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System Analysis

System Analysis. Sometimes called requirements analysis Three steps Understand as-is system – gathering info about the current system Identify improvements – identify strengths and problems of the current system

selma-terrell
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System Analysis

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  1. System Analysis • Sometimes called requirements analysis • Three steps • Understand as-is system – gathering info about the current system • Identify improvements – identify strengths and problems of the current system • Develop concept for the to-be system – analyze the strengths and problems to produce a concept for the new system Contd…..

  2. The steps are tightly coupled and are often iterative • The analysis phase ends with a basic plan – analysis plan for the to-be system that is described via a process model and a data model • So, analysis includes info gathering thro’ interviews, DFD modeling, and ER Modeling

  3. The Analysis Process: • Analyzing IS requirements is both a business task and an IT task • Early days’ presumption – SA is an IT job – did not address the true business needs • Then business experts did the SA – automation of existing inefficient systems without using IT to fullest • Ideal approach – balance the business expertise of the users and systems expertise of the analysts • General ideas for the to-be system was developed in the initiation phase Contd…..

  4. The product of the analysis phase is a system concept for the to-be system • This concept is then refined in the design phase and then built and delivered in the implementation phase • A business process is simply a set of activities that are performed to achieve some goal • E.g., a typical store • While developing ISs, it is important to understand the scope of the business process under study – entire store, or just one component

  5. Three Analysis Strategies: • Business Process Automation (BPA) – using IT to do some of the work, basic operation is unchanged, least impact on business • Business Process Improvement (BPI) – moderate changes w.r.t. organizational operations using IT, or to copy competitors • Business Process Reengineering (BPR) – changing the fundamental way in which organization operates, making major changes taking advantage of new business ideas and IT Contd…..

  6. No one approach is better than others? • Regardless of the analysis strategy the project flows thro’ the three fundamental steps • Understanding the as-is system • Identifying improvements, and • Developing concept for the to-be system

  7. Understanding the As-Is System: • In most cases, the system under development replaces an existing system • So, first understand it’s strengths and weaknesses • Apply good info gathering techniques • If the as-is system is computerized, review the analysis and design docs of the previous system • Develop a detailed process model and data model Contd…..

  8. Caution • Do not to jump into conclusions about the new system • Temptation to focus only on what the users want • Users may know what they’d like in a new system • That may not truly reflect what they really need • Analyst may have a predetermined system concept • Focus only on understanding the as-is system, whether computerized or not

  9. Identifying Improvement Opportunities: • Identify ways to improve the current system • Again, info-gathering techniques are used • Requires technology skills and business expertise • Analyst and/or external consultant and/or users will work on identifying improvements

  10. Developing the To-Be System Concept: • Analysts and users develop the components for the to-be system • The system concept starts as a fuzzy set of possible improvement ideas • These are gradually worked & reworked into a viable concept for the to-be system • The system concept is reasonably well understood • A business process model and a data model are created Contd…..

  11. Analysis ends with a system proposal for the new system • Presents an overview of one or more recommended alternatives • Presents a vision for the new system and outlines its basic design • Each alternative will present – outline of the new system, process model, and a data model • Analysts will develop revised work plan for each alternative, will again examine the expected costs and benefits, and present a more detailed version of the feasibility analysis Contd…..

  12. The system proposal is presented to the approval committee • A walk-through may be conducted for clear understanding of the alternatives • With the go ahead the project transitions from analysis into the design phase

  13. Outline of a Typical System Proposal: • Table of contents • Executive summary: A summary of all the essential info in the proposal so a busy executive can read it quickly and decide what parts of the plan to read in more depth • System request: The original system request that initiated the project, with revisions as needed after the analysis phase • Work Plan: The original work plan, revised after completion of the analysis phase Contd…..

  14. Analysis strategy: A summary of the activities performed during the analysis phase, such as the analyses performed, and how the info was gathered (e.g., the questionnaires used, the persons interviewed) • Recommended system: A summary of the concept for the recommended system, as well as the key facts justifying the decision. A discussion on the alternatives considered is also included • Feasibility analysis: A revised feasibility using the info from the analysis phase Contd…..

