Assuming the role of the

Systems Analyst
Information – A Key Resource

 Fuels business and can be the critical

factor in determining the success or
failure of a business
 Needs to be managed correctly
 Managing computer generated information differs
from handling manually produced data
Systems Analysts Recommend, Design, and
Maintain Many Types of Systems for Users
 Transaction Processing Systems (TPS)
 Office Automation Systems (OAS)
 Knowledge Work Systems (KWS)
 Management Information Systems (MIS)
 Decision Support Systems (DSS)
 Expert Systems (ES)
 Executive Support Systems (ESS)
 Group Decision Support Systems (GDSS)
 Computer Supported Collaborative Work Systems
(CSCWS)
A systems analyst may
be involved with any or
all of these systems t
each organization
levels
Operational Level

 Transaction Processing System (TPS)

 Process large amounts of data for routine
business transactions
 Boundary-spanning
 Support the day to day operations of the
company
 Examples: Payroll Processing, Inventory
Management
Knowledge Level
 Office Automation System (OAS)
• Supports data workers who share information, but do not
usually create new knowledge
• Examples: Word processing, Spreadsheets, Desktop
publishing, Electronic scheduling, Communication through
voice mail, Email, Video conferencing

 Knowledge Work System (KWS)

• Supports professional workers such as scientists, engineers,
and doctors
• Examples: computer aided design systems, virtual reality
systems, investment workstations
Higher Level
 Management Information System (MIS)
• Support a broad spectrum of organizational tasks including decision
analysis and decision making
• Examples: profit margin by sales region, expenses vs.
budgets

 Decision Support System (DSS)

• Aids decision makers in the making of decisions
• Examples: financial planning with whatif
analysis, budgeting with modeling

 Expert System (ES)

• Captures and uses the knowledge of an expert for solving a particular
problem which leads to a conclusion or recommendation
• Examples: MYCIN, XCON
 MYCIN was a rule-based expert system for the
diagnosis of infectious blood diseases. It also
provided a doctor with therapeutic advice in a
convenient, user-friendly manner.
 XCON Ensured the customer was supplied with all
the components and software that was needed to
make up the specified computer system that they
had ordered.
Strategic Level
 Executive Support System (ESS)
• Helps executives to make unstructured strategic decisions in an
informed way
• Examples: drilldown-analysis, status access

 Group Decision Support System (GDSS)

• Permit group members to interact with electronic support
• Examples: email, Lotus Notes

 ComputerSupported Collaborative Work System (CSCWS)

• CDCWS is a more general term of GDSS
• May include software support called “groupware” for team
collaboration via network computers
• Example: video conferencing, Web survey system
Integrating New Technologies
into Traditional Systems
 Ecommerce and Web Systems
 Enterprise Resource Planning Systems
 Wireless Systems
 Open Source Software
 Need for Systems Analysis and Design
Systems analysts need to be aware
that integrating technologies affects all types of
systems
Ecommerce and Web Systems
 Benefits
• Increasing user awareness of the availability of a service,
product, industry, person, or group
• The possibility of 24hour access for users
• Improving the usefulness and usability of interface
design
• Creating a system that can extend globally rather
than remain local, thus reaching people in remote
locations without worry of the time zone in which they are located
Enterprise Resource Planning
Systems (ERP)

 Performs integration of many information

systems existing on different management
levels and within different functions

• Example: SAP (Systems Application and

Products), Oracle
Wireless Systems
 System analyst may be asked to design standard or
wireless communication networks that integrate
voice, video and email into organizational intranets
or industry extranets
 System analyst may also be asked to develop
intelligent agents
 Example: Microsoft's new software based on
Bayesian statistics
 Wireless communication is referred as
m-commerce
Open Source Software

 An alternative of traditional software

development where proprietary code is
hidden from the users
 Open source software is free to distribute,
share and modify
 Characterized as a philosophy rather than
simply the process of creating new software
 Example: Linux Operating System, Apache
Web Server, Mozilla Firefox Web browser
Need for Systems Analysis and
Design
 Installing a system without proper planning leads to
great user dissatisfaction and frequently causes the
system to fall into disuse
 Lends structure to the analysis and design of
information systems
 A series of processes systematically undertaken to
improve a business through the use of computerized
information systems
Roles of the Systems Analyst

 The analyst must be able to work with people

of all descriptions and be experienced in
working with computers
 Three primary roles:
• Consultant
• Supporting Expert
• Agent of change
Qualities of the Systems Analyst

 Problem solver
 Communicator
 Strong personal and professional ethics
 Self-disciplined and self-motivated
Systems Development Life Cycle
(SDLC)
 The systems development life cycle is a
phased approach to solving business
problems
 Developed through the use of a specific cycle
of analyst and user activities
 Each phase has unique user activities
The seven phases of the
systems development life cycle
Identifying Problems,
Opportunities, and Objectives
 Activity:
• Interviewing user management
• Summarizing the knowledge obtained
• Estimating the scope of the project
• Documenting the results
 Output:
• Feasibility report containing problem definition and
objective summaries from which management can
make a decision on whether to proceed with the
proposed project
Determining Human Information
Requirements
 Activity:
• Interviewing
• Sampling and investing hard data
• Questionnaires
• Observe the decision maker’s behavior and environment
• Prototyping
• Learn the who, what, where, when, how, and why of the current system

 Output:
• Analyst understands how users accomplish their work when interacting with a
computer; and begin to know how to make the new system more useful and
usable.
The analyst should also know the business functions and have complete
information on the people, goals, data and procedure involved
Analyzing System Needs

 Activity:
• Create data flow diagrams
• Complete the data dictionary
• Analyze the structured decisions made
• Prepare and present the system proposal
 Output:

• Recommendation on what, if anything, should

be done
Designing the Recommended
System
 Activity:
• Design procedures for data entry
• Design the human-computer interface
• Design system controls
• Design files and/or database
• Design backup procedures
 Output
• Model of the actual system
Developing and Documenting
Software
 Activity:
• System analyst works with programmers to develop
any original software
• Works with users to develop effective documentation
• Programmers design, code, and remove syntactical
errors from computer programs
• Document software with help files, procedure
manuals,
and Web sites with Frequently Asked Questions
 Output:
• Computer programs
• System documentation
Testing and Maintaining the
System
 Activity:
• Test the information system
• System maintenance
• Maintenance documentation
 Output:
• Problems, if any
• Updated programs
• Documentation
Implementing and Evaluating the
System
 Activity:
• Train users
• Analyst plans smooth conversion from old
system to new system
• Review and evaluate system
 Output:
• Trained personnel
• Installed system
Some researchers estimate that the amount of time spent
on systems maintenance may be as much as 60 percent of
the total time spent on systems projects