Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Ministry of Higher Education

Al-Imam Muhammad Ibn Saud Islamic University
College of Computer and Information Sciences

Chapter 3:
REQUIREMENTS DETERMINATION
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Systems Analysis and Design

Learning Objectives

• Understand how to create a requirements definition

• Become familiar with requirements-analysis techniques

• Understand when to use each requirements-analysis

technique
• Understand when to use each requirements-gathering

technique
• Be able to begin creating a system proposal

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Introduction

The systems development process aids an organization in

moving from the current system (often called the as-is
system) to the new system (often called the to-be system).

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Introduction (cont.)

The output of planning, is the system request, which

provides general ideas for the to-be system, defines the
project’s scope, and provides the initial work plan.

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Introduction (cont.)

Analysis takes the general ideas in the system request and

refines them into a detailed requirements definition (this
chapter), functional models (Chapter 4), structural models
(Chapter 5),and behavioral models (Chapter 6) that
together form the system proposal.

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REQUIREMENTS DETERMINATION

The purpose of requirements determination is to turn the

very high-level explanation of the business requirements
stated in the system request into a more precise list of
requirements that can be used as inputs to the rest of
analysis (creating functional, structural, and behavioral
models).

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Defining a Requirement
• A requirement is simply a statement of what the system
must do or what characteristic it must have.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zCX-N1H8Vps

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functional Requirement

A functional requirement relates directly to a process a

system has to perform or information it needs to contain.

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functional Requirement
• For example:
a functional requirement for clinic system.
• Receptionist :  stockholder
• The receptionist shall be able to reserve appointment. the
requirement
• patient :  stockholder
• The patient shall be able to create a file. the requirement

Functional requirements flow directly into the creation of

functional, structural, and behavioral models that represent
the functionality of the evolving system.
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functional Requirement
• More examples:

• Some functional requirements of a university library

system:
• 1- The user should be able to search for a library item .
• 2- The staff should be able to issue a library item and the
student card.
• 3- The student shall be able to reserve a library item.

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Nonfunctional Requirement

• Nonfunctional requirements refer to behavioral properties

that the system must have, such as performance and
usability.

• The ability to access the system using a Web browser is

considered a nonfunctional requirement.

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Nonfunctional Requirement

• Nonfunctional requirements can influence the rest of

analysis (functional, structural, and behavioral models) but

often do so only indirectly.
• nonfunctional requirements are used primarily in design

when decisions are made about the user interface, the

hardware and software, and the system’s underlying
physical architecture.

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Nonfunctional Requirement

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Nonfunctional Requirement

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Nonfunctional Requirement examples:

More examples:
• COST:
• The retail cost must be between 176$ and 200$

• LOCALIZATION:
• The help file must be released in English and
Arabic.
In class practice

• Identify functional requirements and non functional

requirements for imam university.

• Hint: identify stockholders at the beginning.

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REQUIREMENTS-
GATHERING TECHNIQUES

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REQUIREMENTS-GATHERING TECHNIQUES

The requirements-gathering process is used for building

political support for the project and establishing trust and
rapport between the project team building the system and
the users who ultimately will choose to use or not use the
system.

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REQUIREMENTS-GATHERING
TECHNIQUES

• stakeholders

• the people who can affect the system or who will be affected by the

system).

• All stakeholders must be included in the requirements-

gathering process

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REQUIREMENTS-GATHERING TECHNIQUES

• The five most commonly used for gathering requirements

techniques:
1. Interviews

2. JAD sessions (a special type of group meeting)

3. Questionnaires

4. document analysis

5. and observation.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kCJFBmAAvV4

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1. Interviews

• An interview is the most commonly used requirements-

gathering technique.
• interviews are conducted one-on-one (one interviewer and one

interviewee), but sometimes, owing to time constraints, several

people are interviewed at the same time.

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1. Interviews

• There are five basic steps to the interview process:

• selecting interviewees
• designing interview questions
• preparing for the interview
• conducting the interview
• and post interview follow-up.

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2. Joint Application Development (JAD)

• JAD is an information-gathering technique that allows the

project team, users, and management to work together to

identify requirements for the system.

• A good JAD approach follows a set of five step

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JAD meeting room

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3. Questionnaires

• A questionnaire is a set of written questions used to obtain

information from individuals.

• used when there is a large number of people from whom

information and opinions are needed.

• A good process to use when using questionnaires follows four

steps.

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4. Document Analysis

• Project teams often use document analysis to understand

the as-is system.

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5. Observation

• Is the act of watching processes being performed

• is a powerful tool for gathering information about the as-is

system because it enables the analyst to see the reality of

a situation, rather than listening to others describe it in
interviews or JAD sessions.

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Selecting the Appropriate
Techniques

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Exercise

• Suppose you are the analyst charged with developing a

new system for the university bookstore with which

students can order books online and have them delivered
to their dorms and off-campus housing. What
requirements-gathering techniques will you use? Describe
in detail how you would apply the techniques.

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I would create surveys to gather information about students
such as:
• percentage of students who buy books through the bookstore
• percentage of students who buy books online or elsewhere
• reason for choosing vendor
• value of delivery service
• value of speed of product delivery I would send online surveys to
students, ask students to answer the survey as they wait or
checkout in the bookstore, and via campus post.
I would also arrange for a marketing research class to allow students
to perform interviews, and focus groups with other students to give
them practical experience as well as generate requirement
information for the bookstore.

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Exercise

• Suppose you are the analyst charged with developing a

new system to help senior managers make better strategic

decisions. What requirements-gathering techniques will
you use? Describe in detail how you would apply the
techniques.

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• The structure of this task is much more complex than the previous two
exercises.
• The results of this system design will have significant impact on the
organization, so quality of requirement-gathering technique is paramount
to cost.
• A JAD technique may be effective in this situation.
• In this case we should include all senior managers who will use the
system, senior IT managers who will manage it, as well as significant
technical representation, and anyone else who can contribute to the
success of the project.
• It is important that the managers and other members of the JAD team
are committed to the time and efforts required for this method.

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