CORE 1: PROJECT MANAGEMENT Understanding the Problem

New information systems are developed when either an existing system no longer meets the needs of its users or new needs are identified that could be met by an information system. The traditional structured approach to system development specifies distinct stage or phases. There stages combine to describe all the activities or processes needed to develop an information system from an initial idea through to it final implementation and ongoing maintenance. The complete development process is known as the “System Development Life Cycle” INTRO TO SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT

The 5 stages of the System Development Life Cycle are: (U) nderstanding the Problem (P) lanning (D) esigning (I) mplementing (T) esting, evaluating and maintaining INTRO TO SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT

The primary aim of this first stage of the SDLC is to determine the purpose and requirements of a new system. Once this has been done a Requirements Report can be created. This is the main product or consumable created in this stage. UNDERSTANDING THE PROBLEM

A systems analyst may be called upon to assist in analysing existing systems, determining requirements and designing the new solution. A Requirement is a feature, property or behaviour that a system must have to achieve its purpose. Each requirement must be verifiable. UNDERSTANDING THE PROBLEM

In order to determine the purpose and requirements we can do the following… 1) Interviewing/surveying USERS of the Existing System The majority of info systems are primarily concerned with meeting the needs of users, those that utilise the information created by a system. Interviews and surveys are the primary tools for collecting user experiences and problems with the existing system, and also for identifying their needs and any new ideas they may have to improve the system. The larger the survey sample the more statistically reliable the results are. UNDERSTANDING THE PROBLEM 1) INTERVIEW USERS

2) Interviewing/surveying PARTICIPANTS of the Existing System Participants within existing systems will have an understanding of the part of the system with which they primarily interact. They are able to identify problems and often they also have ideas in regard to solving these problems. UNDERSTANDING THE PROBLEM 1) INTERVIEW USERS 2) INTERVIEW PARTICIPANTS

3) Analysing the existing system by determining – how it works – what it does – who uses it A system analyst would assist in this process. UNDERSTANDING THE PROBLEM 1) INTERVIEW USERS 2) INTERVIEW PARTICIPANTS 3) ANALYZE EXISTING SYSTEM

At this point you could produce a… Requirements Prototype A requirement prototype is a working model of an information system, built in order to understand the requirements of the system. The aim is to confirm, clarify and better understand the requirements. The way that a prototype simulates solving the needs for a new system may lead to it developing the requirement report. UNDERSTANDING THE PROBLEM REQUIREMENTS PROTOTYPE

Requirements Prototype Contd… The requirement prototype models the software parts of the system with which the users interact. It includes screen mock- ups, sample reports and the typical look and behaviour of the final application. It essentially is a simulation of the user interface. A requirement report does not contain any real processing and is typically developed with specialized software applications. UNDERSTANDING THE PROBLEM REQUIREMENTS PROTOTYPE

REQUIREMENT REPORT: Having completed the previous activities to provide sufficient information to outline requirements, at this point we develop a REQUIREMENT REPORT. The formal expression of requirements in a requirement report is the major deliverable from the first stage of the SDLC. For further info click here…here… UNDERSTANDING THE PROBLEM REQUIREMENT REPORT

REQUIREMENT REPORT: When planning, the Requirement Report is used to determine possible solution options and their feasibility. However it makes no attempt to solve the problem. A requirement report generally includes an introduction, general system description and system requirements (Physical, performance, security, data/information and system operations). Typical Requirement Report UNDERSTANDING THE PROBLEM REQUIREMENT REPORT