UNIVER SITY OF JUBA

SCHOOL OF COMPUTER SCIENCE AND INFORMATION

TECHNOLOGY

DEPARTMENT OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (IT)

COURSE: SYSTEM DESIGN AND ANALYSIS I

THIRD YEAR DEGREE PROGRAM

ASSIGNMENT NO (ONE) 1

STUDENT NAME: NICOLAS LICH MATUENY

INDEX: 16-CIT-077

INSTRUCTOR: DR. YAK DENG ATER

Submission Date: 17-Feb-2022

Question: Comprehensive Report on IS Project Planning
The following topics most be covered adequately, format and content

1. Introduction to SAD

Systems are created to solve problems. One can think of the systems approach as an
organized way of dealing with a problem.

In this dynamic world, the subject System Analysis and Design (SAD),mainly deals with the
software development activities.

As a systems analyst, you fill the organizational role most responsible for the analysis and
design of information systems. To do this you’ll apply methodologies, techniques, and
software tools. Methodologies are comprehensive, multiple-step approaches to systems
development that will guide your work and influence the quality of your final product—the
information system. Techniques are particular processes that you, as an analyst, will follow
to help ensure that your work is well thought out, complete, and comprehensible to others on
your project team.

Tools are typically computer programs that make it easy to use and benefit from techniques
and to faithfully follow the guidelines of the overall development methodology.

2. Modern approaches to SAD

1980s: major breakthrough with 4GL, CASE tools, object-oriented methods

1990s: focus on system integration, GUI applications, client/server platforms, Internet

The new century: Web application development, wireless PDAs and smart phones,
component-based applications, per-use cloud-based application services.

Today, we are in the era of Mobile computing. There is an increasing trend in the use of software
applications through smart phones, laptops, PDA’s, tablets and other mobile devices. To fulfill
this increasing demand in the market, software applications are getting developed and upgraded
in rocket speed. IT Companies are employing various system development methodologies to
develop quality software. Development methodologies and practices serve as one of the critical
components in Systems development. Over the years, several methodologies have evolved to
cater to the varying requirements of systems development and two styles of system development
have emerged – the conventional closed source development and the progressive open-source
development.

3. System Development Methodology

Today, we are in the era of Mobile computing. There is an increasing trend in the use of software
applications through smart phones, laptops, PDA’s, tablets and other mobile devices.
To fulfill this increasing demand in the market, software applications are getting developed and
upgraded in rocket speed. IT Companies are employing various system development
methodologies to develop quality software.
Development methodologies and practices serve as one of the critical components in Systems
development.
Over the years, several methodologies have evolved to cater to the varying requirements of
systems development and two styles of system development have emerged – the conventional
closed source development and the progressive open-source development

Today, open source development is adopted as supplement to closed source development. This
paper has two objectives. The first objective is to review the literature related to system
development methodologies that have evolved over the years. The second objective is to make
distinction between the two styles of development, cite examples of companies which are
successful in adopting open source development.

Systems development methodology (SDM) is a standard process followed in an organization to

conduct all the steps necessary to analyze, design, implement and maintain information systems
(IS) [1]. It is highly beneficial for organizations to adopt a systems development methodology to
develop IS.

Dynamic System Development Methodology

Developed in 1994, DSDM is an agile development methodology and adopts Pareto Principle
such that 80% of project comes from 20% of requirements [14]. Follows the concept of Moscow
for prioritizing requirements which stands for Must, Should, Could, Won’t have requirement

DSDM suggests an iterative software process and consists of three iterative cycles and two life
cycle activities. The iterative activities include functional model iteration, design and build
iteration and Implementation Life cycle activities include Feasibility Study and Business Study.
REVIEW OF LITERATURE

The evolution of Systems development methodologies dates back to 1970 when W.W.Royce
introduced the traditional Waterfall model of systems development [8]. Till that time, systems
were developed adopting less disciplined approaches. Only formal methods using mathematics
and component based concepts of software development were adopted during those times.

4. Computer-Aided software Engineering (CASE) Tools

CASE, as an industry term

As an industry term, CASE is an acronym for Computer-Aided Software Engineering. Many

suppliers offer tools that implement various aspects of software engineering. These tools are
either upper CASE or lower CASE tools.

Upper CASE tools focus on the business process and data models. Products that
provide upper CASE capabilities include tools for organizational charts,
decomposition diagrams, entity relationship diagrams, and data flow diagrams.
Lower CASE tools, on the other hand, focus on data models and generating source
code. An example of a lower CASE product is J.D. Edward World CASE.

System Integration

Computer Aided Software Engineering (CASE) covers the entire application development life
cycle, including:

Design tools

Code generation

Automatic documentation generation

Prototyping

Repositories

Other productivity improvement tools

You use these tools to develop, operate, and maintain flexible, business application
software.
Fundamentals

Here are basic building blocks for a program. Program types are basic definitions of the
programs. Using the Question and Answer facility, the system determines, based upon your
answers, which program type to select.

