Chapter 2 Systems Analysis and Design in a

Chapter 2 Systems Analysis and Design in a Changing World, 6 th Edition 1

Investigating System Requirements Chapter 2 Systems Analysis and Design in a Changing World 6 th Ed Satzinger, Jackson & Burd

Chapter 2 Outline l l l Systems Analysis Activities What Are Requirements? Models and Modeling Stakeholders Information-Gathering Techniques Documenting Workflows with Activity Diagrams Systems Analysis and Design in a Changing World, 6 th Edition 3

This Chapter Focuses on Systems Analysis Activities Systems Analysis and Design in a Changing World, 6 th Edition 4

Systems Analysis Activities l Gather Detailed Information l l Define Requirements l l Essential, important, vs. nice to have Develop User-Interface Dialogs l l Modeling functional requirements and non-functional requirements Prioritize Requirements l l Interviews, questionnaires, documents, observing business processes, researching vendors, comments and suggestions Flow of interaction between user and system Evaluate Requirements with Users l User involvement, feedback, adapt to changes Systems Analysis and Design in a Changing World, 6 th Edition 5

What Are Requirements? l Defined (Webster’s third dictionary) l l l requirement n -S : something required: a : something that is wanted or needed: NECESSITY b : something called for or demanded : a requisite or essential condition : a required quality, course, or kind of training Systems Analysis and Design in a Changing World, 6 th Edition 6

Different Types of Requirements l System Requirements l l l Functional Requirements– the activities the system must perform l l l Functional requirements Non-functional requirements Business uses, functions the users carry out Use cases in Chapter 1 Non-Functional Requirements– other system characteristics l Constraints and performance goals Systems Analysis and Design in a Changing World, 6 th Edition 7

FURPS+ Requirements Acronym l Functional requirements l Usability requirements l Reliability requirements l Performance requirements l Security requirements l + even more categories… Systems Analysis and Design in a Changing World, 6 th Edition 8

FURPS+ Requirements Acronym Systems Analysis and Design in a Changing World, 6 th Edition 9

Models and Modeling l l l How do we define requirements? After collecting information, create models Model– a representation of some aspect of the system being built Types of Models l l Textual model– something written down, described Graphical models– diagram, schematic Mathematical models– formulas, statistics, algorithms Unified Modeling Language (UML) l Standard graphical modeling symbols/terminology used for information systems Systems Analysis and Design in a Changing World, 6 th Edition 10

Some Analysis and Design Models Systems Analysis and Design in a Changing World, 6 th Edition 11

Reasons for Modeling l l l l Learning from the modeling process Reducing complexity by abstraction Remembering all the details Communicating with other development team members Communicating with a variety of users and stakeholders Documenting what was done for future maintenance/enhancement Finding/correcting areas where errors/inefficiencies occur Modelling is not a linear process! Systems Analysis and Design in a Changing World, 6 th Edition 12

Stakeholders Who do you involve and talk to? l l l Stakeholders– persons who have an interest in the successful implementation of the system Internal Stakeholders– persons within the organization External stakeholders – persons outside the organization Operational stakeholders – persons who regularly interact with the system Executive stakeholders– persons who don’t directly interact, but use the information or have financial interest Systems Analysis and Design in a Changing World, 6 th Edition 13

Stakeholders of a comprehensive accounting system for public company Systems Analysis and Design in a Changing World, 6 th Edition 14

RMO Internal Stakeholders Systems Analysis and Design in a Changing World, 6 th Edition 15

Information Gathering Techniques l l l Interviewing users and other stakeholders Distributing and collecting questionnaires Reviewing inputs, outputs, and documentation Observing and documenting business procedures Researching vendor solutions Collecting active user comments and suggestions Systems Analysis and Design in a Changing World, 6 th Edition 16

Interviewing Users and Other Stakeholders 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Prepare detailed questions Meet with individuals or groups of users Obtain and discuss answers to the questions Document the answers Follow up as needed in future meetings or interviews Systems Analysis and Design in a Changing World, 6 th Edition 17

Themes for Information Gathering Questions Systems Analysis and Design in a Changing World, 6 th Edition 18

Preparing for Interview Systems Analysis and Design in a Changing World, 6 th Edition 19

Other Considerations for Interviews l Target certain people l l Make sure that all questions are relevant l l l l “super users” Time is money This is a good chance to get buy-in from the user! Focus groups may be appropriate Anonymity may also be appropriate Location? Compensation? After every interview, review and change the agenda as needed Systems Analysis and Design in a Changing World, 6 th Edition 20

Interview Session Agenda Systems Analysis and Design in a Changing World, 6 th Edition 21

Keeping an Open Items List Used if a question requires follow-up (ie it cannot be answered by an interviewee in an interview) Systems Analysis and Design in a Changing World, 6 th Edition 22

Distribute and Collect Questionnaires Systems Analysis and Design in a Changing World, 6 th Edition 23

Review Inputs, Outputs, and Procedures * Blank ones or filled out ones? Systems Analysis and Design in a Changing World, 6 th Edition 24

Additional Techniques l Observe and Document Business Processes l l l Research Vendor Solutions l l Watch and learn Document with Activity diagram (next section) See what others have done for similar situations White papers, vendor literature, competitors “best practices” or “common practice” Collect Active User Comments and Suggestions l l Feedback on models and tests Users know it when the see it Systems Analysis and Design in a Changing World, 6 th Edition 25

Documenting Workflows with Activity Diagrams l Workflow l l sequence of processing steps that completely handles one business transaction or customer request Activity Diagram l l l describes user (or system) activities, the person who does each activity, and the sequential flow of these activities Useful for showing a graphical model of a workflow A UML diagram Systems Analysis and Design in a Changing World, 6 th Edition 26

Activity Diagram for RMO Order Fulfillment l Can be “as-is” as well as “to-be” Systems Analysis and Design in a Changing World, 6 th Edition 27

Activity Diagrams Symbols Systems Analysis and Design in a Changing World, 6 th Edition 28

Activity Diagram with Concurrent Paths Systems Analysis and Design in a Changing World, 6 th Edition 29

Questions/Discussion Systems Analysis and Design in a Changing World, 6 th Edition 30