Systems, Roles, and Development Methodologies - Essay Example

Systems, Roles, and Development Methodologies Information systems help in making decisions. They range from a lone workstation running a few associated applications to enormous amounts of distributed computing resources that interact globally (Shelly and Harry 2012). Systems analysis is the stepwise process concerned with developing and installing high-quality information systems, by use of the newest information technology. It often involves making of “structured decisions.” A system analyst in this phase acts as a problem solver; the core activity done by the analyst the preliminary issue addressed likely leads to other issues. He communicates so that he gathers information and communicates analysis findings. The analyst should stick to a professional code of ethics (Shelly and Harry 2012). In addition, he must be self-disciplined as well as self-motivated. The analyst can use the approaches to systems analysis and design (SDLC, CASE, and OOM); waterfall, agile methodologies. Another approach is the open source software, CASE tools (Computer-Aided Software Engineering (CASE) tools offer automation of a variety of systems analysis processes.) Understanding and Modeling Organizational Systems In an organization, systems are interrelated (have a common relationship) and interconnected (have an association or conjugation). There are different system types, and they apply at diverse Management levels: They can be grouped a systems pyramid. Some of them are: Transaction Processing Systems (TPS), Knowledge Work Systems (KWS), Office Automation Systems (OAS), Management Information Systems (MIS), Expert Systems (ES), Decision Support Systems (DSS) and Executive Support Systems (ESS) (Shelly and Harry 2012). ERP Systems helps the flow of information among the functional areas of the organization. Depicting systems graphically/diagrammatically can be done by use of; Context Level Data Flow Diagrams (CL DFD), Entity Relationship Diagram (E-R) and Use Case Diagrams/Use Case Scenarios. Special tools along with techniques assist the analyst make requirement determinations. Tools like data flow diagrams (DFDs) that chart the input, processes, output of the functions of the business, or sequence diagrams to illustrate the sequence of events, demonstrate systems in a structured and graphical form (Shelly and Harry 2012). Project Management A project is a short-term endeavor done to create an exclusive product, service, or outcome. Their nature indicates that a project has a specific start and conclusion. Project management applies knowledge, tools, skills and techniques to project practices to meet the project requirements. Constraints in the management project include; Cost, Time, Scope and Quality. In order to handle these constraints, a project manager must have definite key skills very similar to those of a systems analyst: problem-solving skill, IT/IS knowledge/skills, communication skills, people organization skills, team player abilities, etc. A project has several tasks. The time taken to finish each task is the duration time of the task (other synonyms: task duration, activity duration, activity time, task time, etc. Project scheduling methods include use of Gantt Charts and PERT (“Program Evaluation and Review Technique”) Network Diagrams. Statement of Work (SOW) is a comprehensive project narrative description. Includes KPI (Key Performance Indicators), blue prints (engineering drawings), and requirements outlined in customer, comprehensive explanation of how the work should be implemented, main milestones as well as written reports. Frequently a project should be broken down into minor activities. These tasks jointly make up a work breakdown structure (WBS). This is the base for the planning stage (Shelly and Harry 2012). For the system analyst, these tools help in organizing tasks and activities such that they should be completed within a given schedule. It also helps in assigning resources to the tasks. Information gathering-interactive methods Requirements can be collected in many ways some are called “interactive methods” with others called “unobtrusive methods." Interactive methods used in business are: (1) Interviewing- for gathering data on human, as well as system information requirements (2) JAD (Joint Application Design)- a method that permits the analyst to complete requirements analysis as well as design the user interface with the system users in a group background (3) Surveys- helpful in collecting information from the main organization members concerning: beliefs, attitudes, behaviors and characteristics. The analyst will use interactive methods like sampling, interviewing and investigating hard data, and use of questionnaires. Information Gathering: Intuitive Methods Unobtrusive techniques are less disruptive but inadequate when used unaccompanied. They use numerous methods approach; Quantitative documents employ reports decision-making. They are employed in performance reports; data capture forms, records, e-commerce with other transactions (Shelly and Harry 2012). Qualitative documents employ email messages along with memos, posters or signs on bulletin boards, business websites, policy handbooks, manuals and Analyst’s “playscript.” For the system analyst, he/she employs unobtrusive methods, like observing the behavior decision makers and their office environments, as well as all-encompassing methods, like prototyping. The STROBE METHOD is not the ideal requirements collecting method. It helps the analyst to recognize organizational dynamics as well as information flows, and assists him/her to place levels of importance on the requirements already collected using other methods. Sampling is a process of methodically choosing representative components of a “population.” It involves two main decisions: What to inspect and which people to take into consideration. In review sampling, diverse samples can be arbitrarily chosen from the same population, and every sample can frequently produce a dissimilar confidence interval. For instance, assume all possible samples were chosen from the same population. The confidence interval was then computed for every sample. A 95% confidence level indicates that 95% of the confidence intervals could comprise the factual population parameter. Process specifications and structured decisions They are at times called “mini-specs”. They elucidate the decision-making sense (as well as formulae) that will change process input data to the output. They decrease process vagueness, get an accurate description of what is attained and authenticate the system design. Tools employed in structured decision making in addition to in executing process logic include: Decision tables- A table of rows and columns, separated into four quadrants, Decision trees which are employed when intricate branching happens in a structured decision process. Decision trees are as well helpful when it is necessary to keep a string of decisions in a given sequence. Lastly is the Structured English which is employed when the process logic entails iteration, or when structured decisions are not intricate (Shelly and Harry 2012). The Data Dictionary which is also known as a “Metadata Repository”, is a simple description that it is a “centralized repository of information concerning the data in consideration”. The systems analyst analyzes the structured decisions made, those for which the conditions, actions, condition alternatives, and action rules can be found. Work cited Shelly, Gary B, and Harry J. Rosenblatt. Systems Analysis and Design. Boston: Course Technology Cengage Learning, 2012. Print. Read More