Systems Analysis and Design, Chapter 3-4
Basic info of a use case include:
- Use Case name - ID - primary actor - short description - triggers
How long does the post-JAD report need to complete?
1 or 2 weeks
what is the return rate of email questionnaires?
30-50%
the analysis phase involves significant interactions with people
True
What number of use cases signifies that a system is complex?
more than 8 or 9 -> group them into packages of related use cases
document analysis
to understand as-is system
What are 2 fundamental approaches to organizing the interview questions?
top-down & bottom-up
International Institute of Business Analyst (IIBA) defines functional requirements as
"the product capabilities, or things that a product must do for its user"
non-functional requirements are defined by IIBA as:
"the quality attributes, design, implementation constraints, and external interfaces the product must have"
Interview report can be distribute when ready without going through interviewees review
- FALSE - never distribute someone's information without prior approval
- Which part of a use case is sometimes referred to as a "happy path"? - Why?
- Normal Course - because steps in normal course are performed when everything flows smoothly and there are no problems or issues that arise.
information-oriented functional requirements
- content the system must HAVE - suggest things that happen involving information or time triggers to collect or produce information.
Preconditions in Use Case
- define the state the system must be in before the use case commences - are taken care of in a different use case
What is essential use case?
- depict user-system interaction as abstract - technology-independent steps
Postconditions in Use Case
- final products, tangible results - the state the system must be in when the use case is complete - preconditions for the next Use Case in the series
What is a JAD facilitator need to be an expert in?
- group process techniques - systems analysis and design techniques
non-functional requirement describe variety of characteristics:
- operational - performance - security - cultural and political
What is a good strategy to increase understanding during an interview?
- periodically summarize the key points - be sure to separate facts from opinions
What does facilitator do in a JAD session?
- sets the meeting agenda - guides the discussion - DOES NOT join the discussion - remain neutral during the session
process-oriented functional requirements
- things the system must do - suggest a direct action resulting from and external or temporal event
Why technology-independent steps are use in essential use case?
- to not limit the options of how tasks should be done
3 steps involved in basic process of analysis
- understanding the existing system (as-is system) - identify improvements - define requirements for the new system (to-be system)
When are Fully Dressed Use Cases especially valuable?
- user representatives are not closely engaged with the development team throughout the project - the application is complex and has high risk comprehensive test cases will be based on the user requirements - collaborating remote teams need a detailed, shared understanding of user requirements
When is bottom-up approach preferred?
- when analyst already has gathered a lot of information about issues and just needs to fill in some holes - when low-level staffs might feel threatened or unable to answer high-level questions
What are indications that the system needs ti be changed?
- when users create their own forms or add additional information to the existing ones - when users must access multiple reports to satisfy their information needs
4 steps performed in sequence to create use cases
1) Identify the major use cases 2) Identify the major steps for each use case 3) Identify Elements within steps (by identifying triggers to each step) 4) Confirm the use case
What 3 key functions the JAD facilitator performs?
1) ensures that the group sticks to the agenda 2) help the group understand the technical terms and jargon that surround the system development process and the specific analysis technique used 3) record the group's input on a public display area (white board, flip chart, computer display)
What information does the Summary section of a Use Case provide?
4 columns - inputs (1) and their sources (2) - outputs (3) and their destinations (4)
Interview report should be written within:
48 hours
what is the return rate of web-based questionnaires?
5-30%
A JAD session can reduce scope creep by ___.
50%
e-JAD can reduce the time required to run JAD sessions by
50-80%
One of the major differences between a JAD session and an interview is: Preparing for the session Selecting participants All JAD sessions are structured and must be carefully planned Writing up results and a report
All JAD sessions are structured and must be carefully planned
The primary actor in a use case is generally: The Champion The Project manager The Project Sponsor An external user of the system
An external user of the system
Which is NOT a purpose of the requirements definition? A more precise list of requirements that can be used as inputs to the rest of analysis Create cost/benefit analysis To give a very high-level explanation of the business requirements Create functional requirements
Create cost/benefit analysis (this is in planning phase)
Most existing systems are well documented which leads to document analysis being very valuable.
FALSE
an Interview session should only include interviewees from one organizational level at a time to efficiently structured the questions True/False Why?
FALSE! - people at different levels will have different viewpoints on the business areas. it is important to include both managers who oversee the processes and staff who actually perform the processes to gain both high- and low-lever perspectives: - also to minimize the number of interview sessions have to be organized
When GATHERING requirements, the most commonly used technique is: Document Analysis Questionnaires JAD Sessions Interviews
Interview
The interview process has gone well. There are a few things that need clarification and what really happens when specific financial analysts use the system. Which of the following might be the best way to verify what does happen? Additional interviews with top level managers in the finance area Observation of how the analysts do their work Document analysis of what the system was to do A JAD session with end users, financial analysts and top managers
Observation of how the analysts do their work
What helps clarify the software components that will be needed to accomplish the functional requirements? Data model Process model use cases
Process model
A use case depicts a set of activities performed to produce some output result.
