BUSI0059BUSI0059Information Systems AnalysisInformation Systems Analysis

and Design and DesignLEC03: Requirements AnalysisLEC03: Requirements Analysis

Reference:

Systems Analysis and Design, 4th Edition

Alan Dennis, Barbara Haley Wixom, and Roberta RothJohn Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Key Definitions

The As-Is system is the current system and may or may not be computerized

The To-Be system is the new system that is based on updated requirements

The System Proposal is the key deliverable from the Analysis Phase

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Key Ideas

The goal of the analysis phase is to truly understand the requirements of the new system and develop a system that addresses them -- or decide a new system isn’t needed.

The System Proposal is presented to the approval committee via a system walk-through.

Systems analysis incorporates initial systems design.

Requirements determination is the single most critical step of the entire SDLC.

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REQUIREMENTS DETERMINATIONREQUIREMENTS DETERMINATION

A statement of what the system must do A statement of characteristics the system

must haveFocus is on business user needs during

analysis phaseRequirements will change over time as

project moves from analysis to design to implementation

What is a Requirement?

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Functional RequirementsA process the system has to performInformation the system must contain

Nonfunctional RequirementsBehavioral properties the system must have

OperationalPerformanceSecurityCultural and political

Requirement Types

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Requirements definition reportText document listing requirements in outline

formPriorities may be included

Key purpose is to define the project scope: what is and is not to be included.

Documenting Requirements

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Determining Requirements

Participation by business users is essential

Three techniques help users discover their needs for the new system:Business Process Automation (BPA)Business Process Improvement (BPI)Business Process Reengineering (BPR)

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Basic Process of Analysis (Determining Requirements)

Understand the “As-Is” systemIdentify improvement opportunitiesDevelop the “To-Be” system conceptTechniques vary in amount of change

BPA – small changeBPI – moderate changeBPR – significant change

Additional information gathering techniques are needed as well

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REQUIREMENTS ANALYSIS REQUIREMENTS ANALYSIS TECHNIQUESTECHNIQUES

Business Process Automation (BPA)

Goal:

Efficiency for users

Identifying Improvements in As-Is Systems

Problem AnalysisAsk users to identify problems and solutionsImprovements tend to be small and

incrementalRarely finds improvements with significant

business valueRoot Cause Analysis

Challenge assumptions about why problem exists

Trace symptoms to their causes to discover the “real” problem

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Root Cause Analysis Example

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Business Process Improvement (BPI)

Goal:

Efficiency and

effectivenessfor users

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Duration Analysis

Calculate time needed for each process stepCalculate time needed for overall processCompare the two – a large difference indicates a

badly fragmented processPotential solutions:

Process integration – change the process to use fewer people, each with broader responsibilities

Parallelization – change the process so that individual step are performed simultaneously

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Activity-Based Costing

Calculate cost of each process stepConsider both direct and indirect costsIdentify most costly steps and focus

improvement efforts on them

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Benchmarking

Studying how other organizations perform the same business process

Informal benchmarking

Common for customer-facing processesInteract with other

business’ processes as if you are a customer

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Business Process Reengineering (BPR)

Goal:

Radical redesign of business

processes

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Outcome Analysis

Consider desirable outcomes from customers’ perspective

Consider what the organization could enable the customer to do

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Technology Analysis

Analysts list important and interesting technologies

Managers list important and interesting technologies

The group identifies how each might be applied to the business and how the business might benefit

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Activity Elimination

Identify what would happen if each organizational activity were eliminated

Use “force-fit” to test all possibilities

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Comparing Analysis Techniques

Potential business valueProject costBreadth of analysisRisk

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Project Characteristics

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REQUIREMENTS-GATHERING REQUIREMENTS-GATHERING TECHNIQUESTECHNIQUES

Interviews

Most commonly used techniqueBasic steps:

Selecting IntervieweesDesigning Interview QuestionsPreparing for the InterviewConducting the InterviewPost-Interview Follow-up

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Selecting Interviewees

Based on information needsBest to get different perspectives

ManagersUsersIdeally, all key stakeholders

Keep organizational politics in mind

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Three Types of Questions

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Designing Interview Questions

Unstructured interview useful early in information gatheringGoal is broad, roughly defined information

Structured interview useful later in processGoal is very specific information

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Top-Down and Bottom-up Questioning Strategies

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Preparing for the Interview

Prepare general interview planList of questionAnticipated answers and follow-ups

Confirm areas of knowledgeSet priorities in case of time shortagePrepare the interviewee

ScheduleInform of reason for interviewInform of areas of discussion

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Conducting the Interview

Appear professional and unbiasedRecord all informationCheck on organizational policy regarding tape

recordingBe sure you understand all issues and termsSeparate facts from opinionsGive interviewee time to ask questionsBe sure to thank the intervieweeEnd on time

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Post-Interview Follow-Up

Prepare interview notesPrepare interview reportHave interviewee review and confirm

interview reportLook for gaps and new questions

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Questionnaires

A set of written questions, often sent to a large number of people

May be paper-based or electronicSelect participants using samples of the

populationDesign the questions for clarity and ease of

analysisAdminister the questionnaire and take steps to

get a good response rateQuestionnaire follow-up report

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Good Questionnaire Design

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Document Analysis

Study of existing material describing the current system

Forms, reports, policy manuals, organization charts describe the formal system

Look for the informal system in user additions to forms/report and unused form/report elements

User changes to existing forms/reports or non-use of existing forms/reports suggest the system needs modification

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Observation

Watch processes being performedUsers/managers often don’t accurately recall

everything they doChecks validity of information gathered other

waysBe aware that behaviors change when people

are watchedBe unobtrusiveIdentify peak and lull periods

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Selecting the Appropriate Requirements-Gathering Techniques

Type of informationDepth of informationBreadth of informationIntegration of informationUser involvementCostCombining techniques

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Comparison of Requirements-Gathering Techniques

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Summary

The analysis process focuses on capturing the business requirements for the system

Functional and non-functional business requirements tell what the system must do

Three main requirements analysis techniques are BPA, BPI, and BPR

These techniques vary in potential business value, but also in potential cost and risk

There are five major requirements-gathering techniques that all systems analysts must be able to use: Interviews, Questionnaires, Document Analysis, and Observation.

Systems analysts must also know how and when to use each as well as how to combine methods.

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