1 Chapter 1 The World of the Modern

1 Chapter 1: The World of the Modern Systems Analyst Systems Analysis and Design in a Changing World, 3 rd Edition

1 Learning Objectives u Explain the key role of a systems analyst in business u Describe the various types of systems an analyst might work on u Explain the importance of technical, people, and business skills for an analyst u Explain why ethical behavior is crucial for a systems analyst’s career Systems Analysis and Design in a Changing World, 3 rd Edition 2

1 Learning Objectives (continued) u Describe the many types of technology an analyst needs to understand u Describe various job titles and places of employment where analysis and design work is done u Discuss the analyst’s role in strategic planning for an organization u Describe the analyst’s role in a system development project Systems Analysis and Design in a Changing World, 3 rd Edition 3

1 Overview u Information Systems l Crucial to success of modern business organizations l Constantly being developed to make business more competitive l Impact productivity and profits u Keys to successful systems development l Thorough systems analysis and design l Understanding what business requires Systems Analysis and Design in a Changing World, 3 rd Edition 4

1 Overview (continued) u Systems analysis – what system should do u Systems design – how components of information system should be physically implemented u Systems analyst – uses analysis and design techniques to solve business problems with information technology Systems Analysis and Design in a Changing World, 3 rd Edition 5

1 The Analyst as a Business Problem Solver u Has computer technology knowledge and programming expertise u Understands u Uses u Has business problems logical methods for solving problems fundamental curiosity u Wants to make things better u Is more of a business problem solver than technical programmer Systems Analysis and Design in a Changing World, 3 rd Edition 6

Analyst’s Approach to Problem Solving 1 Research and understand the problem Verify that the benefits of solving the problem outweigh the costs Define the requirements for solving the problem Develop a set of possible solutions (alternatives) Decide which solution is best, and make a recommendation Define the details of the chosen solution Implement the solution Monitor to make sure that you obtain the desired results Systems Analysis and Design in a Changing World, 3 rd Edition 7

1 Systems That Solve Business Problems u System – interrelated components functioning together to achieve outcome u Information systems – collection of interrelated components that collect, process, store, and provide as output information needed to complete tasks u Subsystems – part of larger system u Supersystem subsystem – larger system contains u Functional decomposition – dividing system into smaller subsystems and components Systems Analysis and Design in a Changing World, 3 rd Edition 8

1 Information Systems and Subsystems Systems Analysis and Design in a Changing World, 3 rd Edition 9

1 Information Systems and Component Parts Systems Analysis and Design in a Changing World, 3 rd Edition 10

System Boundary vs. Automation Boundary Systems Analysis and Design in a Changing World, 3 rd Edition 1 11

1 Types of Information Systems u Transaction l processing systems (TPS) Capture and record information about organization’s transactions u Management information systems (MIS) l Take information captured by TPS l Produce reports for planning and control u Executive l information systems (EIS) Monitoring competitive environment and strategic planning Systems Analysis and Design in a Changing World, 3 rd Edition 12

1 Types of Information Systems (continued) u Decision l support systems (DSS) Explore impact of available options or decisions (What-if scenarios) u Communication l Facilitate communication internally and with customers and suppliers u Office l support systems Help employees create and share documents Systems Analysis and Design in a Changing World, 3 rd Edition 13

1 Types of Information Systems (continued) Systems Analysis and Design in a Changing World, 3 rd Edition 14

1 Required Skills of the Systems Analyst u An analyst should have fundamental technology knowledge of: l Computers / peripheral devices (hardware) l Communication networks and connectivity l Database and database management systems (DBMS) l Programming languages (for example: VB. NET or Java) l Operating systems and utilities Systems Analysis and Design in a Changing World, 3 rd Edition 15

1 Technical Knowledge and Skills u Analyst uses tools: l Software productivity packages (MS Office) l Integrated development environments (IDEs) for programming languages l CASE tools / coding, testing, and documentation support packages u Analyst understands SDLC phase techniques: l Project planning l Systems analysis, systems design l Construction, implementation, systems support Systems Analysis and Design in a Changing World, 3 rd Edition 16

1 Business Knowledge and Skills u Analyst must understand: l Business functions performed by organization l Organizational structure l Organization management techniques l Functional work processes u Systems analysts typically study business administration in college Systems Analysis and Design in a Changing World, 3 rd Edition 17

1 People Knowledge and Skills u Systems analysts need to understand how people: l Think l Learn l React to change l Communicate l Work (in a variety of jobs and levels) Systems Analysis and Design in a Changing World, 3 rd Edition 18

1 People Knowledge and Skills (continued) u Interpersonal and communication skills are crucial to: l Obtaining information l Motivating people l Getting cooperation l Understanding the complexity and workings of an organization in order to provide necessary support Systems Analysis and Design in a Changing World, 3 rd Edition 19

