Chapter 3 - Systems Analysis

What is Informal Bench-marking?

uses other organizations as a basis for improving business processes

What is Activity-based costing?

focus is on reducing the cost of each process

What is Outcome analysis?

focus is on achieving desired outcomes

What is root cause analysis?

focus is on determining the true cause of the problem that users are experiencing, and therefore the proper solution

What is Technology analysis?

focus is on how new technologies can help the organization

What is Duration analysis?

focus is on reducing the amount of time each process takes

What is activity elimination?

focus is on simplifying organization by identifying and eliminating unnecessary processes

What is Problem Analysis?

focus is on solutions to problems, as suggested by the users themselves

What are the Analysis techniques?

problem analysis root cause analysis duration analysis activity-based costing informal benchmarking outcome analysis technology analysis activity elimination

Good requirements are..

-Verifiable (we can test it / evaluate whether we did it) Clear and concise (simple, short, easily understood) Complete (contains all the necessary info to understand & implement) Consistent (doesn't conflict with other req's, uses same terminology as other req's, etc.) Traceable (has a unique ID / #, can't be broken into smaller parts) Viable (we can actually do it, on time, in budget, & with the available resources) Necessary (business critical, system is deficient w/o it) Implementation-free (lets the developer decide the best way to accomplish it)

Define Requirements Specification

A statement of what the system must do, or what characteristics it must have Written from businessperson perspective (the "what" of the system) Later requirements become more technical (the "how" of the system)

Example of a functional requirement

A system must send an email whenever a certain condition is met (e.g. an order is placed, a customer signs up, etc).

What are the Business Change Processes?

BPA, BPI, BPR

Non-functional requirements

Behavioral properties of system: Operational, Performance, Security, Cultural/Political

JAD Cons

Different opinions within the team make it difficult to align goals and maintain focus Depending on the size of the project, JAD may require a significant time commitment

Example of a Non-functional requirement

Emails should be sent with a latency of no greater than 12 hours from such an activity.

JAD Pros

JAD allows you to resolve difficulties more simply and produce better, error-free software The joint collaboration between the company and the clients lowers all risks JAD reduces costs and time needed for project development Well-defined requirements improve system quality Due to the close communication, progress is faster JAD encourages the team to push each other to work faster and deliver on time

What does JAD stand for?

Joint application design

What is the problem with technology analysis?

One problem with technology analysis is that it often provides "answers for non-existent problems." It's better to start with existing problems

Functional Requirements

Tasks the system must perform Information the system must contain

What is the purpose of using JAD?

The purpose of JAD is to bring together IT and the business community in a structured workshop setting to extract consensus based system requirements. ... JAD is typically used in the early stages of a project life cycle.

What is Business Process Reengineering (BPR)?

The search for, and implementation of, radical change in business processes to achieve breakthrough improvements in products and services.

What is Business Process Automation (BPA)?

The use a technology to automate a business process

What is Business Process Improvement (BPI)?

a management exercise in which enterprise leaders use various methodologies to analyze their procedures to identify areas where they can improve accuracy, effectiveness and/or efficiency and then redesign those processes to realize the improvements.

What is JAD?

a methodology that involves the client or end user in the design and development of an application, through a succession of collaborative workshops called JAD sessions