Staffing and Scheduling Unit 5

project management and staffing and scheduling. Different project

estimation, empirical estimation and heuristic techniques have been
discussed in detail there. In addition to these the units also covered
COCOCMO model and risk management issues were also covered.
Different cost estimation methods like expert judgment method, Delphi cost
estimation along with software cost estimation metrics like lines of code
and function point metrics were the other topics besides the differant project
scheduling representations like work breakdown structure, PERT charts,
GANTT charts which have been covered in detail in the previous units.
In this unit, we will discuss issues related to system analysis and design.
Therefore, this unit will offer a detailed analysis of the skills needed for a
system analyst and the responsibilities of a system analyst. In the next
unit, we will discuss the issues related to requirement analysis and
specification.

5.3 SYSTEM ANALYSIS AND DESIGN (SAD)

In business, system analysis and design refers to the process of examining

a business situation with the intent of improving it through better procedures
and methods. System analysis and design relates to shaping organizations,
improving performance and achieving objectives for profitability and growth.
The emphasis is on systems in action, the relationships among subsystems
and their contribution to meeting a common goal. Looking at a system and
determining how adequately it functions, the changes to be made and the
quality of the output are the essential parts of system analysis. Organizations
are complex systems that consist of interrelated and interlocking
subsystems. Changes in one part of the system have both anticipated and
unanticipated consequences for other parts of the system. The systems
approval is a way of thinking about the analysis and design of computer
based applications. It provides a framework for visualizing the organizational
and environmental factors that operate on a system. Among the positive
consequences are the improved performance and a feeling of achievement
with quality information. Among the unanticipated consequences the
possible threat to an employee’s job, a decreased morale of the personnel
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due to lack of involvement and a feeling of intimidation by the users due to

computer illiteracy are common. The analyst’s role is to remove such fears
and make the system a success. System analysis and design focus on
systems, processes and technology.
System development can generally be thought of as having two major
components- system analysis and systems design. System design is the
process of creating a new business system or one to replace or complement
an existing system. But it is essential to thoroughly understand the old
system throughly and determine how information technology can best be
employed to make its operations more effective, prior to designing a new
system. Thus, system analysis is the process of collecting and interpreting
facts, identifying problem, and using information to suggest improvements
to the existing system. This is the job of a System Analyst.

5.4 RESPONSIBILITIES OF SYSTEMS ANALYST

System analysis is the process of gathering and interpreting the

facts, using the existing information to improve the system. A system analyst
is a designated person who is responsible to study an existing system and
design a new system. A system analyst has many roles to play such as an
investigator, planner, designer, modulator, communicator, implementer,
trainer, change agent, architect, psychologist, sales person, motivator,
politician etc.
The following are the specific responsibilities of a system analyst:
• Analyze the existing system and make a requirement list by
discussing with the users.
• Prepare a conceptual (logical) design for the system based on the
requirements.
• Establish the boundaries of the system to use the inputs, outputs
and interface.
• Define the functions to be performed and the parameters to measure
performance.
• Find out the internal structures of the system and their dependencies.

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• Prepare mathematical models to support the evaluation of system

performance.
• Make alternative solutions and their weighted evaluation to choose
the best.
• Decompose the system into various logical sub-systems to be
integrated later.
• Participate in system development, testing, integration, and
implementation.
• Associate with users, developers, and management for steering
the project.
• Act as a leader in all the phases during the system development.
• Work as a change agent and catalyst for process development.
• Prepare the project plan and schedule for phase wise project
completion.
• Determine the system reliability, availability, and quality.
• Prepare system development cost estimates and perform cost-
benefit analysis.

5.5 SKILL SET REQUIRED TO PERFORM SYSTEMS

ANALYSIS

Fundamentally for system analysis a detailed understanding of all

important aspects of the operational area are required. For this reason,
analysts interact with the employees and the managers of the client on a
continuous basis to develop an in-depth understanding of the business
processes and to seek answers of the following questions.
• What operations are being performed at present?
• How are the tasks being performed?
• How frequently does the task take place?
• What is the volume of transactions?
• How well is the task being performed?
• Does a problem exists?
• What are the causes behind the problem?

