System Analysis Essence

Chapter 1
Systems
System Analysis
Systems analysis is an explicit formal inquiry carried out to help someone
(referred to as the decision maker) identify a better course of action and make a
better decision than he might otherwise have made.

System Definition
A system consists of interrelated and interdependent components co-working
together under certain policies and procedures, each coordinating to accomplish
a specifically assigned task or function.

Role of the System Analyst

1. Has a good level of programming skill and understands the abilities of
computers.
2. Can take up problem analysis as a challenging task.
3. Is able to systematically tackle problems using tools, techniques and
experiences.
4. Can communicate well with others.
5. As a consultant must provide fresh perspective for the organization.
6. As a supporting expert must provide expertise on computer software and
hardware and their uses in business.

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Chapter 2
System Lifecycles
Reasons for Change
1. The current system may no longer be suitable for its purpose because:
a. Nature of work has changed
b. Business has grown
c. External environment
2. Technological developments may have made the current system outdated
because:
a. Competitors use advanced systems
b. Customers use advanced systems
c. Software supplier stops support systems
3. The current system is inflexible and difficult to maintain.

Lifecycle Definition
A lifecycle is the course of developmental changes through which a system
passes from its beginning to the removal of its operations.

1 System Planning
1. Mission Statement: Every organization should write a mission statement; it
describes the organization’s overall goal and usually mentions the
organizations main product, service and values. An objective is a specific task
that must be performed within a certain time-frame to achieve a goal.
2. System Requests: The starting point of creating a system is called a system
request, which is the formal way of asking for help or assistance. The main
reasons fro system requests are:
a. Improve services d. Give stronger control
b. Improve performance e. Reduce costs
c. Give more information

2 System Analysis
1. At this stage, the analyst main tasks are to:
a. Gain a thorough understanding of an organization’s current way of doing
things.
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 b. Determine system requirements
c. Interviews, questionnaires, observations
d. Organize information using data, process and data-modeling tools.

2. The Preliminary Analysis Stage objectives:

a. Understand the nature of the problem.
b. Define the scope and constraints of the system.
c. Identify the benefits of the system.
d. Specify time and cost estimates for the system project.
e. Report problem description and recommendations to management.

3. The Detailed Analysis Stage:

a. The analyst must e. List benefits
b. Define the Problem f. Provide all possible
c. Define requirements alternative solutions
d. Calculate costs to the problem.

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Chapter 3
Feasibility Study
The Feasibility Study Definition
The feasibility study is the measure of how beneficial or practical the
development of a computerized system will be to an organization.

Operational Feasibility
An operationally feasible system is one that will be efficiently used after it has
been developed. If it is difficult to use, then it will not produce the expected
results.

Technical Feasibility
A technically feasible system is one that the organization has enough resources
to develop or purchase, install, and operate. The analyst has to know whether
the organization has the necessary equipment for the system.

Economic Feasibility
A system is economically feasible if its benefits exceed its costs. A cost can
be a one-time cost or a continuing cost.

Tangible Benefits
Tangible benefits can be easily quantified, or the actual amount is known, or can
be estimated. It is measured in terms of monthly or annual savings, or of profit
to organization. Examples of Tangible Benefits:
 Fewer processing errors  Increased sales
 Decreased response time  Reduced credit losses
 Elimination of job steps  Reduced expenses

Intangible Benefits
Intangible benefits more difficult to quantify, they are assumed to exist but
cannot be proven. Thus, the analyst must seek the opinion of people involved,
like the marketing or sales department. Examples of Intangible Benefits:
 Improved customer goodwill  Better service to community
 Improved employee morale  Better decision-making

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Chapter 4
Fact-Finding
Observation
Observation allows the analyst to verify her or his understanding of the
system, rather than just rely on second-hand impressions. Provided the
analyst stays outside the flow as an observer, she or he can experience
the actual process without introducing biases or tampering with results.

Hawthorne Effect: When people are under observation, they:

 Usually behave differently
 Work more efficiently or be nervous and work less efficiently
 Work at higher speeds to impress the observer or
 Follow rules they might otherwise ignore.

