Chapter 1 - Systems Analysis Fundamentals

1.1 The Impact of Information Technology

Information technology

 widely known under its abbreviation (IT), is defined as “the science and activity of using
computers and other electronic equipment to store and send information

Effects of information technology in our daily activities

1. Effects on education
 Made the education process more effective and productive.
 Developed methods of education have made this process easier, such as the
replacement of books with tablets and laptops.

2. Effects on the health system

 Medical devices have known a remarkable development. They have become more
efficient.
 IT has entered these devices and turned them into digital devices that facilitate their
programming and handling

Impacts of information technologies

1. The political impact of (IT)

 Technology holds the role of power.

 They have become widely used in electoral campaigns to influence public opinion
and especially to involve young people in the political life.

2. The Economic Impact of (IT)

 Internet, Mobile technology, Social Media, and Big Data trends, have unleashed a
wave of innovations that is creating thousands of new startups and job positions,
and is reinventing the traditional industries.
3. The Social Impact of (IT)

 Sociologists likened the impact of information technology on society to transforming

the world from vast continents separating people and relatives, to a very small
village encompassing the entire world’s population, which is called globalization.
Before information technology communication between people required days even
months to reached each other. Thanks to information technology, communication
between people in different parts of the globe has become an easy and fast process,
via different ways: instant messaging, phone calls or video calls

The impact of information technologies on businesses: case study of Capgimini

The Capgimini Company confirms the positive impact of the use of ICTs on working conditions.
This confirmation was made after various studies carried out by the company.

1. The reduction of occupational risks and accidents at work

 Information & technology make it possible, for example, to access information more
quickly, security procedures, and to reach a colleague more easily if necessary.

2. Refocusing on activities with higher added value

 The dematerialization of documents reduces certain repetitive tasks in the

administrative or commercial business and offers more time to devote to the
interface with the customer.

3. Professionalization

 The use of laptops, for example, has enabled the company to make gains in terms of
time, in particular to give real-time information to those who need it, thereby
speeding up decision-making and increasing the company’s profits. Thanks to the
interactive and intelligent system, the company always strives to meet the needs of
these customers and thereby improve its services.
4. The reconciliation of private life and professional life

 All employees use their home computers for business purposes. This allows them to
catch up on their unfinished business at the office. For example, for an employee, he
just needs to have an identifier and an access key to the company’s server, which
allows him to do the job and shares it in the network even if he’s on vacation or
maybe on a mission.

5. Renewal and expansion of work collectives

 With the evolution of new technologies, and with the messaging module and sharing
spaces, the collective work has become more and more extended and more and
more organized, with the integration of workflow systems and ticket management
systems. , employees consult and know the administrative routing and the state of
the information (created, approved, informed …) which fortifies the teamwork
without excluding the informal one. “Employees adapt their uses according to their
needs: reinforcing and enriching exchanges with certain colleagues, decreasing and
formalizing exchanges with others”.

6. The development of collective intelligence

 The uses of NTICS, especially around social networks, can foster the emergence of
negotiated solutions that can take the form of new practices, new structures,
innovative products … Beyond the question of tools, a successful collaboration
nonetheless requires to have combined a certain number of organizational and
managerial conditions (governance, distribution of roles and responsibilities …).
 1.2 Information System Components

Technology
 Technology can be thought of as the application of scientific knowledge for practical
purposes. From the invention of the wheel to the harnessing of electricity for
artificial lighting, technology is a part of our lives in so many ways that we tend to
take it for granted.

Information System Components

Hardware

 Physical components of an information system.

 Can be seen or touched easily, while others reside inside a device that can only be
seen by opening up the device's case.

Software

 Set of instructions that tell the hardware what to do.

 Software is not tangible – it cannot be touched.

Data

 Collection of non-disputable raw facts.

 Example, your first name, driver's license number, the city you live in, a picture of
your pet, a clip of your voice, and your phone number are all pieces of raw data.

Networking Communication
  The components of hardware, software, and data have long been considered the
core technology of information systems. However, networking communication is
another component of an IS that some believe should be in its own category.

