues
● Infrastructure Analyst
○ Focuses on the technical issues
● Change Management Analyst
○ Focuses on the people and management issues
● Project Manager
○ Ensures that the project is completed on time and within budget
The Systems Analyst: Skills
● Agents of change
○ Identify ways to improve the organization
○ Motivate & train others

● Skills needed:
○ Technical: must understand the technology
○ Business: must know the business processes
○ Analytical: must be able to solve problems
○ Communications: technical & non-technical audiences
○ Interpersonal: leadership & management
○ Ethics: deal fairly and protect confidential information
Designers
System designers are professionals responsible for creating and documenting the detailed architecture
and specifications of complex computer systems to meet specific organizational requirements

Duties

1. work closely with stakeholders, such as business analysts and end-users, to understand the
functional and non-functional requirements of the system
2. create the overall system architecture, which includes defining the structure of the system, the
components, and how they interact
3. produce detailed design documentation that includes system diagrams, flowcharts, data models, and
technical specifications
4. They need to consider factors like scalability, performance, security, and cost when making these
decisions.
5. data models to define how data will be structured, stored, and accessed within the system
 End users
Often referred to as end users, are individuals or groups of people

who interact with and use computer systems, software applications, or technology products to perform their
specific tasks, functions, or goals, typically without involvement in the design, development, or maintenance
of these systems