Introduction to

System Analysis

Week 2 - Introduction to systems analysis

Assis. Prof. Dr. Zeynep İdil ERZURUM ÇİÇEK

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Course learning objectives
1.Explain the basic definitions of system analysis
2.Analyze the current system
3.make the entity modelling
4.make the business system options for a case
5.define the requirements
6.make normalization
7.make technical and physical design
8.define the basic concepts of BPMN and use them
9.do a system analyze for a case system and prepare a report
Evaluation
• Midterm (%30)
• Pop quiz (%10)
• Course project (%20)
• Final exam (%40)
References
• Bowman, K. (2004). System analysis: A
Beginner’s Guide. Palgrave Macmillan,
New York.
• BPMN 2.0 by Example, OM Document
Number: dtc/2010-06-02
Additional references
Course project
• Student groups (10 – 11 students)
• The processes of IE department (Mudek, internship, etc.)
Next week
• Definition and basic concepts of «System»
• Characteristics of systems
• What does a systems analyst do?
• System methodology
• Introduction to BPMN
Content
• The definition and characteristics of system
• The components of systems
• The difference between data and information
• The definition of system analysis
• The responsibilities of system analyst
• System methodology
• Structured Systems Analysis and Design Method (SSADM)

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What is a system?
• A system is a set of interacting or interdependent components
forming an integrated whole.
• A system is anything with a purpose.
• A system must do something.
• Every system is delineated by its spatial and temporal boundaries,
surrounded and influenced by its environment, described by its
structure and purpose and expressed in its functioning.
every system is made up of smaller systems, and also that every system
is part of a larger system.

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What is a system?
Some systems share common characteristics, including:
• A system has structure, it contains parts (or components) that are directly or indirectly
related to each other;
• A system has behavior, it exhibits processes that fulfill its function or purpose;
• A system's structure and behavior may be decomposed via subsystems and sub-processes to
elementary parts and process steps.
ü A system has behavior that, in relativity to its surroundings, may be categorized as both fast and strong
• A system has interconnectivity: the parts and processes are connected by structural
and/or behavioral relationships.

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What is a system?
Natural • Stellar systems: galaxies, solar system
• Geological systems: rivers, mountain
systems Physical ranges
• Molecular systems: complex
organizations of atoms

Physical
• all of the myriad animals and plants
Living around us, as well as our own human
Living race

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What is a system?

MANUFACTURING SOCIAL SYSTEMS: AN ORGANIZED,

SYSTEMS: FACTORIES, ORGANİZATIONS OF LAWS, DİSCİPLİNED COLLECTİON
ASSEMBLY LINES DOCTRINES, CUSTOMS OF İDEAS

COMMUNİCATION FINANCIAL SYSTEMS:

SYSTEMS: TELEPHONE, ACCOUNTING, INVENTORY,
TELEX GENERAL LEDGER

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 What is a system?
• However, a cluster consisting of all
elements is not a system!

• Random standing items on the table ...

– Are they purposive?
– Is there a functional relationship?

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What is a system?
Ackoff’s definition:
A system is a set of two or more elements that satisfies the following
conditions:
• The behavior of each element has an effect on the behavior of the
whole.
• The behavior of the elements and their effect on the whole are
interdependent.
• However subgroups of elements are formed, each has an effect on
the behavior of the whole and none has an independent effect on it.

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Nine Characteristics of a System

• Purpose
• Constraints

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 Characteristics of a System
• A component is either an irreducible part or an aggregate of parts, also known as a
Components subsystem.
• A system is made up of components.

Interrelated • Dependence of one part of the system on one or more other system part.
• The components are interrelated, that is, the function of one component is
components somehow tied to the functions of the other components.

• The line that marks the inside and outside of a system and that sets off the system

A boundry from its environment.

• A system has a boundary within which all of its components are contained
• Boundary separates temporarily one component from the other

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 Characteristics of a System
• The system’s main reason for existing.
Purpose • The overall goal or function of a system.
• All components work together to achieve common goal

Environment • Everything external to a system that interacts with the

system.

• The points at which the system meets its environment are

Interfaces known as interfaces.
• There are also interfaces between subsystems.

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 Characteristics of a System

Input
• A system takes input from its environment in order to function.
• The inputs are said to be fed to the system in order to get the output.
• A system cannot function properly if inputs are inaccurate or faulty.

Output • Finally, a system returns output to its environment as a result to its

functioning and thus achieves its purpose.

Constraints
• A system must face constraints/limitations in its functioning because
there are limits (in terms of capacity, speed, or capabilities) to what it
can do and how it can achieve its purpose within its environment.

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Input & Output
INPUT: Input involves capturing and assembling elements that enter the system to
be processed. The inputs are said to be fed to the systems in order to get the
output.
Eg., input of a 'computer system' is input unit consisting of various input
devices like keyboard, mouse, joystick etc.
OUTPUT: Those elements that exists in the system due to the processing of the
input is known as output. A major objective of a system is to produce output that
has value to its user. The output of the system maybe in the form of cash,
information, knowledge, reports, documents etc.
The system is defined as output is required from it.
• Eg., output of a 'computer system' is output unit consisting of various output
devices like screen and printer etc

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 Components of a
system
• Element
SYSTEM ELEMENT ATTRIBUTE EVENT • Attribute
Transportation Vehicle Sign
The way
Speed
Colour
Transport • Event
Length

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Information Systems
• Names, adresses etc.
• Purpose / Goal?

