CSH 227

System Analysis & Design

 Recommended Books

Systems Analysis and Design, 11th Edition, 2017,

Course Technology, Cengage Learning, Scott Tilley &
Harry J. Rosenblatt

Systems Analysis and Design in a Changing World, 7 th

Edition, 2016. Course Technology, Cengage Learning.
John W. Satzinger, Robert B. Jackson, Stephen D.
Burd
PART 1 ■ Introduction to System Development

Chapter ONE
An Overview of Systems Analysis and Design

Chapter One Outline

• Software Development and Systems Analysis and
Design
• The Analyst as a business problem solver (Agent of
Change)
• Tasks performed by Systems Analyst
• Required skills of the Systems Analyst
• Systems that solve business problems
You are required to develop a game and submit
the package form. Duration is 2 weeks.

Do you have any concern?

Who will use the game/system?

What will the game/system do?
Where will the game/system be used?
When will the game/system be used?
Group students for the following exercise

Student admission system – GROUP 1

Automated Teller Machine (ATM) – GROUP 2
Virtual class – GROUP 3
Library management system – GROUP 4

Who will use the system?

What will the system do?
1.1 Software Development
and
Systems Analysis and Design
• Almost all organizations have information
systems, and use them for operational, tactical,
and strategic advantage.

• For information systems to remain effective,

these systems must efficiently capture, store,
process, and distribute information according
to business objectives.
• The modern information systems service
emphasis changes from being merely an
enabler of services to also being a driver of
change.

• Information systems have become a necessary

component in any organisation with increasing
strategic significance.

• Business continuity is a key aspect as 99.5% of

system availability is no longer acceptable with
increased reliance on information systems.
• The information systems discipline is dynamic
and always changing.

• More complex system requirements have

necessitated a whole new set of tools.

• System, product, or service should be

delivered without latent defects, on schedule,
and within budget.
• These information systems should be
developed.

• The key to successful system development is

thorough systems analysis and design.

• Systems analysts and designers perform

information systems analysis and design.
Successful system development is based on:

• understanding an organization’s objectives,

structure, and processes

• the analyst’s knowledge of how to exploit

information technology
What is Analysis?

The Oxford Dictionary defines analysis as

follows: separation of a substance into parts for
study and interpretation; detailed examination.

In the case of systems analysis:

• the ‘substance’ is the business system under

investigation, and

• the parts are the various subsystems that work

together to support the business.
• It is important that the nature of the business
and the way it currently operates are clearly
understood.

• Detailed examinations provide the design team

with the specific data they require in order to
ensure that all the client’s requirements are
fully met.

• The investigation or study conducted during

the analysis phase results in the production of
a document called requirements specification
or functional specification.
Systems analysis is the process of understanding
and specifying in detail what the information
system should accomplish.

This deals with analysis of sets of interacting

entities prior to their automation as computer
systems, and the interactions within those
systems.

The analysis phase answers the questions of who

will use the system, what the system will do, and
where and when it will be used.
Systems design is the process of specifying in detail how
the many components of the information system should
be physically implemented.

This is concerned with:

• the hardware, software, and network infrastructure;

• the user interface, forms, and reports that will be used;
• the specific programs, databases, and files that will be
needed
Systems analysis and design is a systematic
approach to:

• Identifying problems, opportunities, and

objectives.

• Analysing the information flows in

organizations.

• Designing computerized information systems to

solve a problem within organizations.
Why is systems analysis and design important?

• Success of information systems depends on

good SAD

• It is proven techniques and widely used in

computing industry

• It is part of career growth in IT - lots of

interesting and well-paying jobs.

• Because of the increasing demand for systems

analysis skills
System Analyst: A professional who uses analysis
and design techniques to solve business problems
using information technology.
1.2 The Analyst as a business problem solver
(Agent of Change)
A systems analyst is someone who solves
business problems using information technology.
Figure 1: The Analysts’ Approach to Problem Solving
1.3 Tasks performed by Systems Analyst
1.4 Required Skills of the Systems Analyst
Analytical skills

• Problem solving skills

• System thinking
 Ability to see organizations and
information systems as systems
Technical skills

• Computers and how they work

• File, database, and storage hardware and
software
• Input and output hardware and software
• Computer networks and protocols
• Programming languages, operating systems, and
utilities
• Communication and collaboration technology
such as digital telephones, videoconferencing,
and Web-based document management systems
Tools are software products that are used to develop
analysis and design specifications and completed system
components.

Software packages such as Microsoft Access, and Adobe

Dreamweaver to implement small systems or develop
subsystems.

