Unit 7

Researching Existing Systems

Observation:

  • This involves the systems analyst walking around the organisation or business, watching how things work with his/her own eyes.
  • Observation allows the systems analyst to gather first-hand, unbiased information.

Interviews:

  • The systems analyst can interview key people within the system to find out how it works.
  • Interviews allow lots of very detailed information to be gathered, but they take a long time to do, so are not possible if large groups of people are involved.

Questionnaire:

  • With large groups of people, a questionnaire is a quick and simple way to gather information.
  • However the information gathered is limited by the questions set by the systems a
  • Also many people do not take the time to fill in questionnaires seriously.nalyst

Collecting Document:

  • Most businesses and organisations use documents to record information, or to communicate information
  • The systems analyst needs to collect examples of the documents used to get an understanding of the type and quantity of data that flows through the business or organisation.

Documentation

Technical Documentation

User documentation

Technical components:

  • The purpose of the system
  • Hard ware requirements
  • Software requirements
  • Memory RAM requirements
  • Copies of all system design
  • User documentation is created for the benefit of anyone who is expected to use the system
  • User documentation is essentially a training manual that helps learn the new system
  • Technical documentation is created to help analyst, designers and programmers who may work in the system in the future
  • Technical documentation covers every aspect of the system's development in minute detail

Technical components:

  • The purpose of the system
  • Hardware requirements
  • Operating system required
  • How to delete
  • How to add records

Design

  • Detailed plans are created for the proposed system
  • it helps to minimize errors and faults

6 Stages of system analysis

  1. Analysis - Look at the existing system and find improvements
  2. Design - Plan the proposed system
  3. Development & Testing - Create the new system and test it
  4. Implementation - Place the new system into the company
  5. Documentation - Create user guides for users
  6. Evaluation - Decide how well the new system is working

Analysis

identifying the inputs, outputs and processes

  • What goes in?
  • What happens inside?
  • What comes out?

Identifying Problems

  • If problems can be fixed, systems will work more smoothly and become more efficient.

New system requirements specification

  • The systems analyst specifies a list of requirements for the new system

Evaluation

Check against the requirements specification:

  • The system analyst will go through the requirements specification and check if they have been met

Check the user's response:

  • it is essential to to get feedback from the users of the system. Questions such as Do they like it? Does sit make their work easier? and What could be improved?

Implementation

Direct Changeover

This is when the old system stops getting used one day and the new system starts being used in the next

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