Chapter 1

Assuming the Role of the

Systems Analyst

Information System Analysis and Design

Dr. Patrick D. Cerna
Msc AICM Program
Major Topics
 Information systems
 Phases of analysis and design
 System maintenance
 CASE tools
 Alternate methodologies

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Information
 Information is an organizational
resource which must be managed as
carefully as other resources
 Costs are associated with information
processing
 Information processing must be
managed to take full advantage of its
potential
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Categories
 Information systems fall into one of the
following eight categories:
Transaction processing systems (TPS)
Office automation systems (OAS)
Knowledge work systems (KWS)
Management information systems (MIS)
Decision support systems (DSS)
Expert systems (ES)
Group decision support systems (GDSS)
 Executive support systems (EES)
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New Technologies
 New technologies are being integrated
into traditional systems
Ecommerce uses the Web to perform business
activities
Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) has the
goal of integrating many different information
systems within the corporation
Wireless and handheld devices, including
mobile commerce (mcommerce)
Open source software
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Advantages of Using the Web

 Increasing awareness of the availability

of the service, product, industry,
person, or group
 24-hour access for users
 Standard interface design
 Creating a global system

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Nature of Analysis and Design
 Systems analysis and design is a
systematic approach to identifying
problems, opportunities, and objectives;
analyzing the information flows in
organizations; and designing
computerized information systems to
solve a problem

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Systems Analyst
 Systems analysts act as
Outside consultants to businesses
Supporting experts within a business
As change agents
 Analysts are problem solvers, and
require communication skills
 Analysts must be ethical with users and
customers
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Systems Development Life
Cycle
 The systems development life cycle is a
systematic approach to solving business
problems
 It is divided into seven phases
 Each phase has unique activities

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Phase 1
 Identifying
Problems
Opportunities
Objectives
 Personnel involved
Analyst
User management
Systems management
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Phase 2
 Determining information requirements
Interview management, operations
personnel
Gather systems/operating documents
Use questionnaires
Observe the system and personnel
involved
 Learn the who, what, where, when, and
how, and the why for each of these
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Phase 2
 Personnel involved
Analyst
User management
User operations workers
Systems management

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Phase 3
 Analyzing system needs
Create data flow diagrams
Document procedural logic for data flow
diagram processes
Complete the data dictionary
Make semistructured decisions
Prepare and present the system proposal
Recommend the optimal solution to
management
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Phase 3
 Personnel involved
Analyst
User management
Systems management

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Phase 4
 Designing the recommended system
Design the user interface
Design output
Design input
Design system controls
Design files and/or database
Produce program specifications
Produce decision trees or tables

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Phase 4
 Personnel involved
Analyst
System designer
User management
User operations workers
Systems management

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Phase 5
 Developing and documenting software
Design computer programs using structure
charts, Nassi-Schneiderman charts, and
pseudocode
Walkthrough program design
Write computer programs
Document software with help files,
procedure manuals, and Web sites with
Frequently Asked Questions
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Phase 5
 Personnel involved
Analyst
System designer
Programmers
Systems management

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Phase 6
 Testing and maintaining the system
Test and debug computer programs
Test the computer system
Enhance system

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Phase 6
 Personnel involved
Analyst
System designer
Programmers
Systems management

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Phase 7
 Implementing and evaluating the
system
Plan conversion
Train users
Purchase and install new equipment
Convert files
Install system
Review and evaluate system
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Phase 7
 Personnel involved
Analyst
System designer
Programmers
User management
User operations workers
Systems management

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Rapid Application Development
 Rapid Application development (RAD) is
an object-oriented approach to systems
development

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System Maintenance
 System maintenance is
Removing undetected errors, and
Enhancing existing software
 Time spent on maintenance typically
ranges from 48-60 percent of total time

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System Enhancements
 Systems are enhanced for the following
reasons:
Adding additional features to the system
Business and governmental requirements
change over time
Technology, hardware, and software are
rapidly changing

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CASE Tools
CASE tools are automated, microcomputer-
based software packages for systems
analysis and design
Four reasons for using CASE tools are:
To increase analyst productivity
Facilitate communication among analysts and
users
Providing continuity between life cycle phases
To assess the impact of maintenance

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CASE Tool Categories
 CASE tools may be divided into several
categories
Upper CASE (also called front-end CASE)
tools, used to perform analysis and design
Lower CASE (also called back-end CASE).
These tools generate computer language
source code from CASE design
Integrated CASE, performing both upper
and lower CASE functions
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Upper CASE
 Upper CASE tools
Create and modify the system design
Store data in a project repository
The repository is a collection of records,
elements, diagrams, screens, reports, and
other project information
These CASE tools model organizational
requirements and define system
boundaries
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Lower CASE
 Lower CASE tools generate computer
source code from the CASE design
 Source code may usually be generated
in several languages

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Advantages of Generating
Code
Time to develop new systems decreases
The time to maintain generated code is
less than to maintain traditional systems
Computer programs may be generated in
more than one language
CASE design may be purchased from third-
party vendors and tailored to
organizational needs
Generated code is free from program
coding errors
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Reverse Engineering
 Reverse engineering is generating the
CASE design from computer program
code
 Source code is examined, analyzed, and
converted into repository entities

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Reverse Engineering Produces
 Reverse engineering produces
(depending on the tool set used)
Data structures and elements, describing
the files, records, and field
Screen designs, if the program is online
Report layouts for batch programs
A structure chart showing the hierarchy of
the modules in the program
Database design and relationships
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Advantages of Reverse
Engineering
 It has the following advantages:
Reduced system maintenance time
Program documentation is produced for
loosely documented programs
Structured programs may be generated
from unstructured, older programs
Future system maintenance is easier to
implement
Unused portions of programs may be
eliminated
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Object-Oriented Analysis and
Design
 Object-oriented (O-O) analysis and
design is used to build object-oriented
programs
 This includes not only data but the
instructions about operations that
manipulate the data

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Types of Object-Oriented
Analysis and Design
 There are three types of object-oriented
analysis and design:
Object-oriented analysis (OOA)
Object-oriented design (OOD)
The Unified Modeling Language (UML), a
standardized object-oriented modeling
language

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Nature of Analysis and Design
 Structured analysis and design provides
a systematic approach to developing
systems and is cyclic in nature
 Analysis and design errors detected in
the later phases of the systems
development life cycle cost more to fix
than if detected in earlier phases

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Alternate Methodologies
 Alternate methodologies are available
for analyzing systems
 These include
Prototyping
ETHICS
Project champions
Soft Systems Methodology
Multi-view
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References:
 Kendall, K., Kendall J. Systems Analysis
and Design, 8th edition. Prentice Hall,
2011.
 Hoffer, J., George, J., Valacich, J.
Modern Systems Analysis and Design,
3rd edition. Prentice Hall, 2002

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