SYSTEM ANALYSIS AND DESIGN

DOCUMENTATION OUTLINE AND FORMAT

Title Page
Approval Sheet
Acknowledgement
Abstract
Table of Contents
List of Tables
List of Figures

I THE PROBLEM AND ITS SETTING

1.1 Introduction
1.2 Background of the Locale/Study
1.3 Statement of the Problem
1.4 Objectives of the Study
1.5 Conceptual Framework
1.6 Significance of the Study
1.7 Scope and Limitation
1.8 Definition of Terms

II REVIEW OF RELATED STUDIES

2.1 Foreign Studies
2.2 Local Studies
2.3 Summary of Similarities and Dissimilarities

III. SYSTEM METHODOLOGY AND DESIGN

3.1 Description of the Current System
3.2 System Development Methodology
3.2.1 Requirement Analysis Specification
3.2.2 System Design Specification

IV PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS
V CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

APPENDICES
REFERENCE LIST
RESOURCE PERSON
PERSONAL VITAE
 THESIS DOCUMENTATION GUIDELINES

MARGINS

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SPACING: Double Space. The following, however, should be single spaced:

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Appendices should have lowercase roman numeral page numbers. Title page should

not have page number.

 GUIDE TO THE USE OF GRAMMATICAL TENSES

A simple guide is that to use the present tense when referring to previously

published work and the past tense when referring to your present results. In the

thesis, you will normally go back and forth between the present and past tenses. Most

of the Abstract should be in the past tense because you described what you did and

what you found. On the other hand, most of the Introduction, Discussion, and

Conclusion should be in the present tense because these sections usually refer to

previously published works.

Project Title

This page contains the title of the thesis, the candidate's name, a statement regarding

the qualification for which the thesis is submitted, and the institution to which the thesis

is submitted, and the month and year of submission.

The title is a brief descriptive label that subsumes the theme of the study as a whole. It

names the major variables that are the subject if investigation, thereby giving an instant

grasp of what the study is all about. It answers the questions of “what”, “who”, and

“where”.

The title should be “eye-catching” and “thought provoking” so as to titillate the reader’s

attention, to arouse his intellectual curiosity into reading further the text of the

manuscript, and simultaneously achieve brevity.

The title should contain the fewest possible words that adequately describe the content

of the paper. Avoid unnecessary words such as "study of", "investigation on", "survey

of", "observation of" and “an evaluation of”.

Acknowledgement

This section recognizes persons (including institutions) to whom the candidate is

intended for guidance and assistance during the research and writing.

Acknowledgements should be expressed simply and tactfully.

Abstract
The abstract is a brief explanation of the whole thesis. It should consist of a statement

of the problem and objective of the study, methodology, major findings and their

significance, and conclusions. Include sufficient details to convince the reader that your

findings are interesting and your thesis worth reading.

The abstract of the thesis becomes a public record of the school. The Department Head

collects and bind theses and make them available to other students in the school library.

These abstracts serve as a measure of quality of scholarly work expected at COMTEQ

Computer and Business College.

The abstract should be less than 300 words, and typed single-spaced. It should not

normally include any reference to the literature, but if such references are necessary,

they should be footnoted.

Words should be clear and concise. It should contain a very brief rationale and the

statement of the problem, brief description of the methodology and design, major

findings and their significance and the conclusion and recommendation.

Table of Contents

The table of contents lists in sequence, with the corresponding beginning page

numbers, the titles of all relevant parts of the thesis. These include the titles of chapters,

sections and subsections as appropriate, references or literature cited and appendices,

together with the titles of the preliminary pages and the required forms.
List of Tables

(In bold characters, font size 14)

Figure<chapter#>-<figure#> <figure caption>

This list consists of the exact titles or captions of all tables in the text and the beginning

page for each. The tables should be numbered in sequence, using Arabic numerals.

