Systems Analysis Requirements determination Requirements structuring Alternative generation & selection

Performing Requirements Determination Gather information on what system should do from many sources Users Reports Forms Procedures

Performing Requirements Determination Characteristics for gathering requirements Impertinence Question everything Impartiality Find the best organizational solution Relaxation of constraints Assume anything is possible Attention to detail Every fact must fit in with every other fact Reframing View the organization in new ways

Deliverables and Outcomes Types of deliverables: Information collected from users Existing documents and files Computer-based information Understanding of organizational components Business objective Information needs Rules of data processing Key events

Methods for Determining Requirements Traditional Modern Radical

Traditional Methods for Determining Requirements Individual interviews Discover issues with the current system and needs for the future Questionnaires Observation of workers See how data are handled and what information people need to do their jobs Document Analysis Study business policies and rules

Interviews Gather facts, opinions and speculations Observe body language and emotions Guidelines Plan Checklist Appointment Be neutral Listen Seek a diverse view

Interview Questions Open-ended Closed-ended Advantages -New info can surface -Interviewees are at ease and more involved -Short time commitment -More topics can be covered Disadvantages -Long answers -Difficult to summarize -Useful info maybe ignored if it does not fit choices

Questionnaires More cost-effective than interviews Choosing respondents Should be representative of all users Types of samples Convenient Random sample Purposeful sample Stratified sample

Questionnaires Design Mostly closed-ended questions Can be administered over the phone or in person Can be paper or electronic

Direct Observation Serves as a good method to supplement interviews Often difficult to obtain unbiased data People often work differently when being observed Can observe only a limited amount of time, people and sites

Analyzing Documents Types of information to be discovered: Problems with existing system Opportunity to meet new need Organizational direction Names of key individuals Values of organization Special information processing circumstances Rules for processing data

The Appropriate Technique? Characteristic Interview Questionnaire Observation Document Analysis Information type As-is, improvement, to-be As-is, improvements As-is Information depth High Medium Low Information breadth User Involvement

Modern Methods for Determining Requirements Joint Application Design (JAD) Brings together key users, managers and systems analysts Purpose: collect system requirements simultaneously from key people Conducted off-site Prototyping Repetitive process Rudimentary version of system is built Replaces or augments SDLC Goal: to develop concrete specifications for ultimate system

Joint Application Design (JAD) Participants Session Leader (Facilitator) Users & Managers Sponsor Systems Analysts & IS Staff Scribe End Result Documentation detailing existing system Features of proposed system

Prototyping Quickly converts requirements to working version of system Once the user sees requirements converted to system, will ask for modifications or will generate additional requests Most useful when: User requests are not clear Few users are involved in the system Designs are complex and require concrete form History of communication problems between analysts and users Tools are readily available to build prototype

Prototyping Drawbacks Tendency to avoid formal documentation Difficult to adapt to more general user audience Sharing data with other systems is often not considered Systems Development Life Cycle (SDLC) checks are often bypassed

Radical Methods for Determining Requirements Business Process Reengineering Search for and implementation of radical change in business processes to achieve breakthrough improvements in products and services

Analysis Strategies Business Process Automation Business Process Improvement Business Process Re-engineering

BPR Goals Reorganize complete flow of data in major sections of an organization Eliminate unnecessary steps Combine steps Become more responsive to future change

Business Process Reengineering Identification of processes to reengineer Identify key business processes Set of activities designed to produce specific output for a particular customer or market Focused on customers and outcome Same techniques are used as were used for requirements determination Identify specific activities that can be improved through BPR

Business Process Reengineering To identify activities that can be improved through BPR ask: How important is the activity to delivering an outcome? How feasible is changing the activity? How dysfunctional is the activity? Ref: Hammer & Champy (1993) Those activities deemed important, changeable and dysfunctional are candidates for alteration. Dysfunctional activities: Info that is redundantly recorded Excessive inspection Lot of rework

Disruptive Technologies Rule Disruptive Technology Information can only appear in one place at a time Distributed databases Only experts can perform complex work Expert Systems Managers must make all decisions Decision support tools for non-managers Field personnel need offices Wireless data communication & portable computers Personal contact is best Interactive communications Have to find out where things are Automatic identification and tracking

Results of Requirements Determination Structured according to three views of the information system: Process Data flow diagrams Logic Structured English & Decision tables Data Data modeling