1. Systems Investigation and Analysis
C H A P T E R 12
Systems Investigation and Analysis

2. An Overview of Systems Development

3. Participants in Systems Development
Stakeholders
Individuals who ultimately benefit from the systems development project
Users
Individuals who interact with the system regularly

4. Participants in Systems Development
Systems analyst
A professional who specializes in analyzing and designing business systems
Programmer
The individual responsible for modifying or developing programs to satisfy user requirements

5. The Systems Analyst
[Figure 12.1]

6. Why Initiate a Systems Development Project?
[Figure 12.2]

7. Information Systems Planning
Translation of strategic and organizational goals into systems development initiatives
[Figure 12.3]

8. The Steps of IS Planning
Strategic plan
Develop objectives
Identify IS projects
Set priorities
Analyze resource requirements
Set schedules
Develop planning document
[Figure 12.4]

9. Information Systems Planning
Developing a competitive advantage requires creative and critical analysis.
Creative analysis
The investigation of new approaches to existing problems
Critical analysis
Unbiased and careful questioning of whether system elements are effective and efficient and whether new relationships should be established

10. Establishing Objectives for Systems Development
The impact a system has on an organization’s ability to meet its goals determines the true value of that system to the organization.
Mission critical systems
Systems that play a pivotal role in continued operation and goal attainment

11. Establishing Objectives for Systems Development
Performance objectives
Quality or usefulness of the output
Quality or usefulness of the format of the output
Speed at which output is generated
Cost objectives
Development costs
Costs related to the uniqueness of the system application
Fixed investments in hardware and related equipment
Ongoing operating costs of the system

12. Systems Development Life Cycles

13. The Traditional Systems Development Life Cycle
Major problem: User does not see the solution until the system is nearly complete.
[Figure 12.6]

14. Changes to the SDLC
[Figure 12.5]

15. The Traditional Systems Development Life Cycle
Systems investigation
Potential problems and opportunities are identified and considered in light of the goals of the business.
Systems analysis
Existing systems and work processes are studied and strengths and opportunities for improvement are identified.

16. The Traditional Systems Development Life Cycle
Systems design
Results in a technical design that either describes the new system or describes how the existing system will be modified.
Systems implementation
Various system components are created (or acquired), assembled, and placed into operation.
Systems maintenance and review
The system is maintained and modified so that it continues to meet changing business needs.

17. Advantages & Disadvantages of Traditional SDLC
[Table 12.2]

18. Prototyping An iterative approach to systems development
Operational prototype
Accesses real data files, edits input data, makes necessary computations and comparisons, and produces real output
Non-operational prototype
A mockup, or model

19. An Iterative Approach to Systems Development
[Figure 12.7]

20. Prototyping
[Figure 12.8]

21. Advantages and Disadvantages of Prototyping
[Table 12.3]

22. Rapid Application Development (RAD)
A technique that employs tools, techniques, and methodologies designed to speed application development
Joint application development
A process for data collection and requirements analysis involving group meetings

23. Advantages and Disadvantages of RAD
[Table 12.4]

24. The End-User Systems Development Life Cycle
Any systems development project in which the primary effort is undertaken by some combination of business managers and users

25. Software Capability Maturity Model
[Table 12.5]

26. Factors Affecting Systems Development Success

27. Factors Affecting Systems Development Success
Degree of change
Quality of project planning
Use of project management tools
Use of formal quality assurance processes
Use of CASE tools

28. Degree of Change
Can greatly affect the probability of a project’s success
[Figure 12.9]

29. Problems when Initiating New or Modified Systems
Fear that employee will lose his/ her job, power, or influence within the organization
Belief that the proposed system will create more work than it eliminates
Reluctance to work with “computer people”

30. Problems when Initiating New or Modified Systems
Anxiety that proposed system will negatively alter organization’s structure
Belief that other problems are more pressing, or that the system is being developed by people unfamiliar with “the way things need to get done”
Unwillingness to learn new procedures or approaches

