SOFTWARE

DESIGN
Objectives
➢ Define and understand information system
➢ Identify the components of an
information system
➢ define systems analysis and design
➢ Be aware of the roles and qualities of
the systems analyst
➢ Comprehend the fundamentals of three
development methodologies: SDLC, the
agile approach, and object-oriented
systems analysis and design
What do you think the reasons why
businesses invest in technology?
➢ they don’t want to be left behind in the
so called “business process”
➢ businesses used these technologies to
speed up the business processes
➢ business transactions
➢ reports
What is information system?

➢ set of interrelated components that

collect (or retrieve), process, store, and
distribute information to support
decision making and control in an
organization”
What is information system?
What is information system?

Example Payroll
System
Components of Information System
System is a set of related components that produces
specific results.

A mission-critical system is one that is vital to a company’s

operations.

An order processing system, for example, is mission-critical

because the company cannot do business without it.
5 key components of Information System
5 key components of Information System
Hardware consists of everything in the physical layer of the
information system.

Software refers to the programs that control the hardware and

produce the desired information or results.
➢ System software manages the hardware components, which can
include a single computer or a global network with many thousands
of clients.
➢ Application software consists of programs that support day-to-day
business functions and provide users with the information they need.
5 key components of Information System
Data is the raw material that an information system transforms into
useful information.

Processes describe the tasks and business functions that users,

managers, and IT staff members perform to achieve specific results.
Processes are the building blocks of an information system because
they represent actual day-to-day business operations.

People who have an interest in an information system are called

stakeholders. Stakeholders include the management group
responsible for the system, the users (sometimes called end users)
inside and outside the company who will interact with the system, and
IT staff members, such as systems analysts, programmers, and
network administrators who develop and support the system.
 As Frederick Brooks (1975) stated over
forty years ago, “there is no silver bullet” in
simplifying the development of computer
systems. There is no simple technique that
managers can utilize to ensure successful
Information Technology (IT) projects.
Methodology
is essentially a procedure to get something
done. A development methodology can be
thought of as a roadmap. A development
methodology will provide the IT professional
with guidelines for taking a system from
conception through implementation and
beyond.
System Analysis and Design
is a generic term for describing
methodologies for developing IT systems.
The SAD techniques is actually not limited to
IT Systems and can be used to create just
about anything, from family house to the
international space station. However, in the
context of this course, SAD will focus on IT
systems.
System Analyst
✓ a valued member of the IT department team who
helps
plan, develop, and maintain information systems
✓ Responsible for considering the needs of the
organization
✓ Understanding the capabilities of technology
✓ Coordinating the development and rollout of an IT
System
Roles of System Analyst
✓ as Consultant
o They are an agent to a business.
o They set as to address Information Systems issues with in a business.
o They can give you different perspective.
o They will also help you to understand organizational culture from other
viewpoints
✓ as Supporting Expert
o an analyst draws on professional expertise concerning computer
hardware and software and their uses in the business.
✓ as an Agent of Change
o It is the most wide-ranging and responsible role among all the roles of
a system analyst.
o Analysts are also known as the person who serves as a catalyst for
change, develops a plan for change, and works with others facilitating
the change.
Attributes of a successful systems analyst
Must understand programming, databases, networking,
computers, and the Internet

✓ Problem Solver - must understand the basics of business, including

business strategy, processes, organization and financials
✓ Communicator - must also be able to communicate
between the business functions and technology
professionals as well as the stakeholders
✓ Strong personal and professional ethics to help them shape their
client
relationships
✓ Must be a self-disciplined, self-motivated individual who is
able to manage and coordinate other people, as well as
innumerable project resources
System Analyst different job titles
Computer systems analyst
Business analyst
Business process analyst
Computer analyst
Application analyst
Software analyst
 Projects fail for a wide variety of reasons.
Ultimately these failed projects are usually doomed
by vastly exceeding budgets or schedules. The
reasons that the budget and schedule get out of
control are numerous. However, many of the
reasons are related to issues with
• management
• communications
• Requirements
• planning.
• 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
• 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
• 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:
• The analyst understands how users accomplish their
work when interacting with a computer
• Begin to know how to make the new system more
useful and usable
• Know the business functions
• Have complete information on the:
• People
• Goals
• Data
• Procedure involved
• Activity:
• Create data flow, activity, or sequence
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
• Activity:
• Design procedures for data entry
• Design the human-computer interface
• Design system controls
• Design database and/or files
• Design backup procedures

• Output
• Model of the actual system
• 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
• 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
• 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
• 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
• Maintenance is performed for two reasons:
• Removing software errors
• 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.
• Based on:
• Values
• Principles
• Core practices

Agile Values
• Communication
• Simplicity
• Feedback
• Courage
• Resources are adjusted to ensure successful project
completion
• Time
• Cost
• Quality
• Scope
• Exploration
• Planning
• Iterations to the first release
• Productionizing
• Maintenance
Source: Systems Analysis and Design by Kendall and Kendall
• Alternate approach to the structured approach of the
SDLC that is intended to facilitate the development of
systems that 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
• Examines the objects of a system
• Define the use case model:
• Use case diagram
• Use case scenarios
• Create UML diagrams
• Develop class diagrams
• Draw statechart diagrams
• Modify the UML diagrams
• Develop and document the system
Source: Systems Analysis and Design by
Kendall and Kendall
• Choose either:
• SDLC
• Agile
• Object-oriented methodologies
 Advantages Disadvantages
• Long established • Possibility design
• Easier project planning requirements not what
and the customer expects
monitoring Requirements • If problems
• Defined and agreed early encountered with the
in SDLC system, cost to correct
• Software designed can be high as the
based on a full client may only see the
understanding of system when it is
all requirements complete.
 Advantages Disadvantages
• Regular system • Limited planning
user feedback • Potential for scope
• Easier to adapt to creep – adding features
changing situations and going over time
• Quicker development and cost plans
• Lack of emphasis on
design and
documentation
 Advantages Disadvantages
• Closer representation of • Can be difficult to identify
real world objects all classes and objects
• Aids development using Not ideal for relational
O- O software database designs
languages • Models not as easy
• O-O software easier to to understand for
maintain and with none
greater re-usability technical users
potential.
• Systems have been developed and documented
using SLDC
• It is important to document each step
• Upper level management feels more comfortable or
safe using SDLC
• There are adequate resources and time to complete
the full SDLC
• Communication of how new systems work is
important
• There is a project champion of agile methods in the
organization
• Applications need to be developed quickly in
response to a dynamic environment
• A rescue takes place (the system failed and there is
no time to figure out what went wrong)
• The customer is satisfied with incremental
improvements
• Executives and analysts agree with the principles of
agile methodologies
• The problems modeled lend themselves to classes
• An organization supports the UML learning
• Systems can be added gradually, one subsystem at
a time
• Reuse of previously written software is a possibility
• It is acceptable to tackle the difficult problems first