ASSUMING THE ROLE OF THE SYSTEMS ANALYST

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CHAPTER 1 ASSUMING THE ROLE OF THE SYSTEMS
ANALYST
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• SYSTEMS ANALYSIS AND DESIGN IS A SYSTEMATIC
  APPROACH TO IDENTIFYING THE PROBLEMS IN THE
  ORGANIZATION, ANALYZING THE INFORMATION FLOW IN
  THE ORGANIZATION AND DESIGNING A COMPUTERIZED
  INFORMATION SYSTEM TO SOLVE THE PROBLEMS.

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ROLE OF SYSTEMS ANALYST

1. OUTSIDE CONSULTANT TO BUSINESS
2. SUPPORTING EXPERT WITHIN A BUSINESS 
3. AGENT OF CHANGE IN BOTH INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL
   SITUATIONS

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SYSTEMS DEVELOPMENT LIFE CYCLE (SDLC)

• 1. IDENTIFY PROBLEMS, OPPORTUNITIES AND
  OBJECTIVES
• FIND THE PROBLEMS WITH THE HELP OF OTHER
  ORGANIZATION MEMBERS (USERS, SYSTEMS MANAGERS)
•  
• FIND THE SITUATIONS WHERE THE COMPUTERIZED SYSTEM
  CAN CREATE MAJOR IMPROVEMENTS
•  
• FIND THE GOALS OF THE ORGANIZATION AND HOW
  INFORMATION SYSTEMS CAN HELP THE FIRM ACCOMPLISH
  ITS OBJECTIVES 

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• 2. DETERMINE INFORMATION REQUIREMENTS
•  
• FIND HOW THE CURRENT SYSTEM WORKS BY LEARNING
  ABOUT THE PEOPLE, GOALS, DATA AND PROCEDURES
  INVOLVED
•  
• 3. ANALYZE SYSTEM NEEDS
•  
• USE TOOLS SUCH AS DATA FLOW DIAGRAMS TO DETERMINE
  THE INPUT, PROCESS, AND OUTPUT REQUIREMENTS
• USE DATA DICTIONARIES TO LIST DATA AND ITS
  SPECIFICATIONS
• ANALYZE STURCTURED, SEMISTURCTURED AND
  MULTIPLE-CRITERIA DECISIONS

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• 4. DESIGN THE RECOMMENDED SYSTEM
•  
• DATA-ENTRY PROCEDURES AND SCREEN DESIGN
• USER INTERFACE
• DATABASE
• OUTPUT
• CONTROL AND BACKUP PROCEDURES
•  
• 5. DEVELOP AND DOCUMENT THE SOFTWARE
•  
• WORK WITH PROGRAMMERS TO DEVELOP THE SOFTWARE
• INVOLVE USERS TO PREPARE SOFTWARE DOCUMENTATIONS

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• 6. TEST AND MAINTAIN THE SYSTEM
•  
• TEST THE SYSTEM WITH SAMPLE AND ACTUAL DATA FROM
  THE EXISTING SYSTEM
• CONSIDER MAINTENANCE SUCH AS MODIFYING AND
  UPDATING THE SYSTEM
•  
•  7. IMPLEMENT AND EVALUATE THE SYSTEM
•  
• TRAIN THE USERS 
• HELP WITH CHANGING FROM THE OLD SYSTEM TO THE NEW
  SYSTEM
• FIND OUT WHETHER THE USERS ARE REALLY USING THE
  SYSTEM

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CASE (COMPUTER-AIDED SYSTEM ENGINEERING)

• IS THE APPLICATION OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY TO
  SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES
• CASE TOOLS ARE USED FOR AUTOMATING ONE OR MORE
  PHASES OF SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT LIFE CYLCE
•  
• USE OF CASE TOOLS RESULTS IN FASTER SYSTEM
  DEVELOPMENT AND IMPROVEMENTS IN THE QUALITY OF
  SYSTEM DESIGNED

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CASE TOOL BENEFITS

• INCREASING ANALYST PRODUCTIVITY
• IMPROVING ANALYST-USER COMMUNICATION
• INTEGRATING LIFE CYCLE ACTIVITIES
• ACCURATELY ASSESSING MAINTENANCE CHANGES

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DIFFERENT TYPES OF CASE TOOLS

• UPPER CASE TOOL
• USED BY ANALYSTS
• LOWER CASE TOOL
• USED BY PROGRAMMERS
• INTEGRATED CASE TOOL
• COMBINES 1 AND 2 IN A SINGLE TOOLSET

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UPPER CASE TOOL

• HAS A DATABASE OR REPOSITORY (SIMILAR TO AN
  ENCYCLOPEDIA) WHICH CONTAINS RECORDS, ELEMENTS,
  DIAGRAMS, SCREENS, REPORTS, AND OTHER INFORMATION
• ANALYSIS REPORTS ARE GENERATED FROM INFORMATION
  IN REPOSITORY TO LOCATE ANY ERROR OR
  INCOMPLETNESS IN THE DESIGN PROCESS

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LOWER CASE TOOL

• IS USED FOR GENERATING SOURCE CODE
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• ELIMINATES THE NEED FOR PROGRAMMING THE SYSTEM

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SOFTWARE REENGINEERING

• IS USED FOR EXTENDING THE LIFE OF LEGACY SOFTWARE
• USE CARE (COMPUTER-ASSISTED REENGINEERING) TO
  ANALYZE AND RESTRUCTURE EXISTING COMPUTER CODE

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ADVANTAGES OFSOFTWARE REENGINEERING

• REDUCES MAINTENANCE TIME
• CREATES DOCUMENTATION FOR THE OLD SYSTEM IF NONE
  EXISTS
• STRUCTURED PROGRAM GENERATION
• FUTURE MAINTENANCE WILL BE EASIER SINCE CHANGES
  WILL BE DONE AT THE DESIGN LEVEL
• ANALYZE THE SYSTEM TO ELIMINATE ANY UNUSED
  PROGRAMS