True
Close-ended questions do not uncover why the answers are the way they are
True
Determining requirements is the single most critical aspect of the entire SDLC
True
It is common practice to create smaller, more focused use cases breaking the whole process down into parts.
True
JAD sessions are much more expensive than the other initially but significantly reduce the time spent in information integration and thus cost less in the long term
True
Management of requirements and system scope is one of the hardest parts of managing a project True
True
Requirement determination is performed to transform the system request's high-level statement of business requirements into a more detailed, precise list of what the new system must do
True
The 'primary actor' is the external user that triggers the event to which the system responds.
True
The most commonly used requirements gathering technique is the interview.
True
The most important purpose of the requirements definition is to define the scope of the system.
True
Use Cases give more detail about requirements.
True
failing to determine the correct requirements is a primary cause in many factors contribute to a system's failure
True
observation is often used to supplement interview information
True
During requirement determination, the to-be system concept is easy to change
True because little work has been done yet
A use case helps: Define interview questions Clarify ongoing costs for a system Identify risks with the project Refine project management milestones Understand system activities and requirement
Understand system activities and requirement
Which technique require the least training? a) document analysis b) interview c) observation d) JAD e) a & c
a & c: document analysis and observation
Among requirement analysis strategies, which is the most similar to duration analysis? problem analysis root cause analysis activity-base costing analysis outcome analysis
activity-base costing, looking at the monetary side of the processes
In what phase essential use cases are used?
analysis
what is the most powerful approach used in Confirming the Use Case?
ask user to role-play
Use cases generally have three parts:
basic information, inputs and outputs, and details
What skill does an analyst need to move users from as-is to to-be system
critical thinking skill
Where is the data component of the system defined? data model process model use cases
data model
What is the CRITICALLY IMPORTANT purpose of the requirements definition?
defining scope of the system
Which analysis strategies are most useful in finding the most "broken" process?
duration analysis and activity-based costing
what is duration analysis?
examination of the amount of time it takes to perform each process in the current as-is system
Which one require the most coding? a) normal course b) exception handling c) alternative course
exception handling
use cases are often thought of as an _____________________ view of a business process
external or functional
Use cases are the same as process diagrams
false
Use cases are a type of 'data-driven modeling'
false (event-driven)
there are 2 types of document analysis
formal & informal
What purpose are Open-ended questions designed for?
gather rich information and give the interviewees more control over the information is revealed
What problem of JAD that e-JAD overcomes and how?
group problem - participants submit ideas anonymously through networked computers - ideas are ranked through voting
What is the single most important benefit of JAD separating it from the others?
immediate integration of information
non-functional requirements include:
important behavioral properties
which part do RAD and agile methodologies (iterative, prototyping, throwaway prototyping, and XP) focus exclusively on?
improvements and the to-be system requirements rather than studying as-is system
Which analysis strategies help team think "outside the box"?
outcome analysis, technology analysis, and informal benchmarking.
What are probing questions?
probing questions are asked to follow up what has been discussed in order for the interviewer to learn more
when ANALYZING the requirements, what is the most commonly used strategy? interview JAD document analysis problem analysis
problem analysis
Which analysis strategies are most useful when the situations focus is narrow and efficiency gains are sought?
problem analysis and root cause analysis
What does root cause analysis focus on?
problems first rather than solutions
What is the indication of the need for process integration or parallelization?
processes in which many different people work on small parts of the inputs
occasionally, JAD sessions are followed by:
questionaires
What kind of questions should be avoid?
questions regarding matter outside of interviewee's areas of knowledge
The System proposal components:
requirement definition use cases process model data model
Steps in use case
should be of the same size
what does problem analysis produce?
solutions to the problems
Interviewees are selected based on the basis of: interviewee's knowledge interviewee's influence in the organization interviewee's influence to the project the analyst's information needs
the analyst's information needs
During the analysis phase, requirements are written from the perspective of___________
the business.
in the design phase, requirements reflect the perspective of _____________
the developer
Which approach is more commonly more appropriate to most interviews? why? top-down bottom-up
top-down -enables the interviewees to become accustomed to the topic before he or she needs to provide specifics, avoiding missing important issues
What problem does JAD suffer?
traditional problem associated with group: people are reluctant to challenge the opinions of others.
When are close-ended question used?
when analyst is looking for specific, precise information - give the analyst more control