SESSION 5

SYSTEM ANALYSIS AND DESIGN

Strategic Planning : The process of identifying long
term organizational goals, strategies and resources.
SWOT analysis
What are our strengths and how can we maximize
them?
What are our weakness (in IT resources and
capability) and how can we overcome them?
What are the opportunities and how can we take
advantage of that? What plans do we have to
support future business activities?
What are the threats that we face and how can we
deal with them?

BUSINESS CASE
Reasons and justifications for a proposal.
Why should the project be done?
What is the project about?
How does this solution address key business issues?
How much shall it cost and how long shall it take?
Will there be a loss of productivity during transition?
ROI?
What are the risks of doing/ not doing the project?
How shall success be measured?
What are the alternatives?

SOME REASONS FOR SYSTEMS

PROJECTS
Improved Service
Support for new product and services
Better performance
More information
Stronger control
Reduced cost

FACTORS AFFECTING SYSTEMS

PROJECTS
Internal Factors
Strategic plan
Top Management
User request
IT department
Existing systems and data
External factors
Technology
Suppliers
Customers
Competitors
Economy
Government

SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT LIFE

CYCLE
Systems Planning (Output: Preliminary
Investigation Report)
System Analysis (Output: System Requirements
Document)
System Design (Output: System Specification)
System Implementation (Output: System
Functioning)
System operation and Support (Output:
Operational System )

SDLC MODELS
Waterfall Model
Spiral Model (Interactive Model)

SYSTEMS PLANNING
System Request
1.
Improved Service
2.
Better Performance
3.
More Information
4.
Greater controls
5.
Reduced Costs
. Preliminary Investigation
1.
Problem Identification
2.
Define Project Scope
3.
Fact Finding
4.
Feasibility Analysis
5.
Time and cost estimation
6.
Recommendations to management

SYSTEMS PLANNING

1.
2.
3.

Feasibility Study
Operational
Technical
Economic

OPERATIONAL FEASIBILITY
Does the Management support the project?
Will the system result in workforce reduction?
Will the new system require training of the
employees?
Are there ethical issues?

TECHNICAL FEASIBILITY
Does the company have the technical expertise?
Does the company have the hardware, software
and network resources?
Does the company have the capacity for future
needs?
Will the software integrate well with other
systems?

ECONOMIC FEASIBILITY
Tangible Benefits
1.
Reduction of time
2.
Reduction of clerical staf
3.
Reduction of delays
. Intangible Benefits
1.
User friendly system
2.
Employee satisfaction
. Cost of
1.
formal + informal training
2.
License + fees
3.
Hardware + equipment
. NPV Analysis

SCHEDULE FEASIBILITY
Has the management set some timeline for the
project?
What conditions must be satisfied during the
development of the system
Will an accelerated schedule pose risks?
Can the company take care of all the factors that
afect the project schedule?

SETTING PRIORITIES
Will the system reduce cost? Where? When? How
much?
Will the system increase revenue? Where? When?
How much?
Will the systems project result in more information
or better results? Are the results measurable?
Will the system serve the customers, organization
better?
Can the project be implemented in reasonable
period? How long shall the results last?
Are the resources available?
Discretionary and nondiscretionary projects

TYPES OF PROJECTS
Discretionary Projects
Non discretionary projects

PRELIMINARY INVESTIGATION
Understanding the problem
Defining project scope. Avoiding project creep.
Identify constraints (present vs future, internal
vs external, mandatory vs desirable)
Fact finding ( analyzing organization charts,
interviews, review documents, conduct surveys,
observe the operations)
Evaluating feasibility
Estimate the time and cost
Results and recommendations

System Analysis

MODELING
Requirements Modeling
Data and Process Modeling
Object Modeling

REQUIREMENTS MODELING
Requirement Checklist
1.
Outputs
2.
Inputs
3.
Processes
4.
Performance
5.
Control
. Scalability
. Total cost of ownership
. Fact Finding

JAD VS RAD METHODS

Joint Application Development
Rapid Application Development

Advantages and Drawbacks of each

RAD is fast
RAD saves cost
RAD emphasizes on the mechanics of the system
Risk is high
Quality may be compromised

FUNCTIONAL DECOMPOSITION
DIAGRAMS

It is a top down representation of a business

process.

REQUIREMENTS MODELING

1.
2.
3.
4.

Fact Finding cont

Depth Interviews
Document review
Observation/Ethnography (avoid Hawthrone
efect)
Questionnaires

INTERVIEWS
Whom to interview
Objectives of the interview
Questions to be asked (open and closed ended
questions)
Documenting the interview
Evaluation of interview

OTHER FACT FINDING TECHNIQUES

Document Review
Observation
Questionnaires

THANK YOU