BLANTYRE INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY DEPARTMENT

Bachelors Degree in Information Technology
YEAR 2

Systems Analysis and Design (IT204)-Semester 2, 2012

ASSIGNMENT 2

Student Name: James Mbotwa Registration Number: 2011/2/143 Lecturer: T.L. Mumba Due Date: 21/4/2012

QUESTION 1 Joint Application Development as described by Tony Crawford and Chuck Morris of the International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) is the interactive system design concept involving group discussions in a workshop setting. He further describes that JAD was designed to combine together system designers, various levels users and developers to come up with a productive and creative system environment. This process ensures that quality requirements and expectations are met. QUESTION 2 The 4 major tasks involved during an effective project management are as follows; Identification of the project size Work plan creation and management Scope Management Coordinating of project activities

QUESTION 3 In scope management, all planning and distribution of project resources falls in this category. Processes such as scope planning, scope definition, scope verification and scope control are put in place to prevent scope creep (uncontrolled or unplanned project changes). Timeboxing in relation to scope management is simply a planning technique that ensures that projects meet their deadlines. It divides the projects activities into sectors (Timeboxes) at which every activity is worked on at the given amount of time. This ensures budget accuracy and time management. QUESTION 4 System development documentation is important as any process in the development life cycle. It ensures the availability of reference material for any future upgrades or maintenance to be carried out on the system. It also assists new system development personnel that are recruited during or after the system development process to catch up on the system processes and prior changes introduced to the system.

QUESTION 5 Project Management and Project Failure Reduction Every project has a specific reason why it is designed and the need for it to be carried out. An effectively designed closure plan serves as an outline of required tasks that must be carried out appropriately in order to result in successful project delivery (ExecutiveBrief, 2000). Project management in this sense assumes the role that controls the activities carried out in order for a project to deliver the expected results in the given timeframe. For a successful project implementation, a project manager should be appointed. His tasks are simple and straight forward. He creates the initial work plan, designs the project process and delivers the development of the project. This ensures that project assets are not mismanaged which can lead to project failure but rather the project activities are completed in a systematic manner. Good project management practices assist the system development life cycle to meet customer expectations, a success rate in regard to time, cost and objectives (Saradhi, 2005). It also defines project activities that manage change and minimize scope creep thereby reducing risks that might be associated with the project. In summary, an sdlc project that does not have a project management plan is likely to fail because it does not guarantee the project quality in regard to the project timeline and cost. QUESTION 6 The feasibility analysis of a project establishes a benefit status of the project result. This analysis is carried done throughout the sdlc process and is categorized into 4 aspects. 1) Technical feasibility: analyses the technical part of the system. All technical issues concerning the system are analyzed. Queries in relation describe the following; Is the technical solution able to be implemented? Availability of the technology to support the practical implementation. Availability of resources (Analysts, Developers, Hardware and Software).

2) Economic Feasibility: this establishes what is referred to as the cost benefit analysis. It looks at understanding the cost of developing the particular system in relation to the benefits expected out of the system. If the benefits of a developed system exceed or equal the implementation cost then the system is considered as economically feasible. 3) Operational Feasibility: this analysis looks at how the system implementation affects the operation. System users are the key figures in this stage because they determine whether or not the system solves their issues. Is the management supporting the new system? How best does the new system benefit the company or organization? Early system user orientation would reduce later resistance

4) Schedule Feasibility: After considering the system functions, a schedule analysis is carried to justify the system development deadline. System deadlines are evaluated in order to make sure that the developing period matches the deadline required. QUESTION 7 Context Level Diagram (Level 0) This is the top level dataflow diagram that only contains one process in the whole system linked to the external entities. It establishes the system as one process and documents the system boundaries by indicating its sources and destinations.

External Entity

Process

External Entity

Fig. 1.0 a context Diagram

Level 1 Diagram A level 1 data flow diagram displays the system data processes, data stores, which are linked to the destinations and sources in data flows. The scenario in level 0 is that all processes are isolated or independent of each other separated by data stores available in between processes.

Fig. 1.1 level 1 dataflow diagram (Image from http://pages.cpsc.ucalgary.ca/~eberly/Courses/CPSC333/Lectures/DFD/leveled_set.html)

Level 2 Diagram Level 2 consists of a detailed diagram of all level one sub processes. It indicates how data moves throughout and includes an explanation on that particular process.

Fig. 1.3 a level 2 Dataflow Diagram (Image from http://pages.cpsc.ucalgary.ca/~eberly/Courses/CPSC333/Lectures/DFD/leveled_set.html)

QUESTION 8

Advantages of UML UML uses object oriented design concepts and it is independent of specific programming language. It represents the system with structural and behavioral language models and those designing modeling include the architectural mechanical and detailed design. Software systems are designed and documented before they are coded which benefits system owners to know what the intended system provides. Since UML is a modeling language for specifying, visualizing, constructing, and documenting. It provides new development team members with the visual diagrams to understand the system. It identifies the system, indicates how the system will be put in place and how it will communicate.

The entire system designs describe how the whole system will be developed which assists decision making processes to be in the right track.

Disadvantages of UML It covers too much emphasis on the designing itself. UML is time consuming as it takes to manage and maintain UML diagrams. It is difficult to utilize the boundaries of the modeling space. Poor for distributed systems.

QUESTION 9 Fact finding as the name describes it, is simply a way or a technique of gathering information. In a formal approach it is described as the use of research, interviews, questionnaires, sampling and other techniques to collect information about systems requirements and preferences (Mumba, 2012). This is an important stage as the analyst investigates or finds out all the information about the requirements of the system. The analyst is required to have a clear understanding of the current system in order to develop a new one. There are various ways in which this is carried out called fact finding techniques. TECHNIQUES Below are the common Techniques; Joint Application Development This is a fact finding technique that brings together the all key players, analysts, developers, system owners and users in order to contribute ideas on the system requirements. It ensures that all sides are considered before the project proceeds. This technique is implemented whenever group input or interaction is required. (Shelly et al., 2003) Rapid Application Development This is a user-oriented fact finding and requirement technique. It enables users to work with analysts in the system development cycle at selecting the system requirements. Interviews This is a human interaction technique in which analysts interview people face to face to gather information about the system. It ensures different point of views in which all are considered in

relation to the system at hand. However this stage would involve a skilled relation person to draw information from various types of characters. Questionnaires These are special documents or forms that are handed out to the users or people for them fill out and indicate their point of views on the system. This method is the commonly used in areas where large amounts data is required. Observation In this process, system analysts establish the means to monitor the way user activities are carried out. It establishes an onsite view in how the both the system and users affect each other. Record View Documentations and troubleshooting accessories published in the newspapers or the web help the analysts to have a clear background understanding on the other related system behaviors

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