Chapter 2

Succeeding as a Systems Analyst

Learning Objectives
 Discuss the analytical skills, including systems thinking, needed for a systems analyst to be successful
 Describe the technical skills required of a systems analyst
 Discuss the management skills required of a systems analyst
 Identify the interpersonal skills required of a systems analyst
 Describe the systems analysis profession
Relationship between systems analyst’s skills and the SDLC cycle

Analytical Skills for Systems Analysis

Four Sets of Analytical Skills
 Systems Thinking
 Organizational Knowledge
 Problem Identification
 Problem Analyzing and Solving

Systems Thinking
System
 A system is an interrelated set of components, with an identifiable boundary, working together for a purpose
 A system has nine characteristics
 A system exists within an environment
 A boundary separates a system from its environment

 Characteristics of a System
o Components
 An irreducible part or aggregation of parts that make up a system, also called a subsystem
o Interrelated Components
 Dependence of one subsystem on one or more subsystems
o A Boundary
 The line that marks the inside and outside of a system and that separates the system from its environment
o A Purpose
 The overall goal or function of a system
o An Environment
 Everything outside the system’s boundary that interacts with the system
o Interfaces
 Point of contact at which the system meets its environment or where subsystems meet each other
o Input
 Whatever a system takes from its environment in order to fulfill its purpose
o Output
 Whatever a system returns to its environment in order to fulfill its purpose
o Constraints
 Limits to what it can do and how it can achieve its purpose within an environment (capacity, speed or
capabilities)

 Important System Concepts

o Open Systems
 Interact freely with their environments, taking in input and returning output
 As environment changes, systems much adapt to changes or suffer consequences
o Closed Systems
 Does not interact with environments
 Adaptability are not issues for closed systems
 Business Information Systems are open Systems
o Decomposition
 The process of breaking down a system into smaller components which can be further broken
down
 Allows the systems analyst to:
 Break a system into small, manageable subsystems
 Focus on one area at a time
 Concentrate on component relating to one group of users
 Build different components at independent times
o Modularity
 Process of dividing a system into modules of a relatively uniform size
  Direct result of decomposition
 Modules simplify system design
o Coupling
 The extent to which the subsystems depend on each other
 Subsystems should be as independent as possible else failure of one subsystem fails the
entire system.
o Cohesion
 Extent to which a system or a subsystem performs a single function
o Logical System Description
 Portrays the purpose and function of the system
 Does not tie the description to a specific physical implementation
o Physical System Description
 Focuses on how the system will be materially constructed

 Benefits of Systems Thinking

o Able to identify something as a system
 Recognizing each of the system’s characteristics
 Identifying boundaries
 Relevant inputs
o Identification of a system leads to abstraction
o From abstraction you can think about essential characteristics of specific system
o Abstraction allows analyst to gain insights into specific system, to question assumptions, provide
documentation and manipulate the system without disrupting the real situation

 Applying Systems Thinking to Information Systems

o Information systems are subsystems in larger organizational systems
 Taking input from, and returning output to, their organizational environments
o Data flow diagrams represent information systems as systems (clearly illustrate)
 Inputs
 Outputs
 System boundaries
 Environment
 Subsystems
 Interrelationships

Organizational Knowledge
 Understanding of how organizations work
 Knowledge of specific functions and procedures of organization and department
 How work officially gets done
o How departments operates, its purpose, its relationships with other departments, its relationships with
customers and suppliers
 Internal policies
 Competitive and Regulatory Environment
 Organizational Strategies and Tactics

Problem Identification
 Problem: Difference between an existing situation and a desired situation
 Problem solving: the process of finding a way to reduce differences
o Identification is process of defining differences
 Differences are defined by comparing the current situation to the output of a model that predicts what the
output should be

Problem Analyzing and Solving

 Must analyze the problem and determine how to solve it
 Four Phases
o Intelligence
 All relevant information is collected
o Design
 Alternatives are formulated
o Choice
 Best alternative solution is chosen
o Implementation
 Solution is put into practice

Technical Skills for Systems Analysis

 Constant re-education is necessary as technology changes rapidly
 Activities to keep skills up-to-date
o Trade publications
o Professional societies
o Attend classes or teach at a local college
o Attend courses sponsored by organization
 o Conferences and trade shows
o Browse Websites
o Participate in new groups and conferences
 Understanding of a wide variety of technologies is required (requires continuous learning)
o Microcomputers, workstations, minicomputers and mainframe computers
o Programming languages
o Operating systems
o Database and file management systems
o Data communication standards
o Systems development tools and environments
o Web development languages and tools
o Decision support system generators

Management Skills for Systems Analysis

 Know how to manage your work and use organizational resources in the most productive way
 Four categories
o Resource Management
o Project Management
o Risk Management
o Change Management

Resource Management
 Systems analyst needs to know how to get the most out of the resources of an organization, including team
members
 Includes the following capabilities
o Predicting resource usage
o Tracking resource consumption
o Effective use of resources
o Evaluation of resource quality
o Securing resources from abusive use
o Relinquishing resources when no longer needed