List of Figures

(In bold characters, font size 14)

Figure<chapter#>-<figure#> <figure caption>

This section includes items like charts, graphs, maps and other illustrations. If there are

more than 12 of any kind, for example graphs, then list them separately from the rest.

List the exact title or caption of each figure and its corresponding page. The figures

should also be numbered in sequence.

Introduction

A good introduction is a clear statement of the problem or project and why you are

studying it. The Introduction supplies sufficient background information to allow the

reader to understand and evaluate the results of the present study without needing to

refer to previous publications on the topic. It should contain the nature and scope of the

problem investigated and the objective(s) and justification of the study. The Introduction

is the proper place to define any specialized terms and concepts used in the thesis.
Background of the Locale

Statement of the Problem

The first paragraph focuses on the problem of the study and introduces questions to be

addressed. There must be at least 2-4 questions raised that help clarify the problem.

Questions should address the following points:

o What is the specific problem that the study will address

o What are the questions that the study will address

o Why is the problem important to the study

Conceptual Framework

This section consists of the researcher’s own disposition on a problem after his

exposure to various theories that have bearing on the problem. It stems from the

theoretical framework and concentrates on one section of that theoretical framework.

Significance of the Study

This section discusses the importance of the study to society, the country, the

government, the community, the institution, the company concerned, the department

concerned, and the proponent himself. It expounds on the study’s probable impact to

education, technology, on-going researches, etc. It also gives the justification for the

study in terms of its contribution to the theory and practice. It touches on the
significance of the study to the researcher himself, what it does to his profession, and

the difference it makes to his own professional growth.

It also rationalizes the objectives of the research with that of the statement of the

problem. It explains why research must be done in this area. It also shows detailed and

specific discussions on who benefits from the output of the study abs now they are

going to benefit.

Scope and Limitation

Explained in this section are the nature, coverage, and time frame of the study. It

presents in brief the subject areas of investigation, the number of the respondents or

subjects involved the place, the time period or school year covered, and the rationale

behind delimiting the scope of the study.

Reasons advanced by well-known authority-sources are cited to support the

researcher’s rationale for delimiting the scope of the study. As pointed out, a sufficiently

delimited study generally permits in-depth and thorough investigation within the

envisioned time frame while a study is too broad on coverage with too many

overlapping sub-problems tends to be superficially and sketchily treated and produces

results that are unwieldy, insignificant, and inconsistent for purposes of generalizations

and conclusions on the study.

Definition of Terms

This section is the operational and conceptual definitions of the terms that are found in

the title of the study, including other unusual and technical terms.

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE AND STUDIES

This chapter starts with a very brief of introductory paragraph concerning the

researcher’s exploration of related foreign and local literature and studies on the

research problem. It states the main coverage of said chapter, to wit (1) Related

literature and (2) Studies. If no studies were included due to their non-availability, it is so

stated in the introductory part of the chapter, and the chapter’s heading is modified to

“REVIEW RELATED LITERATURE” only.

The chapter on Literature Review serves to tie together two things: what others have

done and what you plan to do. The review is supposed to lead somewhere, namely to

your own proposed research project and its justification. The review should be

organized by subjects, and the organization depends on the field and the nature and

quantity of literature available. Refer to several past theses to help you develop a writing

style that provides some diversity. Avoid repetitive sentences such as "According to

Ahmad (1956)...", "According to Busu (1962)..." or "Hall (1981) found that...” Newton

(1929) found that...", "Adam (1906) found that...", etc.

This section also presents the written work and studies that exhibit importance and

similarity with the proposed study. It also discusses the capabilities and limitations of
existing researchers, theories and paradigms that are related to the study. A brief

introduction should preview the type of literature that will be viewed, identifying the main

literature that made a great impact on the study. This part must include primary

research articles. Subsets of the literature are organized under sub-headings. Each

subset is concluded with a summary statement relating that section to your problem. At

the end of the chapter, a concluding paragraph summarizes the main findings that will

lead to the research questions.

