System Analysis and Design – Lecture Notes CHAPTER-1

Kendall & Kendall – Systems Analysis and Design, 9e

Chapter-1: Systems, Roles, and Development Methodologies

Information is now considered a key resource and must be managed the same as any other key resource of an
organization.
Decision makers now understand that information is not just a byproduct of doing business needs to be
managed correctly. Costs are associated with the production, distribution, security, storage, and retrieval of all
information. Its strategic use for positioning a business competitively should not be taken for granted.

System Analysis and Design

• A series of processes systematically undertaken to improve a business through the use of computerized
information systems

Why do we need Systems Analysis and Design?

Installing a system without proper planning leads to great user dissatisfaction and frequently causes the system to fall

into disuse
Lends structure to the analysis and design of information systems

System analyst
• The person who acts as a mediator among technical team and clients of any application is known as
system analyst.
• A vital role is being played by system analyst from development of SDLC (System development life cycle)
to training the end users of the developed application.
• The system analyst is responsible to provide a clear understanding related to any application
development for any business process, so that, all the business requirements of the client will meet.

The roles which any system analyst will play in any organization
1. Change Agent: Sometimes the system analyst plays a role of change agent. The system analyst acts as a
channel for making changes in the system, working with teammates for making that particular change
and developing a plan for successfully implementing that change.
2. Consultant: In some cases, a specialist system analyst is being hired for any specific project to address
the issues or problems for any particular information system inside the organization.
3. Support expert: System analyst also acts as supporting expert who is managing the resources for any
project.

Personal qualities that are helpful to a systems analyst

1. The system analyst must have capabilities of managing the project.
2. The system analyst must have self-motivation and proper discipline.
3. The communication skills of system analyst must be excellent.
4. He/she must have proper abilities for solving any particular problem.

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Kendall & Kendall – Systems Analysis and Design, 9e

System Development Life Cycle (SDLC)

• The systems development life cycle is a phased approach to solving business problems
• Developed through the use of a specific cycle of analyst and user activities
• Each phase has unique user activities
The SDLC has seven stages which are as given below:

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System Analysis and Design – Lecture Notes CHAPTER-1
Kendall & Kendall – Systems Analysis and Design, 9e

1) Identifying Problems, Opportunities, and Objectives

Activity:
1. Interviewing user management
2. Summarizing the knowledge obtained
3. Estimating the scope of the project
4. Documenting the results
Output:
• Feasibility report containing problem definition and objective summaries from which management can
make a decision on whether to proceed with the proposed project
2) Determining Human Information Requirements
Activity:
• Interviewing
• Sampling and investing hard data
• Questionnaires
• Observe the decision maker’s behavior and environment
• Prototyping
• Learn the who, what, where, when, how, and why of the current system
Output:
• The analyst understands how users accomplish their work when interacting with a computer
• Begin to know how to make the new system more useful and usable
• Know the business functions
• Have complete information on the:
o People
o Goals
o Data
o Procedure involved

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Kendall & Kendall – Systems Analysis and Design, 9e

3) Analyzing System Needs

Activity:
• Create data flow, activity, or sequence diagrams
• Complete the data dictionary
• Analyze the structured decisions made
• Prepare and present the system proposal
Output:
• Recommendation on what, if anything, should be done

4) Designing the Recommended System

Activity:
• Design procedures for data entry
• Design the human-computer interface
• Design system controls
• Design database and/or files
• Design backup procedures
Output:
• Model of the actual system

5) Developing and Documenting Software

Activity:
• System analyst works with programmers to develop any original software
• Works with users to develop effective documentation
• Programmers design, code, and remove syntactical errors from computer programs
• Document software with help files, procedure manuals, and Web sites with Frequently Asked Questions
Output:
• Computer programs
• System documentation

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System Analysis and Design – Lecture Notes CHAPTER-1
Kendall & Kendall – Systems Analysis and Design, 9e

