Systems Analysis & Design

1. CSUN Information Systems Systems Analysis & Design http://www.csun.edu/~dn58412/IS431/IS431_SP11.htm System Development Environment : Participants and Context IS 431: Lecture 1

2. System Development Environment: Participants and Context • Information system applications - WHAT • Information systems and their stakeholders - WHO • Role of systems analysts • Knowledge and skill set for system analysts • IS Building Blocks • Contemporary business and technology trends in information systems development IS 431 : Lecture 1

3. Information Systems Vs. Information Technology • Information System (IS): People, data, processes, and information technology that interact to collect, process, store, and provide as output the information needed to support and improve operational, tactical, and strategic activities of an organization (business). • Information Technology (IT): A combination of computer technology (hardware and software) with telecommunications technology (data, image, and voice networks) IS 431 : Lecture 1

4. From Facts to Knowledge • Data – raw facts about people, places, events, and things that are of importance in an organization. • Information – data that has been processed or reorganized into a more meaningful form for someone. • Knowledge – data and information that is further refined based on the facts, truths, beliefs, judgments, experiences, and expertise of the recipient. • Wisdom – when to apply a certain knowledge IS 431 : Lecture 1

5. Decision-Making in an Organization IS 431 : Lecture 1

6. Decision-Making Levels of an Organization • Executive Level • Long-term decisions (Strategies) • Unstructured decisions (Competitions) • Managerial Level • Decisions covering weeks and months (Tactics) • Semi-structured decisions (Effectiveness) • Operational Level • Day-to-day decisions (Operations) • Structured decisions (Efficiency) IS 431 : Lecture 1

7. Information Systems in Organization EXECUTIVE INFORMATION SYSTEMS STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEMS TACTICAL TRANSACTION PROCESSING SYSTEMS OPERATIONAL ACCOUNT I N G F I NANCE HUMAN RE S PRODUCT ION SALES OTHERS VALUE CHAIN IS 431 : Lecture 1

8. Information System in Context IS 431 : Lecture 1

9. Types of Information Systems • Transaction Processing Systems • Management Information Systems • Executive Information Systems • Decision Support Systems • Expert Systems • Functional Area Information Systems (Accounting, HR, Sales, Production …) • Office Automation Systems (Personal Productivity Software) • Collaboration Systems (Groupware) • Enterprise Systems IS 431 : Lecture 1

10. Front- and Back-Office Information Systems • Front-officeinformation systems support business functions that extend out to the organization’s customers (or constituents). • Marketing • Sales • Customer management • Back-officeinformation systems support internal business operations of an organization, aw well as reach out to suppliers (of materials, equipment, supplies, and services). • Human resources • Financial management • Manufacturing • Inventory control IS 431 : Lecture 1

11. A Federation of Information Systems IS 431 : Lecture 1

12. Information System Applications IS 431 : Lecture 1

13. Stakeholders of a System • Stakeholder: any person who has an interest in an existing or proposed information system. Stakeholders can be technical or nontechnical workers. They may also include both internal and external workers. • Information workers are those workers whose jobs involve the creation, collection, processing, distribution, and use of information. • Knowledge workers are a subset of information workers whose responsibilities are based on a specialized body of knowledge. IS 431 : Lecture 1

14. Perspectives on an Information System IS 431 : Lecture 1

15. System Owners • System owners – an information system’s sponsors and executives advocate, usually responsible for funding the project of developing, operating, and maintaining the information system. They define the SCOPE of a system: what business problem to be solved • They view the system in term of cost/benefit to solve business problem IS 431 : Lecture 1

16. System Users • System users – use or are affected by an information system on a regular basis – capturing, validating, entering, responding to, storing, and exchanging data and information. They define the REQUIREMENTS of the system. • Internal users • Clerical and service workers • Technical and professional staff • Supervisors, middle managers, and executive managers • Remote and mobile users (internal but disconnected) • External users IS 431 : Lecture 1

17. System Designers and System Builders • System designers translate system users’ business requirements and constraints into technical solution: computer databases, inputs, outputs,networks, and software meeting the system users’ requirements. Their activities relate to the DESIGN of a system • System builders constructs information systems based on the design specifications from the system designers. Their activities relate to building the COMPONENTS of the system. IS 431 : Lecture 1

18. Systems Analysts • Systems analysts study the problems and needs of an organization to determine how people, data, processes, and information technology can best accomplish improvements for the business. They are FACILITATORS of the system development project. • A programmer/analyst (or analyst/programmer) includes the responsibilities of both the computer programmer and the systems analyst. • A business analyst focuses on only the nontechnical aspects of systems analysis and design. IS 431 : Lecture 1

