Module #4 - Systems Analysis & Design

1. Systems analysis: information is gathered, sorted, and evaluated
2. Systems design: information is combined and reduced to program specifications for the developers

• identifying a system’s functional requirements — in other words, what the system should do
• What data is required in system
• What processes the system needs to support
• Use gap analysis

Compare current and future states

• Compare current and future states

1. Requirements gathering
2. Requirements structuring process
3. Generation and selection of alternative design strategies

• Take specifications and convert it into a way that developers can understand
• “determining the materials needed to build”
• Design strategy includes:

1. File and DB design
2. Program design
3. Network design
4. Platform design
5. User interface design

• Study existing systems
• Document business requirements & detail design of new system
• Assist with creation of gap analysis

• Processing modelling
• Data modelling
• Logic modelling

Logical models: process, data, and logic

• Visually document logical requirements of a proposed system
• No reference to the physical needs of HW or SW

Physical models

• they are not a significant focus of this course.
• document the current system, including all implementation-specific information (operating systems, databases, data types, program languages, program interfaces, etc.)

• They remove biases resulting from the existing implementation of the current system and help to direct creativity toward the requirements of the future system.
• They reduce the risk of missing business requirements by better analyzing the requirement for completeness, accuracy, and consistency.
• They can be used as a form of non-technical communication between project team members and management.

• Must collect:

1. Information about processes (what does the system have to do?)
2. Data and information used and produced by the system (inputs and outputs)
3. Policies or rules embedded in the system (i.e. what is the criteria for setting an A credit rating)

1. Documenting the current system (its processes, data, and logic)
2. Analyzing problems with the current system and/or opportunities for improvement
3. Establishing objectives for the new system and constraints Performing a gap analysis between the objectives of the new system and the realities of the current system
4. Documenting the proposed new system to achieve the objectives outlined

• Visually represent both old and new system
• Techniques you can use (Case diagrams, data flow diagrams, entity relationship diagrams, structured English, and decision tables and trees)

Tool to identify problem area is called the PIECES framework

1. Performance — This refers to technical performance such as throughput and response time. Information — This includes problems with what data are collected or not collected and how they are stored, as
2. well as the information outputs of the system and whether they provide the needed support to the organization.
3. Economics — The costs of supporting the system may be too high or there may be opportunities to generate new revenue through a different approach.
4. Control — Inadequate controls for data integrity, security, and privacy are critical problems for the organization and can require changes to systems.
5. Efficiency — This relates to the efficiency of human processes (for example, the number of steps to complete a task) and the efficient use of organizational resources (such as supplies).
6. Service — This may include problems of consistency and reliability, ease of use, flexibility, compatibility, and integration with other systems.

• After looking at what is wrong with old system, you know what you need with new system

Objectives can include things like:- Integration with legacy systems- Back-office integration with e-commerce web- Ability to support a SOA framework

• Improved customer service

- Website/CRM integrationConstraints fall into 3 categories (tech, resource, physical); includes things like:- Limit on implementation time (resource)- Allocated budget dollars (resource)

• Access to needed resources (resource)
• Restrictions on the sequencing of tasks (technological)