Systems Analysis & Design 7 th Edition Chapter 2

Systems Analysis & Design

7th Edition

Chapter 2

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Systems planning is the first of five phases in the systems development life cycle (SDLC)

In this phase, you will learn how IT projects get started and how a systems analyst evaluates a proposed project and determines its feasibility

Phase Description

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Chapter Objectives

Explain the concept of a business case and how a business case affects an IT project

Describe the strategic planning process and why it is important to the IT team

Explain the purpose of a mission statement

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Chapter Objectives

Describe the SDLC, and explain how it serves as a framework for systems development and business modeling

Describe risks and risk management features

List the reasons for information systems projects and the factors that affect such projects

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Chapter Objectives

Explain the initial review of systems requests and the role of the systems review committee

Define operational feasibility, technical feasibility, economic feasibility, and schedule feasibility

Describe the steps in a preliminary investigation and the end product of an investigation

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Introduction

The term business case refers to the reasons, or justification, for a proposal

Systems development typically starts with a systems request, followed by a preliminary investigation, which includes a feasibility study

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Introduction

During the systems planning phase of the SDLC:– Project requests are reviewed and

approved– Project requests are prioritized– Resources, such as money, people, and

equipment, are allocated– Project development teams are formed

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Strategic Planning – A Framework for IT Systems Development

Strategic planning is the process of identifying long-term organizational goals, strategies, and resources

Strategic Planning Overview– SWOT analysis

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Strategic planning overview The system analyst need to know about

strategic planning. And consider these planning as they carry out their day to day responsibilities.

During strategic planning top managers ask a series of questions that is called a SWOT analysis, because it examines a company’s strengths (s), weakness (W), opportunities (O), and threats (T).

Each questions may lead to an IT related issues which in turn requires more review, analysis, and planning.

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A company develops a mission statement based on the firm’s purpose, vision, and values.

The mission statement is the foundation

for the company’s major goal, shorter term objectives, and day to day.

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The mission statement describes a company for it’s stockholders and briefly states the company's overall purpose, products, services and values.

Stockholders include any one affected by the company’s operation, such as customers, employees, suppliers, stockholders, and members of the community.

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From Strategic Plans to Business Results– Mission statement– Stakeholders– Goals– Objectives

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The mission stamens is the starting point. Next the company identifies a set of goals that will accomplish the mission.– Example, the company might establish one

year, three year, and five year goals for expanding market share. To achieve those goals, the company develops a list of shorter term objects.

– If the goal is to increase web based order by 30 percent next year, a company set quarterly objectives with monthly millstones.

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Strategic Planning – A Framework for IT Systems Development In a Business study you need to consider

– Critical success factors• Factors must be archived for enterprise to fulfill

it’s mission.

– Critical business issues • Issues that are the key problems, opportunities,

and constrains that affect and shape the firms decisions.

– Case for action• A summary of the project request and a

specific recommendation.

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The Role of the IT Department in Project Evaluation– Management leadership and information

technology are linked closely, and remarkable changes have occurred in both areas

– Today, systems development is much more team oriented new approach like JAD and RAD that is involve groups of users, managers and IT staff working together.

– Although team-oriented development is the norm, some companies see the role of the IT department as a gatekeeper

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The Future– If you could look into the future, here is what

you might see: New industries, products, and services emerging from amazing advances in information technology, customers who expect world-class IT support, a surge in Internet-based commerce, and a global business environment that is dynamic and incredibly challenging. The company should see the opportunities and create a strategic plan.

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What Is a Business Case?

Should be comprehensive, yet easy to understand

Should describe the project clearly, provide the justification to proceed, and estimate the project’s financial impact

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A business case should answer questions such as:– Why are we doing this project?– What is the project about?– How does this solution address key business issues?– How much will it cost and how long will it take?– What is the return on investment?– What risks are the risk of doing and not doing the

project?– How will we measure success?– What alternatives do we have?

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The star point of most projects is system request, which is a formal way of asking for asking for IT support.

Main Reasons for Systems Projects are:– Systems request – Improved service– Support for new products and services– Better performance – More information Like a system that predict

market trend– Stronger controls of security and data

• Encryption and biometric devices– Reduced cost

Information Systems Projects

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Factors that Affect Systems Projects– Internal and external factors affect every

business decision that a company makes, and IT systems projects are no exception

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Internal Factors– Strategic plan. It sets the overall direction of company

– Top managers. It is the prim source of large scale system project

– User requests. Sales rep might request changes to companies website

– Information technology department. like purposing new data or reporting collection system

– Existing systems and data. Errors or problem in existing system

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Information Systems Projects External Factors

– Changing Technology• Barcode replaced by Electronic product code (EPC)

Suppliers

– Suppliers• With the growth of electronic data interchange, the companies data should be compatible with supplier data it also enable Just-in-time (JIT) inventory system which is computer to computer data exchange

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External Factors– Customers

• Companies implement Customer Relationship Management (CRM)

• Customer may need Electronic proof of delivery (EPOD)

– Competitors– The economy– Government

• example is income tax reporting requirements must be designed with payroll package.

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Project Management Tools– All IT projects, large and small, must be

managed and controlled– Project management begins with a systems

request, and continues until the project is completed or terminated

Risk Management– Every IT project involves risks that system

analysts and IT project managers must address– Risk management

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Evaluation of Systems Requests

Systems review committee Computer resources committee Systems Requests Forms

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Evaluation of Systems Requests

Systems Review Committees– Most large companies use a systems review

committee to evaluate systems requests– Many smaller companies rely on one person to

evaluate system requests instead of a committee

– The goal is to evaluate the requests and set priorities• Disadvantage: action on request should wait until the

committee meets.