Advantages of observation:
1. Allows the validity of facts and data to be checked
2. Observer can see exactly what is being performed
3. Gain data describing the environment of the task
4. Relatively inexpensive
5. Observer can do work measurements

Disadvantages of observation:
1. People may knowingly or unknowingly perform differently when being
observed.
2. Some tasks may not always be performed naturally if they are observed.
3. May be impractical and time consuming.

Questionnaires
Questionnaires or Event-Logging can provide an efficient means of gathering
information from both large and small groups of people. Questionnaires are
documents that gather data from those involved with the system.

Questionnaires
A questionnaire should include one or more of the following types of questions:
1. Multiple Choice: gives the respondent a specific set of potential answers
(ideal for computer tabulation).
2. Rating: similar to multiple choice, except that respondents must rate their
satisfaction.
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3. Rank: requires respondents to assign priorities, from high to low, or on
percentage basis to their responses.
4. Open-ended: a respondent must answer the questions in his or her own
words. Sufficient space should be provided under each question.

Advantages of questionnaires:
1. Standardized questions
2. Anonymity in response
3. Quantitative analysis and predictive interpretation
4. Can be completed at a person’s convenience
5. Added extra time to think about response
6. Relatively inexpensive

Disadvantages of questionnaires:
1. Number of respondents is low
2. No guaranteed true response
3. Tend to be inflexible
4. May contain prejudice
5. Body language cannot be studied
6. No immediate opportunity for clarification
7. Difficulty of preparing

Document Analysis
Examine documents for key metaphors
1. Look for boundaries
2. Look for terms that denote good and bad characteristics

Types of Document Analysis:

1 Quantitative 2 Qualitative
 Data sources  Data sources
 Decision making reports  Memos
 Performance reports  Notices
 Records  Procedure manuals
 Data capture forms  Policy handbooks

Sampling
Used in all fact finding exercises. Used in any type of fact finding soil like water
in a swimming pool; a small sample is taken to represent the whole. Types of
Sampling:
1. Convenience sampling 3. Simple random selection
2. Purposive sampling 4. Complex random
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Research
Useful to research application and problem. Use computer journals, reference
books, and Internet (including user groups and bulletin boards). Provides
information on how others have solved similar problems, plus whether or not
software packages exist to solve, or even partially solve, the problem.

Process-Tracing
Process-tracing is like stapling or attaching yourself to a process like an order for
example. When to Use It:
 Uncover process flaws  Resolve differences
 Document what really happens  Communicate problems

Interviewing
Like an investigative reporter, trying to discover the “who, what, where,
when, why and how” of a story, the analyst should conduct the interview in a
way that stimulates the people to provide a full and honest description of their
jobs.

Interviews help gather vital facts about existing problems, such as lack of
quality control or insufficient security, and they also allow the analyst to
involve people in possible changes. The Contextual Inquiry: A contextual
inquiry is a pre-interviewing process that allows the analyst to:
1. See actual performance as it 4. Diagram the flow of work.
occurs. 5. List the categories of work triggers.
2. Map how work presents itself.
3. Learn what resources are used.

Rules of the Interview

1. Organizational charts and 3. Interview time 30 to 60 minutes
sociograms 4. Supervisory permission
2. Learning about the user 5. No peers should be present
characteristics

Types of Interviews
Structured
 Specific set of questions.
 Individual interview.
 Identify goals and interests.
 Understand the work.
Unstructured
 General goal or purpose.
 Interviewee provides a
framework.
 Frequently gets off track.
 Not very popular.

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Advantages of Interviewing
1. Allows the interviewee to respond freely and openly to questions
2. Allows the interviewee to feel as a part of the project
3. Allow the interviewer to follow up on interesting comments made by the
interviewee
4. Allows the interviewer to adapt or re-word questions during the line of
questioning
5. Allows the interviewer to observe the interviewee’s body language

Disadvantages of Interviewing
1. Very time consuming and costly and therefore may be impractical
2. Success is dependent on communication
3. Success is dependent on the willingness of interviewees to participate in the
interview
4. The time it takes to schedule
5. The time it takes to conduct
6. The time it takes to follow-up on interviewers
7. The danger of personal biases on the part of either side may creep into the
process.

