TMX2012 IT Tools for Knowledge Workers

SEMESTER 2, SESSION 2014/15

LECTURE 4:
INFORMATION SYSTEMS
ANALYSIS & DESIGN

OBJECTIVES
Define the term information system
Define system development and list the system
development phases
Identify the guidelines for system development
Discuss the purpose of and tasks conducted in each
system development phase
Discuss the importance of project management,
feasibility assessment, documentation, and data
and information gathering techniques
Identify the programming languages and application
development tools for system development
Describe various information systems used in an
enterprise

Adapted from Discovering Computers by Vermaat, Sebok & Freund (2014)

Information Systems
An information system is a set of hardware, software,
data, people, and procedures that work together to
produce information

Chapter 1: Computers and Digital Basics

Image: Vermaat, Sebok & Freund (2014)

Information Systems
How information systems are used:

Chapter 1: Computers and Digital Basics

Image: Vermaat, Sebok & Freund (2014)

SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT
System development is a set of activities used to build
an information system
System development activities are grouped into
phases, and is called the System Development Life
Cycle (SDLC)
Planning

Support &
Security

Implementation

Analysis

Design

SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT
Activities in system development phases:

Image: Vermaat, Sebok & Freund (2014)

SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT
The planning phase for a project begins when the
steering committee receives a project request
There are 4 major activities performed:
1. Review and
approve project
requests

2. Prioritize
project requests

3. Allocate
resources
(people, money,
equipment)

4. Form a project
development
team

SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT
The analysis phase consists of two major activities:

Preliminary
investigation
Also known as
feasibility study
Determines and defines
the exact nature of the
problem or
improvement
Interview the user who
submitted the request

Detailed analysis
Study how the current
system works
Determine the users
wants, needs, and
requirements
Recommend a solution

SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT
Feasibility is a measure of how suitable the
development of a system will be to the organization
Feasibility evaluation of a project consists of:
Operational feasibility: measures how well the proposed
information system will work
Schedule feasibility: measures whether the established
deadlines for the project are reasonable
Technical feasibility: measures whether the organization
has or can obtain the computing resources, software
services, and qualified people needed to develop, deliver
and support the system
Economic feasibility: measures whether the lifetime
benefits of the proposed information system will be greater
than its lifetime costs

SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT
The system proposal assesses the feasibility of each
alternative solution
The steering committee discusses the system
proposal and decides which alternative to pursue
Alternatives:
Modify
existing
system

Buy retail
software

Use web apps

Build custom
software

Outsource

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SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT
The design phase consists of two major activities:

Acquire hardware &

software
Identify technical
specifications
Solicit vendor proposals
Test and evaluate
vendor proposals
Make a decision

Develop details of the

system
Database design
Input and output design
Program design

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SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT
Systems analysts typically develop two types of
designs for each input and output

Mock-up

Layout chart
Image: Vermaat, Sebok & Freund (2014)

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SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT
A prototype (proof of concept) is a working model of
the proposed systems essential functionality
Prototypes
have
inadequate
or
missing
documentation
Users tend to embrace the prototype as a final system
Should not eliminate or replace activities

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SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT
Computer-aided software engineering (CASE) tools
are designed to support one or more activities of
system development

Image: Vermaat, Sebok & Freund (2014)

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SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT
In the implementation phase, the new or modified
system is constructed and delivered to users
Four major activities are performed:
1. Develop
programs & apps

2. Install & test

the new system

3. Train users

4. Convert to the
new system

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SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT
Various tests should be performed on the new system

Unit test
Verifies
each
individual
program or object works by
itself

System test
Verifies that all programs in an
application works together
properly

Acceptance test
Performed by end users to
check the new system works
with actual data

Integration test
Verifies that an application
works with other application

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SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT
Training involves showing users exactly how they will
use the new hardware and software in the system
One-on-one sessions
Classroom-style lectures
Web-based training

Image: Vermaat, Sebok & Freund (2014)

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SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT
One or more of four conversion strategies can be
used to change from the old system to the new
system
Direct conversion
The user stops using the old
system and begins using the
new system on a certain date

Parallel conversion
Running the old system
alongside the new system for a
specified time

Phased conversion
Each
location/department
converts at a separate time

Pilot conversion
Only one location/department
uses the new system; others
convert after pilot approves

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SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT
The support and security phase provides ongoing
assistance for an information system and its users
after the system is implemented
There are 3 major activities in this phase:
1. Perform
maintenance
activities

2. Monitor system
performance

3. Assess system
security

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SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT
Guidelines for system development activities:
Group activities into phases: although some SLDCs
may contain more or less phases, they have similar
activities and tasks
Define standards: standards are a set of rules and
procedures an organization expects employees to accept
and follow; it helps people working on the same project
product consistent results
Involve users: users include anyone for whom the
system is being built; they are more apt to accept a new
system if they contribute to its design

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SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT
System development
should involve
representatives from
each department in
which the proposed
system will be used

Image: Vermaat, Sebok & Freund (2014)

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DOCUMENTATION
Documentation is the collection and summarization of
data, information, and deliverables.
Maintaining up-to-date documentation should be an
ongoing part of system development.

