Is the process of planning a new system or replace or complement an existing system?
You are here: Freetutes.com > Systems Analysis and Design Show Stages in building an improved system The above figuer shows the various stages involved in building an improved system. System design is the process of planning a new business system or one to replace or complement an existing system. Analysis specifies what the system should do. Design states how to accomplish the objective. After the proposed system is analyzed and designed, the actual implementation of the system occurs. After implementation, working system is available and it requires timely maintenance. See the fugure above. Related Topics
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<< Previous Page | Contents | Next Page >> 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 them. Being a systems analyst is one of the most interesting, exciting, and challenging jobs around. Systems analysts work with a variety of people and learn how they conduct business. Specifically, they work with a team of systems analysts, programmers, and others on a common mission. Systems analysts feel the satisfaction of seeing systems that they designed and developed make a significant business impact, knowing that they contributed unique skills to make that happen. However, the primary objective of a systems analyst is not to create a wonderful system; instead, it is to create value for the organization, which for most companies means increasing profits (government agencies and not-for-profit organizations measure value differently). Many failed systems have been abandoned because the analysts tried to build a wonderful system without clearly understanding how the system would fit with an organization’s goals, current business processes, and other information systems to provide value. An investment in an information system is like any other investment, such as a new machine tool. The goal is not to acquire the tool, because the tool is simply a means to an end; the goal is to enable the organization to perform work better so it can earn greater profits or serve its constituents more effectively. What Does a Systems Analyst Do? A systems analyst is a valued member of the IT department team who helps plan, develop, and maintain information systems. Analystsmust be excellent communicators with strong
analytical and critical thinking skills. Because systems analysts transform business requirements into IT projects, they must be
business-savvy as well as technically competent, and be equally comfortable with managers and programmers, who sometimes have different points
of view, as Dilbert fans already
know. Most companies assign .systems analysts to the IT department, but analysts also can report to a specific user area such as marketing, sales, or accounting. As a member of a
functional team,an analyst is
berter able to understand the needs of that group and how IT supports the department's mission. Smaller companies often use consultants to perform systems analysis work on an as-needed
basis. On any given day, an analyst might be asked to document business processes, test hardware and software packages,
design input screens, train users, and plan e-commerce Web sites. A systems analyst also manages IT projects, including tasks, resources, schedules, and costs. To keep managers and users informed, the analyst conducts meetings, delivers presentations, and writes memos,reports, and documentation. Systems Analyst Skills Systems Analyst Specialization As organizations and technology have become more complex, most large organizations now build project teams that incorporate several analysts with different, but complementary, areas of specialization.Here we presents a common list of project roles and specializations and briefly describe these specialties and how they contribute to the project. The systems analyst focuses on the IS issues surrounding the system. This person develops ideas and suggestions for ways that IT can improve business processes, helps design new business processes, designs the new information system, and ensures that all IS standards are maintained. The systems analyst will have significant training and experience in analysis and design and in programming. The business analyst focuses on the business issues surrounding the system. This person helps to identify the business value that the system will create, develops ideas for improving the business processes, and helps design new business processes and policies. The business analyst will have business training and experience, plus knowledge of analysis and design.
The project manager is often a highly experienced systems analyst. This individual ensures that the project
is completed on time and within budget and that the system delivers the expected value to the organization. Skills Needed by the Systems Analyst other skills,knowledge, and traits to complete the job.These include: computer programming Experience and Expertise General knowledge of business processes and terminology Flexibility and Adaptability Character and ethics CONCEPTS A real-estate group in the federal government cosponsored a data warehouse with the IT department. In the formal proposal written by IT, costs were estimated at $800,000, the project duration was estimated to be eight months, and the responsibility for funding was defined as the business unit’s. The IT department proceeded with the project before it even knew if the project had been accepted.
