Ambo University Woliso Campus

School of Business and Economics

Department of Management

System Analysis and Design

Chapter 1: Overview of System
Analysis and Design
 Chapter one
Overview of System Analysis & Design
 Chapter’s point of focus:
– Introduction
– System, its elements and its characteristics
– Information systems, its building blocks and its types
– Information Systems Development
– Participants in information system development
– Information system Development Life Cycle
– Information system development methodologies
– Qualities of Information system development
 What is System?
 A system is a set of interrelated components
that work together to achieve a specific goal or
objective.
 It is a collection of parts that are
interconnected and interdependent, forming a
unified whole.
 Introduction to System Analysis and Design
 System Analysis and Design (SAD) is a disciplined
approach to developing information systems that align
with an organization's strategic objectives.
 It involves a systematic process of understanding
existing problems or opportunities, defining
requirements, designing solutions, and implementing
them.
 SAD is crucial for ensuring that information systems
are efficient, effective, and meet the evolving needs of
the organization.
 Elements of a System(cont’d…)
 Components: an irreducible part or aggregation of
parts that makes up a system; also called a subsystem.
 Interrelated components: dependence of one part of
the system on one or more other system parts.
 Boundary: the line that marks the inside and outside
of a system and that sets off the system from its
environment.
 Purpose: the overall goal or function of a system.
 Environment: everything external to a system that
interacts with the system.
 Elements of a System(cont’d…)
 Interfaces: point of contact where a system
meets its environment or where subsystems
meet each other.
 Constraints: a limit to what a system can
accomplish.
 Inputs: are the information that enters into the
system for processing.
 Output: the main objective of a system is to
get an output which is helpful for its user.
– Output is the final outcome of processing.
 Characteristics of system
 Organization: is the arrangement of components that
helps to achieve objectives.
– Example: Hierarchical organization in a company.
– Computer system: organization of various
components like input devices, output devices,
CPU and storage devices
 Interaction: refers to the manner in which each
component functions with other components of the
system.
– Example: the main memory holds the data that has to
be operated by the ALU.
Characteristics of system(cont’d…)
 Interdependence: One subsystem depends on the
input of another subsystem for proper functioning.
 Integration: is concerned with how a system is tied
together.
– It means that parts of the system work together within
the system even though each part performs a unique
function.
– Successful integration will typically produce a greater
impact than if each component works separately.
 Central Objective:
– Should be known in early phases of analysis
 Information System
 Information system: is an arrangement of people,
data, processes, communications, and information
technology.
– It transform data into information.
Information systems building blocks
 Building blocks of IS are:
– Data: defines the raw material used to create
useful information
– Processes: defines all the activities that carry out
the mission of the business
– Interfaces: defines how the system interact with
its users and other information systems.
 Types of Information Systems
 Formal Information Systems: responsible for flow
of information from top management to lower
management. But feedback can be given from lower
authorities to top management
 Informal Information Systems: Informal systems
are employee based. These are made to solve the day
to day work related problems.
 Computer-Based Information Systems: this class of
systems depends on the use of computer for
managing business applications.
– Systems analysis relies heavily on computers for
problem solving.
 Computer-Based Information Systems
– Transaction Processing System (TPS)
– Office Automation Systems(OAS)
– Management Information System (MIS)
– Decision Support System (DSS)
– Executive information system (EIS)
– Communications and collaboration system
– Experts System
 Transaction Processing System (TPS)
 TPSs are information system that processes
data resulting from the occurrences of business
transactions.
– Their objectives are to provide transaction in order
to update records and generate reports
– Example: Bill system, payroll system, Stock
control system.
 Office Automation Systems(OAS)
• OAS is a collection of communication technology,
computers and persons to perform official tasks.
– It executes office transactions and supports official activities
at every organizational level.
– These activities can be divided into clerical and managerial
activities.
• Clerical activities performed with the help of an office
automation system include preparing written
communication, typesetting, printing, mailing,
scheduling meetings, calendar keeping. etc.
• Under managerial activities an office automation system
helps in conferencing, creating reports and messages,
and controlling the performance of the organization.