People

 People built computers for people to use. This means that there are many different
categories in the development and management of information systems to help
organizations to create value and improve productivity, such as:

 Users: these are the people who actually use an IS to perform a job function or
task. Examples include: a student uses a spreadsheet or a word processing
software program.

 Technical Developers: these are the people who actually create the technologies
used to build an information system. Examples include a computer chip
engineer, a software programmer, and an application programmer.

 Business Professionals: these are the CEOs, owners, managers, entrepreneurs,

employees who use IS to start or expand their business to perform their job
functions such as accounting, marketing, sales, human resources, support
customers, among others. Examples include famous CEOs such as Jeff Bezos of
Amazon, Steve Jobs of Apple, Bill Gates of Microsoft, and Marc Benioff of
Salesforce.

 IT Support: These specialized professionals are trained to keep the information

systems running smoothly to support the business and keep it safe from illegal
attacks. Examples include network analysts, data center support, help-desk
support.

Process
  Series of steps undertaken to achieve a desired outcome or goal.
 Businesses have to continually innovate to either create more revenues through new
products and services that fulfill customers’ needs or to find cost-saving
opportunities in the ways they run their companies.

1.3 Understand the Business

What Is a Business?

 An organization or enterprising entity engaged in commercial, industrial, or

professional activities. The purpose of a business is to organize some sort of economic
production of goods or services

How profiles and models represent business functions and operations

Business Process Modeling

 A graphical representation of a business process or workflow and its related sub-

processes.
 Process modeling generates comprehensive, quantitative activity diagrams and
flowcharts containing critical insights into the functioning of a given process, including
the following:

o Events and activities that occur within a workflow

o Who owns or initiates those events and activities
o Decision points and the different paths workflows can take based on
their outcomes
o Devices involved in the process
o Timelines of the overall process and each step in the process
o Success and failure rates of the process
Business Profile
  Is an overview that describes a company's overall functions.
 The business profile often includes processes, organization, products, services,
customers, suppliers, competitors, constraints, and future direction.

Business Models

 Enable managers and systems analysts to understand day-to-day business operations.

 A graphical representation of one or more business processes that a company performs.

Business Processes

 Describes a specific set of transactions, events, tasks, and results performed by the firm.
 As the business world changes, systems analysts can look forward to working in new
kinds of companies that require innovative IT solutions, including Web-based systems
that serve customers and carry out online transactions with other businesses.

Business Process Re-engineering (BPR)

 Is the radical redesign of business processes to achieve dramatic improvements in critical

aspects like quality, output, cost, service, and speed.
 Aims at cutting down enterprise costs and process redundancies on a very huge scale.

1.4 Impact of the Internet

What is the Internet?

  A global network of billions of computers and other electronic devices.

How Has the Internet Impacted Businesses?

Ability to Communicate

 A business' ability to communicate with its employees, customers and associates

changed dramatically when the Internet yielded new communication tools.

 Email and instant messaging have changed the face of business communication.

Rise of Telecommuting

 Many businesses are now offering the option for their employees to work from home
using office equipment provided by the company.

 This process, referred to as telecommuting, allows a business to decrease its overhead

costs by needing less office space and using less in utilities for daily operation

Marketing to a Wider Area

 With the advent of Internet marketing, a business must stay abreast of the needs of its
customers.

 Competition is no longer localized; a business now has competition all over the world.

 It is imperative that a business know what its customers want and deliver it. Surveys,
questionnaires, feedback forms and comments on a website can be used to monitor a
business' customers' needs.
Using Digital Advertising

 Including the Internet in a business' advertising budget extends a business' ability to

attract customers from their back yard to all four corners of the globe.

 Websites, banner placement and search engine optimization, also referred to as SEO,
allow a business to have a presence on the web and reach millions of potential
customers.

Collaborating with Other Businesses

 Working with other businesses and professionals is simplified with the use of the
Internet.

 Internet seminars, also called webinars, make collaborating on projects with people all
over the world as easy as logging onto a website.

Using the Internet for Research

 Businesses use the Internet to research new product ideas, new methods of creating
products and pricing information.

 A business can also research the competition to see what products and services are
offered.

