Chapter 1

Assuming the Role of the

Systems Analyst

Systems Analysis and Design

Kendall and Kendall
Fifth Edition
Major Topics
 Information systems
 Phases of analysis and design
 System maintenance
 CASE tools
 Alternate methodologies

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Information
 Information is an organizational
resource which must be managed
as carefully as other resources
 Costs are associated with
information processing
 Information processing must be
managed to take full advantage of
its potential
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Categories
 Information systems fall into one of
the following eight categories:

Transaction processing systems (TPS)

Office automation systems (OAS)

Knowledge work systems (KWS)

Management information systems (MIS)

Decision support systems (DSS)

Expert systems (ES)

Group decision support systems (GDSS)

Executive support systems (EES)
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New Technologies
 New technologies are being
integrated into traditional systems

Ecommerce uses the Web to perform
business activities

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) has the
goal of integrating many different
information systems within the corporation

Wireless and handheld devices, including
mobile commerce (mcommerce)

Open source software

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Advantages of Using the
Web

 Increasing awareness of the

availability of the service, product,
industry, person, or group
 24-hour access for users
 Standard interface design
 Creating a global system

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Nature of Analysis and
Design
 Systems analysis and design is a
systematic approach to identifying
problems, opportunities, and
objectives; analyzing the
information flows in organizations;
and designing computerized
information systems to solve a
problem
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Systems Analyst
 Systems analysts act as

Outside consultants to businesses

Supporting experts within a business

As change agents
 Analysts are problem solvers, and
require communication skills
 Analysts must be ethical with users
and customers
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Systems Development Life
Cycle
 The systems development life
cycle is a systematic approach to
solving business problems
 It is divided into seven phases
 Each phase has unique activities

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Phase 1
 Identifying
 Problems
 Opportunities
 Objectives
 Personnel involved
 Analyst
 User management
 Systems management
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Phase 2
 Determining information requirements
 Interview management, operations
personnel
 Gather systems/operating documents
 Use questionnaires
 Observe the system and personnel involved
 Learn the who, what, where, when, and
how, and the why for each of these

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Phase 2
 Personnel involved
 Analyst
 User management
 User operations workers
 Systems management

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Phase 3
 Analyzing system needs
 Create data flow diagrams
 Document procedural logic for data flow
diagram processes
 Complete the data dictionary
 Make semistructured decisions
 Prepare and present the system proposal
 Recommend the optimal solution to
management

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Phase 3
 Personnel involved
 Analyst
 User management
 Systems management

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Phase 4
 Designing the recommended system
 Design the user interface

Design output

Design input
 Design system controls
 Design files and/or database
 Produce program specifications
 Produce decision trees or tables

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Phase 4
 Personnel involved
 Analyst
 System designer
 User management
 User operations workers
 Systems management

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Phase 5
 Developing and documenting software
 Design computer programs using
structure charts, Nassi-Schneiderman
charts, and pseudocode
 Walkthrough program design
 Write computer programs
 Document software with help files,
procedure manuals, and Web sites with
Frequently Asked Questions

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Phase 5
 Personnel involved
 Analyst
 System designer
 Programmers
 Systems management

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Phase 6
 Testing and maintaining the
system
 Test and debug computer programs
 Test the computer system
 Enhance system

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Phase 6
 Personnel involved
 Analyst
 System designer
 Programmers
 Systems management

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Phase 7
 Implementing and evaluating the
system
 Plan conversion
 Train users
 Purchase and install new equipment
 Convert files
 Install system
 Review and evaluate system
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Phase 7
 Personnel involved
 Analyst
 System designer
 Programmers
 User management
 User operations workers
 Systems management

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Rapid Application
Development
 Rapid Application development
(RAD) is an object-oriented
approach to systems development

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System Maintenance
 System maintenance is
 Removing undetected errors, and
 Enhancing existing software
 Time spent on maintenance
typically ranges from 48-60
percent of total time

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System Enhancements
 Systems are enhanced for the
following reasons:
 Adding additional features to the
system
 Business and governmental
requirements change over time
 Technology, hardware, and software
are rapidly changing

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CASE Tools
 CASE tools are automated,
microcomputer-based software packages
for systems analysis and design
 Four reasons for using CASE tools are:

To increase analyst productivity

Facilitate communication among analysts
and users

Providing continuity between life cycle
phases

To assess the impact of maintenance

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CASE Tool Categories
 CASE tools may be divided into several
categories
 Upper CASE (also called front-end CASE)
tools, used to perform analysis and design
 Lower CASE (also called back-end CASE).
These tools generate computer language
source code from CASE design
 Integrated CASE, performing both upper
and lower CASE functions

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Upper CASE
 Upper CASE tools
 Create and modify the system design
 Store data in a project repository
 The repository is a collection of
records, elements, diagrams, screens,
reports, and other project information
 These CASE tools model organizational
requirements and define system
boundaries
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Lower CASE
 Lower CASE tools generate
computer source code from the
CASE design
 Source code may usually be
generated in several languages

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Advantages of Generating
Code

Time to develop new systems decreases
 The time to maintain generated code is less
than to maintain traditional systems

Computer programs may be generated in
more than one language

CASE design may be purchased from third-
party vendors and tailored to organizational
needs

Generated code is free from program coding
errors

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Reverse Engineering
 Reverse engineering is generating
the CASE design from computer
program code
 Source code is examined,
analyzed, and converted into
repository entities

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Reverse Engineering
Produces
 Reverse engineering produces
(depending on the tool set used)
 Data structures and elements, describing
the files, records, and field
 Screen designs, if the program is online
 Report layouts for batch programs
 A structure chart showing the hierarchy of
the modules in the program
 Database design and relationships

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Advantages of Reverse
Engineering
 It has the following advantages:
 Reduced system maintenance time
 Program documentation is produced for
loosely documented programs
 Structured programs may be generated from
unstructured, older programs
 Future system maintenance is easier to
implement
 Unused portions of programs may be
eliminated

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Object-Oriented Analysis
and Design
 Object-oriented (O-O) analysis and
design is used to build object-
oriented programs
 This includes not only data but the
instructions about operations that
manipulate the data

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Types of Object-Oriented
Analysis and Design
 There are three types of object-
oriented analysis and design:
 Object-oriented analysis (OOA)
 Object-oriented design (OOD)
 The Unified Modeling Language
(UML), a standardized object-oriented
modeling language

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Nature of Analysis and
Design
 Structured analysis and design
provides a systematic approach to
developing systems and is cyclic in
nature
 Analysis and design errors detected
in the later phases of the systems
development life cycle cost more to
fix than if detected in earlier phases

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Alternate Methodologies
 Alternate methodologies are
available for analyzing systems
 These include
 Prototyping
 ETHICS
 Project champions
 Soft Systems Methodology
 Multi-view
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