10/4/2019

ICT Department, The Cambridge School, Doha

Systems Life cycle…

ICT Department, The Cambridge School, Doha

OBJECTIVES
 Stages of systems life cycle.
 Methods of investigating a system.
 System specification
 Producing the designs
 Validation routines.

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The purpose of systems life cycle.

ICT Department, The Cambridge School, Doha

 At some stage, most businesses will need a new

computerized system to help them with their day
to day tasks.
 When an organization feels their system has
problems or is in need of improvement, a system
analyst studies the system to determine where
the problems are and how the system can be
improved.
 The analyst then design and develop a new
system to be implemented in the organisation.
 The whole process is called System life cycle.
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Stages of System Life Cycle

ICT Department, The Cambridge School, Doha

Analysis

Evaluation Design

Documentation Development and

Testing

Implementation
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1. ANALYSIS
ICT Department, The Cambridge School, Doha

 Analysis will normally involve the following.

 Identifying the problem that need
solving.
 Collecting data about the old system.
 Identifying the input, output, processing
of the current and new system.
 Identifying the user and information
requirements to solve the problem.

Stage 1: Analysis

Methods of researching a system

ICT Department, The Cambridge School, Doha

 Analysis involves finding out what people

want from the proposed new system or
looking at the current system to find out
how it works and could be improved.
 Different ways of investigating a system are:
a) Using Questionnaires
b) Using interviews
c) Using Observation
d) Examination of existing documentation.

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Stage 1: Analysis

ICT Department, The Cambridge School, Doha

Methods of researching a system
a) Using Questionnaires
 A questionnaire could be given to each user.

Advantages Disadvantages

More honest answers as they can be People often do not return the
completed anonymously. questionnaire.
Much less time-consuming method of Questions may be misunderstood,
getting information from people. giving wrong answers.
Questionnaires can be analysed It is hard to design a questionnaire that
automatically by making use of OMR. will collect all the information needed.
Less time needed to collect There is no-one to ask if a question is
information that interviews unclear.

Stage 1: Analysis

Methods of researching a system

ICT Department, The Cambridge School, Doha

b) Using Interviews.
 If the analyst wants to know what is going
on in an organization the obvious thing to
do is to ask the people who work there.
Advantages Disadvantages

Questions can be explained if they are People may find it intimidating and not
not understood. give honest answers.
Questions can be changes according to Very expensive as people need to be
the answers. taken away from their normal work.
People are likely to take interviews Need to make appointment to get the
seriously. staff.
Questions can be changed to suit the Very time consuming, if a lot of people
member of staff being interviewed. need to be interviewed.
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Stage 1: Analysis

ICT Department, The Cambridge School, Doha

Methods of researching a system
b) Using Observation.
 The system analyst can get a massive amount of
information from simply watching what is going on
in the organization.
Advantages Disadvantages
Can immediately see the processes Person being observed may work in a
involved in the system. different way.
Gives a more accurate view of the Person being observed may feel as
existing system. though they are being spied on.
Fairely inexpensive as people are not
taken away from their work.
There is someone to ask about the old
and new system.
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Stage 1: Analysis

Methods of researching a system

b) Examination of existing
ICT Department, The Cambridge School, Doha

documentation.
 This involve looking at any of the paper work
involved with the system like order forms,
registers, stock, etc.
Advantages Disadvantages
Saves time as there may be copies of the It may waste time if the existing
previous analysis. documentation is not relevant to the
new system
Easy to understand the data flows though It is expensive because of the time it
the system. takes to analyse the system
Analyst can determine the size of the It is very time-consuming
system using the volume of orders

Can see the existing input and output

designs. 12

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Stage 1: Analysis
Methods of recording data
a) Dataflow Diagram - DFD.
ICT Department, The Cambridge School, Doha

 Dataflow diagram is one of the tools used for

recording the huge amount of data collected
during alaysis.
 DFDs help the analyst by showing the data flows,
input and output requirements, processing and
types of storage needed.

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Dataflow Diagram – Room booking

ICT Department, The Cambridge School, Doha

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Stage 1: Analysis

ICT Department, The Cambridge School, Doha

System specification
 System specification is a document which
identifies and justifies each of the following.
a) Hardware for the new system
b) Software for the new system.

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Stage 1: Analysis

System specification
ICT Department, The Cambridge School, Doha

 Hardware specification will include the following:

a) Storage requirement – choice of storage
media, e.g. hard disk, file sever, storage on
the cloud, etc
b) Processor – speed of the processor.
c) Memory – large memory speed up
processing.
d) Input devices – standard input devices like
keyboard, mouse or automated input
devices like OMR, OCR, etc
e) Output devices – these can include
screens, printers, speakers, etc.

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Stage 1: Analysis
ICT Department, The Cambridge School, Doha
System specification
 Software specification will include the
following:
a) The operating system to be used – this
is often determined by the application
software used.
b) The application software – this could be
off-the-shelf software or specially
written by programmers.

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2. DESIGN
ICT Department, The Cambridge School, Doha

 After the analysis stage, the requirement

for the new system should be thoroughly
understood and the analyst can now start
preparing the design of the new system.

(Just like the a design of the new house is prepared

before beginning its construction)

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Stage 2: Design
ICT Department, The Cambridge School, Doha
Producing designs will include:
 Design data capture forms.
 Designing screen layouts.
 Designing validation routines, that prevent
invalid data from being stored.
 Designing report layouts.
 Designing the best form of verification for
the system.
 Designing the output screen layouts.
 Designing the required data/file structure.

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Stage 2: Design
VALIDATION
ICT Department, The Cambridge School, Doha

 “Validation is a check performed by a computer

during data entry, that ensure the data being entered
is correct and sensible.”
 There are many different validation checks available:
 Boolean check
 Data type check
 Presence check
 Length check
 Consistency check
 Range check
 Format check
 Check digit.
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Stage 2: Design
ICT Department, The Cambridge School, Doha
VALIDATION
 Boolean check: makes sure data is either
True/False or Yes/No.
 Data type check: checks that data being
entered is of correct data type.
 Presence check: makes sure that an
important piece of data is not left blank.
 Length check: Makes sure that the data
contain required number of characters in it.
E.g. A bank account number must be 11
digits.
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Stage 2: Design
VALIDATION
ICT Department, The Cambridge School, Doha

 Range Check: Make sure that the data lies

within an acceptable range of values. E.g. exam
mark must be between 0 and 80.
 Format check: performed on codes to make
sure that they conform to the correct
combination of characters. E.g. DD/MM/YY for a
date field.
 Check digit: check digits are added at the end of
barcodes or ISBN numbers. When a barcode
number or ISBN number is entered, the computer performs
a calculation to work out the check digit. If the result of
calculation is equal to check digit, the data entered is
correct.
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