1. System Planning (Preliminary Investigation Overview)
System Analysis and Design
System Planning (Preliminary Investigation Overview)
- Mr. Ahmad Al-Ghoul

2. System Analysis and Design System Planning
Learning Objectives
Discuss how to plan preliminary investigation
Describe the first two steps in a preliminary investigation, understand the problem or opportunity, and define the project scope and constraints
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System Analysis and Design System Planning

3. Preliminary Investigation Overview
Preliminary investigation used to study the system request and recommend specific action
Analyst through interacting with managers and users gathers facts about the problem or opportunity, project scope and constraints, project benefits, and estimated development time and costs
The product of the preliminary investigation is a report to management
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System Analysis and Design System Planning

4. Preliminary Investigation Overview
Interaction with Managers and Users
Let people know about the investigation and explain your role
Employee attitudes and reactions are important and must be considered
Be careful in your use of the word problem
Question users about additional capability they would like to have
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System Analysis and Design System Planning

5. Preliminary Investigation Overview
Planning the Preliminary Investigation
During a preliminary investigation, a systems analyst typically follows a series of steps
The exact procedure depends on the nature of the request, the size of the project, and the degree of urgency
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System Analysis and Design System Planning

6. Preliminary Investigation Overview
Step 1: Understand the Problem or Opportunity
Determine which departments, users, and business processes are involved
System request in general does not revel the underlying problem, but only symptom
A popular technique for investigating causes and effects is called a fishbone diagram
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System Analysis and Design System Planning

7. Preliminary Investigation Overview
Step 1: Understand the Problem or Opportunity
fishbone diagram
An analysis tool that represents the possible causes of a problem
First states the problem as main bone
Sub-bones represent possible causes of the problem
In each sub-bone analyst identifies possible causes, draws them as horizontal sub-bones
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System Analysis and Design System Planning

8. Preliminary Investigation Overview
Step 2: Define the Project Scope and Constraints
Project scope
Project creep
Constraint
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System Analysis and Design System Planning

9. Preliminary Investigation Overview
Step 2: Define the Project Scope and Constraints
Determining the project scope means defining the specific boundaries, or extent, of the project
Define project scope by creating a list with sections called must do, should do, could do, and won’t do
Projects with very general scope called project creep
A constraint is a requirement or condition that the system must satisfy or an outcome that the system must achieve
System constraints also define project scope
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System Analysis and Design System Planning

10. Preliminary Investigation Overview
Step 2: Define the Project Scope and Constraints
When examining constraints, analyst should identify their characteristics
Present versus future
Internal versus external
Mandatory versus desirable
Regardless of the type, all constraints should be identified as early as possible to avoid future problems and surprises
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System Analysis and Design System Planning

11. System Analysis and Design System Planning
Sequence Summary
Preliminary investigation used to study the system request and recommend specific action
The first two steps in the preliminary investigation are to understand the problem or opportunity; define the project scope and constraints.
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System Analysis and Design System Planning

12. System Analysis and Design System Planning
Sequence Summary
In this Sequence we have
Defined and described the preliminary investigation
Discussed how to plan preliminary investigation
Described the first step in preliminary investigation that describe how to understand the problem or opportunity
Described the fishbone diagram
Described the second step in preliminary investigation that define the project scope and constraints
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System Analysis and Design System Planning

13. System Analysis and Design System Planning
Reference
[1] System Analysis and Design, Sixth Edition (Chapter 2 )
Authors: Gary B. Shelly, Thomas J. Cashman and Harry J. Rosenblatt ,
Publisher: SHELLY CASHMAN SEWIES.
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System Analysis and Design System Planning