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Data & Information
• There is a difference between data and information

• Raw situations: 42, 12, 45, 13, 9, 34

üCoordinates?

üLotto numbers?

üPage numbers?

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You may asked to feed your
application with unstructured data
coming from sources like Facebook,
Twitter, RFID readers, sensors, and
so on. Your management wants to
derive information from both the
relational data and the
unstructured data and wants this
information as soon as possible.

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Data & Information
Data Information
Meaning Data is raw, unorganized facts that need to be When data is processed, organized,
processed. Data can be something simple and structured or presented in a given context
seemingly random and useless until it is so as to make it useful, it is called
organized. information.

Example Each student's test score is one piece of data. The average score of a class or of the
entire school is information that can be
derived from the given data.

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What is system analysis?
• Find out what is good and what is bad of the current system.
• Design a new system that keeps the good thing and gets rid of the
bad things.

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What is system analysis?
• Users of computer systems usually don’t know what sort of system
they want; they just want one that works. Some of them don’t even
want a new system. They just know that there are a few problems
here.

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System Analyst
• Determine good and bad aspects of the (problems/requirements)
current system
• The user understands the current system but the analyst does not.
• The analysts understands the new system but the user does not.
• There is a gap.
• Effective communication is vital.

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System Methodology
• Systems are too complex to understand without any tools
• Methodology: strategies that are used to overcome the problems
faced by the system analyst
• Techniques
• Tools
• Conventions
• Documents
• …
Cooking J

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System methodology
• One type of methodology is called structured.
• If the analyst follows the steps of the methodology, then eventually quality information systems design
should be the outcome.
• The analyst will break down complex systems into smaller, well-defined and well-documented chunks.

• The most widely used structured methodology is Structured Systems Analysis and Design Method
(SSADM) .

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SSADM –
Structured
Systems Analysis
and Design
Method

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(Structured System Analysis & Design Methodology - SSADM)
basic principles
1. top down functional decomposition
analyze level
Break down functional complex system into chunks
ü Ignore the small details until it engages the key features of the system

Lower levels of the system are considered in detail, later on

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 2. Requirement of explanation

physical perspectives
of the current Logical point of view
system

• how things • what is • This • What the new

are currently completes system should
currently done or? the analysis do? Who and
how will do?
done and phase, and
who does then it’s on
them? to design

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2. Requirement of explanation

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3. SSADM requires users to get involved from
the start
The analyst must meet the users regularly to sort out
problems and check understanding.

SSADM, would involve users from the beginning

Stay happy in the new system

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4. effective use of diagrams
i. Forming detailed logical data structure
ii. Establishing multipart data structure multipart
iii. Creating data dictionary

Ø like a map of the system

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5. SSADM allows the analyst to see the system
from different views
check to see if the different views match up
Cross-checking

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6. SSADM is an industry standard
• It has been used since early 1980’s.
• SSADM, is a widely-used computer application
development method in the UK, where its use is often
specified as a requirement for government computing
projects.
• It is increasingly being adopted by the public sector in
Europe.
• SSADM is in the public domain, and is formally specified in
British Standard BS7738.
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SSADM's objectives are to:
• Improve project management & control
• Make more effective use of experienced and inexperienced
• Development staff
• Develop better quality systems
• Make projects resilient to the loss of staff
• Enable projects to be supported by computer-based tools such as
computer-aided software engineering systems
• Establish a framework for good communications between participants
in a project

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The structure
of SSADM

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Stage 0. Feasibility
This is where the analyst and users decide if the entire project is worth
pursuing.
• Technical – is the project technically possible?
• Financial – can the business afford to carry out the project?
• Organizational – will the new system be compatible with existing
practices?
• Ethical – is the impact of the new system socially acceptable?

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Stage 1 – Investigation of the current
environment
•Through a combination of interviewing
employees, circulating questionnaires,
observations and existing documentation, the
analyst comes to full understanding of the
system as it is at the start of the project.

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Stage 2 – Business system options
• The degree of automation
• The boundary between the system and the users
• The distribution of the system, for example, is it centralized to one
office or spread out across several?
• cost/benefit
• Impact of the new system

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Stage 3 – Requirements specification

• To produce the logical specification, the analyst builds the

required logical models for both the data- flow diagrams
(DFDs) and the Logical Data Model (LDM), consisting of the
Logical Data Structure (referred to in other methods as entity
relationship diagrams) and full descriptions of the data and
its relationships.

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Stage 4 – Technical system options
• the hardware architectures
• the software to use
• the cost of the implementation
• the staffing required
• the physical limitations such as a space occupied by the system
• the distribution including any networks which that may require
• the overall format of the human computer interface

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Stage 5 – Logical design
• the outputs of this stage are implementation- independent
and concentrate on the requirements for the human
computer interface.

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Stage 6 – Physical design
•This is the final stage where all the logical
specifications of the system are converted to
descriptions of the system in terms of real
hardware and software.

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SSADM and the
Systems
Development Life
Cycle

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Next week
• Chapter 2: The current system
• Please read the case studies (Swillbuckets County Club and The Medical
Centre at the University of Life, pg. 9-12).

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