 If a company is looking to expand into a particular location, the Internet can be used
to research the population, its needs and what products and services would sell best
in that area.
 1.5 Business Information System

Office Systems
 An office system can be defined as an orderly arrangement of whole activities of an
office and framing of procedures to be followed for the effective and economic
performance of work.
 Office Systems refers to the various components and elements of an office, from
computers and work equipment to its physical layout and ambiance. It also covers the
way employees interact and the overall office culture.
Operational Systems
 A term used in data warehousing to refer to a system that is used to process the day-to-
day transactions of an organization.
 These systems are designed in a manner that processing of day-to-day transactions is
performed efficiently and the integrity of the transactional data is preserved.
Decision Support Systems

 is a computer program application used to improve a company's decision-making

capabilities.
 It analyzes large amounts of data and presents an organization with the best possible
options available.

Executive Information Systems

 also known as an executive support system (ESS),

 is a type of management support system that facilitates and supports senior executive
information and decision-making needs.
 It provides easy access to internal and external information relevant
to organizational goals. It is commonly considered a specialized form of decision support
system (DSS).[2]
 Today, it makes more sense to identify a system by its functions and features, rather than
by its users.

Enterprise Computing System

 refers to business-oriented information technology that is critical to a company's

operations.
 It encompasses types of information technology tools that businesses use for resource
management, efficient production operations, relationship management and back office
support.
 prepares students for careers stretching across many sectors and industries and is much
larger than what’s portrayed in popular culture and the news.

Careers can include but are not limited to:

 IT Manager
 Artificial Intelligence specialist
 Information Security specialist
 Computer Network Architect
 Data Scientist
 Computer Systems Analyst
 Cloud System Administrator
 Cloud Computing Engineer

Transaction Processing System

 an information system that collects, stores, modifies, and retrieves the data transactions
of an enterprise.
 also attempt to provide predictable response times to requests, although this is not as
critical as real-time systems.
Business support System
 refers to the assortment of software programs that help telecom organizations manage
and streamline all customer-facing activities.
 These systems cover the business side of telecom as opposed to the technology side.
 BSS allows telcos to oversee and simplify a wide range of business and customer-related
activities, including:

 Billing
 Customer orders
 Subscriptions
 Customer notifications
 Service fulfillment
 Revenue management
 Product marketing
 Customer relationship management (CRM)

Knowledge Management System

 is any kind of IT system that stores and retrieves knowledge to improve

understanding, collaboration, and process alignment.
 Knowledge management systems can exist within organizations or teams, but they
can also be used to center your knowledge base for your users or customers.

There are many types of knowledge management systems, but they all share some common
characteristics. These include:

 FAQ content

 Forum or community feature

 How-to articles and tutorials

  Education, academies, and training programs

 Certificates

 Case studies

 Webinars

User Productivity Systems

 refers to a software or tool designed to enhance and optimize the productivity of

individual users or workers.
 It typically provides features and functionalities that assist users in organizing
tasks, managing time, collaborating with others, and improving overall efficiency.

1.6 What Information Do Users Need?

Systems Analyst
 must understand the company’s organizational model to recognize who is responsible
for specific processes and decisions and to be aware of what information is required by
whom.

Top Managers

 Top management is made up of senior-level executives of an organization, or those

positions that hold the most responsibility. Jobs titles such as Chief Operating Officer
(COO), Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Chief Financial Officer (CFO), President, or Vice
President are commonly used by top managers in organizations.
Middle Managers and Knowledge Workers

 Middle Managers
o in charge of facilitating any changes needed in an organization and creating an
effective working environment.
o They administer day-to-day routines, monitors performance and make sure
everything is done in compliance with organization's needs. Human resources.
 Knowledge Workers

o The term “knowledge worker” was first coined by Peter Drucker in his book, The
Landmarks of Tomorrow (1959).

o Drucker defined knowledge workers as high-level workers who apply theoretical

and analytical knowledge, acquired through formal training, to develop products
and services.

o They include professionals in information technology fields, such as

programmers, web designers, system analysts, technical writers, and
researchers. Knowledge workers are also comprised of pharmacists, public
accountants, engineers, architects, lawyers, physicians, scientists, financial
analysts, and design thinkers.

