MIT811

System Analysis and Design

Textbooks:
• Systems Analysis and Design by Shelly and Rosenblatt 9th Edition

• Software Engineering (3rd ed.), By K.K Aggarwal & Yogesh Singh

• Any other relevant textbooks

 Introduction
It is a step-by-step process for developing high-quality
information systems.

An information system combines information technology,

people, and data to support business requirements.

For example, information systems handle daily business

transactions, improve company productivity, and help
managers make sound decisions.

The IT department team includes systems analysts who

plan, develop, and maintain information systems.
 Introduction…
Information System Development
Development by:
in-house
Off-the-shelf
Bespoke software

Others include:
Internet-based application services, outsourcing, custom
solutions from IT consultants, and enterprise-wide software
strategies.
productivity, and help managers make sound decisions.
 Introduction…
• Systems Analysis - understanding and specifying in detail
what an information system should do.
• System Design - specifying in detail how the parts of an
information system should be implemented

Why is it important?
• Success of information systems depends on good SAD
• Widely used in industry - proven techniques
• Part of career growth in IT - lots of interesting and well-
paying jobs!
• Increasing demand for systems analysis skills
Components of Information System
System
• System as a groups of objects that are related
together and interact to accomplish common
goal
• A system has set of inputs
• Display outputs

• An information system has five key components:

hardware, software, data, processes, and people.
 Hardware
• It consists of everything in the physical layer of
the information system.

• It includes:
• servers, workstations, networks,
telecommunications equipment,
• fiber-optic cables, mobile devices, scanners,
digital capture devices, and
• other technology-based infrastructure.
 Software
• It refers to the programs that control the
hardware and produce the desired information or
results.

• Software consists of system software and

application software.

• System software manages the hardware

components, which can include a single
workstation or a global network with many
thousands of clients.
 Software
Examples of system software include:
• the operating system,
• security software that protects the computer from
intrusion,
• device drivers that communicate with hardware
such as printers, and
• utility programs that handle specific tasks such as
data backup and disk management.
• System software also controls the flow of data,
provides data security, and manages network
operations.
 Software
Application software:
• consists of programs that support day-to-day
business functions and provide users with the
information they require.
• can serve one user or thousands of people throughout
an organization.
• Examples of enterprise applications include order
processing systems, payroll systems, and company
communications networks.
• Others for individual users include tools such as
spreadsheets, word processors, and database
management systems.
 Data

• It is the raw material that an information system

transforms into useful information.
• An information system can store data in various
locations, called tables.
• By linking the tables, the system can extract
specific information.
Data
 Processes
• It describes 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.

• To build a successful information system, analysts

must understand business processes and
document them carefully.
 People
• People who have an interest in an information system are
called stakeholders.
• Stakeholders include
• the management group responsible for the system,
• the 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.
• the success or failure of a system usually depends on
whether it meets the needs of its users.
• it is therefore, essential to understand user requirements
and expectations throughout the development process.
 Understanding The Business
• Business Profile
– Overview of a company’s mission, functions, organization,
products, services, customers, suppliers, competitors,
constraints, and future direction

14
 Understanding The Business
• Business Models
– A business process is a 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, such as handling an airline
reservation, filling a product

15
 Business Information Systems
Before
• IT managers divided systems into categories based on the user group the
system served.
• office systems (administrative staff),
• operational systems (operational personnel),
• decision support systems (middle-managers and knowledge workers), and
• executive information systems (top managers).
•
• Today, traditional labels no longer apply. For example, all employees, including
top managers, use office productivity systems. Similarly, operational users
often require decision support systems.
•
• As business changes, information use also changes in most companies.
•
• Today, it makes more sense to identify a system by its functions and features,
rather than by its users.
 Business Information Systems

