Systems Analysis and

Design 10th Edition

Chapter 1
Introduction to Systems Analysis
and Design
Chapter Objectives
 Describe the impact of information
technology
 Define systems analysis and design and the

role of a systems analyst

 Define an information system and describe

its components
 Explain how to use business profiles and

models
 Explain Internet business strategies and

relationships, including B2C and B2B

2
Chapter Objectives (Cont.)

 Identify various types of information

systems and explain who uses them
 Distinguish among structured analysis,

object-oriented analysis, and agile methods

 Explain the waterfall model, and how it has

evolved
 Discuss the role of the information

technology department and the systems

analysts who work there

3
Introduction
• Companies use
information as a
weapon in the battle to
increase productivity,
deliver quality products
and services, maintain
customer loyalty, and
make sound decisions
• Information technology
can mean the difference
between success and
failure FIGURE 1-1 These headlines show the
enormous impact of information
technology on our lives.
4
 What Is Information Technology?
 Information Technology (IT)
◦ Combination of hardware and software products
and services that companies use to manage, access,
communicate, and share information
 Welcome to the 21st Century: The IT Journey
Continues
◦ Changes in the world
◦ Changes in technology
◦ Changes in client demand

FIGURE 1-3 How times

have changed!

5
What Is Information Technology?
(Cont.)

 Systems Analysis and Design

 Step-by-step process for developing high-quality
information systems
◦ What Does a Systems Analyst Do?
 Plan, develop, and maintain information systems
 Also manages IT projects, including tasks, resources,
schedules, and costs
 Conducts meetings, delivers presentations, and writes
memos, reports, and documentation

6
 Information System Components
• A system is a set of related
components that produces
specific results
• Mission-critical systems are
vital to a company’s
operations
• Information systems have
five key components:
hardware, software,
data, processes, and people
FIGURE 1-6 An information
system needs these components.

7
Information System Components
(Cont.)

 Hardware
◦ Is the physical layer of the information system
◦ Moore’s Law
 Software
◦ System software
◦ Application software
 Horizontal system
 Vertical system
 Legacy systems

FIGURE 1-7 Server farms provide the

enormous power and speed that modern
IT systems need.

8
Information System Components
(Cont.)

 Data
◦ Tables store data
◦ Linked tables work
together to supply
data
 Processes
◦ Describe the tasks and
business functions that
users, managers, and IT
staff members perform to
achieve specific results
 People
◦ Stakeholders
◦ Users or end users FIGURE 1-8 In a typical payroll system,
data is stored in separate tables that are
linked to form an overall database.
9
 Business in the 21st Century
 Three major trends:
◦ Rapidly increasing globalization
◦ Technology integration for seamless information
access
◦ Rapid growth of cloud-based computing and
services
 All trends are Internet-centric and driven by
the immense power of the Web

10
Business in the 21st Century (Cont.)

 E-commerce or I-commerce
 B2C (Business-to-Consumer)
 B2B (Business-to-Business)

◦ EDI
◦ Supply chain management (SCM)
 What’s Next?
◦ Traditionally, IT companies were product-oriented
or service-oriented
◦ Today’s IT companies offer a mix of products,
services, and support

11
Business in the 21st Century (Cont.)

 Internet-dependent firms
◦ Primary business depends on the Internet rather than
a traditional business channel
 Brick-and-mortar firms
◦ Have physical stores where customers can see and
touch the products
◦ Have expanded their Web-based marketing channels
to increase sales and serve customers better
 Combine convenience of online shopping and the
alternative of hands-on purchasing
 Lowe’s, Costco, Target, and Wal-Mart are examples

12
Business in the 21st Century (Cont.)

 The Web-based business model leveled the

playing field for small firms that now can
reach a global marketplace
 Discount coupon business gets a new life

◦ eBay and Groupon

◦ Firms now using global positioning system (GPS)
coordinates to tempt buyers with nearby deals

13
Business in the 21st Century (Cont.)

• Business Profiles
– Overview of a company’s mission, functions,
organization, products, services, customers,
suppliers, competitors, constraints, and future
direction
– Business Processes
– Specific set of transactions, events, and results
that can be described and documented
– A business process model (BPM ) graphically
displays one or more business processes

14
Business in the 21st Century (Cont.)

FIGURE 1-14 A simple business model

might consist of an event, three
processes, and a result.

FIGURE 1-15 This sample uses

business process modeling notation
(BPMN) to represent the same events,
processes, and workflow shown in
Figure 1-14. 15
Business in the 21st Century (Cont.)