  15. Process model: A set of process models and descriptions for the to-be system, including the process model of the current as-is system that will be replaced • Data model: A set of data models and descriptions for the to-be system • Appendices: Contain additional material relevant to the proposal, might include results of questionnaire survey, interviews, industry reports and statistics, possible hardware and software considerations

  16. Analysis Strategy – Business Process Automation (BPA): • BPA leaves the existing business process essentially the same but puts in place a new system that makes the processes more efficient • Automates an existing manual process, or • Improves an existing computerized system • Simplifies interactions with the system • Provides improved efficiency to users • Least impact on jobs, fundamental business process remains unchanged, new tools may be used

  17. Understanding the As-Is System: • Do the same thing in better ways • Extensive info gathering • Observation of the system in operation • Interviews with all stakeholders • Review current system’s documentation • Detailed process modeling • Detailed data modeling

  18. Identifying Improvements: With BPA, most of the improvement opportunities come from problems in the current system. Two general techniques to identify improvements –

  19. Problem Analysis • Straightforward BPA analysis technique • Identify problems with the as-is system from users and managers • Come out with possible solutions • Most changes tend to solve problems rather than capitalize on opportunities • Provide only minor improvements in business value

  20. Root cause analysis • Problem analysis is solution oriented based on assumptions • Solutions may not always be appropriate • In root cause analysis instead of the symptoms, the root causes of problems are addressed

  21. Developing the To-Be System Concept: • Minimal info gathering • To-be process and data models are very close to as-is process and data models • Revise the as-is process model into the to-be model • Revise as-is data model into the to-be model

  22. Analysis Strategy – Business Process Improvement (BPI): • Improve business processes by introducing moderate changes that are incremental or evolutionary in nature • The to-be system implements these changes and creates value not only by increasing efficiency but also by changing the what is done

  23. Understanding the As-Is System: • Some of the business processes will be quite different. • Extensive info gathering • Detailed process modeling • Detailed data modeling

  24. Identifying Improvement Opportunities: • BPI focuses on business improvement • Ideas can come from “problem analysis” or “root cause analysis” but more powerful techniques are used • Duration analysis – detailed examination of amount of time taken to process inputs to outputs in the as-is business process • Total time can be 10 to 100 times longer than the sum of the parts (say for home mortgage) • Think in terms of process integration and process parallelization Contd…..

  25. Activity-based costing – examines the cost of each major process rather than the time • Identify the costly processes, and focus improvement efforts on them • Informal benchmarking – fairly common for customer facing business processes • Study other organizations’ processes • Formal benchmarking – thorough and costly benchmarking strategy • Team of analysts study processes of many organizations

  26. Developing the To-Be System Concept: • Moderate info gathering • Revise the as-is process model into the to-be model • Revise as-is data model into the to-be model

  27. Analysis Strategy– Business Process Reengineering (BPR): • Fundamental rethinking and radical redesign of business processes to achieve dramatic improvements in critical, contemporary measures of performance, such as cost, quality, service, and speed – Michael Hammer and James Champy, Reengineering the corporation • Appealing but risky and time-consuming

  28. Understanding the As-Is System: • Minimal info gathering • Basic understanding of the essence of the as-is system

  29. Identifying Improvement Opportunities: • Complete rethinking of the business processes, creatively • Six BPR techniques • Outcome analysis – from customers’ perspective • Insurance company • Breaking assumptions – how to break each and every business rule, and benefit by doing so • Non-sufficient Funds in customers’ account Contd…..

  30. Technology analysis – application of new technology • Achieve JIT inventory thro’ announcing production schedule • Activity elimination • Proxy benchmarking – similar to informal benchmarking, except the target of the benchmarking is a different industry having similar structure • Process simplification – separate complex operations (exceptions) from the normal operations • A separate process handles complex inputs

  31. Developing the To-Be System Concept: • Very different to-be process • Requires extensive info gathering after deciding on the changes • Detailed to-be process model • Detailed to-be data model

  32. Developing an Analysis Plan: • The plan for activities that the project team will conduct during the analysis phase • Outlines what activities will exactly be done in each of the analysis phases • Which analysis strategy will be pursued • No strategy is better than others • Combination of strategies may be used • Decided by the project sponsor Contd…..

  33. Project team provide important inputs to the sponsor • BPA may be used on most of the business processes and BPI on some key parts • Strengths and weaknesses of analysis strategies on four parameters • Potential business value • Project cost • Breadth of analysis – boundary of analysis • Risk

  34. BPABPIBPR Potential Low/Mod Moderate High Business Value Project Low Low/Mod High Cost Breadth of Narrow Narrow/Mod Very broad Analysis Risk Low/Mod Low/Mod Very high

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