Systems
analysis and design conceptsFall 2007
Course Syllabus
Systems Analysis and Design
Master of Science in Information Technology
Master of Business Administration
Information Technology Concentration
Course Number: ITM 6262
Semester Hours: 3
Pre-requisites: Graduate standing – Completion of Foundation courses
Requirement: Information Technology Concentration
Instructor: Nicholas Harkiolakis, Ph.D.Professor of Information Technology
e-mail: nharkiolakis@hau.gr
Message phone: 2103680941
Office hours: By appointment
Catalog Description:
This course covers the systems development life cycle, analysis and design techniques, information systems planning and project identification and selection, requirements collection and structuring, process modelling, data modelling, design of interface and data management, system implementation and operation, system maintenance, and change management implications of systems. Also examined are globalization issues in systems. Students will use current methods and tools such as rapid application development, prototyping, and visual development.
Objectives:
· To provide the basics that students need to know about what an analyst does; how a variety of information systems, including handheld computers, wireless technologies, and ERP systems, fit into organizations; hoe to determine whether a systems project is worthy of commitment; and how to manage a systems project using special software tools.
· To emphasize the use of systematic and structured methodologies for performing information requirements analysis including Rapid Application Development (RAD) and Extreme Programming (XP).
· To detail the analysis process with data flows as well as structured and semi structured decisions.
· To cover the essentials of design: input, output, web forms.
· To introduce students to structured software engineering and documentation techniques as ways to implement a quality system.
Course Requirements:
· Class attendance and participation
· Weekly homework assignments
· In class assignments
· In class discussions
· In class demonstrations
· Project assignments
Plagiarism Policy:
Students are responsible for performing academic tasks in such a way that honesty in not in question. Please refer to the Academic Honesty Policy in the University Catalog for the full detailed policy on this matter.
Limit of 2 absences before status in the course is affected
Class Participation:
Students are expected to follow the professor’s guidelines for working classroom assignments.
Homework Submission Policy:
All homework is expected in print during the session following the assignment date
Make-up and late assignments:
Students are expected to manage their time appropriately so as to submit their assignments on time. Late assignments will receive no credit. Exceptions to this rule will be considered on an individual basis.
Week I
Assuming The Role Of The Systems Analyst
Topics:
Systems
analysis and design concepts
Role of
the systems analyst
The
systems development life cycle
Using
CASE tools
Software reverse engineering and reengineering
Object-oriented systems analysis and design
Need
for structured analysis and design
Alternative methodologies
Objectives:
Recall the
basic types of computer-based systems that a systems analyst needs to address.
Understand
how new technologies change the dynamics of a system.
Realize
what the many roles of a systems analyst are.
Know the
steps of the SDLC and how to apply it to a real system.
Understand
what CASE tools are and how they help a systems analyst.
Explore
other methodologies such as object-oriented systems design and prototyping.
Case Studies:
Hypercase Experience 1
CPU
Case Episode 1Project Assignment:
Workforce tracking management system
Topics:
Organizational fundamentals
Organizations as systems
Depicting
systems graphically
Levels of
management
Understand
that organizations are systems and that analysts need to take a systems
perspective.
Depict
systems graphically using context-level data flow diagrams and
entity-relationship models.
Recognize
that different levels of management require different systems.
Comprehend
that organizational culture impacts the design of information systems.
Case Studies:
Hypercase Experience 2, 3
CPU
Case Episode 2, 3Presentations:
Visible AnalystProject Assignment:
Review of existing applications
Week III
Information Gathering
Topics:
Interviewing
Using questionnaires
Observing decision-maker behavior and the office environment
Sampling
Objectives:
Recognize
the value of interactive methods for information gathering.
Construct
interview questions to elicit information requirements.
Structure
interviews in a meaningful way.
Understand
the concept of JAD and when to use it.
Write
effective questions for surveys.
Design and
administer effective questionnaires.
Understand
the concept of sampling for information requirements analysis.
Construct
useful samples of people, documents, and events for determining information
requirements.
