Chapter 1 – From Beginning to End: An Overview of Systems Analysis and Design

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Classroom Discussion Activities
Note: For the purpose of Classroom Activities, there is usually not a ‘model answer’ to each question in the discussions. From week 2 onwards, answers will not be provided for Classroom Activities in the Tutorial Solution File.

1. Discuss what to do, i.e. what are the steps, to build a system. Discuss by giving an example, such as a patient monitoring system for a dentist, or an inventory tracking system for a small business.

Ask: How to build this system for the owner (who is a good friend)?

Note: Be careful to make your example large enough that it is not simply a "cottage industry" single person application where the student just builds something that is already in his/her head.

Consider the following questions:

← How do you find out exactly what the user needs the system to do?

← How do you remember what the user tells you about what it must do?

← How do you know what information is important to keep?

← How do you make sure it does what it is supposed to do?

← How do you divide up the work, if there are two or more of you working together?

The answers are expected to differ in each separate tutorial class based on the types of project experience that the class students have brought along with for the discussion.

The discussion allows all members in the class to share the experience of the others.

2. Discuss why we need and select a development methodology before starting a project.

The answers may differ in each different tutorial class.

Through this discussion the students demonstrate whether they know and appreciate the different types of development methodology in different projects.

Students also have the chance to argue the usefulness of a selected methodology for a certain project.

3. What is the basic purpose of a course in systems analysis and design?

A: To provide the student with the necessary tools to (1) understand and document the business need, i.e. requirements, (2) define a solution, (3) work in a team to build the solution and (4) launch the application so that it is in productive use.

4. What is the basic philosophy of Agile development?

A: That the user cannot predict all of the needs of a new system, so the development process must be structured to anticipate the many requirements changes that normally occur. The development process must be flexible and agile.

5. What are the six core processes?

A: The six core processes are:

1. Identify the problem or need and obtain approval to proceed.

2. Plan and monitor the project—what to do, how to do it, and who does it.

3. Discover and understand the details of the problem or the need.

4. Design the system components that solve the problem or satisfy the need.

5. Build, test, and integrate system components.

6. Complete system tests and then deploy the solution.

6. What are the key benefits of iterative development?

A: Quicker deployment of important portions of the system, being able to address tough problems early, and having a flexible development process that can respond to changing requirements.

1 Solutions to End-of-Chapter Problems

1 Review Questions

1. What is the difference between an information system and a computer application?

Usually a computer application is a single computer program that may or may not be connected to a database. An information system is normally multiple computer programs that are connected to a database and thus provide as output various types and quantities of information.

2. What is the purpose of systems analysis? Why is it important?

The purpose of systems analysis is to enable the system developer to understand the user's requirements. Without a good analysis of the user's needs and requirements the new system will be inadequate in its solution or erroneous in its implementation.

3. What is the difference between systems analysis and systems design?

Systems analysis is to determine the “what” the new system should do. It is discovery and understanding. Systems design is to determine “how” the new system should be built. It is structure and architecture.

4. What is a project?

A project is a planned undertaking that has a beginning and an end and which usually produces some predefined result. It is often managed with a schedule or list of required activities.

5. What are the six core processes for software systems development?

1. Identify the problem. 2. Plan and monitor the project. 3. Discover and understand the requirements. 4. Design the system components. 5. Build, test, integrate the system components. 6. Finalize testing and deploy the solution.

6. What is meant by Agile Development?

Agile development is a philosophy of systems development that emphasizes flexibility to handle changing requirements during the development project.

7. What is the purpose of a System Vision Document?

The System Vision Document is a brief statement which describes the overall objective of the new system. Its purpose is to provide basic information about the need and solution approach to assist the client in deciding whether to approve a development project.

8. What is the difference between a system and a subsystem?

A system usually consists of a complete solution that functions by itself. A subsystem is an identifiable and partitioned portion of the system. A subsystem usually is not an independent entity but functions within the context of the entire system.

9. What is the purpose of a Work Breakdown Structure?

The purpose of a Work Breakdown Structure is to identify all the tasks, e.g. the work, that must be accomplished for a project.

10. What are the components of a Work Breakdown Structure? What does it show?

It usually contains a list of all the tasks that must be done, along with an estimate of how much work each task will require. It provides a comprehensive list of the work to be done. It is the basis for building a project schedule.

11. What information is provided by use cases or a use case diagram?

Use cases, either in a list format or a diagram format, show all of the user functions that the new system must support.

12. What information is provided by a class diagram?

A class diagram identifies all of the “things” that must be remembered and tracked by the new system. In essence the class diagram will be used to design and build the database for the new system.

13. How do a use case diagram and a class diagram drive the system development process?

The use case diagram defines the processes (e.g. functions) of the new system and the class diagram defines the data of the new system. Each system consists of processes and information, so these two diagrams define what must be done.

14. What is another way to describe an activity diagram? What does it show?

An activity diagram is also a “workflow” diagram. It shows the flow of steps that a user, working with a system, follows to complete a business process or use case.

15. How does an activity diagram help in user-interface design?

An activity diagram shows the interactions between a user and the system. Those interactions must be supported by the user interface.

16. What is the purpose of architectural design?

Architectural design is used to design the overall structure of the new system. It defines the major components of the new system and how they relate to each other.

17. What new information is provided in a design class diagram (more than a class diagram)?

A design class diagram is an extension of a class diagram and it shows how the attributes become data fields with type information. It also identifies the methods of a class. It also shows which classes have visibility to other classes to access their methods.

18. What are the steps of system testing?

System testing consists of 1. create the test data, 2. conduct the tests, 3. Identify and document the errors, 4. Fix the errors. This process repeats until the number of errors is minimal or acceptable.

19. What is the purpose of user acceptance testing?

User acceptance testing is to allow the users to verify that the system performs in a manner that does in fact solve the business problem. The system should not only provide correct answers, but it should provide answers for all the issues identified during analysis.

20. Why is it a good practice to divide a project into separate iterations?

Separate iterations allow the project to be partitioned into smaller chunks of work that can be managed and controlled better. It also provides intermediate deliverables so that both the project team and the users can ascertain if the new system is going to solve the business problems.

21. What should be the objective or result of an iteration?

The objective of an iteration should be to produce a portion of the solution system. Usually this means that some working piece of the system is design, coded, and tested. Sometimes it also allows portions of the final solution to be deployed early.