The program generate or builds the program using primary and detail logic modules. You can
add AAIs to
your programs and create Control Language (CL) programs to launch programs from menu
options.

History of the Program Generator

Development started in 1984

First called Clone

First program generation was in April, 1985

Rewrite of all systems (World Systems) done through Clone I & II

Became known as the KBG (Knowledge Based Generator) in 1991

Became known as the Program Generator in 1992

Benefits of CASE tool

Business unit security

Processing options

Cursor sensitive help

DREAM Writer

Overview to Program Design Language

Use PDL to create specifications within the Detailed Programming Facility that causes
specialized source code to generate. Use PDL for calculations or comparisons. When the
program generates, the program generator converts the code into RPG source code.

CASE stores PDL in the User Defined Procedures file (F93109) with one record per formula.
The User Defined Procedures Detail file (F93110) divides the F93109 file into statements. The
F93110 file contains multiple records for each formula.
PDL checks variable definitions as follows:

Checks the variable to see if it is a keyword

Checks for the variable in the RPG program

The PDL uses:

Data Item Formula Revisions screen

PDL Statements

Calls

Assignments

Blocks of Statements

Database Operations

Loops

Miscellaneous Keywords and Syntax

Perform the following tasks:

Understand PDL Statements and Syntax

Work with Data Item Formula Revisions

Understand Additional PDL Operations

5. Managing the information systems project: Phase and activities

Project management may be the most important aspect of systems development.

Project

A planned undertaking of related activities to reach an objective that has a

beginning and an end

Project management

A controlled process of initiating, planning, executing, and closing down a project

 Phases of Project Management Process

Phase 1: Initiation

Assess size, scope and complexity, and establish procedures.

Establish:

Initiation team

Relationship with customer

Project initiation plan

Management procedures

Project management environment and workbook

Project charter
FIGURE 3-6
The project workbook for
the Purchasing
Fulfillment System
project contains nine key
elements

Project workbook
An online or hard-copy repository for all
project correspondence, inputs, outputs,
deliverables, procedures, and standards
Used for performing project audits, orienting
new team members, communicating with
management and customers, identifying
future projects, and performing post-project
reviews.

The project workbook contains all of the documentation regarding the project.
 Project Charters

Is a short document prepared for the customer describing project deliverables and outlining the work required to
complete the project.
 Elements:
Title and authorization date
Project manager name and contact information
Customer name and contact information
Project start and completion dates
Key stakeholders, roles, responsibilities
Project objectives and description
Key assumptions
Signatures of stakeholders

Phase 2: Planning

Its Define clear, discrete activities and the work needed to complete each activity. Tasks include

Describing Project Scope, Alternatives, and Feasibility

Dividing the Project into Manageable Tasks

Estimating Resources and Creating a Resource Plan

Developing a Preliminary Schedule

Developing a Communication Plan

Determining Project Standards and Procedures

Identifying and Assessing Risk

Creating a Preliminary Budget

Developing a Project Scope Statement

Setting a Baseline Project Plan

Phase 3: Project Execution

 Plans created in prior phases are put into action.

Actions

Execute baseline project plan.

Monitor progress against baseline plan.

Manage changes in baseline plan.

Maintain project workbook.

Communicate project status

Phase 4: Closedown

Bring the project to an end.

Actions

Close down the project.

Conduct post-project reviews.

Close the customer contract.

6. Identifying and selecting systems development projects: process, Deliverable and

Outcome

There are three main steps in Identifying and selecting systems development projects:

1. Identifying potential development projects

2. Classifying and ranking IS development projects

3. Selecting IS development projects

The Process of Identifying and Selecting IS Development Projects includes:-

Identifying potential development projects

Identification from a stakeholder group

Each stakeholder group brings their own perspective and motivation to the IS decision.

Top-down source are projects identified by top management or by a diverse steering committee.
Bottom-up source are project initiatives stemming from managers, business units, or the
development group.

The process varies substantially across organizations

Different corporations have different cultures. Some cultures are more top-down, some are more
“grassroots”, and others are a mix. The type of culture will probably influence the approach used
to identify and select IS projects.

Classifying and ranking IS development projects

Using value chain analysis or other evaluation criteria

Value chain analysis: Analyzing an organization’s activities to determine where value is

added to products and/or services and the costs incurred for doing so; usually also
includes a comparison with the activities, added value, and costs of other organizations
for the purpose of making improvements in the organization’s operations and
performance

Selecting IS development projects

Based on various factors

Both short- and long-term projects considered

Most likely to achieve business objectives selected

A very important and ongoing activity

One method for deciding among different projects or alternative designs:

For each requirement or constraint:

Score = weight X rating

Each alternative: sum scores across requirements/constraints

Alternative with highest score wins

Deliverables and Outcomes

Primary deliverable from the first part of the planning phase is a schedule of specific IS
development projects.
Outcome of the next part of the planning phase—project initiation and planning—is the
assurance that careful consideration was given to project selection and each project can help
the organization reach its goals.