Questions THE SYSTEMS DEVELOPMENT LIFE CYCLE (SDLC) The SDLC has a similar set of four fundamental phases: planning, analysis, design, and implementation. Different projects may emphasize different parts of the SDLC or approach the SDLC phases in different ways, but all projects have elements of these four phases. Each phase is itself composed of a series of steps, which rely upon techniques that produce deliverables (specific documents and files that provide understanding about the project). All system development projects follow
essentially the same fundamental process called the system development life cycle (SDLC). The SDLC starts with a planning phase in which the project team identifies the business value of the system, conducts a feasibility analysis, and plans the project. The second phase is the analysis phase, in which the team develops an analysis strategy, gathers information, and builds a set of analysis models. In the
next phase, the design phase, the team develops the design strategy, the physical design, architecture design, interface design, database and file specifications, and program design. In the final phase, implementation, the BRIEF DISCUSSION Phase 1: Systems Planning and
Selection
Phase 2: Systems Analysis Phase 3: Systems
Design Logical design is not tied to any specific hardware and systems software platform. Theoretically, the system you design could be implemented on any hardware and systems software. Logical design concentrates on the business aspects of the system; that is, how the system will impact the functional units within the organization. Figure 1-11 shows both the logical design for a product and its physical design, side by side, for comparison. You can see from the comparison that many specific decisions had to be made to move from the logical model to the physical product. The situation is similar in information systems design.
In physical design, you turn the logical design into physical, or technical, specifications. For example, you must convert diagrams that map the origin, flow, and processing of data in a system into a structured systems design that can then be broken down into smaller and smaller units for conversion to instructions written in a programming language. You design the various parts of the system to perform the physical operations necessary to facilitate data capture, processing, and information output. During physical design, the analyst team decides which programming languages the computer instructions will be written in, which database systems and file structures will be used for the data, and which hardware platform, operating system, and network environment the system will run under. These decisions finalize the hardware and software plans initiated at the end of the analysis phase. Now you can acquire any new technology not already present in the organization. The final product of the design phase is the physical system specifications, presented in a form, such as a diagram or written report, ready to be turned over to programmers and other system builders for construction. Phase 4: Systems Implementation and
Operation
Alternative Approaches to Development Prototyping
Computer-Aided Software Engineering (CASE) Tools
Joint Application Design Rapid Application Development As Figure below shows, the same phases followed in the traditional SDLC are also followed in RAD, but the phases are combined to produce a more streamlined development technique.
Planning and design phases in RAD are shortened by focusing work on system functional and user interface requirements at the expense of detailed business analysis and concern for system performance issues. Also, usually RAD looks at the system being developed in isolation from other systems, thus eliminating the time-consuming activities of coordinating with existing standards and systems during design and development. The emphasis in RAD is generally less on the sequence and
structure of processes in the life cycle and more on doing different tasks in parallel with each other and on using prototyping extensively. Notice also, that the iteration in the RAD life cycle is limited to the design and development phases, which is where the bulk of the work in a RAD approach takes place. Although it is possible in RAD to return to planning once design has begun, it is rarely done. Similarly, although it is possible to return to development from the
cutover phase (when the system is turned over to the user), RAD is designed to minimize iteration at this point in the life cycle. The high level of user commitment and involvement throughout RAD implies that the system that emerges should be more readily accepted by the user community (and hence more easily implemented during cutover) than would a system developed using traditional techniques. Participatory Design
Adopting an adaptive rather than predictive methodology refers to the observation that engineeringbased methodologies work best when the process and product are predictive. Software tends not to be as predictive as, say, a bridge, especially in today’s turbulent business environment. More adaptive methodologies are needed, then, and the Agile Methodologies are based on the ability to adapt quickly. The focus on people rather than roles is also a criticism of engineering-based techniques, where people became interchangeable. An Agile approach views people as talented individuals, not people filling roles, each of whom has unique talents to bring to a development project. Finally, Agile Methodologies promote a self-adaptive software development process. As the methodologies are applied, they should also be adapted by a particular development team working on a particular project in a particular context. No single monolithic methodology effectively fits all developers on all projects at all times. What is system planning in computer?A system plan is a specification of the hardware and the logical partitions contained in one or more systems. You can use system plans in a number of ways that are useful for managing your system.
What are the 4 types of systems?Four specific types of engineered system context are generally recognized in systems engineering : product system , service system , enterprise system and system of systems .
What is the system planning phase?System planning is the first phase in the system development life cycle. System planning is where an organization's total information needs are identified, analyzed, prioritized and arranged. Organization creates and assesses the original goals and expectation of a new system.
What is analysis of existing system?System analysis is conducted for the purpose of studying a system or its parts in order to identify its objectives. It is a problem solving technique that improves the system and ensures that all the components of the system work efficiently to accomplish their purpose. Analysis specifies what the system should do.
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