6) Testing and Maintaining the System

Activity:
• Test the information system
• System maintenance
• Maintenance documentation
Output:
• Problems, if any
• Updated programs
• Documentation

7) Implementing and Evaluating the System

Activity:
• Train users
• Analyst plans smooth conversion from old system to new system
• Review and evaluate system
Output:
• Trained personnel
• Installed system

Approaches to Structured Analysis and Design and to the Systems Development Life Cycle
1. Traditional systems development life cycle (explained earlier)
2. CASE systems development life cycle
3. Object-oriented systems analysis and design
Case Tools
The term CASE is used as an acronym for Computer Aided Software Engineering. This tool is mostly used with
project management.
• CASE tools are productivity tools for systems analysts that have been created explicitly to improve their
routine work through the use of automated support

Reasons for Using Case Tools

• Increasing analyst productivity
• Improving analyst-user communication
• Integrating life cycle activities

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Kendall & Kendall – Systems Analysis and Design, 9e

Agile approach
The approach of system development which involves an interactive and simple system development is known
as agile approach. In agile approach for every short iteration; designing, coding, testing and documentation are
done separately.
• In agile approach, iteration cycle is being kept small, so that, the requirements can be full filled on easy
bases.
The principles of agile approach are:
• Core practices,
• Value the communication,
• Believe in simplicity
• Work according to feedback, and
• To value the principles of agile approach.

Five Stages of Agile Development

1. Exploration:
o In this phase, the objective for any business problem is being identified. The analyst recognizes
the problem for developing a solution to the client.
2. Planning:
o In this phase, planning for required resources for solving the particular problem is done.
3. Iterations to the first release:
o The beta version is released in this stage to find the possible problem in developed information
system.
4. Productionizing:
o In this phase, the structured development for the particular information system and required
documentation is done.
5. Maintenance:
o If any problem is found in previous stage, then, it is corrected in maintenance stage.

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Kendall & Kendall – Systems Analysis and Design, 9e

Object-Oriented analysis and design

• The technique which is intended for facilitating the system development which has to be change on rapid
response for dynamic environment of business is known as Object oriented analysis and design.
• In object-oriented analysis and design, the model is created by the developer for the requested system.
The model uses OO properties of the structured program for generating the application results.
• Analysis is performed on a small part of the system followed by design and implementation
• The cycle repeats with analysis, design, and implementation of the next part and this repeats until the
project is complete
• Examines the objects of a system
• Generally, works well in situations where complicated information systems are undergoing
continuous maintenance, adaptation, and redesign.
UML
The term UML is used as an acronym for Unified Modeling Language.
The Unified Modeling Language is:
1. As a standardized object-oriented language which is used for breaking down any system into related
model of use case.
2. UML is used to identify the use cases of the developing system.
3. UML is also used to sketch the boundaries of developing system.
4. To identify the different actors playing different roles and relationship among these actors, UML is used.
5. Develop class diagrams
6. Draw state-chart diagrams
7. Modify the UML diagrams
8. Develop and document the system

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Kendall & Kendall – Systems Analysis and Design, 9e

When to Use SDLC?

• When the systems have been developed and documented using SLDC.
• When it is important to document each step.
• When upper level management feels more comfortable or safe using SDLC.
• When there are adequate resources and time to complete the full SDLC.
• When communication of how new systems work is important.

When to Use Agile?

• When there is a project champion of agile methods in the organization
• When applications need to be developed quickly in response to a dynamic environment
• When a rescue takes place (the system failed and there is no time to figure out what went wrong)
• When the customer is satisfied with incremental improvements
• When executives and analysts agree with the principles of agile methodologies.

When to Use Object-Oriented?

• The problems modeled lend themselves to classes
• An organization supports the UML learning
• Systems can be added gradually, one subsystem at a time
• Reuse of previously written software is a possibility
• It is acceptable to tackle the difficult problems first