Project Management
 Two Goals
o Prevent projects from coming in late
o Prevent projects from going over budget
 Assists management in keeping track of project’s progress
 Consists of several steps
o Decomposing project into independent tasks
o Determining relationships between tasks
o Assigning resources and personnel to tasks
 Independent contractors
 Contracts
 Relationship managers (liaisons)

Risk Management
 Ability to anticipate what might go wrong in a project
 Minimize risk and/or minimize damage that might result
 Placement of resources
 Prioritization of activities to achieve greatest gain

Change Management
 Ability to assist people in making transition to new system
 Ability to deal with technical issues related to change
o Obsolescence
o Reusability

Interpersonal Skills for Systems Analysis

 Mastery of interpersonal skills is paramount to success as a Systems Analyst
 Four types of skills:
o Communication skills
o Working alone and with a team
o Facilitating groups
o Managing expectations

Communication Skills
 Effective communication helps to establish and maintain good working relationships with clients and colleagues
 Clearly and Effectively communicate with others
 Three types used by Systems Analyst
o Interviewing and Listening
o Questionnaires
o Written and Oral Presentations
 Skills improve with experience

Interviewing and Listening

o Means to gather information about a project
o Listening to answers is just as important as asking questions
o Effective listening leads to understanding of problem and generates additional questions
o Expensive and time-consuming

Questionnaires
o Advantages:
o Less costly than interviews
o Results are less biased due to standardization
o Disadvantages
o Less effective than interviews due to lack of follow-up

Written and Oral Presentations

o Used to document progress of project and communicate this to others
o Communication takes several forms:
o Meeting agenda
o Meeting minutes
o Interview summaries
o Project schedules and descriptions
o Memoranda requesting information
o Requests for proposals from vendors and contractors
o Oral presentations

Working Alone and with a Team

 Working alone on aspects of project involves managing:
o Time
o Commitments
o Deadlines
 Team work involves establishing standards of cooperation and coordination
o Know when to trust judgment of others and when to question it
o Understand strengths and weakness of team members

Facilitating Groups
Involves guiding a group without being a part of the group
Must work to keep the effort on track
Useful skill for sessions such as Joint Application Development (JAD)

Managing Expectations
 Managing expectations is directly related to successful system implementation
 Skills for successful expectation management
o Understanding of technology and workflows
o Ability to communicate a realistic picture of new system to users
o Effective education of management and users throughout systems development life cycle

Systems Analysis as a Profession

 Standards have been established for education, training, certification and practice
 Standard ways of analyzing, designing, and implementing systems
o Society for Information Management
o Association of Information Technology Professionals
o Association for Computing Machinery (ACM)
o Certified Computing Professional (CCP) exam
 Several aspects:
o Standards of Practice
o Ethics
o Career Paths

Standards of Practice
 Endorsed Development Methodology
o Specific procedures and techniques to be used during development process
o Promote consistency and reliability across all of an organization’s development projects
 Approved Development Platforms
 o Organizations standardize around a specific platform, sometimes tied to development methodology
 Standardization of Roles
o Roles are becoming better defined across organizations
 Development of a Common Language
o Common programming languages
o Common modeling languages, such as Unified Modeling Language (UML)

Ethics
 Professional Ethics
o ACM Code of Ethics – See Figure 2-10
 Business Ethics
o Stockholder approach
 Any action taken by a business is acceptable as long as it is legal and maximizes stockholder
profit
o Stakeholder approach
 Any action that violates rights of stakeholder must be rejected
o Social Contract approach
 Any action that is deceptive, can dehumanize employees or that could discriminate is rejected
Career Paths
 Consulting
 Information Systems within a large corporation
 Software vendors
 Other opportunities outside of systems analysis

Summary
 Skills of Successful Systems Analyst
o Analytical
 Systems Thinking
o Technical
 Change over time
 Programming Languages
 Operating Systems
 Database Management Systems
 Data Communications
 Systems Development Techniques
 Skills of a Successful Systems Analyst (Continued)
o Management
 Resources
 Projects
 Risk
 Change
 Skills of a Successful Systems Analyst (Continued)
o Interpersonal
 Interviews and Questionnaires
 Written and Oral Presentations
 Facilitating Groups
 Systems Analysis as a Career
o Standards of Practice
o Ethics
o Career Paths
 Chapter 3
Managing the Information Systems Project
Learning Objectives
 Explain the process of managing an information systems project
 Discuss skills required to be an effective project manager
 Describe skills and activities of a project manager during project initiation, planning, execution and closedown
 Explain Gantt and Pert charts
 Review commercial project management software packages

Managing the Information Systems Project

 Focus of project management
o To ensure that information system projects meet customer expectations
 Delivered in a timely manner
 Meet time constraints and requirements

 Project Manager
o is a Systems Analyst responsible for Project:
o Initiation
o Planning
o Execution
o Closing down

 Project Manager
o skills include:
 Management
 Leadership
 Technical
 Problem solving
 Conflict management
 Customer relations
 Team management
 Risk and change management

Project Management Process

 Project
o Planned undertaking of related activities to reach an objective that has a beginning and an end
 Deliverable
o An end product in a phase of the SDLC
 Feasibility Study
o Determines if the information system makes sense for the organization from an economic and
operational standpoint
o The study takes place before the system is constructed

 Project Management Process involves Four Phases

 Initiation
 Planning
 Execution
 Closing down

Initiating the Project

Project Initiation:
The first phase of the project management process in which activities are performed to assess the size, scope, and
complexity of the project and to establish procedures to support later project activities
 Establish project initiation team
 Establish relationship with customer
 Establish project initiation plan
 Establish management procedures
 Establish project management environment and workbook
Project workbook: An on-line or hard-copy repository for all project correspondence, inputs, outputs, deliverables,
procedures, and standards used by all team members useful for project audits, orientation of new team members
and performing post project reviews.

