INSPIRING CREATIVE AND INNOVATIVE MINDS

Learning Objectives

• Recall the basic types of computer-based systems

that a systems analyst needs to address
• Understand how users working in context with new
technologies change the dynamics of a system
• Realize what the many roles of the systems analyst
are
• Know the steps of the SDLC as they relate to HCI
and how to apply them to a real system
• Understand what CASE tools are and how they help
a systems analyst
• Explore other methodologies such as object
-oriented systems design and prototyping

INSPIRING CREATIVE AND INNOVATIVE MINDS

 Information – A Key Resource

• Fuels business and can be the critical factor in

determining the success or failure of a business
• Needs to be managed correctly
• Managing computer-generated information
differs from handling manually produced data

INSPIRING CREATIVE AND INNOVATIVE MINDS

 Major Topics

• Fundamentals of different kinds of information

systems
• Roles of systems analysts
• Phases in the systems development life cycle
as they relate to Human-Computer Interaction
(HCI) factors
• Computer-Aided Software Engineering (CASE)
tools

INSPIRING CREATIVE AND INNOVATIVE MINDS

 Systems Analysts Recommend, Design, and
Maintain Many Types of Systems for Users

• Transaction Processing Systems (TPS)

• Office Automation Systems (OAS)
• Knowledge Work Systems (KWS)
• Management Information Systems (MIS)
• Decision Support Systems (DSS)
• Expert Systems (ES)
• Executive Support Systems (ESS)
• Group Decision Support Systems (GDSS)
• Computer-Supported Collaborative Work
Systems (CSCWS)

INSPIRING CREATIVE AND INNOVATIVE MINDS

 A systems analyst
Strategic may be involved with
Level
any or all of these
systems at each
Tactical Level organization level

Knowledge
Level

Operational
Level

INSPIRING CREATIVE AND INNOVATIVE MINDS

 Operational Level

• Transaction Processing System (TPS)

– Process large amounts of data for routine
business transactions
– Boundary-spanning
– Support the day-to-day operations of the
company
– Examples: Payroll Processing, Inventory
Management

INSPIRING CREATIVE AND INNOVATIVE MINDS

 Knowledge Level

• Office Automation System (OAS)

– Supports data workers who share information, but do not
usually create new knowledge
– Examples: Word processing, Spreadsheets, Desktop
publishing, Electronic scheduling, Communication
through voice mail, Email, Video conferencing

• Knowledge Work System (KWS)

– Supports professional workers such as scientists,
engineers, and doctors
– Examples: computer-aided design systems, virtual reality
systems, investment workstations

INSPIRING CREATIVE AND INNOVATIVE MINDS

 Tactical Level
• Management Information System (MIS)
– Support a broad spectrum of organizational tasks
including decision analysis and decision making
– Examples: profit margin by sales region, expenses vs.
budgets

• Decision Support System (DSS)

– Aids decision makers in the making of decisions
– Examples: financial planning with what-if analysis,
budgeting with modeling

• Expert System (ES)

– Captures and uses the knowledge of an expert for solving
a particular problem which leads to a conclusion or
recommendation
– Examples: MYCIN, XCON
INSPIRING CREATIVE AND INNOVATIVE MINDS
 Strategic Level

• Executive Support System (ESS)

– Helps executives to make unstructured strategic decisions
in an informed way
– Examples: drill-down analysis, status access

• Group Decision Support System (GDSS)

– Permit group members to interact with electronic support
– Examples: email, Lotus Notes

• Computer-Supported Collaborative Work System

(CSCWS)
– CDCWS is a more general term of GDSS
– May include software support called “groupware” for
team collaboration via network computers
– Example: video conferencing, Web survey system
INSPIRING CREATIVE AND INNOVATIVE MINDS
 Integrating New Technologies

• Ecommerce and Web Systems

• Enterprise Resource Planning Systems
• Wireless Systems
• Open Source Software
• Need for Systems Analysis and Design

