A System is a set of related components that produces specific results.

Information system can be defined as a set of interrelated components that function to

provide required information for a specified purpose.

Information system five key components:

 Hardware consists of everything in the physical layer of the information system.
 Software refers to the programs that control the hardware and produce the
desired information or results.
 Data is the raw material that an information system transforms into useful
information.
 Processes describe the tasks and business functions that users, managers, and
IT staff members perform to achieve specific results.
 People who have an interest in an information system are called stakeholders.

Types of Systems
Transaction Processing System (TPS)
Transaction Processing Systems are designed to accept and process many
simultaneous requests.
Management Information Systems (MIS)
MIS are intended to take data through a TPS and process them in a format
understandable by the users usually in a form of report.
Enterprise Resource Planning System
Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) refers to a type of software that the
organizations use to manage day-to-day business activities such as accounting,
procurement, project management, risk management and compliance, and
supply chain operations.
Decision Support Systems
A Decision Support System (DSS) is an information system that supports
business or organizational decision-making activities.
Expert Systems / Knowledge Based Systems (ES /KBS)
ES/KBS is a computer-based system composed of a user-dialog system, an
inference engine, one or several intelligent modules, a knowledge base and a
work memory, which emulates the problem – solving capabilities of a human
expert in a specific domain of knowledge.
 Knowledge Management Systems are called Expert Systems because they
simulate human reasoning by combining knowledge base and inference rules
that determine how the knowledge is applied.
Human Resource Information Systems (HRIS)
Human Resource Information System (HRIS) is a system that is used to collect
and store data on an organization’s employees.

Investigating System Requirements

Requirement Analysis is a process which enables to specify software function and
performance, indicate software’s interface with other system elements, and establish
constraints that software must met.
A requirement is a condition that must be met for your customers to find your product
or service acceptable.
An expectation is a condition that must be met for your customers to be completely
satisfied with your product or service.
System requirements are all the activities the new system must perform or support
(Functional Requirements) and the constraints that the new system must meet (Non-
functional Requirements) such as user interface formats and requirements for reliability,
performance, and security

Types of Requirements
▪ Functionality Requirement
A functional requirement is a description of the service that the software or
application must offer.
▪ Physical Requirements
Characteristics of hardware such as size, weight, power consumption and
operating conditions
▪ Interface Requirement
Required interactions among systems
▪ Usability Requirements
Operational characteristics related to users
▪ Reliability Requirements
 Requirements that describe system dependability
▪ Performance Requirements
Operational characteristics related to measures of workload, such as throughput
and response time
▪ Security Requirements
Requirements that describe how access to the application will be controlled and
how data will be protected during storage and transmission.
▪ Implementation Requirements
Constraints such as required programming languages, tools, documentation
method and level of detail, and a specific communication protocol for distributed
components.
▪ Supportability Requirements
How a system is installed, configured, monitored, and updated.

5 Areas of effort in Software Requirements Analysis

1. Problem Recognition
Initially, the analyst studies the system specification and the software project plan.
2. Problem Evaluation and Solution Synthesis
Here, the analyst must define all externally observable data objects, evaluate the
flow and content of information; define and elaborate all software functions; understand
software behavior in the context of events that affect the system; establish system
interface characteristics; and uncover additional design constraints.
3. Modeling
The analyst creates models of the system in an effort to better understanding
data and control flow, functional processing and behavioral operation, and information
content.
4. Specification
The specification document restates the requirements definition in technical
terms appropriate for the development of a system design.
5. Review
It is done to ensure that the application will completely run based on the given
system specification.
Information-gathering Techniques
• Interviewing users and other stakeholders
• Distributing and collecting questionnaires
• Reviewing inputs, outputs and documentation
• Observing and documenting business procedures
• Researching vendor solutions
• Collecting active user comments and suggestions
• Conducting Joint Application Design (JAD) sessions

A model is a representation of some aspect of the system being built, and the analysts
needs to create a variety of models to represent all aspects of the system.
Reasons why model and the process of creating models are important:
• ▪ Learning from the modeling process
• ▪ Reducing complexity by abstraction
• ▪ Remembering all the details
• ▪ Communicating with other development team members
• ▪ Communicating with a variety of users and stakeholders
Types of Analysis and Design models
• Textual models — Analyst use such textual models as memos, reports,
narratives, and lists to describe requirements that are detailed and are difficult to
represent in other ways.
• Graphical models — These make easier to understand complex relationships
that are ifficult to follow when described as a list or narrative.
• Mathematical models — These refer to one or more formulas that describe
technical aspects of a system.

Modeling Tools for Requirement Analysis

Structure Charts
It shows how a system is organized in a hierarchy of components, called
modules.
State Transition Diagram (STD)
Indicates how the system behaves as a consequence of external events.
Activity Diagram
It is a workflow diagram that describes the various user (or system) activities, the
person who does each activity, and the sequential flow of these activities.
Data Flow Diagram (DFD)
It enables analyst to model all the main requirements for an information system in
one diagram, inputs and outputs, process, and data storage. DFD shows the processes
that change or transform data
Decision Trees
It is a graphical representation of a decision of choice situation as a connected
series of nodes and branches
Use-Case Diagram
It is a representation of a user’s interaction with the system that shows the
relationship between the user and the different use cases in which the user is involved.
Sequence Diagram
It depicts the objects involved in the scenario and the sequence of messages
exchanged between the objects needed to carry out the functionality of the scenario.
Entity Relationship Diagram (ERD)
It displays the relationship of entity sets stored in a database. ER diagrams help
to explain the logical structure of databases.
Agile Methods
Agile methods, also called Adapted methods, attempt to develop a system
incrementally, by building a series of prototypes and constantly adjusting them to user
requirements.