Incremental commitment: a strategy in systems analysis and design in which the project is
reviewed after each phase and continuation of the project is rejustified.

7. Corporate strategic planning and its importance

Ongoing process that defines mission, objectives, and strategies of an organization

Corporate strategy involves:

a. Mission statement

b. Objective statements

c. Description of competitive strategy

Mission statement: a statement that makes it clear what business a company is in.

Objective statement: a series of statements that express an organization’s qualitative and

quantitative goals for reaching a desired future position sometimes called “critical
success factors”

Competitive strategy: the method by which an organization attempts to achieve its mission
and objectives

Main types:

Low-cost producer

Product differentiation

Product focus or niche

Main types:

Low-cost producer (products, services, etc)

Highest-quality possible (products, services, etc.)

Product or service differentiation

 Innovative product or service

Importance of Improved Planning

Increasing cost of information systems (40% of organizational expense)

Lack of cross-organizational applications and systems

Systems don’t address critical strategic problems

Too much data redundancy, lack of data quality

High system maintenance costs

8. Types of strategic matrices

Location-to-Function

Process-to-Data Entity

Process-to-Information System

Data Entity-to-Information System

Information System-to-Objective

Location-to-Unit

Unit-to-Function

Function-to-Objective

Function-to-Process

Function-to-Data Entity

9. Initiation and planning IS project: process, activities, deliverables and outcomes

Project initiation focuses on activities designed to assist in organizing a team to conduct project
planning.

The Process of Initiating and Planning IS Development Projects

Establishing the Project Initiation Team

Establishing a Relationship with the Customer

Establishing the Project Initiation Plan

 Establishing Management Procedures

Establishing the Project Management Environment and Project Workbook

Develope the Project Charter

The key activity of project planning is the process of defining clear, discrete activities
and the work needed to complete each activity within a single project.

The objective of the project planning process is the development of a Baseline Project
Plan (BPP) and the Project Scope Statement (PSS).

Activities

Describe project scope, alternatives, feasibility.

Divide project into tasks.

Estimate resource requirements and create resource plan.

Develop preliminary schedule.

Develop communication plan.

Determine standards and procedures.

Identify and assess risk.

Create preliminary budget.

Develop a statement of work.

Set baseline project plan.

Deliverables and Outcomes

Baseline Project Plan (BPP)

A major outcome and deliverable from the PIP phase

Contains the best estimate of a project’s scope, benefits, costs, risks, and resource requirements

Project Scope Statement (PSS)

A document prepared for the customer

Describes what the project will deliver

Outlines at a high level all work required to complete the project.

10. IS project feasibility

The importance of the feasibility study has been stressed almost unanimously by most
researchers and authors in the information systems field. For example, most text-book authors,
researchers, and practitioner methodologies in the area of systems analysis and design identify
the feasibility study as one of the important phases of the system development life cycle [10,13-
17,23, 33,40,47,49]. In fact, in most organizations, it is common to include a feasibility study as
part of any major system development, effort. In spite of this agreement, the research literature
does not report much about feasibility studies. For example, Ives and Olson [24], while
reviewing the "user involvement" literature, did not cite a single paper directly related to
feasibility studies.

In order to identify the issues related to the feasibility study, we first examine the definition of a
feasibility study. A commonly accepted definition of a feasibility study/analysis is: A feasibility
study/analysis aids in evaluating the suitability of a single or multiple proposed system
solution(s) to an identified business problem according to a set of criteria.

11. Baseline Project Plan (BPP)

Baseline Project Plan (BPP) is a document intended primarily to guide the development team.

The Baseline Project Plan (BPP) contains all information collected and analyzed during project
initiation and planning.

The BPP specifies detailed project activities for the next life cycle phase, analysis, and less detail
for subsequent project phases (since these depend on the results of the analysis phase)
The content and format of a BPP depends on the size, complexity, and standards of an
organization.
REFERENCES

Chen W.K., 1993. Linear Networks and Systems.

Belmont, Calif.: Wadsworth, pp. 123-135.

(Book style)

Poor H., 1986. “A Hypertext History of Multiuser

Dimensions, ”MUD History, http://www.ccs

neu.edu/home/pb/mud-history.html.
Palvia, P. and Palvia, S. "The Feasibility Study in Information Systems: An Analysis of Criteria
and Contents," Information & Management, Vol. 14 (1988), pp. 211-224.
Ahituv, N.A.: Systematic Approach toward Assessing the Value of au Information System. MIS
Quarterly. Vol. 4, 4 December 1980.
Wallace, R.E.: Cost/Benefit Analysis. Journal of Information Systems Management. Fall, 1984.
[49] Wetherbe, J.C. Systems Analysis for Computer-Based In-formation Systems. West
Publishing, 1 979.