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Once the processes are fully understood, the analyst identifies the
key features of the proposed system.
An analyst must have several skills to effectively carry out the job.
In order to become a successful systems analysts, one should have the
four skills i.e. : a) analytical skills, b) interpersonal skills, c) technical skills
and d) management skills. Analytical skills include the ability of systems
thinking, which provides a foundation of the proposed system. Interpersonal
skills focus on the interaction of the analysts with the people in the
organization and building positive relationships. Technical skill requires the
knowledge after present along technologies with emerging information
technologies. Management skills are very useful for anyone in a leadership
role. The analyst is expected to use the organizational resources in the
most productive manner as possible where managerial skills are required.

5.5.1 Analytical Skills

The concept of system is central to system analysis and design. As we

already know, a system is an interrelated set of components with an
identifiable boundary, working together for some specific goals. System
analyst must understand the functioning of the organization thoroughly.
Given below is a list of specific areas of an organization that an analyst
should understand.
How tasks are actually performed in an organisation?
• Policies
• Standards and Procedures
• Formal organisation structure
• Job description
Familiarisation with the organisation’s culture
• Level of control exercised by key personnel
• Expert in different subjects areas
• Crucial incidents in the history of the organization
• Informal organization structure
• Values and mission

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Other Factors :
• Government policies
• Products, services and markets
• Competitors strategies
• Role of technology
Problem identification is another area that needs to be addressed
carefully. In order to identify problems, the analyst must be able to visualize
and compare the present situation in an organization to the desired situation.
An analyst must have the ability to perceive problems from a broader
perspective.
After the problem is identified, the analyst must analyse the problem
and determine how to solve it. During this phase, the analyst may come
out with several alternatives after interacting with the users and the
management, and by referring to organizational files and documents. This
process might get prolonged but finally the best alternative is chosen. As
soon as the analyst, the users and the management agree on a solution, a
plan is devised for implementing it.
The analyst must be perceptive, but must not jump to a quick
conclusion; he/she must be persistent to overcome difficulties and maintain
a planned course of action in spite of setbacks.

5.5.2 Interpersonal Skill

The job of a system analyst requires extensive interaction with

various types of persons or users. This is the reason why interpersonal
skills are considered as most important for a systems analyst.
The various interpersonal skills essential for system analysis are:
communication skills; ability to work effectively with a team thus facilitating
group tasks; and managing expectations of the users and the managers.

5.5.2.1 Communication Skill

Communication is the process of exchanging feeling with others. It

is a bridge between the user and the system analyst. It involves a systematic

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and continuous process of telling, listening and understanding.

There are many different methods of communication such as: written
(letters, reports, memos); verbal (face-to-face discussion, interviews,
meetings); visual (charts, diagrams, presentation slides) and non-verbal.
The analyst must have proficiency on as many forms of communication as
possible.

5.5.2.2 Interview and Listening

Interview is the most common method used in information gathering

for system analysis. Initially an analyst might have to spend a lot of time in
interviewing the users about their work. Merely asking question does not
serve solve the purpose. The analyst must intently listen to the answers.
Careful listening helps an analyst develop good rapport with the user and
understand the problem in all its perspectives.

5.5.2.3 Questionnaire
Despite being one of the effective techniques for interacting with
people, interviews can prove to be very expensive and time-consuming.
Questionnaires, on the other hand, are less effective than interviews
because they do not provide direct means to ask follow-up questions.
However, there are many advantages of using questionnaires for gathering
information. They are comparatively less expensive.

5.5.2.4 Written and oral presentations

The progress of the project needs to be documented at various
stages of the systems development life cycle. This documentation is
essential not only to track the activities of the development process but
also to serve the personnel who are given the responsibility of maintaining
the system later. At each stage of the systems development life cycle, the
analyst is required to prepare and file a report. For an analyst to be effective,
he/she should be able to write the reports clearly and persuasively. The
general principles of presenting information, so that it is comprehensible
are: directness, conciseness, organization and clarity. Some projects may
also require the analyst to orally present the information.