Integrated development environments (IDEs) such as

Oracle JDeveloper and Microsoft Visual Studio that
support program development, database design, software
testing, and system deployment.
Computer-aided visual modelling tools, such as Visible
Analyst that help analysts create, store, modify, and
manage system specifications and sometimes generate
programs, databases, Web-based interfaces, etc.

Automated testing tools, configuration management tools,

software library management tools, documentation support
tools, project management tools, and so on.
People Knowledge and Skills

Interpersonal skills are perhaps the analyst’s most

important skills, because analysts rely on others,
including managers, users, programmers, technical
specialists, customers, and vendors, to take a
system from initial idea to final implementation.

The analyst must be an effective communicator in

many contexts, including conversations,
interviews, technical reviews, and formal
presentations.
Business Knowledge and Skills
• Understanding business organizations in general
 understand the type of organization
 specialize in a specific industry for their entire
career
Understanding the business organizations in general.

What does the analyst need to know?

• What business functions do organizations perform?

• How are organizations structured?
• How are organizations managed?
• What type of work goes on in organizations (finance,
manufacturing, marketing, customer service, and so on)?
Some specifics the analyst needs to know about the
company include the following:

• What the organization specifically does

• What makes it successful
• What its strategies and plans are
• What its traditions and values are

Analysts must deal fairly, honestly, and ethically with

other project team members, managers, and system users.
1.5 What is a system?
A system is composed of regularly interacting or
interrelating groups of activities to achieve a specific goal.
System theory is the interdisciplinary study of systems in
general, with the goal of explaining principles that can be
applied to all types of systems at all levels in all fields of
research.

The main principles of system theory

• Systems theory focuses on the system's structure instead

of on the system's function.
The main principles of system theory cont…

• Systems theory theories explicitly state that changing

one of the subsystems could have an impact on the total
system.

• Systems theory classifies systems into hierarchies.

• Systems theory can be helpful in analysing business

processes and finding inefficiencies.
A system can be defined in several ways including:

• a piece of software that operates to manage a related

collection of tasks;

• a design for an organization that perceives sets of

processes as a related collection of tasks;

• a bounded transformation process; collection of

processes that transforms inputs into outputs.
Common characteristics most systems share

• Systems have structure which is defined by parts and

their composition
• Systems have behaviour which involves inputs,
processing and outputs of information
• Systems have interconnectivity where the various parts
of a system have functional as well as structural
relationships between each other
• Systems have by themselves functions or groups of
functions
o Each element (component) has an effect on the
functioning of the whole system
o Each element is affected by at least one other
element in the system
Figure 1-3: General illustration of a system
1.6 Information Systems
An information system is a collection of
interrelated components that collect, process,
store, and provide as output the information
needed to complete a business task.

Any system can have subsystems.

A subsystem is a system that is part of another

system, so subsystems might be one way to think
about the components of a system.
The view of a system as a collection of subsystems
enables the analyst to focus attention on a single
area of a business or organization, a group of
related areas, or the interfaces among areas.

One system can be divided or decomposed into

subsystems, which in turn can be further
decomposed into subsystems.

This approach to dividing a system into

components is referred to as functional
decomposition.
Information systems and component parts
Types of Information Systems

• Customer relationship management (CRM)

• Supply chain management (SCM)
• Accounting and financial management (AFM)
• Human resource management (HRM)
• Manufacturing management system (MIS)
• Knowledge management system (KMS)
• Collaboration support system (CSS)
• Business intelligence system
1.7 Main Reasons for Starting Information Systems
Projects
The starting point for most projects is called a system
request, which is a formal way of asking for IT support.

A systems request proposes:

• enhancements for an existing system

• correction of problems
• replacing an older system
• developing an entirely new information system
 The main reasons for systems requests include the
following:

• Improved Service
• Support for New Products and Services
• Better Performance
• More Information
• Stronger Controls
• Reduced Cost
• Conform to a Directive
1.8 Factors that Affect Information Systems Projects
Internal Factors
• Strategic Plan
• Top Managers
• User Requests
• Information Technology Department
• Existing Systems and Data

External Factors
• Technology
• Suppliers
• Customers
• Competitors
• The Economy
• Government
Summary

Systems analysis and design provides the tools and

techniques one needs as an information system developer
to complete the development process:

• Understand the need (business need).

• Capture the vision.
• Define a solution.
• Communicate the vision and the solution.
• Build the solution or direct others in building the
solution.
• Confirm that the solution meets the need.
• Launch the solution application.
END