19. The Systems Analyst as a Problem-Solver • What “problems” to solve: (Project Definition) • True problem situations, either real or anticipated, that require corrective action • Opportunities to improve a situation despite the absence of complaints • Directives to change a situation regardless of whether anyone has complained about the current situation • Why: (Project Justification) • Effective: Do right thing • Efficient: Do thing right • Competitive: Do thing differently IS 431 : Lecture 1

20. Systems Analysts At Work IS 431 : Lecture 1

21. Systems Analysts At Work • In traditional businesses • Working in traditional information services organizations(permanent project teams) • Working in contemporary information services organizations (dynamic project teams) • In outsourcing businesses • Contracted to traditional businesses • In consulting businesses • Contracted to traditional businesses • In application software businesses • Building software products for traditional businesses IS 431 : Lecture 1

22. Systems Analyst as a Facilitator IS 431 : Lecture 1

23. Systems Analyst as a Facilitator IS 431 : Lecture 1

24. Skills Needed by the Systems Analyst • Working knowledge of information technology • Computer programming experience and expertise • General business knowledge • General problem-solving skills • Good interpersonal communication skills • Good interpersonal relations skills • Flexibility and adaptability • Character and ethics • Systems Analysis and Design Skills IS 431 : Lecture 1

25. Information Systems Architecture Information systems architecture - a unifying framework into which various stakeholders with different perspectives can organize and view the fundamental building blocks of information systems. IS 431 : Lecture 1

26. Focuses for Information Systems • KNOWLEDGE (Data) — the raw material used to create useful information. • PROCESSES— the activities (including management) that carry out the mission of the business. • COMMUNICATION (Interfaces)— how the system interfaces with its users and other information systems. IS 431 : Lecture 1

27. IS 431 : Lecture 1

28. KNOWLEDGE Focus • System owners’ view • Interested not in raw data but in information that adds new business knowledge and information that help managers make intelligent decisions. • Data entities and business rules. • System users’ view • Something recorded on forms, stored in file cabinets, recorded in books and binders, organized into spreadsheets, or stored in computer files and databases. • Focus on the business issues as they pertain to the data. • Data requirement – a representation of users’ data in terms of entities, attributes, relationships, and rules independent of data technology. IS 431 : Lecture 1

29. KNOWLEDGE Focus … • System designers’ view • Data structures, database schemas, fields, indexes, and constraints of particular database management system (DBMS). • System builders’ view • SQL • DBMS or other data technologies IS 431 : Lecture 1

30. PROCESS Focus • System owners’ view • concerned with high-level process called business functions • Business function – a group of related processes that support the business. Functions can be decomposed into other subfunctions and eventually into processes that do specific tasks. (e.g.Sales Function) • A cross-functionalinformation system – a system that supports relevant business processes from several business functions without regard to traditional organizational boundaries such as divisions, departments, centers, and offices. (e.g. Production Function) IS 431 : Lecture 1

31. PROCESS Focus … • System users’ view • concerned with work that must be performed to provide the appropriate responses to business events. • Business processes – activities that respond to business events. • Process requirements – a user’s expectation of the processing requirements for a business process and its information systems. • Policy – a set of rules that govern a business process. • Procedure – a step-by-step set of instructions and logic for accomplishing a business process. • Work flow – the flow of transactions through business processes to ensure appropriate checks and approvals are implemented. IS 431 : Lecture 1

32. PROCESS Focus … • System designers’ view • Concerned with which processes to automate and how to automate them • Constrained by limitations of application development technologies being used • Software specifications – the technical design of business processes to be automated or supported by computer programs (off-shelf, in-house) to be written by system builders. IS 431 : Lecture 1

33. PROCESS Focus … • System builders’ view • Concerned with programming logic that implements automated processes • Application program – a language-based, machine-readable representation of what a software process is supposed to do, or how a software process is supposed to accomplish its task. • Prototyping – a technique for quickly building a functioning, but incomplete model of the information system using rapid application development tools. IS 431 : Lecture 1

34. COMMUNICATION Focus • System owners’ view • Concerned with communications scope of an information system. • Who (which business units, employees, customers, and partners) must interact with the system? • Where are these business units, employees, customers, and partners located? • What other information systems will the system have to interface with? • System users’ view • Concerned with the information system’s inputs and outputs (Interface Requirements). IS 431 : Lecture 1

