Organizations have long recognized the importance of managing key resources such as people and raw materials. Information has now moved to its rightful place as a key resource. Decision makers now understand that information is not just a by-product of conducting business; rather, it fuels business and can be the critical factor in determining the… [Continue Reading]
Systems, Roles, and Development Methodologies
Types of Systems
Information systems are developed for different purposes, depending on the needs of human users and the business. Transaction processing systems (TPS) function at the operational level of the organization; office automation systems (OAS) and knowledge work systems (KWS) support work at the knowledge level. Higher-level systems include management information systems (MIS) and decision support systems… [Continue Reading]
Integrating Technologies for Systems
As users adopt new technologies, some of the systems analyst’s work will be devoted to integrating traditional systems with new ones to ensure a useful context, as shown in the figure below. This section describes some of the new information technologies systems analysts will be using as people work to integrate their ecommerce applications into… [Continue Reading]
Need for Systems Analysis and Design
Systems analysis and design, as performed by systems analysts, seeks to understand what humans need to analyze data input or data flow systematically, process or transform data, store data, and output information in the context of a particular organization or enterprise. By doing thorough analysis, analysts seek to identify and solve the right problems. Furthermore,… [Continue Reading]
Roles of the Systems Analyst
The systems analyst systematically assesses how users interact with technology and how businesses function by examining the inputting and processing of data and the outputting of information with the intent of improving organizational processes. Many improvements involve better support of users’ work tasks and business functions through the use of computerized information systems. This definition… [Continue Reading]
The Systems Development Life Cycle (SDLC)
Throughout this chapter we have referred to the systematic approach analysts take to the analysis and design of information systems. Much of this is embodied in what is called the systems development life cycle (SDLC). The SDLC is a phased approach to analysis and design that holds that systems are best developed through the use… [Continue Reading]
Identifying Problems, Opportunities, and Objectives in SDLC
In this first phase of the systems development life cycle, the analyst is concerned with correctly identifying problems, opportunities, and objectives. This stage is critical to the success of the rest of the project, because no one wants to waste subsequent time addressing the wrong problem. The first phase requires that the analyst look honestly… [Continue Reading]
Analyzing System Needs in System Development Life Cycle
The next phase that the systems analyst undertakes involves analyzing system needs. Again, special tools and techniques help the analyst make requirement determinations. Tools such as data flow diagrams (DFD) to chart the input, processes, and output of the business’s functions, or activity diagrams or sequence diagrams to show the sequence of events, illustrate systems… [Continue Reading]
Implementing and Evaluating the System in SDLC
In this last phase of systems development, the analyst helps implement the information system. This phase involves training users to handle the system. Vendors do some training, but oversight of training is the responsibility of the systems analyst. In addition, the analyst needs to plan for a smooth conversion from the old system to the… [Continue Reading]
Using Computer-Aided Software Engineering (CASE) tools
Analysts who adopt the SDLC approach often benefit from productivity tools, called Computer-Aided Software Engineering (CASE) tools, that have been created explicitly to improve their routine work through the use of automated support. Analysts rely on CASE tools to increase productivity, communicate more effectively with users, and integrate the work that they do on the… [Continue Reading]
The Agile Approach
Although this text tends to focus on SDLC, the most widely used approach in practice, at times the analyst will recognize that the organization could benefit from an alternative approach. Perhaps a systems project using a structured approach has recently failed, or perhaps the organizational subcultures, composed of several different user groups, seem more in… [Continue Reading]
Object-Oriented Systems Analysis and Design
Object-oriented (O-O) analysis and design is an approach that is intended to facilitate the development of systems that must change rapidly in response to dynamic business environments. Chapter 10 helps you understand what object-oriented systems analysis and design is, how it differs from the structured approach of the SDLC, and when it may be appropriate… [Continue Reading]