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DATA & INFORMATION GATHERING

TECHNIQUES
During system development, members of the project
team gather data and information using several
techniques
Review
documentation

Observation

Surveys

Research

Interviews

Joint-application
development
(JAD) sessions

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PROJECT MANAGEMENT
Project management is the process of planning,
scheduling, and then controlling the activities during
system development
To plan and schedule a project efficiently, the project
leader identifies the following elements:
Project Scope

Required
Activities

Time estimates

Cost estimates

Order of
activities

Activities that
take place at
the same time

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PROJECT MANAGEMENT
Popular tools used to plan and schedule the time
relationships among project activities are Gantt and
PERT charts
Gantt charts:
A bar chart that uses horizontal bars to show project phases
or activities
The left side (vertical axis) displays list of required activities
The horizontal axis across the top/bottom represents time

PERT charts:
Short for Program Evaluation and Review Technique
Analyzes the time required to complete a task and identifies
the minimum time required for an entire project
Also known as network diagrams
Better suited for large, complex projects

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PROJECT MANAGEMENT

Image: Vermaat, Sebok & Freund (2014)

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PROGRAMMING
LANGUAGES
To create information systems, software developers
(also known as programmers) write instructions using
programming languages and application development
tools to create the programs and apps that make up
the information system
A programming language is a set of words,
abbreviations and symbols that enables software
developers to communicate instructions to computers
or mobile devices
An application development tool provides a means for
creating, designing, editing, testing and distributing
the programs and app

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PROGRAMMING
LANGUAGES
There are several hundred programming languages in
existence today
Each language has its own syntax for writing the
instruction
There are 2 types of programming languages:
High-level languages:
Machine-independent
Can run on many
different types of
computers and
operating systems

Low-level languages:
Machine-dependent
Runs only on one
particular type of
computer or device

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PROGRAMMING
LANGUAGES
Machine language is
programming languages

the

first

generation

of

Only language the computer directly recognizes

Image: Vermaat, Sebok & Freund (2014)

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PROGRAMMING
LANGUAGES
Assembly language is the
second generation of
programming languages
Programmer
instructions
symbolic
codes

writes
using
instruction

A
source
program
contains the language
instructions, or code, to
be
converted
into
machine language

Image: Vermaat, Sebok & Freund (2014)

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PROGRAMMING
LANGUAGES
In procedural language, the programmer writes
instructions that tell the computer what to accomplish
and how to do it
Procedural languages are often called thirdgeneration language (3GL) or functional language

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PROGRAMMING
LANGUAGES
The C programming language is used to write many of
todays programs

Image: Vermaat, Sebok & Freund (2014)

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PROGRAMMING
LANGUAGES
An object-oriented programming language allows
programmers the ability to reuse and modify existing
objects
Java is an object-oriented programming language
developed by Sun Microsystems
The Just-in-time (JIT) compiler to convert the
machine-independent code into machine-dependent
code

Image: Vermaat, Sebok & Freund (2014)

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PROGRAMMING
LANGUAGES
C++ is an extension of the C programming language
Additional features for working with objects

Microsoft Visual Studio is Microsofts suite of objectoriented application development tools that assists
software developers in building programs and apps
for Windows or any operating system that supports
the Microsoft .NET Framework
A
4GL
(fourth-generation
language)
is
a
nonprocedural language that enables users and
programmers to access data in a database
One popular 4GL is SQL

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PROGRAMMING
LANGUAGES
Classic programming languages:
Ada

BASIC

COBOL

FORTRAN

LISP

Prolog

Pascal

Modula-2

ALGOL

APL

FORTH

HyperTalk

Smalltalk

PL/1

RPG

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COMPILERS &
INTERPRETERS

Compiler

Interpreter

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COMPILERS &
INTERPRETERS
Before the computer can execute the program or app,
the source program must be converted into machine
language
Programmers typically use compilers and/or
interpreters to translate the source program to
machine language

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Information Systems in the Enterprise

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) integrates MRP II with the
information flow across an organization to manage and coordinate the
ongoing activities of the enterprise, including product planning,
manufacturing and distribution, accounting and finance, sales, human
resources, and customer support
A document management system (DMS) allows for storage and
management of a companys documents, such as word processing
documents, presentations, and spreadsheets
A content management system (CMS) enables and manages the
publishing, modification, organization, and access of various forms of
documents and other files, including media and webpages, on a network
or the web

Chapter 1: Computers and Digital Basics

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Information Systems in the Enterprise

A transaction processing system (TPS) is an information
system that captures and processes data from day-to-day
business activities

Chapter 1: Computers and Digital Basics

Image: Vermaat, Sebok & Freund (2014)

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Information Systems in the Enterprise

A management information system (MIS) is an information
system that generates accurate, timely, and organized
information, so that managers and other users can make
decisions, solve problems, supervise activities, and track
progress

Chapter 1: Computers and Digital Basics

Image: Vermaat, Sebok & Freund (2014)

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Information Systems in the Enterprise

A decision support system (DSS) helps users analyze
information and make decisions

Chapter 1: Computers and Digital Basics

Image: Vermaat, Sebok & Freund (2014)

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Information Systems in the Enterprise

An expert system is an information system that captures
and stores the knowledge of human experts and then
imitates human reasoning and decision making

Chapter 1: Computers and Digital Basics

Image: Vermaat, Sebok & Freund (2014)

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THE END

Chapter 1: Computers and Digital Basics

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