Systems Analysis and Design- Ch 3
Interview schedule
listing of who will be interviewed, the purpose of the interview, and where and when it will take place.
Interview
the most commonly used requirements elicitation technique.
When to use interviews
when you want as-is, improvements, to-be information and high depth of information
Explain the analysis phase of the SDLC
breaking something down and looking at a parts of project and trying to understand relationships and interworkings of parts Basic process of analysis: -To understand the existing system (how is it currently being done (the as-is system), are we going to do something the company has never done before) -Identify improvements to the system (how are they going to be changed) -Define the requirements for the new system (to-be system) -Create list of deliverables that will be used in the new system
Questionnaire
a set of written questions for obtaining information from individuals
Requirements definition
a straightforward text report that simply lists the functional and non-functional requirements in an outline format.
Joint application development (JAD)
an information gathering technique that allows the project team, users, and management to work together to identify requirements for the system.
Symptom
any phenomenon or circumstance accompanying something and serving as evidence of it
Process integration
changing the fundamental process so that fewer people work on the input, which often requires changing the processes and retraining staff to perform a wider range of duties.
Parallelization
changing the process so that all the individual steps are performed at the same time.
Nonfunctional requirements
characteristics the system should have. "the quality attributes, design, and implementation constraints, and external interfaces which a product must have."
System proposal
compiles the detailed requirements definition statement, use cases, process models, and data model together with a revised feasibility analysis and work plan
Interview report
describes the information from the interview
Ground rule
define appropriate behavior
Unstructured interview
interviews that seek a broad and roughly defined set of information.
Requirements determination
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 to provide the needed value to the business
Closed-ended question
require a specific answer. Closed-ended questions enable analysts to control the interview and obtain the information they need.
Structured interview
specific sets of questions are developed prior to the interviews
Benchmarking
studying how other organizations perform a business process in order to learn how your organization can do something better.
Sample
subset of people who are representative of the entire group
Informal system
the "real," or informal system differs from the formal one, and these differences, particularly large ones, give strong indications of what needs to be changed.
Critical thinking skills
the ability to recognize strengths and weaknesses and recast an idea in an improved form
Observation
the act of watching processes being performed, is a powerful tool to gain insight into the as-is system
Technology analysis
the analysts and managers develop a list of important and interesting technologies. Then the group systematically identifies how each and every technology could be applied to the business process and identifies how the business would benefit.
Top-down interview
the interviewer starts with broad, general issues and gradually works towards more specific ones
Bottom-up interview
the interviewer starts with very specific questions and moves to broad questions
Breadth of information
the range of information and information sources that can be easily collected by that technique.
Formal system
these documents-- forms, reports, policy manuals, organization charts-- represent the formal system that the organization uses
Interpersonal skill
those that enable you to develop rapport with others, and they are very important for interviewing.
Open-ended question
those that leave room for elaboration on the part of the interviewee.
Walk-through
to explain the system in moderate detail so that the users, managers, and key decision makers clearly understand it, can identify any needed modifications, and are able to make a decision about whether the project should continue.
Document analysis
to understand the as-is system
To-be system
the new system
Potential business value BPA
= Small, BPI = Moderate, BPR = High
Electronic JAD (e-JAD)
A JAD meeting that is conducted using groupware, special software on a networked computer to anonymously submit ideas, view all ideas generated by the group, and rate and rank ideas through voting
Risk
A potential event, occurrence or result that can have positive or negative consequences.
Describe the content and purpose of the requirements definition statement
A requirement : it is statement about what the system must do or a characteristic that the system must have Requirements describe: 1)What the business needs (business requirements) 2)User requirements 3) What the system must do (functional requirements) 4) Characteristics a system must have (non-functional requirements) 5) System requirements (how the system should be built)
Project cost
All allowable costs, as set forth in the applicable Federal cost principles, incurred by a recipient and the value of the contributions made by third parties in accomplishing the objectives of the award during the project period.
How to classify requirements correctly as business, user, functional, or nonfunctional requirements
Business- what a business needs the system to do user- what the user needs the system to do functional - process and information oriented (must do or contain nonfunctional- what characteristics a system has
Interview notes
information that was collected over the course of the interview and is summarized in a useful format
describe several analysis strategies that can help the analyst discover requirements
Problem Analysis- Root cause analysis: Duration analysis: Activity-based costing process. Benchmarking : Outcome analysis: Technology analysis:
Activity elimination
The analysts and managers work together to identify how the organization could eliminate each and every activity in the business process, how the function could operate without it, and what effects are likely to occur.
Problem analysis
The most straightforward (and probably the most commonly used) requirements analysis strategy. means asking the users and managers to identify problems with the as-is system and to describe how to solve them in the to-be system
Root cause
The purpose is to determine the underlying source of a problem.
Scribe
This person assists the facilitator by recording notes, making copies, and so on. Often, the scribes will use computers and CASE tools to record information as the JAD session proceeds.
Duration analysis
a detailed examination of the amount of time it takes to perform each process in the current as-is system
Facilitator
a person who sets the meeting agenda and guides the discussion, but does not join in the discussion as a participant.
Postsession report
essentially the same as the interview report Since the JAD sessions are longer and provide more information, it usually takes a week or two after the JAD session before the report is complete.
Activity-based costing
examines the cost of each major process or step in a business process rather than the time taken.
Informal benchmarking
fairly common for "customer-facing" business processes (i.e., those processes that interact with the customer). With informal benchmarking, the managers and analysts think about other organizations, or visit them as customers to watch how the business process is performed.
Root cause analysis
focuses on problems first rather than solutions
Outcome analysis
focuses on understanding the fundamental outcomes that provide value to customers.
Probing question
follow up on what has just been discussed in order for the interviewer to learn more, and they often are used when the interviewer is unclear about an interviewee's answer.
System requirement
how the system should be built. Requirements in the design phase reflect the developer's perspective, and they usually are called system requirements.
when to use observation
when you want as-is info, and low everything
when to use document analysis
when you want as-is info, high breadth of information, and low user involvement and cost
when to use questionnaires
when you want as-is, improvement info, medium depth, high breadth, and low user involvement and cost
when to use JAD sessions
when you want as-is, improvements, to-be information, high depth of information, medium breadth of information, high integration of information, high user involvement, low-medium cost