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A systems request must pass several tests, called a feasibility study, to see whether it is worthwhile to proceed further

Overview of Feasibility

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Overview of Feasibility Operational feasibility

– If the purposed system will be used effectively after it had been developed

Technical Feasibility– Technical feasibility refers to technical resources needed

to develop, purchase, install, or operate the system Economic Feasibility

– Total cost of ownership (TCO)– Tangible benefits that can be measured by company like

reducing overtime– Intangible benefits that are difficult to measure in dollar like

sale tracing system Schedule Feasibility

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Evaluating Feasibility

The first step in evaluating feasibility is to identify and weed out systems requests that are not feasible

Even if the request is feasible, it might not be necessary

Feasibility analysis is an ongoing task that must be performed throughout the systems development process

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Setting Priorities

The highest priority goes to the project that provide the greatest benefit, at the lowest cost, in the shortest period of time

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Factors that Affect Priority– Will the proposed system reduce costs?

Where? When? How? How much?– Will the system increase revenue for the

company? Where? When? How? How much?– Will the systems project result in more

information or produce better results? How? Are the results measurable?

– Will the system serve customers better?– Will the system serve the organization better?

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Factors that Affect Priority– Can the project be implemented in a

reasonable time period? How long will the results last?

– Are the necessary financial, human, and technical resources available?

– Whenever possible, the analyst should evaluate a proposed project based on tangible costs and benefits that represent actual (or approximate) dollar values

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Setting Priorities

Discretionary and Nondiscretionary Projects– Projects where management has a choice in

implementing them are called discretionary projects

– Projects where no choice exists are called nondiscretionary projects

– Some people believe that the committee does not be involve with Nondiscretionary project , others believe that the committee should know about the nondiscretionary project to make reasonable plan for other project

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Preliminary Investigation Overview

Preliminary investigation to study the system request and recommend specific action. The end product is a report to manager

Interaction with Managers and Users

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Planning the Preliminary Investigation– During a preliminary investigation, a

systems analyst typically follows a series of steps

– The exact procedure depends on the nature of the request, the size of the project, and the degree of urgency

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Step 1: Understand the Problem or Opportunity– A popular technique for investigating causes

and effects is called a fishbone diagram, or Ishikawa diagram

– Pareto chart tool forVisualizing and

Prioritizing issues that

Need attention

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Step 2: Define the Project Scope and Constraints– Project scope , defining the boundaries of project

– Project without specification can get expanded without any control, in a process called project creep

– Constraint is a requirement or condition that system must satisfy.

– Present versus future. Is the constraint must meet as soon as the is developed or can be done if future

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– Internal versus external is the constraint due to requirement within the origination or is it from external force like government regulation

– Mandatory versus desirable is the constraint mandatory or desired.

– Regardless of the type, all constraints should be identified as early as possible to avoid future problems and surprises

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Preliminary Investigation Overview

Step 3: Perform Fact-Finding– Fact-finding involves

various techniques– Fact-finding might

consume several hours, days, or weeks

– Analyze Organization Charts

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Step 3: Perform Fact-Finding– Conduct interviews

• Determine the people to interview• Establish objectives for the interview• Develop interview questions• Prepare for the interview• Conduct the interview• Document the interview• Evaluate the interview

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Step 3: Perform Fact-Finding– Review documentation– Observe operations– Conduct a user survey

Step 4: Evaluate Feasibility– Evaluate the project’s operational,

technical, economic, and schedule feasibility

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Step 5: Estimate Project Development Time and Cost

– What information must you obtain, and how will you gather and analyze the information?

– What sources of information will you use, and what difficulties will you encounter in obtaining information?

– Will you conduct interviews? How many people will you interview, and how much time will you need to meet with the people and summarize their responses?

– Will you conduct a survey? Who will be involved? How much time will it take people to complete it? How much time will it take to prepare it and tabulate the results?

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Step 5: Estimate Project Development Time and Cost– How much will it cost to analyze the information

gathered and to prepare a report with findings and recommendations?

– You should provide an estimate for the overall project, so managers can understand the full cost impact and timetable

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Step 6: Present Results and Recommendations to Management– The final task in the preliminary investigation is

to prepare a report to management– The format of the preliminary investigation

report varies from one company to another

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– Atypical report might consist of the following sections:

• Introduction• Systems request summary• Findings• Recommendations• Project Roles - who will participate in the project• Time & cost estimates• Expected benefits- tangible and intangible benefits• Appendix- reports and supporting information

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Chapter Summary

Systems planning is the first phase of the systems development life cycle

Effective information systems help an organization support its business process, carry out its mission, and serve its stakeholders

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Chapter Summary

Strategic planning allows a company to examine its purpose, vision, and values and develops a mission statement, which leads to goals, objectives, day-to-day operations, and business results that affect company stakeholders

Systems projects are initiated to improve performance, provide more information, reduce costs, strengthen controls, or provide better service

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Chapter Summary

Various internal and external factors affect systems projects

During the preliminary investigation, the analyst evaluates the systems request and determines whether the project is from an operation, technical, economic, and schedule standpoint

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Chapter Summary

Analysts evaluate systems requests on the basis of their expected costs and benefits, both tangible and intangible

The steps in the preliminary investigation are to understand the problem or opportunity; define the project scope and constraints; perform fact-finding; estimate the project’s benefits; estimate project development time and cost; and present results and recommendations to management

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Chapter Summary

The report must include an estimate of time, staffing requirements, costs, benefits, and expected results for the next phase of the SDLC

Chapter 2 complete

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Systems Analysis & Design 7 th Edition Chapter 2