PHASE I: SYSTEMS PLANNING

CHAPTER I: FIVE KEY COMPONENTS OF

INTRODUCTION TO SYSTEMS INFORMATION SYSTEMS:
ANALYSIS AND DESIGN 1. Hardware

Information Technology – refers to the Hardware consists of everything on the physical

combination of hardware, software, and layer of the information system.
services that people use to manage,
communicate and share information. Server Farm- a large concentration of servers
working together.
Systems Analysis and Design – is a step by step
process for developing high quality information Moore’s Law- a concept by Gordon Moore,
systems. SAD includes five phases: predicting that the number of transistors on an
integrated circuit chip would double about
Phase I: Systems Planning every 24 months.
Phase II: Systems Analysis
Phase III: Systems Design 2. Software
Phase IV: Systems Implementation
Phase V: Systems Support and Security Software refers to the programs that control
the hardware produce the desired information
Information System - combines technology, or results.
people, and data to provide support for
business functions. a. System Software – manages the hardware
components, and controls the flow of data,
Systems Analyst – is a valued member of the IT provides data security , and manages network
department who helps plan, develop and operation. System Software includes:
maintain information systems. They transform
business requirements to IT projects.  Operating Systems
 Security Software – protects the
System – is a set of related components that computer form intrusion
produces specific results.  Device Drivers – communicate with
hardware such as printers and speakers.
Mission Critical System – is a system that is  Utility Programs – handles specific tasks
vital to a company’s operations. such as data backup and dick management.

Data - consists of basic facts that are the b. Application Software – consists of programs
system’s raw material. that support day-to-day business functions and
provide users with the information that they
Information – data that has been transformed need. Application software includes:
into output.
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 Horizontal System – is a system such as based commerce. This includes two main
and inventory or payroll application, that sectors:
can be adapted for use in many different  B2C (Business to Consumer) – electronic
typed of companies. commerce between business and consumers.
 Vertical System – is designed to meet the  B2B (Business to Business) – electronic
unique requirements of a specific commerce between businesses.
business of industry.
Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) – a data
Enterprise Applications – company wide sharing arrangement that enabled
applications that include order processing computer-to-computer data transfer, usually
systems, payroll systems and company along private telecommunication lines. As
communications network. B2B soared, company-to-company
communication migrated to the Internet.
Legacy Systems- older systems
Supply Chain – refers to all companies who
3. Data provide materials, services and functions
needed to provide a product to a customer.
Data is the raw material that an information
system transforms into useful information. Traditionally, IT companies were identified as:

Tables – various locations where an information  Product Oriented Firms – manufactured

system can store data. computers, routers, or microchips.
 Service Oriented Firms - included
4. Processes consultants , vendors, software
developers, and service providers.
Processes describe the tasks and business
functions that users, managers, and IT staff Internet Dependent Firms - firms whose
members perform to achieve specific results; primary business depends on the Internet
rather on a traditional business channel.
5. People
Traditional Business/ Brick and Mortar
Stakeholders – people who have an interest in Businesses – conduct businesses from physical
an information system. They include the locations.
management group, the internal and external
users, the IT staff members, and etc. MODELING BUSINESS OPERATIONS

BUSINESS IN THE 21ST CENTURY System Analysts use modeling to represent

company operations and information needs.
E-commerce (Electronic Commerce) / I-
Commerce (Internet Commerce) – internet Business Profile – is an overview of a
company‘s mission, functions, organization,
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product, services customers, suppliers, or might not match the company’s way
competitors, constraints, and future direction. of operations.
This is the starting point for the modelling
process. Transaction Processing (TP) Systems

Business Processes – is a specific set of TP Systems process data generated by day-to-

transactions, events, and results that can be day business operations.
described and documented.
 TP systems perform a series of tasks
Business Process Model (BPM) - graphically whenever a transaction occurs.
displays one or more business processes.
 TP systems are efficient because
Business Process Modeling Notation (BPMN) – they process a set of transaction related
computer based tools used for developing commands as a group rather than
complex BPMs. This includes standard shapes individually.
and symbols to represent events, processes,
workflows and more.  TP systems typically involves large
amounts of data and are mission critical
BUSINESS INFORMATION SYSTEMS systems because the enterprise cannot
function without them.
 Enterprise Computing
 Transaction Processing  TP systems ensure that if any single
 Business Support element of a transaction fails, the
 Knowledge Management system does not process the rest of the
 User Productivity transaction to protect data integrity.

Enterprise Computing Systems Business Support Systems

Enterprise Computing Systems refers to Business Support Systems provide job-related

information systems that support company- information support to users at all levels of a
wide operations and data management company.
requirements.
Radio Frequency Identification (RFID)
Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) – Technology - uses high frequency radio waves
application systems that provide cost effective to track physical objects
support for users and managers throughout the
company.  An important feature of a business
support system is decision support
 A potential disadvantage of ERP capability that helps users make
Systems is that ERP systems generally decisions by creating a computer
impose an overall structure that might model and applying a set of variables.
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feedback to supervisors and team

leaders.
Knowledge Management Systems  Middle Managers need more
detailed information than top managers;
Knowledge management systems use a but less detailed than supervisors who
knowledge base database that allows users to oversee day-to-day operations.
find information by entering keywords or  Knowledge workers provide support
questions in normal English phrases.
for organization’s basic functions.
Knowledge workers include system
Inference Rules – logical rules that identify analysts, programmers,, accountants,
patterns and relationships. researchers, trainers, etc.

