Preface v

Part 1 Planning Phase

1 The Systems Analyst and Information Systems Development, 3

Introduction, 4

The Systems Analyst, 6

Systems Analyst Skills, 6

Systems Analyst Roles, 7

The Systems Development Life Cycle, 8

Planning, 10

Analysis, 11

Design, 12

Implementation, 12

Project Identification and Initiation, 13

System Request, 15

Applying the Concepts at Dr¿nTeq, 16

Feasibility Analysis, 19

Technical Feasibility, 20

Economic Feasibility, 21

Organizational Feasibility, 27

Applying the Concepts at Dr¿nTeq, 29

Chapter Review, 31

Appendix 1A: Detailed Economic Feasibility Analysis for Dr¿nTeq, 35

2 Project Selection and Management, 37

Introduction, 38

Project Selection, 39

Applying the Concepts at Dr¿nTeq, 40

Creating the Project Plan, 41

Project Methodology Options, 42

Selecting the Appropriate Development Methodology, 49

Staffing the Project, 52

Staffing Plan, 52

Coordinating Project Activities, 55

Managing and Controlling the Project, 58

Refining Estimates, 58

Managing Scope, 60

Timeboxing, 60

Managing Risk, 61

Applying the Concepts at Dr¿nTeq, 62

Staffing the Project, 63

Coordinating Project Activities, 64

Chapter Review, 65

Part 2 Analysis Phase

3 Requirements Determination, 71

Introduction, 72

The Analysis Phase, 72

Requirements Determination, 74

What Is a Requirement?, 74

The Process of Determining Requirements, 78

The Requirements Definition Statement, 78

Requirements Elicitation Techniques, 80

Requirements Elicitation in Practice, 80

Interviews, 81

Joint Application Development (JAD), 88

Questionnaires, 92

Document Analysis, 94

Observation, 96

Selecting the Appropriate Techniques, 96

Requirements Analysis Strategies, 98

Problem Analysis, 98

Root Cause Analysis, 98

Duration Analysis, 100

Activity-Based Costing, 100

Informal Benchmarking, 100

Outcome Analysis, 101

Technology Analysis, 101

Activity Elimination, 102

Comparing Analysis Strategies, 103

Applying the Concepts at Dr¿nTeq, 103

Eliciting and Analyzing Requirements, 103

Requirements Definition, 104

System Proposal, 104

Chapter Review, 106

4 Understanding Processes with Use Cases and Process Models, 111

Introduction, 112

What Is a Use Case?, 113

The Use Case Concept in a Nutshell, 113

Use Case Formats and Elements, 114

Casual Use Case Format, 114

Use Cases in Sequence, 117

Applying Use Cases, 118

Use Case Practical Tips, 118

Use Cases and Functional Requirements, 119

Use Cases and Testing, 119

Creating Use Cases, 120

Identify the Major Use Cases, 120

Identify the Major Steps for Each Use Case, 122

Identify Elements within Steps, 125

Confirm the Use Case, 128

Revise Functional Requirements Based on Use Cases, 129

Applying the Concepts at Dr¿nTeq, 129

Identifying the Major Use Cases, 129

Elaborating on the Use Cases, 130

Data Flow Diagrams, 134

Reading Data Flow Diagrams, 134

Elements of Data Flow Diagrams, 136

Using Data Flow Diagrams to Define Business Processes, 139

Process Descriptions, 142

Creating Data Flow Diagrams, 144

Creating the Context Diagram, 145

Creating Data Flow Diagram Fragments, 146

Creating the Level 0 Data Flow Diagram, 148

Creating Level 1 Data Flow Diagrams (and Below), 149

Validating the Data Flow Diagrams, 152

Applying the Concepts at Dr¿nTeq, 156

Developing the Process Model, 156

Creating Data Flow Diagram Fragments, 156

Creating the Level 1 Data Flow Diagram, 157

Creating Level 2 Data Flow Diagrams (and Below), 159

Validating the Data Flow Diagrams, 160

Chapter Review, 161

5 Data Modeling, 169

Introduction, 170

The Entity Relationship Diagram, 170

Reading an Entity Relationship Diagram, 171

Elements of an Entity Relationship Diagram, 172

The Data Dictionary and Metadata, 177

Creating an Entity Relationship Diagram, 179

Building Entity Relationship Diagrams, 179

Advanced Syntax, 182

Applying the Concepts at Dr¿nTeq, 184

Validating an Entity Relationship Diagram, 188

Design Guidelines, 188

Normalization, 191

Balancing Entity Relationship Diagrams with Data Flow Diagrams, 191

Chapter Review, 193

Appendix 5A: Normalizing The Data Model, 196

Part 3 Design Phase

