BUSINESS SYSTEM ANALYST AND OVERVIEW OF THE SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER 3.

BUSINESS SYSTEM ANALYST AND OVERVIEW OF THE SYSTEM

DEVELOPMENT

CHAPTER 3

PEOPLE INVOLVED IN BUSINESS INFORMATION SYSTEMStakeholder – any person who has interest

in existing or new information system. Can be technical / non-technical staff.

6 groups of stakeholders;System ownersSystem usersSystem designerSystem buildersSystem analystIT vendors & consultants.

PEOPLE INVOLVED IN BUSINESS INFORMATION SYSTEM

System OwnerFinance the system to be built & maintained. They

own the system, set priorities for the system & policies for its use.

Responsible for gathering information & providing management recommendations on the resources required to meet operational objectives.

System BuildersConstruct the information system components

based on the design specifications from the system designer.

May consists of system programmer, network administrator & microcomputer software specialist.

PEOPLE INVOLVED IN BUSINESS INFORMATION SYSTEM

System UsersUses the system to perform / support the

work to be completed. They define the business requirements & performance expectations for the system to be built.

3 classes of system users;Internal users – employees of the business Remote & mobile users – employees of the

business but geographically separated.External users – refers to suppliers, trading

partners & even consumers.

PEOPLE INVOLVED IN BUSINESS INFORMATION SYSTEM

System DesignersDevelops & implements an information system in

sectors as diverse as finance, communication & retail. Have to work with all elements of the system (hardware, software, installation & maintenance)

Other tasks are;Design system to fullfill system requirementsAssisting/leading system analyses, costing & bidding

activitiesConsulting with clientsInvestigating solutionsWriting progress reportsPlanning the installation of system & ensuring system

meets customer’s requirements.

PEOPLE INVOLVED IN BUSINESS INFORMATION SYSTEM

System AnalystResponsible for researching, planning &

recommending software & system choices to meet business requirements.

Solve computer problem & apply computer technology to meet individual need in the organization.

Help organization to realize the maximum benefit from its investment in IT

May plan or develop new computer system or devices.

IT vendors & consultantsSell, software, hardware & services to business for

incorporation into their information system.

WHAT IS BUSINESS SYSTEM ANALYSIS (BSA)? Def: an analytical framework that involves

analyzing organizations as system or the process of systematically gathering information about business systems & subjecting that information to formal analysis.

THE MODERN SYSTEM ANALYSTS

Why do businesses need system analyst?Business users may not fully understand the capabilities

& limitations of modern information technology. Computer programmer may not understand the business application they are trying to computerize.

What does system analyst do?Studies the problems & needs of an organization to

determine how people, data, process, communication & IT can improve the business.

Solving problems using these steps:Identify problem – analyze & understand the problem –

identify solution requirements/expectations – identify alternate solution & chose course of action – design & implement best solution – evaluate the results & repeat process if needed.

What does a business analyst do?Business analyst is a system analyst that

specializes in business process analysis & technology independent requirements analysis.

Focuses on business & non-technical aspects of system problem solving.

THE MODERN SYSTEM ANALYSTS

SYSTEM ANALYST AS A FACILITATOR

System analyst are the facilitator of information system development.

The analyst maybe the only individual who sees the system as whole.

Interpersonal skills is important due to the nature of the job & analyst’s first responsibility is to the business, its management & workers.

Development teams includes people with different levels of education & experience, hence group dynamic is an important skill to develop.

SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT TECHNIQUES & TOOLSSystem analyst also need to know how to

use a variety of techniques, such as listed below in order to plan, design & implement information system;ModelingPrototypingComputer aided system engineering (CASE)

toolsJoint application development & rapid

application developmentOther system development tools

ModelingProduces a graphical representation of a concept or

process that system developers can analyze, test & modify.

A system analyst can simply an information system by using a set of business, data, object, network & process models.

Types of modeling:1. Business Model / Requirement Model

describes business function that an information system must support.

describe a broad range of informal & formal models that are used by enterprises to represent various aspects of business such as operational processes, organizational structures & financial forecasts.

Modeling2. Data ModelDescribes data structures & design & has 3 main

components :The structural part – a collection of data structures

which are used to create databases representing the entities or objects modeled by databases.

The integrity part – collection of rules governing the constraints placed on these data structures to ensure structural integrity.

The manipulation part – collection of operators which can be applied to the data structures, to update & query the data contained in the database.

3. Object ModelDescribes objects which combines data &

processes.

Modeling4. Network ModelPortrays the design & protocols of

telecommunications links.

5. Process ModelDescribes system logic & processes that

programmers use to develop necessary code modules.

PROTOTYPING

Involves a creation of an early working version of the information system or its components.

Provides an opportunity to examine input, output & user interfaces before final decisions are made.

Advantages of prototypingFaster development & cost reducedEasier for end-users to learn/useFever changes needed after implementationEnd-user involvementUsers know exactly what to expect at

implementation.User/analyst communication is enhancedUser requirements are easier to determine

PROTOTYPINGDisadvantages

Developers may lose focus on the real purpose of the prototype & compromise the quality of the product.

