Chapter 2

Requirement Analysis

McGraw-Hill/Irwin Copyright © 2007 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
 Introduction to Requirements
Discovery
Requirements discovery the process
and techniques used by systems analysts
to identify or extract system problems and
solution requirements from the user
community.

System requirement something that

the information system must do or a
property that it must have. Also called a
business requirement.
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 Requirements Discovery

Given an understanding of problems, the systems

analyst can start to define requirements.

This requires Fact-finding the process of

collecting information about system problems,
opportunities, solution requirements, and
priorities.

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 Seven Fact-Finding Methods

1. Sampling of existing documentation,

forms, and databases.
2. Research and site visits.
3. Observation of the work environment.
4. Questionnaires.
5. Interviews.
6. Prototyping.
7. Joint requirements planning (JRP).
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 Joint Requirements Planning

Joint requirements planning (JRP) a

process whereby highly structured group
meetings are conducted for the purpose of
analyzing problems and defining
requirements.
JRP is a subset of a more comprehensive
joint application development (JAD)
technique that encompasses the entire
systems development process.
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 JRP Participants

Sponsor (someone who provides funds)

Facilitator (someone who helps in
developing objectives)
Users and Managers (people who will be
using the system)
Scribes (someone who documents)
IT Staff (people who ensure the
implementation of the project)
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 Typical Room Layout for JRP
session

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 Brainstorming

Sometimes, one of the goals of a JRP session

is to generate possible ideas to solve a problem.
Brainstorming is a common approach that is used for
this purpose.

Brainstorming a technique for generating

ideas by encouraging participants to offer as
many ideas as possible in a short period of time
without any analysis until all the ideas have
been exhausted.
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 Criteria for System
Requirements
Consistent not conflicting or ambiguous.
Complete describe all possible system
inputs and responses.
Feasible can be satisfied based on the
available resources and constraints.
Required truly needed and fulfill the purpose
of the system.
Accurate stated correctly.
Traceable directly map to functions and
features of system.
Verifiable defined so can be demonstrated
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 Results of Incorrect
Requirements
The system may cost more than projected.
The system may be delivered later than
promised.
The system may not meet the users
expectations and they may not to use it.
Once in production, costs of maintaining and
enhancing system may be excessively high.
The system may be unreliable and prone to
errors and downtime.
Reputation of IT staff is tarnished as failure will
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 FAST Systems Analysis
Phases (Function Analysis System Technique)

Scope Definition Phase

Is the project worth looking at?

Problem Analysis Phase

Is a new system worth building?

Requirements Analysis Phase

What do the users need and want from the new system?

Logical Design Phase

What must the new system do?

Decision Analysis Phase

What is the best solution?
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 Tasks for the Scope Definition
Phase of Systems Analysis

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 Key Terms for Scope Definition
Phase
Steering body a committee of executive business and
system managers that studies and prioritizes competing
project proposals to determine which projects will return
the most value to the organization and thus should be
approved for continues systems development.
Also called a steering committee.

Project charter the final deliverable for the preliminary

investigation phase. A project charter defines the project
scope, plan, methodology, standards, and so on.
Preliminary master plan includes preliminary schedule and
resource assignments (also called a baseline plan).
Detailed plan and schedule for completing the next phase of the
project.
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 Sample Request for System
Services

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 Sample Problem Statements

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 FAST Systems Analysis
Phases (Function Analysis System Technique)

Scope Definition Phase

Is the project worth looking at?

Problem Analysis Phase

Is a new system worth building?

Requirements Analysis Phase

What do the users need and want from the new system?

Logical Design Phase

What must the new system do?

Decision Analysis Phase

What is the best solution?
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 Tasks for Problem Analysis
Phase of Systems Analysis

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 Causes and Effects

Cause-and-Effect Analysis a technique in

which problems are studied to determine their
causes and effects.

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 Problem Analysis Objectives
Objective a measure of success. It is something that you
expect to achieve, if given sufficient resources.
Reduce the number of uncollectible customer accounts by 50
percent within the next year.
Increase by 25 percent the number of loan applications that
can be processed during an eight-hour shift.
Decrease by 50 percent the time required to reschedule a
production lot when a workstation malfunctions.

Constraint something that will limit your flexibility in

defining a solution to your objectives. Essentially, constraints
cannot be changed.
The new system must be operational by April 15.
The new system cannot cost more than $350,000.
The new system must be web-enabled.
The new system must bill customers every 15 days.
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 Sample Causes-and-Effects
Analysis

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