System Information Requirement Investigation Techniques - Report Example

A Report on Systems Development Assessment 1: Systems Development Lecturer: Lecturer Name Tutor: Tutor Name Prepared by: Your Name Your Student Number Table of Contents Table of Contents 1 1. Introduction An information system is an organized combination of people, information, and information technology, all coordinated in a manner that is aimed at achieving set objectives in a business organization setup (Adamsen 2000). An information system does not necessarily include computerized systems to function, as a simple organization of all factors involved in running a business may also be referred to as an information system. This can include use of manual inventory and information storage systems, calculators and other manual components of information storage. However, nowadays computers have become the major component of information systems. Information technology and setting up of an information system to aid in the operations of the business is essential in the current world business organisations. For instance, typical business environment information systems are used in storage of all the business information, evaluation of the progress of the business by automatic calculation of profits and losses, and there are also the decision support systems which help business managers in making informed decisions on running of the business (Adamsen 2000). Development of an information system involves a wide range of technical factors like data and information modeling, modeling of business processes, designing of an information database, networking designs, programming of a program to interface between user and the information system and assembling of all necessary hardware for setting up of the information system. Each of the above mentioned components have their details in relation to information system development process. This paper mainly focuses on deliberating on information system analysis and design, and explanation of the whole process in depth. It also aims at dissemination of information system analysis and design theories and methodologies applied in its development. 2. Approach to Systems Development With consideration of the given case study of Pine Valley Furniture which deals sales and delivery of domestic and commercial furniture, an appropriate system approach should be adopted to suite the requirements. The activities carried out by the business are light activities which do not need a complex database. For example, currently the only process needing to be run by an information system is receiving of payments and taking of orders. Object oriented approach is to system development is the best suited for the given case study (Papadopoulos 2008). Object oriented system approach basically looks at a system development process from the bottom going up. The most simple and basic components of a system are given the first priority in this approach with the rest of the components being integrated into the system as development continues. In the case, the information system development process will use customer entries, suppliers of raw materials, contracts between the business and customers, and all other factors related to the business as objects. Representation of the various functions of the information system is done through use of diagrams and a modelling language known as Unified Modeling Language (UML) (Papadopoulos 2008). The object oriented approach in a later stage is known as the unified process and that is when the developed models are combined with other methods in the system development cycle to come up with a detailed and well represented system. The object oriented approach to system development is an incremental and iterative process aimed at improving the systems’ quality in terms of functionality and ease of use and also improving the productivity of the system analysis and design process. Various objects used in the development process are grouped into classes based on their structural requirements and characteristics. Object oriented approach design also allows inheritance use whereby classes can be created from existing classes based on similarity in characteristics. Object oriented models are used in the analysis phase to bridge the difference between an identified problem and the solution provided (Papadopoulos 2008). An object oriented system comes with the advantage of a longer life span and low maintenance cost in comparison to other forms of system development approach (Grady 2014). The overall system developed by this approach model the real world scenario into a functional information system which the users can easily relate with. Similar classes are grouped together to give the system a general resemblance to the ordinary manual book keeping catalogue systems. When it comes to reliability, Object-oriented system is more reliable than all the other system approach models as any new class can be easily created from related existing object (Papadopoulos 2008). This makes it flexible and easy to be altered by the user to fit their specific requirements. Object modifications can easily be achieved too, as any modified or new object can automatically acquire the data contained in its parent object, thus preventing any possible data loss which can occur in the process of modification. 3. Systems Requirements For effective performance and realization of thee targeted achievements, the information system development process requires the following set of components. Although the costs may be high, outstanding benefits should be expected from them. Computers It is highly advised that computers with a processor of above 2.0 GHz and 2 GB Ram should be used in this process. This will give an above average performance and overall achievement of expected output (Papadopoulos 2008). Softwares An operating system is required, preferably windows vista and an installation of the office service pack. For security purposes an antivirus is required which should preferably be kaspersky.This will prevent the system from virus attacks and also set up a firewall to restrict access to sensitive components of the system (Papadopoulos 2008). Data Processing Data processing will be done offline as there is no process include in the information system which requires internet. The data processing tasks to be carried out by the systems includes calculations of payments, storage and retrieving of transaction information, printing out of updated receipts and generation of an overall sales and stock reports. 4. Project Cost Benefit Analysis Project cost benefit analysis refers to a systematic approach which is aimed at evaluating the financial feasibility of the project. This technique estimates the projects’ strengths and weaknesses and compares them to available alternatives that can solve the same problems as the information system in a business environment set up. It is usually applied to help in selection of the most appropriate option with regards to performance, efficiency, cost, time saving and all other vital factors in a business operation. 5. Project Schedule The information system developed is technically simple and does not require a lot of time for it to be completely developed and implemented in the business premises. Below is a Gantt chart representing the time schedule of the whole project. FIGURE 1: Figure Caption The tasks are represented by the numbers on the vertical axis while the duration is on the horizontal axis. Task 1-System investigation and information gathering Task 2-System analysis Task 3-System design Task 4-System development Task 5-System implementation and testing The horizontal scale represents the duration taken for the tasks in weeks. 6. System Information Requirement Investigation Techniques In coming up with the discussed system, sufficient information should first be gathered (Papadopoulos 2008). This information is what is used to determine the type of system a certain business requires. Some of the factors determining the type of system adopted include; Stakeholders Stakeholders in system development are all the people who will benefit from the success of a system in one way or the other. These people are the primary sources of information needed before development of the system. Stakeholders are generally classified as shown below; 1) The Users, those who have daily interaction with the system. 2) The client who has ordered development of the system. 3) The technical team who are involved in development of the system and ensuring its proper functionality. 4) External users who interact with the system Techniques Used 1. Conducting of Interviews and Discussions the people who are set to use the system. 2. Observation and documentation of the processes involved in the business premise. 3. Building of project prototypes. 4. Distribution of questionnaires. 5. Holding joint meetings involving the stakeholders, the users and the technicians. The above techniques are used to gather information which can be used to determine type, scope and methodologies to be used to attain the set goals. 7. Reflections and Conclusions The project development process aimed at giving a solution to the furniture supplies business is generally a challenging task (Grady 2014). From the information provided, coming up with the appropriate approach of the development process is very vital in guiding the whole project towards achieving the desired outcome which is providing a functioning information system to the organization. The project budget is another limiting factor, as all the development processes should be carried out within the provided budget. This limits on the complexity and scope of the system. This report has given an outline of system development analysis and design for a business information system. Requirements of the information system development process have been stated including a project cost benefit analysis table which is presented in an excel format. 8. References Top of Form Bottom of Form Top of Form Bottom of Form Top of Form Adamsen, P. B. (2000). A framework for complex system development. Boca Raton, CRC Press. Grady, J. O. (2014). System requirements analysis. http://site.ebrary.com/id/10767949. Papadopoulos, G. A. (2008). Information system development design and development. New York, Springer. Bottom of Form Read More