Supervisor and Team Leaders

 Supervisor
o is a key figure within an organisation, overseeing and managing employees'
daily activities or a work team.
o Their primary role is ensuring tasks and projects are completed efficiently
and effectively.
 o Supervisors provide their team guidance, instruction, and direction, often
serving as a first point of contact for employees' work-related issues.
 Team Leaders
o provides a group with guidance, instruction, and direction to achieve a
specific task or project.
o This role involves facilitating team dynamics, motivating team members, and
fostering an environment conducive to effective collaboration and
productivity.

Operational Employees

 Basically an Operations employee contributes to making an employer’s wheels run less

expensively with fewer squeaks and bumps.
 Operations employees generally have the following types of responsibilities, depending
on the level of job and type of employer:
o Reviewing how various departments within an employer interact, share
information, deal with customers, and do things like make joint purchases of
supplies or outside services
o Making recommendations on how to increase efficiencies, in order to save
money, reduce cycle times, and improve customer satisfaction
o Planning and putting into action projects that do the above
o Working with people at various levels in each department to gather information
and see how they do their jobs
o Developing training procedures and guidelines on how to perform duties better
o Keeping management informed of trouble spots in advance before major
problems occur, and proposing cost-effective solutions
 1.7 Systems Development Tools and Methods

Systems Development Tools

 System analysts must know how to use a variety of techniques such as modeling,
prototyping, and computer-aided systems engineering tools to plan, design, and
implement information systems.

Modeling
Business Model
 refers to a company's plan for making a profit.
 It identifies the products or services the business plans to sell, its identified target
market, and any anticipated expenses.
 Business models are important for both new and established businesses. They help
new, developing companies attract investment, recruit talent, and motivate
management and staff.
Requirement Model
 The technique of modeling requirements and solutions as they change through
collaborative work and cooperation is known as Requirements Modeling.

 the process of documenting, analyzing, and managing Requirements.

o functional requirements (what the system should do),

o non-functional requirements (such as performance, security, etc.),

o constraints (things that might limit what the system can do).

The Requirements Modeling process involves three main activities:

 1. Analysis: Once the Requirements have been collected, they need to be analyzed to see
if they are complete, consistent, and clear. Any inconsistencies or ambiguities should be
resolved at this stage.
2. Documentation: The Requirements should be documented in a clear and concise way.
This will ensure that everyone understands the Requirements and can refer back to
them if needed.
3. Management: Once the Requirements have been collected and documented, they need
to be managed throughout the project. This includes keeping track of changes to
Requirements, making sure everyone is aware of these changes, and ensuring that the
requirements are still being met.

Data Model
 are visual representations of an enterprise’s data elements and the connections between
them.
 Data models play a key role in bringing together all segments of an enterprise – IT,
business analysts, management and others – to cooperatively design information systems
(and the databases they rely on).

Object Model
 a visual representation of a system’s objects, actions, and associated attributes.
 An object model can be used, in conjunction with a design system, to create a consistent
experience across a system’s higher-level constructs.
Network Model
 is a database model that is designed as a flexible approach to representing objects and
their relationships.
 A unique feature of the network model is its schema, which is viewed as a graph where
relationship types are arcs and object types are nodes.

Process Model
 the graphical representation of business processes or workflows.
  Like a flow chart, individual steps of the process are drawn out so there is an end-to-end
overview of the tasks in the process within the context of the business environment.

Prototyping
 an experimental process where design teams implement ideas into tangible forms from
paper to digital.
 Teams build prototypes of varying degrees of fidelity to capture design concepts and
test on users.
 With prototypes, you can refine and validate your designs so your brand can release the
right products.
 A prototype is a draft version of a product that allows you to explore your ideas and
show the intention behind a feature or the overall design concept to users before
investing time and money into development.
 A prototype can be anything from paper drawings (low-fidelity) to something that allows
click-through of a few pieces of content to a fully functioning site (high-fidelity).

Benefits of Prototypes
 It is much cheaper to change a product early in the development process than to make
change after you develop the site.

 Low-fidelity prototypes

 are often paper-based and do not allow user interactions.

 They range from a series of hand-drawn mock-ups to printouts.

 low-fidelity sketches are quicker to create.