 Management Information System (MIS)
• MIS is an integrated group of information processing
functions designed to provide management with a
comprehensive picture of specific operations.
• It is designed to take data generated by transaction
processing system and convert them into a
summarized and aggregated form for the manager,
usually in a report format.
– It reports tending to be used by middle
management and operational supervisors.
 Decision Support System (DSS)
• DSS advances the capabilities of MIS.
– It assists management in making decisions.
• DSS is an interactive information system that provides
information, models and data manipulation tools to
help in making the decision in a semi-structured and
unstructured situation.
– It comprises tools and techniques to help in
gathering relevant information and analyze the
options and alternatives, the end user is more
involved in creating DSS than an MIS.
– Example: Financial planning systems, Bank loan
management systems.
 Executive information system(EIS)
• EIS are designed and developed for the
unique information needs of executives who
plan for the business and assess performance
against those plans.
 Experts System
• Experts systems include expertise in order to
aid managers in diagnosing problems or in
problem-solving.
– It based on the principles of artificial intelligence
research.
– It is a knowledge-based information system. It uses
its knowledge about a specify are to act as an expert
consultant to users.
– Knowledgebase and software modules are the
components of an expert system. These modules
perform inference on the knowledge and offer
answers to a user’s question
 Information Systems(IS) development
• Systems development can generally be thought of as having
two major components:
– System analysis: is the process of gathering and
interpreting facts, identifying problems and using the
information to recommend improvements to the system.
• It is aimed at understanding organizational processes, their
data, and technologies in order to define possibilities of
improving process efficiency and effectiveness.
– System design: is the process of planning a new business
system or one to replace an existing system.
• It is focused on creating solutions for the improvement of
processes and their supporting systems.
• But before this, we must carefully understand the old
system and determine how computers can best be used to
make its operation more effective. [planning]
 Information Systems development(cont’d…)
• It is based on two skills:
– Understanding of organization’s objectives,
structure and process
– Knowledge of IT
 Participants in IS development
• A IS development participant is any person who has
an interest in an existing or new information system.
– IS development participant can be technical or
nontechnical workers.
– IS development participants can be classified as:
• System Owners
• System Users
• Systems Analysts
• System Designers
• System Builders
• IT vendors and consultants
Participants in IS development(cont’d…)
 Participants in IS development(cont’d…)
• System Owners: pay for the system to be built and
maintained.
– They own the system, set priorities for the system,
and determine policies for its use.
• System Users: are the people who actually use the
system to perform or support the work to be
completed.
• System Analysts: facilitate the development of IS and
computer applications by:
– bridging the communications gap that exists
between non-technical system owners and users
and technical system designers and builders.
 Participants in IS development(cont’d…)
• System Designers: technical specialists who design
the system to meet users’ requirements.
• System Builders: technical specialists who construct,
test, and deliver the system into operation.
• IT vendors and consultants: who sell HW, SW and
services to businesses for incorporation into their
information systems.
 System Analyst Skills
• Necessary skills required from a given system analyst
are presented as follows:
– Analytical skills: Systems thinking, Organizational
knowledge, Problem Identification, Problem analyzing and
solving
– Technical skills: Knowledge of computers and software, Keep
well-informed of modern development, Know of system
design tools, Breadth knowledge about new technologies
– Management skills: Resource management, Project
management, Risk Management, Change management
– Interpersonal skills: Communication skills, Working alone
and with a team, Facilitating groups, Managing expectations
 System Analyst Roles
• A systems analyst may:
– Identify, understand and plan for organizational and
human impacts of planned systems, and ensure that
new technical requirements are properly integrated
with existing processes and skill sets.
– Plan a system flow from the ground up.
– Interact with internal users and customers to learn and
document requirements that are then used to produce
business required documents.
– Write technical requirements from a critical phase.
– Interact with software architects to understand
software limitations.
 System Development Life Cycle(SDLC)
• The systems development life cycle (SDLC) is the
process of determining:
– how an IS can support business needs
– designing the system,
– building it, and
– delivering it to users.

