1. Learning Objectives Today we will Learn: The different stages of the system life cycle Methods for data collection

2. Starter You are employed as a systems analyst at Etisalat office in Ras Al Khaimah. You need to investigate problems with their current IT systems. Which methods would you use for investigation?

3. Stages of the system life cycle Analysis Design Development and Testing Implementation Documentation Evaluationw

4. Fact Finding Finding out exactly what is the problem that the system needs to solve. How are the current tasks carried out, either using a manual or computerised system What are the requirements of the new system Define what the system is *not* intended to do. This reduces the chances of 'mission creep' where people keep on piling new features even after the project is underway. Gathering information should be a done in a professional, systematic way. Asking people random questions in an informal way is unlikely to succeed.

5. Methods Observation Surveys Existing documentation Interviews Discuss and write down the advantages and disadvantages of each methods on pages 74-75advantages and disadvantages

6. Spreadsheets Vs Databases http://www.qcisolutions.com/dbinfo1.htm Database solution would be preferred than a spreadsheet solution for the following reasons: Spreadsheets are used for performing calculations and answering ‘what- if’ questions and analysing trends Relational Database software is useful for storing and organising large sets of data in a logical way, preventing data repetition, allowing data to be searched/sorted easily, creating various reports to display data. It can also generate order IDs automatically and data can be exported to spreadsheet software to create graphs