User Productivity Systems Supervisors and Team Leaders

User Productivity Systems are systems that Supervisors or team leaders oversee
improve productivity. Examples of these are e- operational employees and carry out day-to-day
mail, voice mail, fax, video, web conferencing, functions.
word processing, automated calendars, and
more.  They need decision support
information, knowledge management
Groupware – programs that enable users to systems, and user productivity systems.
share data , collaborate on projects and work in
teams. Examples are Novell’s Group Wise and Operational Employees
Google Docs.
This includes users who rely on TP systems to
USERS OF INFORMATION enter and receive data that they need to
perform their jobs.
Top Managers
 Empowerment – trend that
Strategic Plans – long range plans developed by operational employees also need
top managers, which define the company’s information to handle tasks and make
overall mission and goals. decisions that were assigned previously
to supervisors, giving them more
 Top managers also need information responsibility and accountability.
from outside the company such as
economic forecasts, technology trends,
and more.

Middle Managers and Knowledge Workers

 Middle Managers provide direction,

necessary resources and performance
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SYSTEMS DEVELOPMENT TOOLS  Structured analysis uses the Systems

Development Life Cycle (SDLC) to plan
and manage the systems development
Modeling
process.
 In the waterfall model of the SDLC, the
Modeling produces a graphical representation
result of each phase of called a
of a concept or process that systems developers
deliverable.
can analyse, test , and modify.

Five Steps in the SDLC:

Business Model describes the information that
a system must provide.
1. Systems Planning
 This usually begins with a formal
Prototyping
request to the IT department
 The purpose of this phase is to perform
Prototype – is an early working version of an
a preliminary investigation to evaluate
information system.
an IT-related business opportunity or
problem.
Prototyping – tests system concepts and
 A key part of the preliminary
provides an opportunity to examine input,
investigation is the feasibility study that
output and user interfaces before final
reviews anticipated costs and benefits
decisions are made.
and recommends a course of action
based on operational, technical,
Computer Aided Systems Engineering (CASE)
economic and time factors.
Tools

2. Systems Analysis
CASE is a technique that uses powerful software
 The purpose of this phase is to build a
called CASE tools to help systems analysts
logical model of the new system.
develop and maintain information systems.
 The first step is requirements
modelling, where you investigate
SYSTEMS DEVELOPMENT METHODS business processes and document what
the new system must do to satisfy
Structured Analysis users.
 The deliverable for the systems
Structured Analysis – represents the system in planning phase is the system
term of data and the processes that act upon requirements document which
that data. describes the management and user
requirements, costs and benefits, and
 Structured Analysis focuses on outlines alternative development
processes that transform data into strategies.
useful information that is why it is
called a process-centered technique.
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Object –Oriented Analysis – combines data and

3. Systems Design the processes that act on that data into things
 The purpose of this phase is to create a called objects.
physical model that will satisfy all
documented requirements for the  Object – is a member of a class, which is
system. a collection of similar objects.
 The deliverable for this phase is the  Properties – characteristics that objects
system design specification, which is possess.
presented to management and users  Methods – built-in processes in O-O
for review and approval. design that can change an object’s
properties.
4. Systems Implementation  One object can send information to
 During this phase, the new system is another by using a message, which
constructed. requests specific behaviour or
 Whether the developers use information from another object.
structured analysis or O-O methods,
the procedure is the same. Agile Methods
 The objective of the systems
implementation phase is to deliver a Agile Methods – attempt to develop a system
completely functioning and incrementally, by building a series of prototypes
documented information system. The and constantly adjusting them to user
system is ready for use at the requirements.
conclusion of this phase.  Agile methods typically use a spiral
 This phase also includes an model, which represents a series of
assessment, called a systems iterations or revisions, based on user
evaluation, to determine whether the feedback.
system operates properly and if costs
and benefits are within expectations.
THE INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
5. Systems Support and Security
DEPARTMENT
 During this phase, the IT staff
maintains, enhances, and protects the
system. IT Department – develops and maintain
 The objective during this phase is to information systems. The IT group provides
maximize return on the IT investment. technical support, which includes seven main
 A scalable design can expand to meet functions:
new business requirements and
volumes. Application Development – the IT application
development group typically provides
Object-Oriented Analysis leadership and overall guidance.
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Systems Support and Security – provides vital  Helps develop IT systems that support
protection and maintenance services for system business requirements
hardware and software, including enterprise  Company’s best line of defense against
computing systems, networks, transaction an IT disaster, which is a system that is
processing systems, and corporate IT technically sound, but fails because it
infrastructures. does not meet the needs of the users
and managers.
User Support – provides users with technical
information, training, and productivity support; Knowledge, Skills, and Education
also called service desk or help desk.
 Technical Knowledge
Database Administration – involves data  Communication Skills
design, management, security, back-up and  Business Skills
assess.  Critical Thinking Skills – include the
ability to compare, classify, evaluate,
Network Administration – includes hardware recognize patterns, analyze cause-and-
and software maintenance, support and effect, and apply logic.
security. In addition to controlling user access,
network administrators install, configure, Certification
manage, monitor and maintain network
applications. Certification verifies that an individual
demonstrated a certain level of knowledge
Web Support – Web support specialists design and skill on a standardized test.
and construct Web pages, monitor traffic,
manage hardware and software, and link Web-
based applications to the company’s
information systems.

Quality Assurance (QA) – The QA team reviews

and tests all applications and system changes to
verify specifications and software quality
standards.

THE SYSTEMS ANALYST

Systems Analyst – investigates, analyses,

designs, develops, installs, evaluates and
maintains a company’s information systems.

Role
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