6 Moving into Design, 203

Introduction, 204

Transition from Requirements to Design, 204

System Acquisition Strategies, 206

Custom Development, 208

Packaged Software, 209

Outsourcing, 210

Influences on the Acquisition Strategy, 213

Business Need, 213

In-House Experience, 214

Project Skills, 215

Project Management, 215

Time Frame, 215

Selecting an Acquisition Strategy, 215

Alternative Matrix, 216

Applying the Concepts at Dr¿nTeq, 218

Chapter Review, 220

7 Architecture Design, 222

Introduction, 223

Elements of an Architecture Design, 223

Architectural Components, 223

Client-Server Architectures, 224

Client-Server Tiers, 225

Server-Based Architecture, 227

Mobile Application Architecture, 228

Advances in Architecture Configurations, 229

Comparing Architecture Options, 230

Creating an Architecture Design, 231

Operational Requirements, 231

Performance Requirements, 232

Security Requirements, 234

Access Control Requirements, 236

Cultural and Political Requirements, 239

Designing the Architecture, 241

Hardware and Software Specification, 243

Applying the Concepts at Dr¿nTeq, 245

Creating an Architecture Design, 245

Hardware and Software Specification, 246

Chapter Review, 247

8 User Interface Design, 250

Introduction, 251

The Usability Concept, 251

Principles for User Interface Design, 252

Layout, 252

Content Awareness, 254

Aesthetics, 255

Usage Level, 255

Consistency, 257

Minimize User Effort, 258

Special Issues of Touch Screen Interface Design, 258

User Interface Design Process, 259

Understand the Users, 260

Organize the Interface, 262

Define Standards, 265

Interface Design Prototyping, 266

Interface Evaluation/Testing, 268

Navigation Design, 272

Basic Principles, 272

Menu Tips, 273

Message Tips, 275

Input Design, 278

Basic Principles, 278

Input Tips, 280

Input Validation, 282

Output Design, 282

Basic Principles, 282

Types of Outputs, 284

Media, 286

Applying the Concepts at Dr¿nTeq, 287

Understand the Users, 287

Organize the Interface, 288

Define Standards, 289

Interface Template Design, 289

Develop Prototypes, 294

Interface Evaluation/Testing, 295

Chapter Review, 295

9 Program Design, 300

Introduction, 301

Moving from Logical to Physical Process Models, 301

The Physical Data Flow Diagram, 301

Applying the Concepts at Dr¿nTeq, 304

Designing Programs, 305

Structure Chart, 308

Syntax, 309

Building the Structure Chart, 312

Applying the Concepts at Dr¿nTeq, 314

Design Guidelines, 318

Program Specification, 324

Syntax, 324

Applying the Concepts at Dr¿nTeq, 327

Chapter Review, 330

10 Data Storage Design, 336

Introduction, 337

Data Storage Formats, 337

Files, 338

Databases, 340

Selecting a Storage Format, 344

Applying the Concepts at Dr¿nTeq, 346

Moving from Logical to Physical Data Models, 347

The Physical Entity Relationship Diagram, 347

Revisiting the CRUD Matrix, 350

Applying the Concepts at Dr¿nTeq, 351

Optimizing Data Storage, 351

Optimizing Storage Efficiency, 354

Optimizing Access Speed, 356

Estimating Storage Size, 360

Applying the Concepts at Dr¿nTeq, 362

Chapter Review, 364

Part 4 Implementation Phase

11 Moving into Implementation, 369

Introduction, 369

Managing the Programming Process, 370

Assigning Programming Tasks, 370

Coordinating Activities, 371

Managing the Schedule, 372

Testing, 372

Test Planning, 374

Unit Tests, 374

Integration Tests, 377

System Tests, 377

Acceptance Tests, 377

Developing Documentation, 379

Types of Documentation, 380

Designing Documentation Structure, 380

Writing Documentation Topics, 382

Identifying Navigation Terms, 383

Applying the Concepts at Dr¿nTeq, 385

Managing Programming, 385

Testing, 385

Developing User Documentation, 386

Chapter Review, 389

12 Transition to the New System, 391

Introduction, 391

Making the Transition to the New System, 392

The Migration Plan, 393

Selecting the Conversion Strategy, 394

Preparing a Business Contingency Plan, 398

Preparing the Technology, 399

Preparing People for the New System, 400

Understanding Resistance to Change, 400

Revising Management Policies,...