System Analysis

and Design

By
Dr. Marwa Hussien Mohamed
Information Systems dept.
Faculty of Computer Science and Information Systems
Course Grades
• Mid-term exam: 20 grades
• Final exam: 60 grades
• Lab work: 20 grades
 Lecture 1

THE SYSTEMS ANALYST AND

INFORMATION SYSTEMS
DEVELOPMENT
Learning Objectives
• Explain the role played in information systems
development by the systems analyst.
• Describe the fundamental systems development life
cycle and its four phases.
• Explain how organizations identify IS development
projects.
• Explain the importance of linking the information
system to business needs.
• Be able to create a system request.
• Describe technical, economic, and organizational
feasibility assessment.
• Be able to perform a feasibility analysis.
Introduction
• Information system is an integrated set of components for collecting,
storing, and processing data and for providing information, knowledge,
and digital products.
• New information systems introduce change to the organization and its
people.
• Leading a successful organizational change effort is one of the most
difficult jobs that someone can do.
• Understanding what to change, knowing how to change it, and
convincing others of the need for change require a wide range of skills.

5
Software Projects and their Failures
• In 2010, an estimated $2.4 trillion was spent by organizations and
governments on IT hardware, software, and services worldwide.

• About 68% of technology projects fail!!

• Others are delivered to the users significantly late, cost far more
than expected, and have fewer features than originally planned.

6
System Analysis and Design
• Information Systems Analysis and Design
• The complex organizational process whereby computer-based
information systems are developed and maintained.
• Application Software
• Computer software designed to support organizational functions or
processes. It is an important result of systems analysis and design
• Systems Analyst
• The organizational role most responsible for the analysis and design of
information systems
The System Analyst
• The key person in the SDLC is the systems analyst.
• He is responsible for:
• analyzes the business situation,
• identifies opportunities for improvements,
• and designs an information system to implement the improvements.
• The primary goal is to create value for the organization, which for
most companies means increasing profits.
• In Government agencies and not-for-profit organizations measure value
differently.
• In this course we introduce the fundamental skills to be a systems
analyst.
8
Systems Analyst Skills
• These skills can be broken down into six major categories:
technical, business, analytical, interpersonal, communications,
and ethical.
• Technical: must understand the technology
• Business: must know the business processes
• Analytical: must be able to solve problems
• Interpersonal: leadership & management
• Communications: technical & non-technical audiences
• Ethics: deal fairly and protect confidential information

9
System Analyst Roles
• Business Analyst
• Focuses on the business issues surrounding the IS.
• Identify the business value that the system will create.
• Develops ideas for improving the business processes and helps design new business
processes.
• Have business training and experience, plus knowledge of analysis and design.
• Systems Analyst
• Focuses on the IS issues
• Develops ideas and suggestions for ways that IT can support and improve 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.

10
System Analyst Roles
• Requirements Analyst
• Accurate requirements play in the ultimate success of the system.
• Requirements analysts understand the business well from the stakeholders, excellent
communicators, and are highly skilled in an array of requirements elicitation techniques
• Infrastructure Analyst
• Focuses on the technical issues surrounding the ways the system will interact
with the organization’s technical infrastructure (hardware, software, networks,
and databases).
• Helps to identify infrastructure changes that will be needed to support the
system.
• The infrastructure analyst will have significant training and experience in
networking, database administration, and various hardware and software
products.

11
System Analyst Roles
• Change Management Analyst
• Focuses on the people and management issues surrounding the system
installation.
• This person ensures that adequate documentation and support are available to
users, provides user training on the new system, and develops strategies to
overcome resistance to change.
• The change management analyst will have significant training and experience in
organizational behavior and specific expertise in change management.
• Project Manager
• Ensures that the project is completed on time and within budget and that the
system delivers the expected value to the organization.

12
Systems Development Life Cycle (SDLC)

• The process of determining how an information system (IS)

can support business needs, designing the system, building
it, and delivering it to users.

13
SDLC Phases

14
SDLC Phases
1. Planning
• The planning phase is the fundamental process of understanding why an
information system should be built and determining how the project team
will go about building it.
• It has two steps:
1. Project initiation
2. Once approved from the steering committee, it enters project management.

