System Investigation and Analysis

1. System Investigation and Analysis Overview of SD SD Planning Participants of SD SD Planning Initiation of SD

2. LEARNING OBJECTIVES • Identify the key participants in the systems development process. • Learn the roles of the participants the development process. • Learn and understand the traditional systems development life cycle (SDLC). • Learn and understand end-user development systems. • Review creative and critical analyses.

3. Systems Development Systems Development • Systems development is the activity of creating new or modifying existing business systems. • Refers to all aspects: • Systems Investigation • Identifying problems or opportunities. • System analysis and design. • System implementation. • System maintenance and review.

4. Supply Supply The Development Team Technical Specialists Stakeholders Managers Vendors/Suppliers Users Systems Analyst Systems Analyst Programmers Large Systems

5. Systems Development Participants Systems Analysts • Systems analysts specialize in analyzing and designing business system. • The key participant. • Typically has an MIS degree. • Interacts with all stakeholders. • Communication Skill. • Very Important Systems Analysts

6. Systems Development Participants Users • Users are individuals who will interact with the system regularly. • Employees, managers, customers, or suppliers. Users

7. Supply Supply Systems Development Participants Vendors/Suppliers • Close involvement is extremely important when developing EDI and JIT systems. • EDI • Electronic Data Interchange • Computers talking to computers • JIT • Just In Time inventory control Vendors/Suppliers

8. Systems Development Participants Stakeholders • Stakeholders are individuals who, either themselves or through the area of the organization they represent, ultimately benefit from the systems development project. Stakeholders

9. Systems Development Participants Management • One more IS managers. • Presidents • Vice-presidents • Department Heads Management

10. Systems Development Participants Technical Specialists • Telecommunications • Database • Expert Systems • Internet • Statisticians • Hardware engineers • Others ... Technical Specialists

11. Systems Development Participants Software Programmers • Takes the systems requirements from the systems analyst and writes the computer code. Programmers

12. The Development Team Programmers Users Systems Analyst Systems Analyst Small Systems

13. The Development Team Programmer Users Systems Analyst Programmer Analyst --If the systems analyst serves as the entire development team, that person is called a Programmer Analyst. Systems Analyst Very Small Systems

14. Perception of benefit by individual capable of making change. Problems with existing system Desire to exploit new opportunities Increasing competition Better use of existing information Organizational growth Systems process initiated Merger or acquisition Change in market Changes in external environment Reasons to Initiate Systems Project

15. Information Systems Planning Information Systems Planning (ISP) -is the use of the strategic plan and organizational goals in the development of a company’s information system. Out of the way, bad ideas. What’s a strategic plan? ISP No ISP Continue

16. You should have used fiber optics, not twisted pair. Information Systems Planning Ed, why did our system fail? Your strategic plan clearly calls for a doubling of your EDI clients by 2012. Twisted pair cannot handle the bandwidth need for these additional EDI clients.

17. Developing a Competitive Advantage Through Creative Analyses Developing a competitive advantage often requires: • Creative analysis: • It involves looking at problems in new or different ways and introducing new approaches to existing problems. • In involves coming up with new approaches to existing problems.

18. Developing a Competitive Advantage Through Critical Analyses There must be a better way? Developing a competitive advantage often requires: • Critical analysis: • It involves careful questioning as to whether the system is as effective and efficient as it could be.

19. Developing a Competitive Advantage Through Critical Analyses Critical analysis involves these actions: 1. Questioning the assumptions about the present system. • Should COSTCO be specializing in just “bulk” sales? • Should we continue capturing retail sales through wholesale orders for a product, or use point-of-sale devices? • Do we really need a large inventory, or should we use JIT.

20. Developing a Competitive Advantage Through Critical Analyses Critical analysis involves these actions: 2. Going beyond automating a manual system: • If the underlying manual system is fundamentally flawed, automation could just magnify its impact. • Critical analysis should be used to question why thing are done a particular way.

21. Developing a Competitive Advantage Through Critical Analyses Critical analysis involves these actions: 3. Identifying and resolving conflictingorientations and objectives within an organization. • Example: Marketing might be orientated toward selling high QUANTITIES of the product NOW, but production wants QUALITY NOW. (HP)

22. Systems Investigation Identify problems and opportunities Systems Analysis Understand present system Identify possible solutions to problem Systems Design Select and design chosen system Systems Implementation Implement the Design (Build the System) System Maintenance and Review Traditional Systems Development Life Cycle

23. Systems Investigation Identify problems and opportunities Systems Analysis Understand present system Identify possible solutions to problem Systems Design Select and design chosen system Systems Implementation Build the System System Maintenance and Review Cost to Change Traditional SDLC SDLC Cost to make a change Time Design Analysis Maintenance/ Review Investigation Implementation

24. Prototyping in Systems Development Could you put the totals at the bottom? Yes, I can easily make that change. Prototyping: • It uses an iterative approach. • Start with a scaled-down version. • Finish with a refined system. • CASE tool or 4GL for fast development. • Work closely with the end-users. Continue

