Alexandria ACM Student Chapter | Systems Analysis

7/27/2019 Alexandria ACM Student Chapter | Systems Analysis

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Systems Analysis

What? Why?

ByNahla Ghoneim

Senior Systems Analyst

ITWorx Egypt


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What?


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Why?


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Contents

My Story Requirements.. A problem

Software Process Model

Requirements Engineering Systems and Business analysis

The Business Analysis Process Model

Systems Analysis Skills Career path

Questions


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My Story

The story begins like any other

ComputerSystemsEngineering

2006

Graduation

ITWorx

Sun Certified

JavaProgrammer

Senior

SoftwareEngineer

FoundationCertificate inBusiness

Analysis

Senior

UTC,Reliance, du,Qtel

SystemsAnalyst

GTMs

EMBA

BusinessExecutive


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Exercise

Terms Write requirements for a login page for an

internal system


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A Classic Joke


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Requirements: A big problem

The hardest single part of building a software

system is deciding precisely what to build. No

other part of the conceptual work is as

difficult as establishing the detailed technicalrequirements...No other part of the work so

cripples the resulting system if done wrong.

No other part is as difficult to rectify later.

-No Silver Bullet: Essence and Accidents of

Software Engineering


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Relative cost to repair a software

error


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Problems with Requirements

Lack ofrelevance to the objectives of theproject

Lack ofclarity in the wording Ambiguity Duplication between requirements Conflicts between requirements


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Software Process Model: Waterfall


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The Agile Model


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Agile Methodology

Iteration/Sprint User Story

Backlog

Pair ProgrammingAgile does not mean no documentation!


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Requirements Engineering

Requirements

Engineering


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Hurry up!


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Requirements Elicitation

When I actually meet users... I find that they

certainly have needs, but that these do not

appear in an organized form at all. The needs

come out in a rush, a mixture of complaints,design decisions, interface descriptions, current

situations, and from time to time specific

human-machine interface requirements.-Alexander and Maiden (2004)


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Requirements Elicitation

Techniques

Interviewing Shadowing

Workshops

Scenario Analysis Prototyping

MOM


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Requirements Analysis

Ensuring that all of the requirementsidentified during Requirements Elicitation

have been developed into clear, organized,

and fully-documented requirements.


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Requirements Analysis Filters

Ambiguous? Meaning clear?

Conflict? -> Negotiate a resolution Reasonable? Expensive? Time-consuming?Atomic?

Overlap? Duplicate?


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Outcomes

Accept Reword

Merge

Clarify


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Requirements

Specification/Documentation

Functional RequirementsWhat the system must do

Non-Functional RequirementsHow the system will perform in certain areas:o Performance/Response time

oAvailability

o Security

o Backup

oArchiving


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Requirements Documentation

Requirements Template


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Requirements Validation

Analysts Deem requirements

complete

Reviewgroup

Confirm requirements suitability

Review group:

Business representatives

Project Sponsor

SME

Document Signed off


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Prototyping

Software customers and end-users usually find it very

difficult to express their real requirements. It is almost

impossible to predict how a system will affect working

practices, how it will interact with other systems and what

user operations should be automated. Carefulrequirements analysis along with systematic reviews of the

requirements help to reduce the uncertainty about what the

system should do. However, there is no real substitute for

trying out a requirement before agreeing to it. This ispossible if a system prototype is available.

-Software Engineering, 6th edition, Sommerville


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Prototype Types

Evolutionary Prototypingo Best understood & highest priority requirements

Throw-away Prototypingo To validate or derive requirements

o Least understood


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Prototyping

Supports: Requirements Elicitation &Requirements Validation

POC UI Prototyping

o Wireframes

oAxure


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Business Analysis or Systems

Analysis

Production ofclearly-statedbusinessrequirementsdefinitions,which can bepassed to asystem designerto be turned intospecificationsthat are the inputto thedevelopmentprocess

BusinessAnalysis Analysing &

specifying the ITsystemrequirements insufficient detailin order toprovide a basisfor theevaluation ofsoftwarepackages or thedevelopment ofa bespoke ITsystem

SystemsAnalysis


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What we do

A well-defined

businessproblem

A solutionbased on a

certaintechnology

Well-

documentedrequirements

Needs strong

technicalknowledge


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The Business Analysis Process

Model


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Investigation Techniques

Interviewing Observation Workshops Scenario Analysis Prototyping

Five Whys


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Systems Analysis Skills


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Analytical Skills

[Analytical skills mean] not settling for the obvious,

not accepting things at face value and not jumping to

premature conclusions. It means digging deeperand

deeper until the true situation is uncovered and the

real problem has been defined. It involves sifting

through masses of often conflicting data and

determining which is relevant and which is

not. And it involves challenging received

wisdom at every turn.

-Business Analysis, Paul & Yeates, 2006


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Dealing withambiguity


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The Analyst as a Mixer!


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Change

Management

Customer

Management



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CommunicationChange

Management

Customer

Management



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Communication Skills

Communication is

perhaps the most

important skill that

humans possess-Business Analysis, Paul &

Yeates, 2006


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PresentationCommunication

Self-confidence!Negotiation

Change

Management

Customer

Management


Business

Knowledge/Sense

Requirements

Engineering


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Career Path

Engagement Presales Egypt


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What you learned

The science of requirements engineering Keep an eye on the business world Broad range of positions in the industry

o Systems Analysis (like me!)o Testing (Detail-oriented, persistence)

o UI developer (talent)

o Entrepreneurs (risk-taking)

oAcademia (research)

o Engagement, Presales (customer interfacing)

o Management

When the best leader's work is done the people say,

"We did it ourselves."-Lao Tzu


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What you learned

Study and develop yourself


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Exercise

Whats wrong with this requirement?

The reservations clerk must be able to record

a booking. They must be able to amend or

cancel bookings


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Answer

Not atomic. Several requirements groupedinto one entry.

Why did the text use they for a singularnoun?


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Exercise

Write requirements for a login page for aninternal system


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References

"Business Analysis", BCS, by Debra Paul &Donald Yeates

Software Engineering, 6th edition,Sommerville "No Silver Bullet: Essence and Accidents of

Software Engineering, IEEE, by F. Brooks


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Alexandria ACM Student Chapter | Systems Analysis

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