INSPIRING CREATIVE AND INNOVATIVE MINDS

INSPIRING CREATIVE AND INNOVATIVE MINDS
 Benefits of Ecommerce and Web
Systems

• Increasing user awareness of the availability of

a service, product, industry, person, or group
• The possibility of 24-hour access for users
• Improving the usefulness and usability of
interface design
• Creating a system that can extend globally
rather than remain local, thus reaching people
in remote locations without worry of the time
zone in which they are located

INSPIRING CREATIVE AND INNOVATIVE MINDS

 Enterprise Resource Planning Systems
(ERP)

• Performs integration of many information

systems existing on different management
levels and within different functions
• Example: SAP, Oracle

INSPIRING CREATIVE AND INNOVATIVE MINDS

 Wireless Systems

• System analyst may be asked to design

standard or wireless communication networks
that integrate voice, video and email into
organizational intranets or industry extranets
• System analyst may also be asked to develop
intelligent agents
• Example: Microsoft's new software based on
Bayesian statistics
• Wireless communication is referred as m
-commerce (mobile commerce)

INSPIRING CREATIVE AND INNOVATIVE MINDS

 Open Source Software

• An alternative of traditional software

development where proprietary code is hidden
from the users
• Open source software is free to distribute,
share and modify
• Characterized as a philosophy rather than
simply the process of creating new software
• Example: Linux Operating System, Apache Web
Server, Mozilla Firefox Web browser

INSPIRING CREATIVE AND INNOVATIVE MINDS

 Need for Systems Analysis and Design

• Installing a system without proper planning

leads to great user dissatisfaction and
frequently causes the system to fall into
disuse
• Lends structure to the analysis and design of
information systems
• A series of processes systematically undertaken
to improve a business through the use of
computerized information systems

INSPIRING CREATIVE AND INNOVATIVE MINDS

 Roles of the Systems Analyst

• The analyst must be able to work with people

of all descriptions and be experienced in
working with computers
• Three primary roles:
– Consultant
– Supporting Expert
– Agent of change

INSPIRING CREATIVE AND INNOVATIVE MINDS

 Qualities of the Systems Analyst

• Problem solver
• Communicator
• Strong personal and professional ethics
• Self-disciplined and self-motivated

INSPIRING CREATIVE AND INNOVATIVE MINDS

 Systems Development Life Cycle (SDLC)

• The systems development life cycle is a phased

approach to solving business problems
• Developed through the use of a specific cycle
of analyst and user activities
• Each phase has unique user activities

INSPIRING CREATIVE AND INNOVATIVE MINDS

INSPIRING CREATIVE AND INNOVATIVE MINDS
 Incorporating Human-Computer
Interaction Considerations

• The demand for analysts who are capable of

incorporating HCI into the systems
development process keeps increasing, as
companies begin to realize that the quality of
systems and the quality of work life can be
improved by taking a human-centered
approach at the outset of a project

INSPIRING CREATIVE AND INNOVATIVE MINDS

• Activity:
– Interviewing user management
– Summarizing the knowledge obtained
– Estimating the scope of the project
– Documenting the results

• Output:
– Feasibility report containing problem definition
and objective summaries from which
management can make a decision on whether
to proceed with the proposed project

INSPIRING CREATIVE AND INNOVATIVE MINDS

• Activity:
– Interviewing
– Sampling and investing hard data
– Questionnaires
– Observe the decision maker’s behavior and environment
– Prototyping
– Learn the who, what, where, when, how, and why of the
current system

• Output:
– Analyst understands how users accomplish their work
when interacting with a computer; and begin to know
how to make the new system more useful and usable.
The analyst should also know the business functions and
have complete information on the people, goals, data
and procedure involved

INSPIRING CREATIVE AND INNOVATIVE MINDS

• Activity:
– Create data flow diagrams
– Complete the data dictionary
– Analyze the structured decisions made
– Prepare and present the system proposal
• Output:
– Recommendation on what, if anything, should
be done