METHODOLOGY AND DESIGN

This section identifies the methods and activities that will be performed in order to

accomplish the project or the specified objectives. It informs the readers how the author

proceeded with the study. It typically includes sections on the sample of participants and

how they were obtained, instrumentation used (e.g survey, questionnaire, etc.) step-by-

step procedures in gathering and processing data, design and statistical treatment of

data. Activities in system methodology are also discussed which cover from problem

identification throughout the development and implementation of the project.

System Development Methodology

This section details the standard processes and procedures followed to conduct all the

steps necessary to analyze, design, implement and maintain project.

Requirement Analysis Specification

This part explains what the program will do from the user’s perspective. It details

a statement of valid input to the program and the statement of the corresponding
 output. The purpose of this phase in the software development is to analyze and

examine thoroughly to determine requirements for a new or an enhanced

information system, structure those requirements for clarity and consistency, and

select among competing system features those that meet user requirements

within the development constraints. Deliverables of this phase are the functional

specifications for a system that meet user requirements that are feasible to

develop and implement.

Specific analysis tools are used to illustrate the existing and the proposed

systems as well as the requirements of the project. The analysis tools that maybe

used for:

o Hierarchical Input-Output (HIPO) Charts

o Data Flow Diagrams

o Entity-Relationship Diagram

o System Flowchart

System Design Specification

This section explains what the requirements are from the point of view of the developer.

The program specifications are explicitly and precisely stated. They are written before

the program is developed and includes a list of algorithms that will be used, major data

structures, a list of major functions, their inter-relationships, and the steps that will be

used to develop the program.

PRESENTATION AND INTERPRETATION OF DATA

After the data has been gathered and analyzed, it is now the task of the researcher to

prepare a written report on the results of the study. It is important that the research

output be presented in an organized, coherent and understandable manner. Data

analysis describes how the data are organized into tables or graphs and analyzed what

statistical package and comparisons are used.

CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

This section furnishes future undertakings based on the analysis and conclusions of the

study. It should recommend potential applications of the study, other solutions,

enhancement and/or developments related to the study.

Appendices

(In bold characters, font size 14)

Appendix <appendix letter> <Appendix Caption>

Appendix A Project Schedule

Project Schedule

The study involves different types of activities that together make up a project. Project

planning has tremendous values. A project without a plan is similar to a ship without a

compass. Project scheduling provides the mechanism for achieving the objectives and

deliverables of the project. The following is a list of deliverables that are generated

during project planning.

  Project Organization Chart

 Project Milestones

 Solution-Oriented Deliverables

Example:

TASK NAME Jun Jul Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb
Project Identification &
Selection
<subtask1>
<subtask2>
Project Initiation and
Planning
<subtask1>
<subtask2>
Analysis
<subtask1>
<subtask2>
Logical Design
<subtask1>
<subtask2>
Implementation
<subtask1>
<subtask2>
Screen Design

Observe the following format

Screen No. <screen#>

Screen Name: <name of the screen>

Narrative Overview: <brief description of the screen’s functions>

Screen Layout: <include the screen layout/design>

Example:

Screen No.1

Screen Name: Login Screen

Narrative Overview: Prompts the user to enter a password

Screen Layout:

Sample Results

User’s manual is description of how the software systems developed in the projects is

used. It contains such information as command formats, description of menu options

and dialogues boxes, formats for preparing input data, interpretation of outputs

produced and error messages, time and memory requirements and samples of use. It

also describes any components required for using the system.

User’s manual

Implementation manual is a description on how the software systems for the project

were developed and what is necessary to maintain them. It lists the location and content

of all relevant files and instructions for installing, compiling and configuring the software.

It describes the organization of the software, including major algorithms and data

structures. Dependencies on hardware and software are also described.

Implementation manual
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 APPROVAL SHEET

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with a grade of _____________.

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