Clients expect few minor changes is all needed for the system, they fail to realize that no consideration were given to the overall quality of the software in the rush to develop the prototype.

A prototype will hardly be acceptable in court in the event the client does not agree that the developer has discharged his/her obligation.

So….to avoid it, the developer & client should both establish a protocol, which indicates the deliverables to the client as well as a contractual obligation.

COMPUTER AIDED SYSTEM ENGINEERING (CASE)

Is the use of software tools to assist in the development & maintenance of software.

Tools used to assist in this way is known as CASE tools.

CASE tools provide an overall framework for system development & support a wide variety of design methodologies including structured analysis & object oriented analysis.Upper CASE – focus on the analysis phase (designing

tools, report, form generators & analysis tools)Lower CASE – support database scheme generation,

program generation, implementation, testing & configuration management

I-CASE – integrate both upper & lower CASE.

Joint Application Development & Rapid Application Development

Joint Application Development (JAD)Popular fact finding technique that brings user

into the development process as active participants.

Based on these simple ideas;People who actually do the job, have better

understanding of the job.People who are trained in IT, have the best

understanding of the possibilities of the technology,

The best information systems are designed when all of information system & business groups work together on a project as equal partners.

Joint Application Development & Rapid Application Development

Rapid Application Development (RAD)Is a very flexible methodology as it incorporates

prototyping & user feedbacks as its main mechanism. Usually on cases where large user community will have significant input to the system.

Advantages ;Flexible & adaptable to changes. Realizes an overall

reduction in project risk.Incorporates short development cycle so users see the

product quicklyInvolves users participation, thereby increases chances of

being accepted early by the community.Disadvantages;

Unknown cost of product – as it may need some re-workDifficult to many important users to commit the time

required.

OTHER SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT TOOLS

In addition to CASE tools, system analyst uses various productivity tools to organize the task of developing an information system

In addition to graphic tools, presentation software, word processing & spreadsheets, analyst use special purpose charting tools (ex; VISIO)

VISIO – used to draw flowcharts, data flow diagrams, entity relationships diagrams & business process diagrams.

SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT LIFE CYCLE (SDLC)

A model of the process of systems development, used to describe the approach taken to produce computer system.

Consists of 5 phases

Planning

Analysis

Design

Implementation

Maintenance

Project PlanningEstablish the plans for creating a system by;

Defining the system to be developed – based on CSF !

Defining the project scope – high level of system requirements

Developing the project plan – delegation of tasksManaging & monitoring the project plan – to allow

for the project to stay on track, milestones etc.SWOT analysis is a strategic planning tool used to

evaluate Strength, Weakness, Opportunities & Threats involved in a project.

It involves specifying the objective of the project & indentifying the internal and external factors that are affecting the objective.

Analysis

The users & IT specialists collaborate to collect, comprehend & logistically formalize business requirements by;

Gathering the business requirements – IT specialist & KWs collaborate in a Joint Application Design (JAD), to discuss which tasks to undertake to make the system more useful.

Analyzing the requirements – business requirements are prioritized & put into a requirements definition document where the KWs will improve & place their signatures.

DesignThis is where the technical blueprint of the

system is created by:

Designing the technical architecture – choosing amongst the architectural designs of telecommunications, hardware & software that will best suit the organization’s system & future needs.

Designing the systems model – graphically creating a model from graphical user interface (GUI), GUI screen design, databases, up to the placements of objects on the screen.

ImplementationThe system are placed & used in the actual

workforce and ; User guide is created Training is provided to the users of the system

(usually through workshop or online)During this phase, both hardware & software is

tested to ensure it is error free.

MaintenanceKeeping the system up to date with the

changes in the organization & ensuring it meets the goals of the organization by;

Building a help desk to support the system users – having a team available to aid technical difficulties & answer questions.

Implementing changes to the system when necessary.

SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT FOR DIFFERENT INFORMATION SYSTEM TYPES

IS TYPE

IS CHARACTERISTICS SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT METHOD

TPS • High volume, data capture focus.•Goal of TPS is efficiency of data movement, processing & interfacing different TPS.

•Process orientation•Concern with capturing, validating & storing data & with moving data between each required step.

MIS •Draws on diverse yet predictable data resources to aggregate & summarize data.•May involve forecasting future data from historical trends & business knowledge.

•Data orientation•Concerns with understanding relationships between data so that it can be accessed & summarized in many way.

DSS •Involves a group of decision makers dealing with semi structured problems & need to access data at different levels of detail.

•Data & decision logic orientation•Design of user dialogue

ES •Provides expert advice by asking a sequence of questions dependant of previous answers that leads to a conclusion/suggestion.

A specialized decision logic-orientation which deals with knowledge being manipulated into rules or other forms.

SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT GUIDELINES

Complete the phases in sequenceA successful development of an information system

requires you to follow the SDLC phases in order by completing one phase before starting the next phase.

Focus on end productAlways concentrate on end product / deliverables as

it represents a milestone/checkpoint in the system development & marks the completion of specific phase.

Estimate required resourcesCost effective information systems are vital to the

success of every organization & management need to know about the cost that will incur. On early phase, cost usually given in range, the final estimation is only after the completion.