 Low-fidelity prototypes are helpful in enabling early visualization of alternative

design solutions, which helps provoke innovation and improvement

 High-fidelity prototypes

 are computer-based, and usually allow realistic (mouse-keyboard) user

interactions.
  High-fidelity prototypes take you as close as possible to a true representation of
the user interface.

 High-fidelity prototypes are assumed to be much more effective in collecting

true human performance data (e.g., time to complete a task), and in
demonstrating actual products to clients, management, and others.

Computer-aided Systems

 Computer-aided software engineering (CASE) is the implementation of computer-

facilitated tools and methods in software development.
 CASE is used to ensure high-quality and defect-free software.
 CASE ensures a check-pointed and disciplined approach and helps designers,
developers, testers, managers, and others to see the project milestones during
development.

Systems Development Methods

The most popular alternatives are structured analysis, which is a traditional method that
still is widely used, and object-oriented analysis (o-o), which is a newer approach that many
analysts prefer, and agile methods, also called adaptive methods.

Understand the various methods and the strengths and weaknesses of each approach.

Structured Analysis

 Structured Analysis is a development method that allows the analyst to understand the
system and its activities in a logical way.
 It is a systematic approach, which uses graphical tools that analyze and refine the
objectives of an existing system and develop a new system specification which can be
easily understandable by user.

System Development Life Cycle (SDLC)

The Planning Phase

 Defining the problem

 Setting project objectives
 Identifying constraints
 Creating project proposals
 Establishing control mechanisms

The Analysis Phase

 Creating the project team

 Defining information needs
 Identification and evaluation of sources of information
 Identification and description of the types of information needed to analyze the system
 Identification and description of problem areas in the current system
 Information flow and needs documented using system modeling tools
 Identification and description of problem areas in the current system
 Defining system performance
 Creating a design proposal

The Design Phase

 Factors to be considered when designing the output requirements

 Factors to be considered when designing the input requirements
 Processing requirements
Evaluating alternative system configurations
 Select the best configuration
 Prepare implementation proposal

The Implementation Phase

 Planning and announcing the implementation

  Acquisition of new equipment (H/W and S/W)
 Preparing the physical facilities
 Educating users
 Developing an implementation schedule
 Commissioning of the new system

The Use/Evaluation Phase

 Using the system

 Auditing the system
 Maintaining the system
 Re-engineering proposals

Object Oriented Analysis

 Object-oriented analysis and design (OOAD) is a technical approach for analyzing and
designing an application, system, or business by applying object-oriented programming,
as well as using visual modeling throughout the software development process to guide
stakeholder communication and product quality.

Agile Method

 The Agile methodology is a project management approach that involves breaking the
project into phases and emphasizes continuous collaboration and improvement. Teams
follow a cycle of planning, executing, and evaluating.
 1.8 Systems Development Guidelines

System development guidelines are a set of standards and best practices that help you
plan, design, implement, and maintain a system that meets the needs and expectations of your
stakeholders.

Identify your goals and scope

 The first step to create system development guidelines is to identify your goals and
scope for the system.
 What are the main objectives, benefits, and requirements of the system?
 Who are the target users and what are their needs and preferences?
 How will the system fit into the existing or planned infrastructure and environment?
 How will the system be evaluated and maintained?

Define your roles and responsibilities

 The next step is to define your roles and responsibilities for the system development
process.
 Who are the key stakeholders and what are their roles and responsibilities?
 How will you communicate and collaborate with them?
 What are the decision-making and escalation procedures?
 How will you manage risks and issues?
 You should establish a clear governance structure and assign roles and responsibilities
to your team members and stakeholders.

Choose your methodology and tools

 The third step is to choose your methodology and tools for the system development
process.
  What are the best practices and standards for your system type, domain, and industry?
 What are the most suitable methods and techniques for each phase of the system
development life cycle?
 What are the tools and platforms that you will use to design, develop, test, and deploy
the system?
 How will you document and share your work and results?

