Chapter 1: The Systems Analyst and Information Systems Development

break-even point

(number of years of negative cash flow)+[(that year's net cash flow - that year's cumulative cash flow)/(that year's net cash flow)]

Return on Investment

(total benefits-total costs)/total costs

DCF Technique

PV=(Cash flow amount)/(1 + rate of return)^n

first mover

a company that develops business strategies that leverage the capabilities of emerging technologies by being the first ones to introduce them into the marketplace

systems request

a document that describes the business reasons for building a system and the value that the system is expected to provide

business process management (BPM)

a methodology used by organizations to continuously improve end-to-end business processes

stakeholder (analysis)

analysis of a person, group or organization that can affect or be affected by a new system

analysis phase

answers the questions of who will use the system, what the system will do, and where and when it will be used

intangible benefits/intangible costs

based on intuition and belief rather than on "hard numbers"

tangible value

can be quantified and measured (e.g. 2% reduction in operating costs)

business process reengineering (BPR)

changing the fundamental way in which the organization operates

design strategy

clarifies whether the system will be developed by the company's own programmers or outsourced to another firm

system specification

collection of deliverables (architecture design, database and file specifications, and program design) that is used by the programming team for implementation

design phase

decides how the system will operate in terms of hardware, software and network infrastructure

approval/steering committee

decides whether the information systems project should be undertaken

database and file specifications

defines exactly what data will be stored and where they will be stored

program design

defines the programs that need to be written and exactly what each program will do

project plan

describes how the project team will go about developing the system

business value

describes the benefits that the organization should expect from the system

architecture design

describes the hardware, software and network infrastructure that will be used

economic feasibility/cost-benefit analysis

determined by identifying costs and benefits associated with the system, assigning values to them, calculating future cash flows, and measuring the financial worthiness of the project

Net present value

difference between the total present value of the benefits and the total present value of the costs

system proposal

document that combines analyses, system concept, requirements, and models

project manager

ensures that the project is completed on time and within budget and that the system delivers the expected value to the organization

feasibility analysis

examines key aspects of the proposed project (technical, economic and organizational feasibility)

implementation phase

final phase in the SDLC during which the system is actually built (or purchased and installed if the design calls for a prewritten software package)

requirements analyst

focuses on eliciting the requirements from the stakeholders associated with the new system.

infrastructure analyst

focuses on technical issues surrounding the ways the system will interact with the organization's technical infrastructure

systems analyst role

focuses on the IS issues surrounding the system; this person develops ideas and suggestions for ways that IT can support and improve business processes, helps design new business processes supported by IT, designs the new information system, and ensures that all IS standards are maintained

business analyst

focuses on the business issues surrounding the system; this person helps to identify the business value that the system will create, develops ideas for improving the business processes and helps design new business processes and policies

change management analyst

focuses on the people and management issues surrounding the system installation

planning phase

fundamental process of understanding why an information system should be built and determining how the project team will go about building it

feasibility analysis

guides the organization in determining whether to proceed with the project

champion

high-level executive and is usually the project sponsor

organizational feasibility

how well the system will be accepted by its users and incorporated into the ongoing operations of the organizations

tangible benefits

include revenue that the system enables the organization to collect, such as increased sales

analysis strategy

includes studying the current system, its problems and envisioning ways to design a new system

organizational management

management encourages people in the organization to use the system and to accept the many changes that the system will likely create

project sponsor

person/department generating systems request; primary contact for the project

support plan

plan usually includes a formal or informal post-implementation review

business need

presents the reasons prompting the project

business requirements

refer to the business capabilities that the system must have

intangible value

results from an intuitive belief that the system provides important, but hard-to-measure benefits to the organization (e.g. improved customer service, a better competitive position)

business process improvement (BPI)

results from studying the business processes, creating new, redesigned processes to improve the process workflows and/or utilizing new technologies enabling new process structures

interface design

specifies how users will move through the system

system users

stakeholders who ultimately use the system once it has been installed in the organization

system construction

system is built and tested to ensure that it performs as designed

emerging technology

technology that is in the early stages of widespread business use

technical feasibility

the extent to which the system can be successfully designed, developed and installed by the IT group

strategic alignment

the fit between the project and business strategy

installation

the process by which the old system is turned off and the new one is turned on

systems development life cycle(SDLC)

the process of determining how an information system (IS) can support business needs, designing the system, building it and delivering it to users

project initiation

the system's business value to the organization is identified

operational costs

those tangible costs that are required to operate the system

development costs

those tangible expenses that are incurred during the creation of the system