Today,
• Enterprise computing system

• Transaction processing systems

• Business support systems

• Knowledge management systems

• User productivity systems

 Enterprise computing system
It refers to information systems that support company-
wide operations and data management requirements.
• E.g. Wal-Mart’s inventory control system, Boeing’s
production control system, and Hilton Hotels’ reservation
system
The main objective
• to integrate a company’s primary functions (such as
production, sales, services, inventory control, and
accounting)
• to improve efficiency, reduce costs, and help managers
make key decisions.
• to improve data security and reliability by imposing a
company-wide framework for data access and storage.
 Transaction processing systems
• TP systems process data generated by day-to-day
business operations. Examples of TP systems
include customer order processing, accounts
receivable, and warranty claim processing.
• TP systems are efficient because they process a
set of transaction-related commands as a group
rather than individually.
• To protect data integrity, however, TP systems
ensure that if any single element of a transaction
fails, the system does not process the rest of the
transaction.
 Business support systems
• It provide job-related information support to users at all levels
of a company. These systems can
• analyze transactional data,
• generate information needed to manage and control business
processes, and
• provide information that leads to better decision-making.
•
• It can work hand in hand with a TP system.

• For example, when a company sells merchandise to a

customer, a TP system records the sale, updates the
customer’s balance, and makes a deduction from inventory. A
related business support system highlights slow- or fast-
moving items, customers with past due balances, and
inventory levels that need adjustment.
Knowledge management systems
• Also called expert systems because they simulate
human reasoning by combining a knowledge base
and inference rules that determine how the
knowledge is applied.

• A knowledge base consists of a large database

that allows users to find information by entering
keywords or questions in normal English phrases.

• A knowledge management system uses inference

rules, which are logical rules that identify data
patterns and relationships.
 User productivity systems
• Examples of user productivity systems include e-mail,
voice mail, fax, video and Web conferencing, word
processing, automated calendars, database management,
spreadsheets, desktop publishing, presentation graphics,
company intranets, and high-speed Internet access.

• User productivity systems also include groupware.

Groupware programs run on a company intranet and
enable users to share data, collaborate on projects, and
work in teams.

• Today, administrative assistants and company presidents

alike are networked, use computer workstations, and need
to share corporate data to perform their jobs.
 Systems Development Tools
This includes tools such as
• modelling,
• prototyping, and
• computer-aided systems engineering tools to
plan, design, and implement information
systems.
• Systems analysts work with these tools in
a team environment, where input from
users, managers, and IT staff contributes
to the system design.
 Modelling

• Modelling produces a graphical representation of a concept or

process that systems developers can analyze, test, and modify.
• A systems analyst can describe and simplify an information
system by using a set of business, data, object, network, and
process models.
• A business model, or requirements model, describes the
information that a system must provide.
• A data model describes data structures and design.
• An object model describes objects, which combine data and
processes.
• A network model describes the design and protocols of
telecommunications links.
 Modelling
• A process model describes the logic that programmers
use to write code modules.

• These models actually work together to describe the same

environment from different points of view. System
developers often use multipurpose charting tools such as
Microsoft Visio to display business-related models.

• Visio is a popular tool that systems analysts can use to

create business process diagrams, flowcharts,
organization charts, network diagrams, floor plans,
project timelines, and work flow diagrams, among others.
 Prototyping
• Prototyping tests system concepts and provides an opportunity to
examine input, output, and user interfaces before final decisions are
made.

• A prototype is an early working version of an information system.

• A prototype can serve as an initial model that is used as a benchmark to
evaluate the finished system, or the prototype itself can develop into the
final version of the system.

• prototyping speeds up the development process significantly.

• A possible disadvantage of prototyping is that important decisions might
be made too early, before business or IT issues are understood
thoroughly.

• A prototype based on careful fact-finding and modeling techniques,

however, can be an extremely valuable tool.
Computer-Aided Systems Engineering (CASE)
Tools
• It is also called computer-aided software
engineering, is a technique that uses powerful
software, called CASE tools, to help systems analysts
develop and maintain information systems.
• CASE tools provide an overall framework for systems
development and support a wide variety of design
methodologies, including structured analysis and
object-oriented analysis.
• Because CASE tools make it easier to build an
information system,
• they boost IT productivity and
• improve the quality of the finished product