Information Systems Analysis

System Purpose vs. Behaviour

Lecturer: Anne Hsu
School of Electronic Engineering and Computer Science
 Module Info
Tutorials start in week 3.

Assessment: 2 Courseworks 50% each.

Pre-recorded lectures available on QM+. Live lecture

(repeat of same material) also will be recorded

All info needed will be in lecture slides (available under

slides/documents tab in QM+)

Practice quizzes under the weeks of main ”Modules &

Video Content” tab are NOT part of your grade
 Module Contacts
Contact details:

Teaching Fellow:
Junchao Wang: junchao.wang@qmul.ac.uk

Lead Demonstrator:
Rana Zaki: r.zaki@se20.qmul.ac.uk

Please cc email BOTH if you need to

email them
Systems are Built for a Purpose
Understanding system purpose and behaviour
requires deep thinking

-Similar if you were to identify key purposes for

your life (requires much introspection and self
analysis)

-After identifying personal purpose takes more in-

depth thinking to the prioritise all key behaviours
need that will support your identified purpose
 Consider monopoly
Purpose: educational tool to illustrate the negative
aspects of concentrating land in private
monopolies and educate players on theories of
taxation
 Consider monopoly
Purpose: educational tool to illustrate the negative
aspects of concentrating land in private
monopolies and educate players on theories of
taxation

How to realise this purpose in terms of game

behaviours?
 Consider monopoly
Behaviours:
-represent key economic entities with pieces of
land, houses and hotels.
-use paper money that users get after each round
of board game
-players pay each other money when they land on
each other’s property, more expensive if
developed with houses/hotels.
-players roll dice and draw cards to move around a
board marked as different pieces of land that can
be bought and owned.
Challenge of software specification

-Need to capture messy, boundless real world

problems into a finite number of software
functionalities

-have to understand the problem from the macro

level to the micro level, distinguish between system
purpose and behaviour, and define the data inputs,
outputs and how the system transforms the data
Simulation of owning restaurant
Purpose?

-train future restaurant owners in a hospitality

school?
-career exploration for teens?
-staff development in a franchise model?

Different purposes lead to very different system

designs, different system behaviours
requirements
Simulation of owning restaurant
Behaviour?
-Planning menu’s
-Arranging food suppliers
-Writing job adverts
-Planning and hiring staff
-Pitch decks for investment

Requires deep domain knowledge, the processes

and needs of the users/organisations system is
supporting.
 Systems are Built for a Purpose
Q: Where does the purpose come from?
A: All purposes ultimately linked to:
– Improve user satisfaction
– Get more users
– Reduce costs for organisation
The behaviour of a system is
determined from the inputs,
transformations (computations)
performed on inputs, and outputs

The purpose of the system relates to

the how it supports the goals of the
organisations and/or users
 Email client
behaviour :
-Allows you to type in text which will then be transmit text via
SMTP to email address owned by another user
-Inbox (unread vs read messagesl)
-Outbox (drafts, sent, queued)
-Spam...

purpose :
-To enable rapid, private digital communication to specific
individuals
Purpose may suggest additional requirements of system
behaviour: speed, organisation of messages. Thoughtful
composition
 Purpose and Behaviour:
QMPLUS
Behaviour of a system:
•Teachers can upload course materials, view and
mark assignments
•Students can view course materials, turn in
assignments.
Purpose of a system:
•Secure records for audits and accreditation
•Improve student experience (student satisfaction)
•allow for distance learning (increase student
enrollment)
Example: Grad Recruitment platform
What Purpose?
Graduates: Find appropriate programs
Employers: Attract good graduates
Example: Grad Recruitment platform
What information?
Grads: degree, interests, CV’s, skills, experience
Employers: values, brand
Job: pay, location, duties, type (internships,
placements, grad-schemes...)
What features and for whom?
Messaging capabilities (employees and grads)
Graduate assessment centre (employees)
Articles/information, tips about careers (grads)
Recommendation capabilities (employees and
grads)
 Elements of an
Information System (IS)
• Every IS must have:
– A human activity that needs information
– Some stored data
– An input method for entering data
– Process that turns the data into information
(transformation)
– An output method for representing information
 System Transformation
• All useful systems transform their inputs
into useful outputs
• For IS, inputs are typically data or
information and outputs are typically also
information
• This transformation is the whole reason for
building and operating the system
• It must render the input data useful in some
new way
 Transformation Example:
Electronic map in delivery vehicles
• Inputs:
– Traffic radio signals/road information
– Road map
– Delivery targets, where and what
• Outputs:
– Information about the traffic and a route that
avoids traffic jams
• How does this benefit the company? What
metrics?
 Transformation Example: Just Eat food
• Goals?
delivery system
• Efficiency, Reliability, Speed, Prediction engine?
• Inputs:
• Information about orders, customer and
restaurant addresses, driver locations
• Lost orders, delivery times
• Outputs:
• Payment validity
• Best route
• Help restaurants
• Driver no and location forecast with menus and
• Delivery time forecast promotions
• Orders forecast
 Inputs and Outputs for TFL
Inputs Outputs
• Map of trainlines • Account balances/details
• User and account info • Train times/delays
(name, email) • trip planners
• Entry and Exit points and • How many trains to run?
time for each journey • How many engineers to
• Payment info staff
• Number of trains active • What trains and tracks to
on each line service
• Station entry and exit for • New station and track
each train improvements
• Repairs/faults
• ...
 An Abstract View of a System
behaviour System input
Boundary

System

System output
Environment
purpose, or business goal
Key part of software engineering
is Information Systems Analysis
-Purpose
-Behaviour
-Code architecture
 What is involved in software
engineering?
Integrating Three Perspectives:
• Users
• Business (owner/client/sponsor)
• Software Developers
 Building a House

Architect Descriptions Dream

Ideas House

House
Building
Plan to Plan
 Building a House
• Family
– describes what they want: requirements
• Architect
– prepares a plan
• Builder
– builds according to the plan
• The plan is critical
– family know what they will get
– builder knows what to build
 THE SAME IN COMPUTING, BUT ...

System Description Dream System

Analyst /
Designer Ideas Initial concept

What do these
look this?

Plan/Specification
Coder Actual
System
 Specifications
• Specifications describe exactly what a
system must accomplish
• A specification is often a plan or model of
the required system
Outputs of systems analysis
are diagrams
Use Case Diagrams Class Diagrams
What systems analysis really looks like
 Work of the Software/Systems
Analyst
• Develop new systems
– gather / analyse / specify
• Change existing systems
– new or changes requirements
– conversions (or re-engineering) to alternate
systems or equipment
• Always a change, really!
 Skills Needed by Analysts
• Communication skills
• Analytical skills
• Understanding
– businesses
– software/technology
• Creativity and imagination
• How does this compare to just being a
programmer?
Questions to ask before developing a
system:
• What are the users trying to achieve? (purpose)
• How do the users want to interact with the
system? (behaviour)
• What information do the users need? (data)
• What is included in/excluded from the system?
(boundary). Establishing the boundary is
important so the analyst does not waste time or
effort on matters that are not relevant to the
present study