INSPIRING CREATIVE AND INNOVATIVE MINDS

• Activity:
– Design procedures for data entry
– Design the human-computer interface
– Design system controls
– Design files and/or database
– Design backup procedures

• Output
– Model of the actual system

INSPIRING CREATIVE AND INNOVATIVE MINDS

• Activity:
– System analyst works with programmers to develop any
original software
– Works with users to develop effective documentation
– Programmers design, code, and remove syntactical
errors from computer programs
– Document software with help files, procedure manuals,
and Web sites with Frequently Asked Questions

• Output:
– Computer programs
– System documentation

INSPIRING CREATIVE AND INNOVATIVE MINDS

• Activity:
– Test the information system
– System maintenance
– Maintenance documentation

• Output:
– Problems, if any
– Updated programs
– Documentation
• Activity:
– Train users
– Analyst plans smooth conversion from old
system to new system
– Review and evaluate system

• Output:
– Trained personnel
– Installed system

INSPIRING CREATIVE AND INNOVATIVE MINDS

Some researchers estimate that the amount of time spent on systems
maintenance may be as much as 60 percent of the total time spent
on systems projects
INSPIRING CREATIVE AND INNOVATIVE MINDS
 The Impact of Maintenance

• Maintenance is performed for two reasons

– Removing software errors, and
– Enhancing existing software

• Over time the cost of continued maintenance

will be greater than that of creating an
entirely new system. At that point it becomes
more feasible to perform a new systems study

INSPIRING CREATIVE AND INNOVATIVE MINDS

INSPIRING CREATIVE AND INNOVATIVE MINDS
• Traditional systems development life cycle
• CASE systems development life cycle
• Object-Oriented Systems Analysis and Design

INSPIRING CREATIVE AND INNOVATIVE MINDS

 Case Tools

• CASE tools are productivity tools for systems

analysts that have been created explicitly to
improve their routine work through the use of
automated support

• Reasons for using CASE tools

– Increasing Analyst Productivity
– Improving Analyst-User Communication
– Integrating Life Cycle Activities
– Accurately Assessing Maintenance Changes

INSPIRING CREATIVE AND INNOVATIVE MINDS

 Case Tool Classifications

• Upper CASE tools perform analysis and design

• Lower CASE tools generate programs from CASE
design
• Integrated CASE tools perform both upper and
lower CASE functions

INSPIRING CREATIVE AND INNOVATIVE MINDS

 Upper CASE Tools

• Create and modify the system design

• Help in modeling organizational requirements
and defining system boundaries
• Can also support prototyping of screen and
report designs

INSPIRING CREATIVE AND INNOVATIVE MINDS

 Lower CASE Tools

• Lower CASE tools generate computer source

code from the CASE design
• Source code is usually generated in several
languages

INSPIRING CREATIVE AND INNOVATIVE MINDS

INSPIRING CREATIVE AND INNOVATIVE MINDS
 Object-Oriented Systems Analysis and
Design

• Alternate approach to the structured approach

of the SDLC that is intended to facilitate the
development of systems that must change
rapidly in response to dynamic business
environments
• Analysis is performed on a small part of the
system followed by design and
implementation. The cycle repeats with
analysis, design and implementation of the
next part and this repeats until the project is
complete

INSPIRING CREATIVE AND INNOVATIVE MINDS

• Agile approach
• Prototyping
• ETHICS
• Project champion
• Soft Systems Methodology
• Multiview

INSPIRING CREATIVE AND INNOVATIVE MINDS

 Summary

• Information is a key resource

• Systems analysts deal with many types of
information systems
• Integration of traditional systems with new
technologies
• Roles and qualities of the systems analyst
• The systems Development Life Cycle
• CASE tools
• Alternatives to structured analysis and design
and to the SDLC

INSPIRING CREATIVE AND INNOVATIVE MINDS