• The key person in the SDLC is the systems analyst, who

analyzes the business situation, identifies opportunities
for improvements, and designs an information system
to implement the improvements.
 SDLC(cont’d…)
• Planning:
– Project Identification and Selection: includes two
main Activities
• Identification of need
• Prioritization and translation of need into a
development schedule
• Project Identification and Selection helps organization to
determine whether or not resources should be
dedicated to a project.
– Project Initiation and Planning: involves two
activities:
• Formal preliminary investigation of the problem at hand
• Presentation of reasons why system should or should
not be developed by the organization
 SDLC(cont’d…)
• Analysis: is the study of current procedures and
information systems. It involves:
– Determine requirements by Studying current
system
– Structure requirements and eliminate
redundancies
– Generate alternative designs
– Compare alternatives
– Recommend best alternative
 SDLC(cont’d…)
• Design: includes logical design and physical design,
Databases design, Human interface design, Program
design
– Logical Design: Concentrates on business aspects
of the system
– Physical Design: Technical specifications
• Implementation: includes Coding/Programming,
Hardware and software installation, Testing, User
Training and Documentation
• Maintenance: system changed to reflect changing
conditions
SDLC(cont’d…)
System development methodologies
• System development methodologies are supposed as
a means of improving the management and control of
the software development process.
– Successful projects are managed well.
– To manage a project efficiently, the manager or
development team must choose the software
development methodology that will work best for the
project at hand.
– All methodologies have different strengths and
weaknesses and exist for different reasons.
• What are the most commonly used software
development methodologies?
 Agile development methodology
• Teams use the agile development methodology
to minimize risk (such as bugs, cost overruns, and
changing requirements) when adding new
functionality.
• In all agile methods, teams develop the software
in iterations that contain mini-increments of the
new functionality.
• There are many different forms of the agile
development method, including:
– scrum, crystal, extreme programming (XP), and
feature-driven development (FDD).
Agile development methodology(cont’d…)
Agile development methodology(cont’d…)
• Pros: It allows software to be released in iterations.
– Iterative releases improve efficiency by allowing teams
to find and fix defects and align expectation early on.
– they also allow users to realize software benefits
earlier, with frequent incremental improvements.
• Cons: It rely on real-time communication, so new users
often lack the documentation they need to get up to
speed.
– It require a huge time commitment from users and are
labor intensive:
• because developers must fully complete each
feature within each iteration for user approval.
 Waterfall development method
• It is the most traditional software development
method.
• It is a rigid linear model that consists of sequential
phases(requirements, design, implementation,
verification, maintenance) focusing on distinct goals.
– Each phase must be 100% complete before the
next phase can start.
Waterfall development method(cont’d…)
Waterfall development method(cont’d…)
• Pros: The linear nature of the waterfall development
method makes it easy to understand and manage.
– Projects with clear objectives and stable requirements can
best use the waterfall method.
– Less experienced project managers and project teams, as
well as teams whose composition changes frequently, may
benefit the most from using the waterfall development
methodology.
• Cons: The waterfall development method is often
slow and costly due to its rigid structure and tight
controls.
– These drawbacks can lead waterfall method users to
explore other software development methodologies.
 Rapid application development
• It is a condensed development process that produces
a high-quality system with low investment costs.
• The RAD method contains four phases:
– requirements planning,
– user design,
– construction, and
– cutover.
• The user design and construction phases repeat until
the user confirms that the product meets all
requirements.
Rapid application development(cont’d…)
 Rapid application development(cont’d…)
• Pros: It is most effective for projects with a well-defined
business objective and a clearly defined user group, but
which are not computationally complex.
– RAD is especially useful for small to medium projects
that are time sensitive.
• Cons: It requires a stable team composition with highly
skilled developers and users who are deeply knowledgeable
about the application area.
– Deep knowledge is essential in a condensed
development timeline that requires approval after each
construction phase.
– Organizations that don’t meet these requirements are
unlikely to benefit from RAD.
 Qualities of system development
• While developing information systems, we need to
consider the following six most important quality
characteristics of information systems:
– Maintainability: changes can be made easily to satisfy new
requirements or to correct deficiencies
– Correctness: the degree with which the system follows to meet
its specified requirements
– Reusability: the ease with which the system can be reused in
developing other system.
– Reliability: the system should operates without any failure.
– Portability: the ease with which software can be used on
computer configurations other than its current one
– Efficiency: the degree with which software fulfills its purpose
without waste of resources
Thank you!