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5.5.2.5 Working Individually and Coordinating with a Team

An analyst is often required to work alone in some stage of a system

development project. In such cases, he must be able to keep up to the
schedule, communications and deadlines. He/she will always have to work
with the team for achieving project goals. Effective teams are built through
a substantial commitment of time, energy and goodwill on the part of all the
members.

5.5.2.6 Managing Expectations

Managing expectations start with the preparation of the business
case for the system and go all the way through training people to usually
the proposed system. The prospective users of the system might have
certain ideas and may be apprehensive about the working of the proposed
system. They might also have certain expectations from the system.

5.5.3 Technical Skill

The analyst should continually upgrade themselves about himself/

herself recent developments in the field of information technology,
techniques and methodologies. As information technology, techniques and
methodologies keep on changing at a fast rate, it becomes essential for
the system analyst to keep abreast of the latest developments. The analyst
must have a knack for representing, or modeling, various aspects of
information systems. These skills help an analyst not only to perform the
assigned task dexterously, but also to interact with other systems
development personnel.
To stay up-to-date and versatile, the analyst must:
• Read books and trade journals
• Take membership of professional societies and actively take
part in meetings.
• Attend training sessions of courses offered by the organization.
• Regularly browse web sites that offer the latest information
about the industry.

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• Take part in electronic boards, newsgroups or conferences,

or local, national or international networks.
The analyst should make every possible effort to get the latest status
about the following hardware and software:
• Programming languages
• Operating Systems
• Database and file management systems
• Data communication equipments and software
• Systems development tools and environments
• Web development tools and languages
• Division support system generators and data analysis tools.
• Data security
Familiarization with modern methods and techniques for describing,
modeling and building systems, also increases the efficiency of the analyst.

5.5.4 Management Skill

System analyst must possess the management skills as they

assume the role of a team leader in almost all projects. An analyst must be
adept in employing the organizational resources in the most in as productive
manner as possible. Some of the management skills that an analyst should
necessarily possess are:
• Resource management
• Project management
• Risk management
• Change management
Resource Management: The analyst must have the innate quality of
optimizing the resources tactfully
• Anticipating resource usage (estimating requirements).
• Tracking and accounting for resource utilization.
• Mastering how to use resources efficiently.
• Assessing the quality of resources used.
• Ensure proper resource utilization

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• Releasing resources when no longer required.

Project Management: The prime objective of project management is to
ensure that projects are completed successfully within specified budget
and schedule. It aims at helping managers to keep track of the progress.
An analyst should start breaking a project into several independent and
manageable tasks. They should then delegate the responsibility of each of
these tasks to people based on their skill sets. The analyst uses various
tools and techniques to manage projects. For example, Gantt and PERT
charts are powerful graphical techniques used in planning and controlling
projects.
Risk Management: Risk Management is the ability to foresee what might
go wrong in a project and take appropriate preventive and corrective action.
After identifying the risks, the analysts must make every possible endeavor
to reduce them. Risk management also includes knowing where to employ
resources and prioritizing tasks to attain the maximum benefit.
Change Management: Bringing in a new or improved information system
into an organization is a change process. It brings with it lot of challenges
in the form of resistance from the prospective users. Therefore, change
management is a very important skill for system analyst.
System analysts are required to ensure smooth transition to a new
and improved information system. Change management also deals with
the ability to deal with technical issues to change by involving them in the
design and implementation stages of the project. Extensive interaction with
the users makes this challenging.

5.6 ROLES TO BE PLAYED BY SYSTEMS ANALYST

The major responsibilities of system analyst are to identify the

information needs of an organization and design an information system
that caters to these needs. People who are involved in developing
information system for organization can be grouped into the following three
categories: managers, users of the system, and designers and programmers
who implement the systems. The system analyst organises, the endeavours