Planning the Project

 Project Planning – defining clear, discrete activities
 Requires making assumptions about availability of resources
 Short-term activities are easier to plan
 Describe project scope, alternatives and feasibility
 o Scope and Feasibility
 Understand the project
 What problem is addressed
 What results are to be achieved
 Measures of success
 Completion criteria
 Divide the project into manageable tasks
o Work breakdown structure: The process of dividing the project into manageable tasks and logically ordering
them to ensure a smooth evolution between tasks
o Some tasks may be performed in parallel whereas others must follow one another sequentially.
 How to define tasks? A task
o Has a known method, can be done by one-person or well-defined group, has accepted predecessor and
successor steps, is measurable so that percent complete can be determined
 Divide the project into manageable tasks
o Gantt chart: A graphical representing of a project showing each task as a horizontal bar whose length is
proportional to its time for completion.
o Gantt charts do not show how tasks must be ordered but simply shows when an activity must begin and
end.
o Different colors, shades, shapes can be used to highlight each kind of task
 Estimate resources and create a resource plan
o Estimate resource requirements for each project activity
o Resource plan helps assemble and deploy resources in most effective way
o People are most important and expensive part of resource planning
o Assign tasks to people that suit their skills and allows to learn new skills
 Develop a preliminary schedule
o Assign time estimates to each activity in work breakdown structure
o time estimates allows creating target starting and ending dates for project
o Utilize Gantt and PERT charts
 Program Evaluation Review Technique (PERT) Chart
o A diagram that shows project tasks and their relationships
o Ordering of tasks is shown by connecting tasks with its predecessor and successor tasks
o Only individual tasks are drawn and no summary tasks
 Develop a communication plan
o Outline communication procedures among customers, team members and management
o Communication plan includes when and how written and oral reports will be provided by the team, how
team members will coordinate work, what messages will be sent.
 Determine project standards and procedures
o Specify how deliverables are tested and produced
 Identify and assess risk
o Identify sources of risk
o Estimate consequences of risk
 Create a preliminary budget
o Outline planned expenses and revenues of the project to study cost-benefit analysis
 Develop a statement of work
o Occurs near the end of the project planning phase
o Developed primarily for the customer
o Outlines work that will be done and describe what the project will deliver and duration
 Set a Baseline Project Plan
o Estimate of project’s tasks and resource requirements that guides the next project phase – execution.

Executing the Project

 Project Execution – plans created in prior phases are put into action
 Occurs during analysis, design, implementation phases of SDLC
 Execute Baseline Project Plan
o Acquire and assign resources
o Train new team members
o Keep project on schedule - as tasks are completed, mark them as completed by percent
 Monitor project progress
o Adjust resources, budget and/or activities if project gets ahead or behind schedule
o Can result in modifications to current plan
 Manage changes to Baseline Project Plan
o Slipped completion dates
o Changes in personnel
o New activities found later
o Bungled activities to be redone
 Maintain project workbook to maintain complete records of all project events
 Communicate project status with entire project team

Closing Down the Project

 Project closedown – bring project to an end
 o Occurs after implementation phase of SDLC
 Termination
o Types of termination
 Natural
 Requirements have been met – project is completed successfully
 Unnatural
 Project stopped before completion – due to running out of time or money
o Documentation
o Personnel Appraisal – job and assignment changes, job termination, praising team members
 Conduct post-project reviews
o Determine strengths and weaknesses of:
 Project deliverables
 Project management process
 Development process
 Close customer contract

Representing and Scheduling Project Plans

 Gantt Charts
o Useful for depicting simple projects or parts of large projects
o Show start and completion dates for individual tasks
 PERT Charts
o Show order of activities
Comparison of Gantt and PERT Charts
 Gantt
o Visually shows duration of tasks  PERT
o Visually shows time overlap o Visually shows dependencies between tasks
between tasks o Visually shows which tasks can be done in
o Visually shows slack time parallel
o Shows slack time by data in rectangles

Figure 3-16 Graphical diagrams that depict project plans

(a) A Gantt Chart
(b) A PERT chart

Project Management Software

 Many systems are available
 Three activities required to use:
o Establish project start or end date
o Enter tasks and assign task relationships
o Select scheduling method to review project reports

Summary
 Skills of an effective project manager
 Activities of project manager
o Initiation
o Planning
o Execution
 o Closedown
 Gantt and PERT Charts
 Commercial Project Management Software