Systems Analysis Strategies Chapter 4 Alan Dennis, Barbara Wixom, and David Tegarden John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Slides by Fred Niederman Edited by Solomon Negash

Key Definitions The _______________ is the current system and may or may not be computerized The ________________ is the new system that is based on updated requirements The As-Is system is the current system and may or may not be computerized The To-Be system is the new system that is based on updated requirements

Key Ideas The goal of the ________________ is to truly understand the requirements of the new system and develop a system that addresses them -- or decide a new system isn’t needed. The line between systems analysis and systems design is very blurry. Analysis across areas: Combines business and information technology Balance expertise of users and analysts The goal of the analysis phase is to truly understand the requirements of the new system and develop a system that addresses them -- or decide a new system isn’t needed.

The SDLC Process

Three Fundamental Analysis Strategies 1. _______________________ 2. _______________________ 3. _______________________ Business process automation (BPA) Business Process Improvement (BPI) Business Process Reengineering (BPR)

Business Process Automation (BPA) Goal: _____________ Goal: Efficiency for users

Identifying Improvements in As-Is Systems ______________________ Asking users to identify problems Rarely finds significant monetary benefits _______________________ Prioritizing problems Tracing symptoms to their causes Problem Analysis Asking users to identify problems Rarely finds significant monetary benefits Root Cause Analysis Prioritizing problems Tracing symptoms to their causes

Root Cause Analysis Identify symptoms Trace each back to its causes ROOT CAUSES

Root Cause Analysis Example

Business Process Improvement (BPI) Introducing evolutionary changes

__________________ (What BPI method uses the improvement identification steps shown below?) Calculate time needed for each process step Calculate time needed for overall process Compare the two Develop process integration or parallelization (What BPI method uses the improvement identification steps shown below?) Duration Analysis

__________________ (What BPI method uses the improvement identification steps shown below?) Calculate cost of each process step Consider both direct and indirect costs Identify most costly steps and focus improvement efforts on them (What BPI method uses the improvement identification steps shown below?) Activity based costing

__________________ (What BPI method uses the improvement identification steps shown below?) Studying how other organizations perform the same business process Informal benchmarking Check with customers Formal benchmarking Establish formal relationship with other organization (What BPI method uses the improvement identification steps shown below?) Benchmarking

Business Process Reengineering (BPR) Radical redesign of business processes

Consider desirable outcomes from customers’ perspective __________________ (What BPR method uses the improvement identification steps shown below?) Consider desirable outcomes from customers’ perspective Consider what the organization could enable the customer to do (What BPR method uses the improvement identification steps shown below?) Outcome Analysis

__________________ (What BPR method uses the improvement identification steps shown below?) Identify fundamental business rules Systematically break each rule Identify effects on the business if rule is broken (What BPR method uses the improvement identification steps shown below?) Breaking Assumptions

Technology Analysis Analysts list important and interesting technologies Managers list important and interesting technologies The group identifies how each might be applied to the business

Activity Elimination Identify what would happen if each organizational activity were eliminated Use “force-fit” to test all possibilities

Proxy Benchmarking List similar industries Look for techniques from other industries that could be applied by the organization

Process Simplification Eliminate complexity from routine transactions Concentrate separate processes on exception handling

Developing an Analysis Strategy Key factors in selecting appropriate analysis strategy: Potential business value Project cost Breadth of analysis Risk

Characteristics of Analysis Strategies Business Business Business Process Process Process Automation Improvement Reeingineering (BPA) (BPI) (BPR) Potential Business Low-Moderate Moderate High Value Project Cost Low Low-Moderate High Breadth of Analysis Narrow Narrow-Moderate Very Broad Risk Low-Moderate Low-Moderate Very High

Evaluating proposed IT systems Methods of evaluating proposed IT systems: cost-benefit analysis risk analysis capital investment analysis

Cost-Benefit Analysis Systems benefits       Tangible benefits       Intangible benefits

Risk Analysis

Disaster Recovery Spending

Your Turn How do you know whether to use business process automation, business process improvement, or business process reengineering? Provide examples. What will you use for your term project?

Avoid Classic Analysis Mistakes Management User Developers IT projects success partnership model Reduced analysis time Requirement gold-plating User over-specification of features Developer gold-plating Too many “cool” features Lack of user involvement

Summary The analysis process aims to create value for the organization Three main analysis strategies are BPA, BPI, and BPR These strategies vary in potential business value, but also in potential cost and risk Three main analysis techniques are root cause, informal benchmarking, and breaking assumptions