25. Investigate and analyze problem sufficiently to develop a workable solution. Develop prototype Put prototype into operation Refine and modify prototype The completed component or system Prototyping in Systems Development Systems development initiated Continue

26. Determine requirements Determine requirements Determine requirements Iteration n Iteration 1 Iteration 2 Analyze alternatives Analyze alternatives Analyze alternatives Specify design Specify design Specify design Implement design Implement design Implement design Changeover User review User review Prototyping in Systems Devlopment

27. Prototyping in Systems Devlopment Advantages: • Users can try the system and give feedback. • Can produce an operational prototype in weeks. • Users are more positive about the end system because of their continued involvement. • Early detection of errors and omissions.

28. Prototyping in Systems Devlopment Disadvantages: • Each iteration builds on the previous iteration, making it difficult reject the previous iterations … too much work. • Difficult to contain the scope of the prototype. • User wants more, more, more. • Results in very little documentation. • System backup and recovery, performance, and security issues can be overlooked in the haste to develop a prototype.

29. End-User Systems Development Information Systems Support ????????? Consultants Programmers End-Users End-User Development • End-users initiate and develop the project w/wo help from IS. • IS may support these end-users: • Advice • Technical Guidance • Programming • Networking • Database • Analysis Systems Analyst Database Networking

30. End-Users End-User Systems Development Benefits: • Improved requirements determination. • Users get what they want. • System more likely to be used. • If users develop the system, they are more likely to like and approve of the system. • Users take a more active role. • Use 4GLs and use prototyping. • Reduce IS backlog.

31. End-Users End-User Systems Development Problems: • Insufficient review and analysis. • Incomplete requirement analysis is likely. • No independent outside review. • Often no alternative solutions. • No formal development methodology. • Inadequate testing and documentation. • Poor data editing. GIGO. • Lack of stable interfaces between subsystems. • Lack of updating controls. • Tendency to have duplicated data. • Tendency to have the same data with different names and types. • Proliferation of “private” information systems. • Systems hidden from the rest of the organization.

32. The End

33. Sample Test Question: Systems Development • In which SDLC stage would a feasibility analysis be done? • Investigation • System anlysis • Systems design • Systems implementation • Systems maintenance and review

34. Sample Test Question: Systems Development 2. Which participant on the systems development team is the key person? • Managers • Technical specialists • Programmers • Users • Systems Analyst

35. Sample Test Question: Systems Development 3. One of the most important skills to be a successful systems analyst is communication. • True • False

36. Sample Test Question: Systems Development 4. The systems analyst typically has this degree: • Computer science • Accounting • MIS • Finance • Computer engineering

37. Sample Test Question: Systems Development 5. The process where computers “talk” to other computers, especially for order processing, is called • Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) • Just in Time (JIT) • Computer-to-computer processing (CTC) • None of the above

38. Sample Test Question: Systems Development 6. _____________ are individuals who, either themselves or through the area of the organization they represent, ultimately benefit from the systems development project. • Users • Stakeholders • Steakholders • Managers • Programmers

39. Sample Test Question: Systems Development 7. This person on the systems development team has high visibility to management. • Users • Stakeholders • Programmers • Technical specialists • Systems analysts

40. Sample Test Question: Systems Development 8. When the systems analysts serves as the entire development team, the position is called • Programmer analysts • Technical specialist • Systems manager • Programmer • None of the above

41. Sample Test Question: Systems Development 9. When initiating a systems development project it is very important to have a person who has the power to make change. • True • False

42. Sample Test Question: Systems Development 10. When planning an information system, it is very important to consider the strategic plan and organizational goals. • True • False

43. Sample Test Question: Systems Development 11. This type of analysis involves coming up with new approaches to existing problems. • Creative analysis • Brain storming analysis • Group analysis • Psychoanalysis • None of the above

44. Sample Test Question: Systems Development 12. Dr. Ertle, a physiological psychologist believes that a creative person • has a noisy brain. • is able to work well with others • has a fixed pattern of thinking • is brain damaged • is a non-conformist

45. Sample Test Question: Systems Development 13. Critical analysis involves careful questioning as to whether the system is as effective and efficient as it could be. • True • False

46. Sample Test Question: Systems Development 14. This type of analysis involves questioning the assumptions about the present system (best answer). • Critical analysis • Pattern analysis • Concept analysis • Logical analysis

47. Sample Test Question: Systems Development 15. Systems development today usually just automates a manual system. • True • False

48. Sample Test Question: Systems Development 16. In which stage of systems development is it bests to discover errors in the process. • Investigation • Analysis • Design • Implementation • Maintenance and review

49. Sample Test Question: Systems Development 16. The type of systems development that allows for rapid changes as the system is being created is called • Prototyping • SDLC • Creative systems development • Data driven development • None of the above

50. Sample Test Question: Systems Development 17. In general, users are more satisfied with prototyping than traditional SDLC methods. • True • False