Create your design principles and guidelines

 The fourth step is to create your design principles and guidelines for the system.
 What are the key principles and values that guide your design decisions? What are the
guidelines and criteria that define your design quality and consistency?
 How will you ensure that your system is user-friendly, accessible, secure, reliable, and
scalable?
 How will you incorporate feedback and testing into your design process?

Develop your coding standards and conventions

 The fifth step is to develop your coding standards and conventions for the system.
 What are the rules and norms that govern your coding style, syntax, structure, and
naming?
 How will you organize, comment, and document your code?
 How will you ensure that your code is readable, maintainable, and reusable?
 How will you follow the coding standards and conventions of your tools and platforms?
 How will you enforce and review your coding standards and conventions?

Establish your testing and deployment procedures

 The sixth step is to establish your testing and deployment procedures for the system.
 What are the types and levels of testing that you will perform on your system?
 How will you plan, execute, and report your testing activities and results?
  How will you ensure that your system meets the quality and performance standards
and expectations?
 How will you deploy your system to the production environment and monitor its
operation and performance?
 How will you handle changes, updates, and issues on your system?

1.9 The Information Technology Department

Businesses often recruit employees skilled in the field of information technology (IT)
for several reasons. When trained IT professionals can fix issues quickly, it allows a business
to continue earning a profit efficiently. Learning about this field may help you decide if it's a
good fit for you to pursue.

What does IT Department do?

 Most companies, especially those in the digital realm, rely on the IT department to
ensure that their network of computers functions properly and connects well.
 The IT department has three major areas of concern, which include governance of
the company's technological systems, maintenance of the infrastructure and
functionality of the systems overall.
 Beyond that, professionals within the IT department work internally on computer
software and hardware in many ways that allow a business to be successful.

Application Development
 is the process of planning, designing, creating, testing, and deploying a software
application to perform various business operations.
 It can be done by massive organizations with large teams working on projects or by a
single freelance developer.
 Application development defines the process of how the application is made and generally
follows a standard methodology.
 System Support and Security
 System Support
o is a general term for providing assistance in matters related to computer and
information technology.
o If you work in this field, you'll be called upon to listen to problems clients or
co-workers might have with their computer technologies.
o You'll then take care of the problem by troubleshooting and performing
other diagnostic techniques before implementing the necessary fixes.
 System Security
o goes hand-in-hand with data security.
o System security describes the controls and safeguards that an
organization takes to ensure its networks and resources are safe
from downtime, interference or malicious intrusion.
o If data security is meant to protect the information in the books in
the library, then system security is what protects the library itself.

User Support
 the assistance provided to software users when encountering technical issues or
questions regarding the product or service. User support can be provided in several
ways.
o A technical team via chat, email, or phone (internal or external)
o Automated chatbots
o Library of vendor resources
o Embedded application support
Database Administrator
 A database administrator, or DBA, is responsible for maintaining, securing, and
operating databases and also ensures that data is correctly stored and retrieved.
 In addition, DBAs often work with developers to design and implement new
features and troubleshoot any issues. A DBA must have a strong understanding of
both technical and business needs.

Network Administrator
 Their job is to secure, maintain, and troubleshoot computer networks, which are
groups of computers sharing information.
 Organizations employ network administrators to ensure their networks operate
efficiently and meet business requirements.
Web Support
 covers anything that is responsible for creating your website, such as the coding
language or web server.

 A web developer builds the functionalities of the website or makes the website to
perform the tasks you want it to perform.

Web services can cover website strategy, design, development, launching and maintaining.

 Website strategy - asks questions to help determine what your goals are. Questions like
who is your perfect customer? How much content will you need? Then a web team can
build a website around those goals.

 Website design - will help make sure your website gives a great first impression. Having
a website that projects your brand will keep customers coming back.
  Website development - requires a lot of work. It will make sure that your website is fast
and effective though. This is done through streamlined navigation, call-to-actions, or
product filters.

 Website launch and maintenance - will ensure that all of the development done is
implemented smoothly and will continue to operate as intended in the future. You’ll
want all the work done to have longevity and the best way to do that is through
continued maintenance.

Quality Assurance

 helps a business ensure its products meet the quality standards set by the company or
its industry.
 Another way to understand quality assurance (QA) is as a company’s process for
improving the quality of its products.