15
SDLC Phases
2. Analysis
• The analysis phase answers the questions of who will use the system,
what the system will do, and where and when it will be used.
• During this phase, the project team investigates any current system(s),
identifies improvement opportunities, and develops a concept for the
new system.
• This phase has three steps:
1. An analysis strategy
2. Requirements gathering
3. The analyses, system concept, and models are combined into a document called
the system proposal

16
SDLC Phases
3. Design
• The design phase decides how the system will operate in terms of the
hardware, software, and network infrastructure that will be in place; the
user interface, forms, and reports that will be used; and the specific
programs, databases, and files that will be needed.
• The steps in the design phase determine exactly how the system will
operate.
• The design phase has four steps:
1. The design strategy.
2. Architecture design & interface design.
3. The database and file specifications design.
4. The program design.

17
SDLC Phases
4. Implementation
• During which the system is actually built (or purchased, in the case of a
packaged software design and installed).
• This is the phase that usually gets the most attention, because for most
systems it is the longest and most expensive single part of the
development process.
• This phase has three steps:
1. System construction.
2. System installation.
3. Support plan for the system.

18
SDLC Phases

19
SDLC Phases

20
SDLC Phases

21
Project Identification and Initiation
• Where do project ideas come from?
• A project is identified when someone in the organization identifies a business
need to build a system.
• Examples of business needs include:
• supporting a new marketing campaign,
• reaching out to a new type of customer,
• or improving interactions with suppliers.
• Sometimes, needs arise from some kind of “pain” within the organization:
• such as a drop in market share, poor customer service levels, or increased competition.
• New business initiatives and strategies may be created and a system to
support them is required, or a merger or acquisition may require systems to
be integrated.

22
Business Process Management (BPM)
• BPM is a methodology used by organizations to continuously
improve end-to-end business processes. It can be applied to
internal organizational processes and to processes spanning
multiple business partners.
• BPM generally follows a continuous cycle of systematically
creating, assessing, and altering business processes.
• Business analysts, with their in-depth business knowledge, play a
particularly important role in business process management.

23
Types of Business Process Management
(BPM)
1. Business Process Automation: is the foundation of many
information technology systems. In these situations, technology
components are used to complement or substitute for manual
information management processes with the intent of gaining cost
efficiencies.
2. Business Process Improvement: results from studying the business
processes, creating new, redesigned processes to improve the
process workflows, and/or utilizing new technologies enabling new
process structures
3. Business Process Reengineering: changing the fundamental way in
which the organization operates and making major changes to take
advantage of new ideas and new technology.

24
Project Sponsor
• When a strong business need for an information system is
recognized, often as a result of BPM, a person (or group) who has
an interest in the system’s success typically steps forward.
• The project sponsor
• He/they develops the initial vision of the new system.
• He works throughout the SDLC to make sure that the project is moving in
the right direction from the perspective of the business and serves as the
primary point of contact for the project team.
• Usually, he is a business function such as marketing, accounting, or
finance; however, members of the IT area also can sponsor or cosponsor
a project.

25
System Request
• A system request is a document that describes the business
reasons for building a system and the value that the system is
expected to provide.
• The project sponsor usually completes this form as part of a
formal system project selection process within the organization.
• Most system requests include five elements: project sponsor,
business need, business requirements, business value, and
special issues.

26
System Request

27
Tune Source – A case Study
• Tune Source is a company headquartered in southern California.
• Tune Source is the brainchild of three entrepreneurs with ties to the
music industry: John Margolis, Megan Taylor, and Phil Cooper.
• Originally, John and Phil partnered to open a number of stores in
southern California specializing in hard-to-find and classic jazz, rock,
country, and folk recordings.
• Megan soon was invited to join the partnership because of her contacts
and knowledge of classical music.
• Tune Source quickly became known as the place to go to find rare
audio recordings.
• Annual sales last year were $40 million with annual growth at about
3%–5% per year.

28
Tune Source - Background
• John, Megan, and Phil, like many others in the music industry, watched with
alarm the rise of music-sharing websites like Napster, as music consumers
shared digital audio files without paying for them, denying artists and record
labels royalties associated with sales. Once the legal battle over copyright
infringement was resolved and Napster was shut down.
• The partners set about establishing agreements with a variety of industry
partners in order to offer a legitimate digital music download resource for
customers in their market niche.
• Tune Source currently has a website that enables customers to search for
and purchase CDs.
• This site was initially developed by an Internet consulting firm and is hosted
by a prominent local Internet Service Provider (ISP) in Los Angeles.
• The IT department at Tune Source has become experienced with Internet
technology as it has worked with the ISP to maintain the site.

29
Tune Source – System Request

30
Tune Source – System Request

31
Tasks to do this week
• Choose your team (max 5 students).
• Choose your project.
• Develop the System Request for your project.
• If you can’t find an Idea you can ask me or your demonstrator for
help.

32