Understanding System Analysis and Design for Businesses
What is System Analysis and Design? The process of developing and maintaining an information system.
Main Goal: Improve organizational systems via software to help accomplish business tasks efficiently and easily.
Requires Knowledge of: Organization’s objectives, structure, processes, and how to exploit information technology for advantage.
Core Concepts: Major Goal of Systems Analysis: Improve organizational systems.
Development/acquisition of application software.
Other elements of IS: hardware, system software, documentation, training materials, job roles, controls and security, and people.
What is a System? An interrelated set of components with an identifiable boundary, working together for some purpose.
Characteristics of a System:
- Components: Parts of a system (also called subsystems).
- Interrelationships: Dependencies between components of a system.
- Boundary: Divides the system from the environment.
- Purpose: Goal or function of a system.
- Interfaces: Points of contact between the system and environment.
- Inputs: Data from the environment to the system.
- Output: Data from the system to the environment.
- Constraints: Limits to what the system can accomplish.
Transaction Processing System: Automates the handling of data for business activities or transactions.
Goal: Improve transaction processes by increasing speed, enhancing productivity, and improving efficiency and accuracy.
Decision Support System:
- Serves middle management.
- Supports non-routine decision-making.
- Includes what-if analysis.
Example: What will be the return on investment if we use new suppliers with better delivery track records?
Goal: Support decision-making with unstructured and unpredictable problems.
Characteristics of a Successful Team:
- Diversity of background, skills, and goals.
- Trust and clear, complete communications.
- Mutual respect and putting personal interests second to the team.
- Reward structure that promotes shared responsibility and accountability.
Role of System Analyst:
- Skills required: technical, managerial, analytical, and interpersonal.
- Fluency in systems thinking.
- Connection between users, programmers, and other systems professionals.
System Planning and Selection:
- Analyze and arrange the organization’s information needs, identify and describe potential projects, determine system scope, and provide a business case for continuing with the project.
- Feasibility analysis: determine the economic and organizational impact of the system.
System Analysis: A thorough study of the organization’s current system and processes, determination of system requirements, structuring requirements, and generating alternative design strategies.
– Use of UML for system modeling.
Goal: Describe what needs to be done.
System Design: Translating alternative solutions generated by the analysis phase into detailed logical and physical system specifications.
Logical Design: Not tied to any hardware or software platform.
Physical Design: Specific programming languages, databases, architectures.
Goal: Identify how the task will be accomplished.
System Implementation and Operation: The information system is coded, tested, and installed, and undergoes periodic corrections and enhancements.
Goal: Provide a fully operational system.