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Figure 1-1
The Impact of Information
Technology
• Information Technology
– Combination of hardware and software
products and services that companies use to
manage, access, communicate, and share
information
– A vital asset that must be used effectively,
updated constantly, and safeguarded carefully
The Impact of Information
Technology
• The Future of IT
– Responsible for half of all productivity growth
and a third of all economic growth between
1995-1999
– Online population worldwide is expected to
increase 60 percent between 2001-2004
The Impact of Information
Technology
• The Role of Systems Analysis and Design
– Systems Analysis and Design
• Step-by-step process for developing high-quality
information systems
– Systems Analyst
• Plan, develop, and maintain information systems
The Systems Analyst Position
• A systems analyst investigates, analyzes,
designs, develops, installs, evaluates, and
maintains a company’s information
systems
• On large projects, the analyst works as a
member of an IT department team
• Smaller companies often use consultants
to perform the work
The Systems Analyst Position
• Responsibilities
– Translate business requirements into practical
IT projects to meet needs
• Required Skills and Background
– Solid communication skills and analytic ability
Figure 1-31
The Impact of Information
Technology
• Who develops Information Systems?
– In-house applications
– Software packages
– Internet-based application services
– Outsourcing
– Custom solutions
– Enterprise-wide software strategies
• Risk in launching new IS
– How versus What
Information System
Components
• A system is a set of related components
that produces specific results
• A Mission-critical system is one that is vital
to a company’s operations
• Information systems have five key
components: hardware, software, data,
processes, and people
Figure 1-9
Information System
Components
• Hardware
– Is the physical layer of the information system
– Moore’s Law
• Processing power doubles every 18 months
Information System
Components
• Software
– Programs (set of instructions) that control hardware
– System software
• [Network] operating system
• Utility programs
• Device drivers
• Security software
– Application software
• Enterprise applications
• Horizontal system
• Vertical system
Information System
Components
• Data
– Is the raw material that an information system
transforms into useful information
Figure 1-11
Information System
Components
• Processes
– Define the tasks and business functions that
users, managers, and IT staff members
perform to achieve specific results
• People
– Users, or end users, are the people who
interact with an information system, both
inside and outside the company
Understanding The Business
What are the business operations?
• Business Process Modeling
• Business Profile
– Business models
• Business process(es)
– BPR (business process reengineering)
Figure 1-12
Understanding The Business
New Kinds of Companies
– Companies are classified based on their main
activities:
• Traditional companies
– Production-oriented
– Service-oriented Figure 1-14
• Internet-dependent
– Brick-and-mortar vs.
pure-play/click-through/Dot-com(.com)
Impact of the Internet
• E-Commerce (I-Commerce)
– B2C (Business-to-Consumer)
– B2B (Business-to-Business)
• EDI
• Web-Based System Development
– WebSphere
– .NET
– J2EE
How Business Uses Information
Systems
• In past, IT managers divided systems into
categories based on the user group the
system served
– Office systems (admin staff)
– Operational systems (operational personnel)
– Decision support systems (middle m’gers)
– Executive information systems (top m’gers)
How Business Uses Information
Systems
• Today, it makes more sense to identify a
system by its functions & features, rather
than by users
– Enterprise computing systems
– Transaction processing systems
– Business support systems
– Knowledge management systems
– User productivity systems
Information System Users and
Their Needs
• A systems analyst must understand the
company’s organizational model in order
to recognize who is responsible for
specific processes and decisions and to
be aware of what information is required
by whom.
Figure 1-21
Systems Development Tools
and Techniques
• Systems analysts must know how to use a
variety of techniques such as
– [business operations],
– modeling,
– prototyping, and
– computer-aided systems engineering
tools to plan, design, and implement IS
• Systems analysts work with these tools in
a team environment
Systems Development Tools
and Techniques
• Modeling
– Model = a graphical of a concept or process
• Business/Requirements model
• Data model
• Object model
• Network model
• Process model
Systems Development Tools
and Techniques
• Prototyping
– Early working version of an information
system [tests system concepts]
– Speeds up the development process
significantly
– Important decisions might be made too early,
before business or IT issues are thoroughly
understood
Systems Development Tools
and Techniques
• Computer-Aided Systems/Software
Engineering (CASE) Tools
– Framework for systems development and
support a wide variety of design
methodologies
– CASE tools
Figure 1-24
Systems Development Methods
• Structured analysis and object-oriented
analysis are both popular methodologies
for developing computer-based
information systems.
• A systems analyst should understand the
alternative methodologies and their
individual strengths and weaknesses.
Systems Development Methods
• Structured Analysis
– Uses a set of process models to describe a
system graphically
Figure 1-25
Figure 1-26
Systems Development Methods
• Joint Application Development and Rapid
Application Development
– JAD – Team based fact finding
– RAD – compressed version of the entire
process
The Systems Development Life
Cycle
• It includes the following steps:
– Systems planning
– Systems analysis
– Systems design
– Systems implementation
– Systems operation and support
The Systems Development Life
Cycle
• Traditionally pictured as a waterfall model,
but is also presented as an interactive
model depicting real world practice and
the constant dialog among users,
managers, and systems developers