System Analysis and Design

Chapter 5
(SDLC)
Requirement Determination
 Outline
 Traditional Methods
 Interview/Listening
 Direct Observation
 Document Analysis
 Modern Methods
 Joint Application Design(JAD)
 Prototyping
 Radical Methods
 BPR
 Agile 2
 SDLC: Analysis
 Analysis: Three essential views of the current and
replacement information systems:
 Process. The sequence of data movement and
handling operations within the system.
 Logic and timing. The rules by which data are
transformed and manipulated and an indication of
what triggers data transformation.
 Data. The inherent structure of data independent of
how or when they are processed. The process view of
a system can be represented by data
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 SDLC: Analysis
1. Requirement Analysis/determination
 Understanding existing system
2. Structural Analysis
 Structuring & describing components

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 Requirement Determination
 A fact-finding activity
 Gather information on what the system
should do from as many sources as
possible:
 from users of the current system;
 from observing users; and
 from reports, forms, and procedures.

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 Requirement Determination
 Primary deliverables
 various forms of information gathered during the
determination process:
 transcripts of interviews;
 notes from observation and analysis of documents;
 sets of forms, reports, job descriptions, and other
documents; and
 computer-generated output such as system
prototypes.
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 Requirement Determination
 In addition to the deliverables:
 The business objectives that drive what and how work is done
 The information people need to do their jobs
 The data (definition, volume, size, etc.) handled within the
organization to support the jobs
 When, how, and by whom or what the data are moved, transformed,
and stored
 The sequence and other dependencies among different data-handling
activities
 The rules governing how data are handled and processed
 Policies and guidelines that describe the nature of the business and the
market and environment in which it operates
 Key events affecting data values and when these events occur
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 Requirement determination
 Traditional methods:
 Interviewing and listening
 Direct Observation

 Document Analysis

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 Requirement determination
 Interviewing and listening
 Gather facts, opinions, and speculation and
observe body language, emotions, and other
signs of what people want and how they
assess current systems.
 Many variety of ways to effectively

interview someone

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 Requirement determination
 Interviewing and listening guideline
 Plan the Interview
 Prepare interviewee: appointment, priming questions
 Prepare checklist, agenda, and questions
 Listen carefully and take notes (record if
permitted)
 Review notes within 48 hours of interview

 Be neutral

 Seek diverse views

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 Requirement determination
 Types of Questions in Interview
 Open-ended
 Questions in interviews that have no pre-specified answers.
 Information for which you can’t anticipate all possible
responses
 E.g.: “List the three most frequently used menu options.”
 Close-ended
 Provide a range of answers from which the interviewee may
choose.
 E.g.: best thing about the IS you currently use to do your
job (pick only one)? A…. B…. C…. 11
 Requirement determination
 Interviewing Group:
 Nominal Group Technique: group individuals
working on similar system component and let them
write what and how they do their job
 Then let them explain orally and make consensus
on several aspects of system component

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 Requirement determination
 Observation
 People are not always very reliable
informants
 Employees who know they are being
observed may
 be nervous and make more mistakes than normal,
 be careful to follow exact procedures they do not
typically follow, and
 work faster or slower than normal. 13
 Requirement determination
 Analyzing procedures and other docs
 Attempt to find all written documents about
the organizational areas relevant to the systems
under redesign.

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 Requirement determination
 In documents you can find information about:
 Problems with existing systems (e.g., missing
information or redundant steps)
 Opportunities to meet new needs if only certain
information or information processing were
available (e.g., analysis of sales based on customer
type)
 Organizational direction that can influence
information system requirements (e.g., trying to
link customers and suppliers more closely to the
organization) 15
 Requirement determination
 In documents you can find information about:
 Titles and names of key individuals who have an
interest in relevant existing systems
 Values of the organization or individuals who can
help determine priorities for different capabilities
desired by different users
 Special information processing circumstances that
occur irregularly that may not be identified by any
other requirements determination techniques.

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 Requirement determination
 In documents you can find information about:
 The reason why current systems are designed as
they are, which can suggest features left out of
current software, which may now be feasible and
more desirable (e.g., data about a customer’s
purchase of competitors’ products were not
available when the current system was designed;
these data are now available from several sources)
 Data, rules for processing data, and principles by
which the organization operates that must be
enforced by the information system 17
 Requirement determination
 Several ways of doing activities can be
observed:
 Formal system: The official way a system
works as described in organizational
documentation.
 Informal system: The way a system actually
works or is done.
 Consensus required with top mgmt
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Requirement determination

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