31. Quality of Project Planning
The bigger the project, the more likely that poor planning will lead to significant problems.
Runaways
Systems development projects which are far over budget and past delivery dates

32. Use of Project Management Tools
Project schedule
Detailed description of what is to be done
Project milestone
Critical date for the completion of a major part of the project
Project deadline
Date that the entire project is to be completed and operational

33. Use of Project Management Tools
Critical path
All activities, that if delayed, would delay the entire project
Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT)
A formalized approach that involves creating three time estimates for an activity: shortest possible time, most likely time, and longest possible time

34. Use of Project Management Tools
Gantt chart
A graphical tool used for planning, monitoring, and coordinating projects
Essentially a grid that lists activities and deadlines
[Figure 12.10]

35. Use of Formal Quality Assurance Processes
The development of information systems requires constant trade-offs of schedule and cost versus quality.
Many IS organizations have incorporated ISO 9000, total quality management, and statistical process control principles into the way they produce software.

36. Use of CASE Tools Computer-aided software engineering (CASE)
Technology that automates tasks required in a systems development effort and enforces adherence to the SDLC
Upper-CASE tools
Provide automated assistance with systems investigations, analysis, and design activities

37. Use of CASE Tools Lower-CASE tools Integrated-CASE (I-CASE) tools
Focus on the later implementation stage of systems development
Can automatically generate structured program code
Integrated-CASE (I-CASE) tools
Provide links between upper- and lower-CASE packages

38. Advantages and Disadvantages of CASE Tools
[Table 12.9]

39. Systems Investigation

40. Initiating Systems Investigation
Systems request form
A document that is filled out by someone who wants the IS department to initiate systems investigation
Includes:
Problems in or opportunities for the system
Objectives of systems investigation
Overview of the proposed system
Expected costs and benefits

41. Participants in Systems Investigation
[Figure 12.11]

42. Feasibility Analysis
A step in systems investigation that assesses technical, economic, operational and schedule feasibility
[Table 12.10]

43. Feasibility Analysis Net present value
Preferred approach for ranking competing projects and determining economic feasibility
Represents the net amount by which project savings exceed project expenses, after allowing for the cost of capital and the passage of time

44. The Systems Investigation Report
Summarizes results of the systems investigation and feasibility analysis
Recommends a course of action
Reviewed by a steering committee: senior management and users from IS department and other functional areas
[Figure 12.12]

45. Systems Analysis

46. General Analysis Considerations
Assembling the participants for systems analysis
Collecting appropriate data requirements
Analyzing the data and requirements
Preparing a report on the existing system, new system requirements, and project priorities

47. Participants in Systems Analysis
Members of the original development team
Users
Stakeholders
IS personnel
Management

48. Data Collection Identify sources of data (internal and external)
Perform data collection
Structured interviews
Unstructured interviews
Direct observation
Questionnaires
Statistical sampling

49. Data Analysis Manipulating the collected data into usable form
Data modeling
Uses entity-relationship diagrams (ER)
Activity modeling
Uses data-flow diagrams (DFD)
Application flowcharts
Charts that show the relationships among applications or systems

50. Data Analysis Grid charts [Figure 12.17]
A table that shows the relationship among various applications
[Figure 12.17]

51. Data Analysis CASE tools CASE repository
Many systems development projects use upper-CASE tools to complete analysis tasks.
CASE repository
A database of system descriptions, parameters and objectives

52. Requirements Analysis
A method to determine user, stakeholder, and organizational needs
Asking directly
Critical success factors
The IS plan
[Figure 12.18]
continued...

53. Requirements Analysis
Screen and report layout
Screen layout
Allows designer to quickly and efficiently design features, layout, and format of a display screen
Report layout
Allows designers to diagram and format printed reports
Requirements analysis tools

54. Elements of the Systems Analysis Report
Strengths and weaknesses of the existing system from a stakeholder’s perspective
User/stakeholder requirements for the new system (also called functional requirements)

55. Elements of the Systems Analysis Report
Organizational requirements for the new system
A description of what the new information system should do to solve the problem
[Figure 12.20]