Business Information Systems

◦ The old way:
 Administrative staff used office systems
 Operational people used operational systems
 Middle managers used decision support systems
 Top managers used executive information systems
◦ The “now” way
 All employees use office productivity systems
 Operations users require decision support systems

16
Business in the 21st Century (Cont.)

A new set of system definitions

◦ Enterprise computing systems
◦ Transaction processing systems
◦ Business support systems
◦ Knowledge management systems
◦ User productivity systems

17
Business in the 21st Century (Cont.)

Enterprise Computing
◦ Information systems that support company-wide
operations and data management requirements
◦ Examples:
 Wal-Mart’s inventory control system
 Boeing’s production control system
 Hilton Hotels’ reservation system
 Applications called enterprise resource planning (ERP)
systems provide cost-effective support for users and
managers throughout the company

18
Business in the 21st Century (Cont.)

Transaction Processing
 Transaction processing (TP) systems process data
generated by day-to-day business operations Examples:
 Customer order processing
 Accounts receivable
 Warranty claim processing
 A TP system verifies
customer data, checks
customer credit, checks
stock status, posts to
accounts receivable,
adjusts inventory levels,
and updates the sales file FIGURE 1-17 A single sales transaction
consists of six separate tasks, which the
TP system processes as a group.

19
Business in the 21st Century (Cont.)

Business Support
 Provide job-related information support to users at
all levels of a company
 Can work hand-in-hand with a TP system
 New development is RFID
 Radio frequency
identification (RFID)
technology uses
high-frequency radio
waves to track physical
objects.
FIGURE 1-18 With an RFID tag, items
can be tracked and monitored
throughout the shipping process.
20
Business in the 21st Century (Cont.)

 Knowledge Management
◦ Uses a large database called a knowledge
base
◦ Allows users to find information by
entering keywords
◦ Uses inference rules, which are logical
rules that identify data patterns and
relationships

21
Business in the 21st Century (Cont.)

 User Productivity
◦ Technology that improves productivity
◦ Groupware
 Systems Integration

◦ Most large companies require systems

that combine transaction processing,
business support, knowledge
management, and user productivity
features

22
What Information Do Users Need?

FIGURE 1-20 A typical organizational model identifies business functions

and organizational levels.

23
What Information Do Users Need?
(Cont.)

 Top Managers
◦ Develop long-range strategic plans, which define
the company’s overall mission and goals
◦ Need information on economic forecasts,
technology trends, competitive threats, and
governmental issue
 Middle Managers and Knowledge Workers
◦ Provide direction, necessary resources, and
performance feedback to supervisors and team
leaders
◦ Need more detailed information than top managers

24
What Information Do Users Need?
(Cont.)

 Supervisors and Team Leaders

◦ Oversee operational employees and carry out
day-to-day functions
◦ They coordinate operational tasks and people,
make necessary decisions, and ensure that the
right tools, materials, and training are available.
Operational Employees
◦ Rely on TP systems to enter and receive data they
need to perform their jobs
◦ Need information to handle tasks and make
decisions previously made by supervisors

25
Systems Development Tools
 Modeling
◦ Business model
◦ Requirements model
◦ Data model
◦ Object model
◦ Network model
◦ Process model

FIGURE 1-21 Microsoft Visio allows you to

drag and drop various symbols and connect
them to show a business process.

26
Systems Development Tools (Cont.)

 Prototyping
◦ Early working version of an information system
◦ Speeds up the development process significantly
◦ Important decisions might be made too early,
before business or IT issues are thoroughly
understood
◦ A prototype based on careful fact-finding and
modeling techniques can be an extremely
valuable tool

27
Systems Development Tools (Cont.)

 Computer-Aided Systems Engineering

(CASE) Tools
◦ Provide an overall framework for systems
development and support a wide variety of design
methodologies such as:
 Structured analysis
 Object-oriented analysis
◦ Can generate program code, which speeds the
implementation process

28
Systems Development Methods
 Structured Analysis
◦ Traditional method for developing systems
◦ Organized into phases
 Object-Oriented Analysis
◦ More recent method for developing systems
◦ Objects represent actual people, things, or events
 Agile/Adaptive Methods
◦ Latest trend in software development
◦ Team-based effort broken down into cycles

29
Systems Development Methods
(Cont.)

 Structured Analysis
◦ Time-tested and easy to understand
◦ Uses phases called the systems development life
cycle (SDLC)
◦ Predictive approach
◦ Uses process
models to
describe a
system
graphically
FIGURE 1-24 This Visible Analyst screen
shows a process model for a school registration
system. The REGISTER STUDENTS process
accepts input data from two sources and
transforms it into output data. 30
Systems Development Methods
(Cont.)

◦ The SDLC model usually includes five

steps
 Systems Planning
 Systems Analysis
 Systems Design
 Systems Implementation
 Systems Security and
Support

FIGURE 1-25 Development

phases and deliverables are
shown in the waterfall model.
The circular symbols indicate
interaction among the phases.
31
Systems Development Methods
(Cont.)