35. COMMUNICATION Focus … • System designers’ view • Concerned with the technical design of both the user and the system-to-system communication interfaces. • Interface specifications – technical designs that document how system users are to interact with a system and how a system interacts with other systems. • User dialogue – a specification of how the user moves from window to window or page to page, interacting with the application programs to perform useful work. • System builders’ view • Concerned with the construction, installation, testing and implementation of user and system-to-system interface solutions. • Middleware – utility software that allows application software and systems software that utilize differing technologies to interoperate. IS 431 : Lecture 1

36. Network Technologies and the IS Building Blocks IS 431 : Lecture 1

37. System Development Process Overview System initiation – the initial planning for a project to define initial business scope, goals, schedule, and budget. System analysis – the study of a business problem domain to recommend improvements and specify the business requirements and priorities for the solution. System design – the specification or construction of a technical, computer-based solution for the business requirements identified in a system analysis. System implementation – the construction, installation, testing, and delivery of a system into production. IS 431 : Lecture 1

38. System Development as Problem Solving IS 431 : Lecture 1

39. Business Trends and Driving Forces in the Environment • Globalization of the Economy • Electronic Commerce and Business • Security and Privacy • Collaboration and Partnership • Knowledge Asset Management • Continuous Improvement and Total Quality Management • Business Process Redesign IS 431 : Lecture 1

40. Globalization of the Economy • Global Economy • New and expanded international markets • New international competitors • Impact on information systems • Require support of multiple languages, currency exchange rates, business cultures • Require consolidation of international data • Demand for players who can communicate, orally and in writing, with management and users that speak different languages IS 431 : Lecture 1

41. Electronic Commerce and Business • E-Commerce – the buying and selling of goods and services by using the Internet. • E-Business – the use of the Internet to conduct and support day-to-day business activities. • Types of e-commerce and e-business • Marketing of corporate image, products, and services • Business-to-consumer (B2C) • Business-to-business (B2B) • Impact on information systems • Most new information systems are being designed for an Internet (or intranet) architecture • Since the only client-side software is a web browser, the choice of client operating system is becoming less important IS 431 : Lecture 1

42. Security and Privacy • Security • How will the business continue in the event of a security breach, terrorist attack, or disaster? • How can the business protect its digital assets from outside threats? • Privacy • Consumer demands for privacy in e-commerce transactions • Government requirements • Impact on information systems • Need to incorporate stringent security and privacy controls IS 431 : Lecture 1

43. Collaboration and Partnership • Organizations seek to break down the walls that separate organizational departments and functions. • Organizations collaborate with outside business partners and even competitors. • Impact on Information Systems • System Requirements from external parties / business partners IS 431 : Lecture 1

44. Knowledge Asset Management • Knowledge Asset Management • Recognize that data, information, and knowledge are critical business resources • How the organization manage and share knowledge for competitive advantage • Strive to integrate the data and information that can create and preserve knowledge IS 431 : Lecture 1

45. Total Quality Management • Business Processes – Tasks that respond to business events (e.g., an order). Business processes are the work, procedures, and rules required to complete the business tasks, independent of any information technology used to automate or support them. • Total Quality Management (TQM) – a comprehensive approach to facilitating quality improvements and management within a business.Do right thing in the first place, don’t wait until at the end with QA/QC (retooling!!!) IS 431 : Lecture 1

46. Business Process Redesign • From Reengineering to Redesign • Business Process Redesign (BPR): the study, analysis, and redesign of fundamental business processes to reduce costs and/or improve value added to the business. • Continuous Process Improvement (CPI) – The continuous monitoring of business processes to effect small but measurable improvements in cost reduction and value added IS 431 : Lecture 1

47. Technology Drivers for Information Systems • Networks and the Internet • Mobile and Wireless Technologies • Object Technologies • Collaborative Technologies • Enterprise Applications IS 431 : Lecture 1

48. Networks and the Internet • Networks include mainframe time-sharing systems, network servers, and a variety of desktop, laptop, and handheld client computers. • The most pervasive networking technologies are based on the Internet. • xHTML and XML • Scripting languages • Web-specific programming languages • Intranets • Extranets • Portals • Web services IS 431 : Lecture 1

49. Mobile and Wireless Technologies • Some mobile and wireless technologies • PDAs • Smart phones • Bluetooth • Wireless networking • Impact on information systems • Wireless connectivity must be assumed • Limitations of mobile devices and screen sizes must be accommodated IS 431 : Lecture 1

50. Object Technologies • Object technology – a software technology that defines a system in terms of objects that consolidate data and behavior. • Object-oriented analysis and design – utilize object technologies to construct a system and its software in system development process. • Agile development – a system development strategy in which system developers are given the flexibility to select from a variety of tools and techniques to best accomplish the tasks at hand. IS 431 : Lecture 1