1 Integrity and Ethics u Analyst has access to confidential information such as salary, an organization’s planned projects, security systems, etc. l Must keep information private l Any impropriety can ruin an analyst’s career l Analyst plans security in systems to protect confidential information Systems Analysis and Design in a Changing World, 3 rd Edition 20

1 Required Skills of the Systems Analyst Systems Analysis and Design in a Changing World, 3 rd Edition 21

1 The Environment Surrounding the Analyst u Types of Technology Encountered l Desktop l Networked desktops l Client-server l Mainframe l Internet, intranet, and extranet l Wireless, PDAs, Cell Phones (mobile workers) Systems Analysis and Design in a Changing World, 3 rd Edition 22

1 Typical Job Titles and Places of Employment u Job titles of systems analyst vary greatly, but entail same thing u Places of employment vary from small businesses to large corporations u Analysts can be internal employees or outside consultants u Analysts can be developing solutions for internal business managers or for external clients and customers Systems Analysis and Design in a Changing World, 3 rd Edition 23

1 The Analyst’s Role in Strategic Planning u Special l projects affecting executives Business process reengineering – radical improvements to existing processes u Strategic planning development process u Information systems strategic planning l Application architecture plan (business focus) l Technology architecture plan (infrastructure focus) u Enterprise systems resource planning (ERP) integrated Systems Analysis and Design in a Changing World, 3 rd Edition 24

Components of an information systems strategic plan Systems Analysis and Design in a Changing World, 3 rd Edition 1 25

Rocky Mountain Outfitters (RMO) and Its Strategic Information Systems Plan 1 u RMO sports clothing manufacturer and distributor about to begin customer support system project u First understand: nature of the business, approach to strategic planning, and objectives for customer support system u RMO systems development project used to demonstrate analysis and design concepts u Reliable Pharmaceutical Service (RPS) is a second case study for classroom purposes Systems Analysis and Design in a Changing World, 3 rd Edition 26

Introduction to Rocky Mountain Outfitters (RMO) business 1 u Began Park City, Utah in 1978 supplying winter sports clothes to local ski shops u Expanded into direct mail-order sales with small catalog – as catalog interest increased, opened retail store in Park City u Became large, regional sports clothing distributor by early 2000’s in Rocky Mountain and Western states u Currently $100 million in annual sales and 600 employees and two retail stores u Mail-order revenue to $60 million, phone-order revenue is $30 million Systems Analysis and Design in a Changing World, 3 rd Edition 27

1 Early RMO Catalog Cover (Spring, 1978) Systems Analysis and Design in a Changing World, 3 rd Edition 28

1 Current RMO Catalog Cover (Fall 2005) Systems Analysis and Design in a Changing World, 3 rd Edition 29

1 RMO Strategic Issues u Innovational clothing distributor, featured products on Web site ahead of competitors u Original l Web site functions: Enhance image, request copy of catalog, portal to Outdoor sports Web sites u Enhanced l Web site functions: Add specific product information, weekly specials, and all product offerings u Detailed IS strategic plan l Supply chain management l Customer relationship management Systems Analysis and Design in a Changing World, 3 rd Edition 30

1 RMO’s Organizational Structure u Managed by original (married) owners l John Blankens – President l Liz Blankens – Vice president of merchandising and distribution u William Mc. Dougal – Vice president of marketing and sales u Jo. Ann White – Vice president of finance and systems l Background in finance and accounting Systems Analysis and Design in a Changing World, 3 rd Edition 31

1 RMO Locations Systems Analysis and Design in a Changing World, 3 rd Edition 32

1 RMO Information Systems Department u Mac Preston: Assistant vice-president and chief information officer (CIO) l Recent promotion made after IS strategic plan created l CIO reports to finance and systems VP l CIO is Increasingly important to future of RMO l IS department will report directly to the CEO … if CIO can successfully implement new strategic IS plan Systems Analysis and Design in a Changing World, 3 rd Edition 33

1 RMO IS Department Staffing Systems Analysis and Design in a Changing World, 3 rd Edition 34

1 Existing RMO Systems u Small mainframe-based system l Supports inventory, mail-order, accounting and human resources l Has dedicated connectivity to distribution and mail -order sites u LANs and file servers l Supports central office functions, distribution centers, and manufacturing centers l Manufacturing has dial-up capability Systems Analysis and Design in a Changing World, 3 rd Edition 35

1 Existing RMO Systems (continued) u RMO l informational Website Hosted by Internet service provider (ISP) u Merchandising/Distribution l 12 year old mainframe COBOL/CICS, DB 2, VSAM application u Mail l order 14 year old mainframe COBOL application u Phone l order Oracle and Visual Basic system built 6 years ago Systems Analysis and Design in a Changing World, 3 rd Edition 36

