DTCW 4103 – Software Development

Chapter 1 ~ INFORMATION SYSTEM : What are they?

Objectives:

At the end of this chapter students should be able to:- Understand the types of systems Understand the role of System Analyst Qualities of System Analyst Required skills of the System Analyst Job titles

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Overview IS are crucial to the success of modern

business organization. Constantly being developed to make

business more competitive. Clear IT in IS can have dramatic impact of

technology & profits. BUT not the technology itself, it is the

people who develop IS solution that strap up the power of this tech that makes benefits possible.

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Systems analyst – KEY to successful system/software development. Understanding and specifying in detail

what the information system should do. Understanding what the business

requires from the IS. System design – Specifying in detail how

the many components of IS should be physically implemented.

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Overview

What does Analyst Solve? Some typical problems are :

Customer wants to order products any time of the day and night. Problem: How to process those orders round the clock without adding to the selling cost.

Management continually wants to know the current financial picture of the company including profit and loss, cash flow and stock market forecast. Problem: How to collect, analyze and present all the financial information mgmt wants.Prepared by Ms. Nur Erlida bt Ruslan 5

What is Information System?

Information System – A collection of interrelated components that collect, process, store and provide as output the information needed to complete business tasks.

Information – Raw data that already been process.

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System – A collection of interrelated components that function together to achieve some outcome.

Subsystem – A system that is part of a larger system.

Supersystem – A larger systems that contains other systems.

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What is Information System?

Types of systems

Transaction Processing System (TPS) Office Automation System (OAS) and Knowledge

Work Systems (KWS) Management Information Systems (MIS) Decision Support System (DSS) Expert System (ES) and Artificial Intelligent (AI). Group Decision Support Systems (GDSS) and

Computer-Supported Collaborative Work Systems Executive Support System (ESS)

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Transaction Processing Systems (TPS)

To capture and process large amount of data for routine business transactions such as payroll and inventory

A TPS reduces the time, increase efficiency

Manager will use up to date data from TPS monitor what is happening in the company

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Office Automation Systems and Knowledge Work System

OAS to support data workers To share and manipulate the information Disseminate the information in organization Eg: Word processing, spreadsheet, desktop publishing,

electronic scheduling, and communication through email, and video conferencing.

KWS – support professional workers such as scientists, engineers, and doctors Allow them to create new knowledge and allow them to

contribute it .

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Decision Support System (DSS)

is a highly flexible and interactive IT system that is designed to support decision making when the problem is not structured

A DSS is an alliance between you, decision maker, and specialized support provided by IT.

IT brings speed, vast amount of information, and sophisticated processing capabilities to help you create information useful in decision making.

DSS is to improve your effectiveness as a decision maker by providing you with assistance that will compliment your insights.

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Expert System and AI

Artificial Intelligent (AI) is the science of making machines mimic human thought processes and behavior.

Four types: Expert System Neural Network Genetic Algorithm Intelligent System

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Expert System

Expert System is an artificial intelligence system that applies reasoning capabilities to reach to conclusion.

ES captures and makes available to you the expertise of a human expert

ES solves problems by mimicking the reasoning process of a human expert to reach a conclusion

The problem-solving strategy of a domain expert, the domain expertise, is transferred to the knowledge base by the engineer using the knowledge acquisition component

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Group Decision Support System

A group decision support system (GDSS) is a type of decision support system that facilitates the formulation of and solution to problems by a team.

A GDSS facilitates team decision making by integrating Groupware DSS capabilities Telecommunication

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Executive Support System

Help executives organize their interactions with the external environment

Rely on TPS and MIS Address the unstructured decision

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Integrating Technologies for systems

Ecommerce Applications and Web services Increase awareness 24 hrs access Standard design Global system

Enterprise Resource Planning System Integration of information of many IS on different

management level and different functions System for wireless and handheld devices

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Need for systems analysis and design

System analyst:- Analyze data input Data processing Data storage Information output

SAD is used to analyze, design and implement improvements in the functioning of businesses

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Roles of System Analyst

System Analyst must be able to work with different types of people and must be very experienced in working with computers.

The three primary roles of the System Analyst are: Consultant Supporting Expert Agent of change

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System Analyst as Consultant

Analyst may be hired specifically to address information systems issues within a business

This can offer many advantages since outside consultants can bring in new suggestions with fresh perspectives

The only disadvantage of hiring an outside consultant is that he/she would never truly understand the true nature of the organization

Outside consultants would rely heavily on systematic methods to analyze and design appropriate information systems for a particular business

Outside consultants also rely on the system’s users to obtain a clearer picture of the organization

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System Analyst as Supporting Expert

The analyst would draw on professional expertise concerning the computer hardware and software and their uses in the business

This work is often used for making small modifications or decision affecting a single department

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System Analyst as Agent of Change

An agent of change is defined as a person who serves as a catalyst for change, develops a plan for change and works with others in facilitating the change

An analyst is considered to be an agent of change whenever: He/she performs any of the activities in the system development

life cycle (SDLC) He/she is present in the business for an extended period of time

At the very beginning, the analyst needs to interact with the users to get a better picture of the current system

If changes is warranted than the analyst needs to develop a plan for change along with the people who would be carrying out the changes

The analyst must also inform the users who would be affected by the changes

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Quality of System Analyst

Must be a problem solver who enjoys devising workable solutions

Must be an effective communicator who is capable to relate meaningful information to other people over extended periods of time

Must be experienced enough to program, to understand the capabilities of computers, to obtain and understand information from the users and to communicate what is needed to programmers

Must be self-disciplined and self-motivated

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Required skills of the System Analyst

Technical Knowledge and Skills Business Knowledge and Skills People Knowledge and Skills Integrity and Ethics

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Technical Knowledge and Skills

The System Analyst should understand the fundamental of:- Computers and how they work Other devices (input, storage, output) Communication networks and protocol Database and DBMS OOP languages and class libraries Operating system and Utility

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Technical Knowledge and Skills

System Analyst should also know a lot about tools such as:- Integrated development environment

(IDEs). Eg: Sun ONE studio for JAVA or VB.NET

CASE tools eg: Rational XDE modeles, Borland Together

Program code generator, testing tools, support tools, project man

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Technical Knowledge and Skills

System Analyst should also know a lot about tools such as:- Project planning technique Cost/benefit analysis technique Interviewing technique Requirement modeling technique Architectural analysis technique Network configuration technique Database design technique

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Business Knowledge and Skills

What does the analyst need to know? What business functions do organization

perform? How are organizations structured? How are organizations managed? What types of work goes on in

organizations? ( finance, manufacturing, marketing, customer service )

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People Knowledge and Skills It is critical that the analyst understand

how people: Think – to better anticipate they way to

interact. Learn – new technologies adapt React to change - must be prepared to

change to see the benefits of change. Communicate – influence and motivate Work (in variety of jobs and levels) –

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Integrity and Ethics

Keep information private – salary, job performance, health, etc.

Expected to sustain the highest ethical standard – can destroy any impropriety appearance.

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Types of Technology Encountered Future analysts may encounter these

following: Desktop system. Networked desktop system that shared

data. Client-server systems. Large-scale centralized mainframe

systems. Systems using Internet, extranet

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Typical Job Titles Some of the job titles that you may encounter:

Programmer analyst. Business SA. System liaison. End-user analyst. Business consultant. System consultant. System support analyst. System designer. Software engineer. System architect. Webmaster. Web developer. Project leader/Project Manager

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