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of these groups to effectively design and implement computer-based

information system.
The system analyst takes on various roles to carry out their tasks
effectively. Some of the major roles that the analysts have to take are
discussed below:
• Change Agent: It is the system analyst who, after identifying
the problems in the existing system, suggests changes.
Making the users to accept change, i.e. the proposed system,
with a minimum of resistance involves careful planning. The
analyst makes the users ready for the change by involving
them in the design and implementation stages of the project.
Extensive interaction with the users makes this challenging
task less daunting.
• Overseer: The analyst highlights the inefficiencies of the
existing system by collecting all possible information about
the same. They not only suggest changes to solve the
problems in the existing system, but also ensure timely
completion of the project, taking the cost and quality into
consideration.
• Designer: The task of the designer or architect is to give
concrete shape to the clients, abstract design requirements.
An analyst creates a detailed physical design of the candidate
system.
• Psychologist: In system development, systems are built
around people. The analyst plays the role of a psychologist in
the way he/she reaches out to people, interprets their thoughts,
and assesses their behavior, and draws and make conclusion
from these interactions. Understanding inter-functional
relationships is crucial. It is also important that the analyst be
aware of people’s feeling and be prepared to handle issues in
a graceful manner. The art of listening is important in evaluating
responses and feedbacks.

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Salesperson: The analyst starts by selling the idea of change and

continuously works towards making the candidate system acceptable to
the prospective users. Hence sales skills and persuasiveness are important
qualities of system analysts. System acceptance is attained through user
participation in its development, effective user training and proper motivation
to use the system. The analyst’s role as a motivator becomes evident during
the first few weeks after implementation and during the time when the
users are trained to work with the proposed system.

CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

Q1. The prime objective of project management is _______.

a) To ensure smooth transition to a new and improved
information system.
b) To employ the organizational resources in the most
productive ways
c) To ensure that projects are not delayed and do not go
over budget
d) None of the above
Q2. Microsoft project for windows is a _______.
a) Risk management system b) Project manage-ment
system c) Change management system
d) None of the above
Q3. Which of the following is not a skill requirement for the job of a
system analyst?
a) Flexibility b) Knowledge of people
c) Ability to communicate d) None of the above
Q4. For which of the following phases, systems analyst is not
responsible?
a) Maintenance phase b) Design phase
c) Testing phase d) Operation and use

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Q5. What are the characteristics which are required in a systems analyst
so as to understand the user requirements?
a) Knowledge of business b) Communication skills
c) Both of the above d) None of the above
Q6. State whether true or false:
i. It is not mandatory for an analyst to understand the
management structure and the relationship between the
departments in an organization.
ii. The progress of the project needs to be documented at
various stages of the systems development process.
iii. Gantt and PERT charts are powerful graphical techniques
used in system development life cycle.
iv. Project management is the ability to foresee what might go
wrong in a project.
v. Successfully managing user expectations is related to
successful systems implementation.

5.7 LET US SUM UP

• System analysis is the process of understanding a business

system and its processes.
• System design is the process of architecting a new business
system or one to replace or complement an existing system.
• The person who carries out the process of systems analysis
and design is called system analyst.
• A system analyst needs to have interpersonal, technical and
management skills.
• A system analyst may be responsible for system analysis,
design and programming depending on the organization size.
The title given to the system analyst also depends on the
organization type or responsibilities given to him/her.
• With the advent of easier computing and friendly development
tools, changes are coming. End user computing is becoming
popular.
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• System analysts play a variety of roles like that of a change

agent, overseer, designer, psychologist and salesperson.

5.8 FURTHER READINGS

1) Sommerville, I. (2013). Software Engineering: Pearson New

International Edition. Pearson Education Limited.

2) Mall, R. (2014). Fundamentals of software engineering. PHI Learning

Pvt. Ltd.

5.9 ANSWERS TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

Ans to Q No 1: i. b

Ans to Q No 2: ii. b

Ans to Q No 3: iii. d

Ans to Q No 4: iv. b

Ans to Q No 5: v. c

Ans to Q No 6: i. False

ii. True

iii. True

iv. True

v. True

5.10 MODEL QUESTIONS

Q1. What is system analysis and design?

Q2. What kinds of skills are required for a system analyst?
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Q3. How does a system analyst bring about “change” in a business system?

Q4. Discuss the various responsibilities of a system analyst.

Q5. “A system analyst also has a role of psychologist”. Discuss.

Q6. How does the size of organization affect the responsibilities of the
system analyst?

Q7. What are the various skills required of an analyst in the various stages
of the system development life cycle?

Q8. System analysis and system design are two different activities. What
is the difference between them?

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