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Chapter 5
Project Management
What is a Project?
A project is a unique endeavor to produce a set of deliverables within clearly
specified time, cost and quality constraints.

What is Project Management?

Project Management is the skills, tools and management processes required to
undertake a project successfully.

The Project Life Cycle (PLC)

The project life cycle (PLC) is a collection of logical stages or phases that maps
the life of a project from its beginning to its end in order to define, build, and
deliver the product of a project, that is, the information system.

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Project Phases
The project life cycle consists of four phases
1. Project Goal Definition
2. Project Planning
3. Project Plan Execution
4. Project Evaluation

Initialize Develo
Project Project P

Project Plan
A project plan expands on the project in many ways. It contains these common
elements:
1. Background.
2. Objectives.
3. Stakeholders.
4. Resource/Cost estimates.
5. Risk assessment.

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The Gantt Chart
Gantt charts provide a standard format for displaying project schedule
information by listing project activities and their corresponding start and finish
dates in a calendar format.

The Gantt Chart Symbols

 A black diamond: milestones or significant events on a project with zero
duration.
 Horizontal bars: tasks.
 Arrows: dependencies between tasks.
 Black bars with down arrows: summary tasks.

Advantages of the Gantt Chart

1. Can be drawn to scale (days, months, fortnights etc.).
2. Easier to understand visually by “non-technicians (Managers, Board).
3. Simple to draw and read.
4. Good for static environments.
5. Good overview of activities.
6. Widely used.
7. Basis of most PC software.

Gantt Advantages when PC Based

1. Colors for different tasks
2. Precedence can be shown which is not always clear on complex projects,
but good for sub-projects (or small).

Limitations of the Gantt Chart

1. Difficult to update
2. Does not equate time with cost
3. Does not help in optimizing resources

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ID Task Name Start Finish Duration
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Project Evaluations and Review Techniques
Network Analysis Technique or Critical Path Method (CPM) or Project Evaluation
and Review Technique (PERT). The activities of the project are shown as a
network of precedence relationships using activity-on-arrow network
construction.

Critical Path Method (PERT)

Longest path =
B(5) C(5) F(5) G(4)= 19 days to complete.

Advantages of CPM:
1. More information about paths is clearly visible.
2. Easier to see dependencies.
3. Quicker to recalculate if durations, dependencies etc change.
4. Useful at many stages of project management.
5. Mathematically simple.
6. Give critical path and slack time.

Limitations of CPM:
1. Clearly defined, independent and stable activities.
2. Specified precedence relationships.

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3. Subjective time estimates.
4. Over emphasis on critical paths.

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The Project Manager
“A good project manager is the key to a project’s success.”
The project manager must achieve the objectives of the project by:

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1. Planning of Main Activities: This means identifying project activities and
functional responsibilities.
2. Scheduling of Activity: Here, there is identification of detailed activities and
theft interrelationships in timings, resources and sequence.
3. Continuous Control of Project: Under this heading there is allocation and
co-ordination of:
a. Assignments and resources
b. Current project status and documentation
c. Project problems in timing.

Project Manager Responsibilities

The project manager responsibilities are:
1. Develop plan.
2. Direct resources.
3. Manage schedule.
4. Deal with operational issues.
5. Progress Reporting: There has to be preparation, and distribution, of
milestone progress reports. including those concerning progress to completion
date.
6. Summary Recommendations and Reports Co-ordination, administration and
suspension of the team.
7. Co-ordination of all elements in the development of the project activity
schedule, critical path network. etc.
8. Securing of approvals necessary.
9. Distribution of the approved schedule and reports to all persons affected.

Human Factors in Project Management

1. Philosophical Differences.
2. Territorial Pride.
3. Personality Conflicts.

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