 Systems Planning
 Systems request – begins the process and describes
problems or desired changes
 Purpose of this phase is to perform a preliminary
investigation – a critical step
 Key part of preliminary investigation is a feasibility
study

32
Systems Development Methods
(Cont.)

 Systems Analysis
 Build a logical model of the new system
 Perform fact-finding techniques
 Build business models, data and process models, and
object models
 Deliverable is the system requirements document

33
Systems Development Methods
(Cont.)

 Systems Design
 Create a physical model that satisfies all documented
requirements
 Design user interface
 Identify outputs, inputs, and processes
 Deliverable is the system design specification
 Management and user involvement is critical

34
Systems Development Methods
(Cont.)

 Systems Implementation
 New system is constructed
 Programs are written and tested
 System is installed
 Deliverable is a completely functioning and
documented information system
 Systems Support and Security
 A well-designed system must be secure, reliable,
maintainable, and scalable
 Most information systems need to be updated
significantly or replaced after several years of
operation

35
Systems Development Methods
(Cont.)

 Object-Oriented Analysis
 Combines data and the processes that act on the data into
things called objects
 Objects are members of a
class, which is a collection
of similar objects
 Built-in processes,
called methods, can
change an object’s
properties
 O-O methodology
provides easy transition
to O-O programming
languages like Java FIGURE 1-26 The PERSON class includes
INSTRUCTOR and STUDENT objects, which
have their own properties and inherited
properties. 36
Systems Development Methods
(Cont.)

 Agile Methods
 Newest development technique as systems are
developed incrementally
 A series of prototypes are built and adjusted to
meet user requirements
 As the process continues, developers revise, extend,
and merge earlier versions into the final product
 Agile method emphasizes continuous feedback
 Iterative development
◦ Agile community has published the Agile Manifesto
◦ Spiral model

37
Systems Development Methods
(Cont.)

 Agile Methods
◦ Agile process determines the end result
◦ Other adaptive variations and related methods exist
◦ Analysts should understand the pros and cons of
any approach before selecting a development
method

38
Systems Development Methods
(Cont.)

 Develop a project plan

 Involve users and listen carefully to them
 Use project management tools to identify

tasks and milestones

 Develop accurate cost and benefit

information
 Remain flexible

39
The Information Technology Department

FIGURE 1-29 Depending on its size, an IT department might have separate organizational units
for these functions, or they might be combined into a smaller number of teams.

40
The Information Technology Department
(Cont.)

Application Development
– Systems are developed by teams consisting of
users, managers, and IT staff members
• Knowledge, Skills, and Education
• Need technical knowledge, strong oral and written
communication skills and analytic ability, an
understanding of business operations, and critical
thinking skills
• Certification
– Important credential

41
The Information Technology Department
(Cont.)

Systems Support and Security

• Provides vital protection and maintenance services
User Support
• Provides users with technical information, training,
and productivity support

42
The Information Technology Department
(Cont.)

Database Administration
 Involves data design, management, security, backup, and access
systems
Network Administration
 Includes hardware and software maintenance, support, and security
Web Support
 Web support specialists design and construct Web pages, monitor
traffic, manage hardware and software, and link Web-based
applications to the company’s information systems
Quality Assurance
 Team that reviews and tests all applications and systems
changes to verify specifications and software quality standards

43
The Systems Analyst
 Role  Knowledge, Skills,
◦ Analysts build a series of and Education
models, diagrams, and
decision tables and uses ◦ Technical Knowledge
other descriptive tools and ◦ Communication Skills
techniques
◦ Business Skills
◦ An analyst’s most valuable
skill is the ability to listen ◦ Critical Thinking
◦ An effective analyst will Skills
involve users in every step ◦ Education
of the development
process ◦ Certification

44
The Systems Analyst (Cont.)

 Career Opportunities
◦ Companies will need systems analysts to apply new
information technology, and the explosion in e-commerce will
fuel IT job growth
 What’s important?
◦ Job Titles
◦ Company Organization
◦ Company Size
◦ Salary, Location and Future Growth
◦ Corporate Culture

45
 Chapter Summary
• IT refers to the combination of hardware and
software resources that companies use to
manage, access, communicate, and share
information
• The essential components of an information
system are hardware, software, data,
processes, and people
• Successful companies offer a mix of
products, technical and financial services,
consulting, and customer support

46
Chapter Summary (Cont.)

• Organization structure includes top

managers, middle managers and knowledge
workers, supervisors and team leaders
• The IT department develops, maintains, and
operates a company’s information systems

47
Chapter Summary (Cont.)

 Systems analysts need a combination of

technical and business knowledge, analytical
ability, and communication skills
 Systems analysts need to consider salary,

location, and future growth potential when

making a career decision

48