1 Existing RMO Systems (continued) u Retail l 8 Year old point-of-sale and batch inventory package, overnight update with mainframe u Office l store systems LAN with office software, Internet, email u Human l resources 13 year old mainframe-based payroll and benefits u Accounting/Finance l Mainframe package bought from leading vendor Systems Analysis and Design in a Changing World, 3 rd Edition 37

1 The Information Systems Strategic Plan u Supports RMO strategic objectives l Build more direct customer relationships l Expand marketing beyond Western states u Plan calls for a series of information system development and integration projects over several years u Project launch: new customer support system to integrate phone orders, mail orders, direct customer orders via Internet Systems Analysis and Design in a Changing World, 3 rd Edition 38

1 RMO Technology Architecture Plan u Distribute business applications l Across multiple locations and systems l Reserve mainframe for Web server, database, and telecommunications l Allow incremental and rapid growth in capacity u Strategic business processes via Internet l Supply chain management (SCM) l Direct customer ordering via dynamic Web site l Customer relationship management (CRM) l Web-based intranet for business functions Systems Analysis and Design in a Changing World, 3 rd Edition 39

1 RMO Application Architecture Plan u Supply l chain management (SCM) Product development, product acquisition, manufacturing, inventory management u Customer support system (CSS) l Integrate order-processing and fulfillment system with SCM l Support customer orders (mail, phone, web) u Strategic l information management system Extract and analyze SCM and CSS information for strategic and operational decision making and control Systems Analysis and Design in a Changing World, 3 rd Edition 40

RMO Application Architecture Plan (continued) u Retail l store system (RSS) Replace existing retail store system with system integrated with CSS u Accounting/Finance l system Purchase intranet application to maximize employee access to financial data for planning and control u Human l 1 resource (HR) system Purchase intranet application to maximize employee access to human resource forms, procedures, and benefits information Systems Analysis and Design in a Changing World, 3 rd Edition 41

Timetable for RMO Application Architecture Plan Systems Analysis and Design in a Changing World, 3 rd Edition 1 42

1 The Customer Support System u RMO core competency is their ability to develop and maintain customer loyalty u Supply chain management (SCM) must be defined before CSS can begin u CSS is a core system supporting customer relationship management u Systems analysis phase will define system requirements in detail u Strategic plan’s stated objectives will form guidelines as project proceeds Systems Analysis and Design in a Changing World, 3 rd Edition 43

1 Analyst as a System Developer u Part 1: The modern systems analyst l Chapter 1: Nature of the analyst’s work l Chapter 2: Systems development life cycle (SDLC) l Chapter 3: How projects are planned and managed Systems Analysis and Design in a Changing World, 3 rd Edition 44

1 Analyst as a System Developer (continued) u Part 2: Systems analysis tasks l Chapter 4: Investigating systems requirements and information gathering l Chapter 5: Modeling system requirements l Chapter 6: Traditional approach to requirements l Chapter 7: Object-oriented approach to requirements l Chapter 8: Evaluating alternatives for requirements, environment, and implementation Systems Analysis and Design in a Changing World, 3 rd Edition 45

1 Analyst as a System Developer (continued) u Part 3: Systems design tasks l Chapter 9: Overview of systems design l Chapter 10: Traditional approach to design l Chapter 11: Object approach to design l Chapter 12: Object-oriented development l Chapter 13: Database design l Chapter 14: User interface design l Chapter 15: System interfaces and controls Systems Analysis and Design in a Changing World, 3 rd Edition 46

1 Analyst as a System Developer (continued) u Part l 4: Implementation and support Chapter 16: Making the system operational u Current Trends l Chapter 17: Spiral model, extreme programming (XP), unified process (UP), prototyping, component-based development l Chapter 18: Software packages and enterprise resource planning (ERP) u Appendices: l Project management, planning, interviewing Systems Analysis and Design in a Changing World, 3 rd Edition 47

1 Summary u Systems analyst solves business problems using information systems technology u Problem solving means looking into business problem in great detail, completely understanding problem, and choosing best solution u Information systems development is much more than writing programs Systems Analysis and Design in a Changing World, 3 rd Edition 48

1 Summary (continued) u System - collection of interrelated components that function together to achieve some outcome u Information systems outcome: solution to a business problem u Information systems, subsystems, and components interact with and include hardware, software, inputs, outputs, data, people, and procedures Systems Analysis and Design in a Changing World, 3 rd Edition 49

1 Summary (continued) u Systems analyst has broad knowledge and variety of skills, including technical, business, and people u Integrity and ethical behavior are crucial to success for the analyst u Systems analyst encounters a variety of rapidly changing technologies u System analyst works on strategic plans and then systems development projects Systems Analysis and Design in a Changing World, 3 rd Edition 50