Create an
analyst's playscript to observe decision-maker activities.
Apply the
STROBE technique to observe and interpret the decision maker's environment.
Case Studies:
Hypercase Experience 4.1, 4.2, 5.1, 5.2
CPU
Case Episode 4, 5Presentations:
Microsoft VisioProject Assignment:
Preliminary analysis
Interview structure
Week IV
Prototyping, RAD, and Extreme Programming
Topics:
Kinds of
information sought
Initial,
user reactions
Approaches
to prototyping
Objectives:
Understand
the four main types of prototyping.
Be able to
use prototyping for information requirements gathering.
Understand
the concept of RAD for use in information requirements gathering and interface
design.
Understand
extreme programming and the core practices that differentiate it from other
development methodologies.
Learn the
importance of values critical to extreme programming and agile modeling.
Case Studies:
Hypercase Experience 6
CPU
Case Episode 6Project Assignment:
Interviewing
Week V
Using Data Flow Diagrams
Topics:
The data flow approach to requirements determination
Developing data flow diagrams
Logical and physical data flow diagrams
Partitioning data flow diagrams
Using data flow diagrams
Objectives:
Comprehend
the importance of using logical and physical data flow diagrams (DFDs) to
graphically depict data movement in an organization.
Create,
use, and explode logical DFDs to capture and analyze the current system through
parent and child levels.
Develop and
explode logical DFDs that illustrate the proposed system.
Produce
physical DFDs based on logical DFDs you have developed.
Understand
and apply the concept of partitioning of physical DFDs.
Case Studies:
Hypercase Experience 7
CPU
Case Episode 7Project Assignment:
Use case modeling
Week VI
Analyzing Systems Using Data Dictionaries
Topics:
The data
dictionary
The data
repository
Creating
and using the data dictionary
Objectives:
Understand
the use of data dictionaries for analyzing data-oriented systems.
Create data
dictionary entries for data processes, stores, flows, structures, and logical
and physical elements of the systems being studied, based on DFDs.
Understand
the concept of a repository for project information and the role of CASE tools
in creating them.
Recognize
the functions of data dictionaries in updating and maintaining information
systems.
Case Studies:
Hypercase Experience 8
CPU
Case Episode 8Project Assignment:
Activity diagrams
Week VII
Describing Process Specifications and Structured Decisions
Topics:
Methods available
Overview of process specifications
Structured English
Decision tables and decision trees
Choosing a structured decision analysis technique
Physical and logical process
Specifications
Objectives:
Understand
the purpose of process specifications.
Recognize
the difference between structured and semistructured decisions.
Use
structured English, decision tables, and decision trees to analyze, describe,
and document structured decisions.
Choose an
appropriate decision analysis method for analyzing structured decisions and
creating process specifications.
Case Studies:
Hypercase Experience 9
CPU
Case Episode 9Project Assignment:
Sequence diagrams
Week VIII
Preparing the Systems Proposal
Topics:
Methods available
Ascertaining hardware and software needs
Identifying and forecasting costs and benefits
Comparing costs and benefits
Objectives
Objectives:
Inventory
and appraise current and proposed hardware and software.
Evaluate
software by addressing the trade-offs among creating custom software, purchasing
COTS software, and outsourcing to an application service provider.
Assist
decision makers in choosing decision support systems, including recommendation
systems and neural nets.
Forecast
tangible and intangible costs and benefits, and perform a cost-benefit analysis
using a number of methods.
Professionally write and present an effective systems proposal, incorporating
figures and graphs.
Case Studies:
Hypercase Experience 10.1, 10.2, 10.3
CPU
Case Episode 10Project Assignment:
Communication diagrams
Week IX
Designing Effective Output
Topics:
Designing output to serve the intended purpose
Designing output to fit the user
Delivering the appropriate quality of output
Making sure the output is where it is needed
Providing the output on time
Choosing the right output method
Relating output content to output method
Designing printed output
Designing screen output
Designing a web site
Objectives:
Understand
the objectives for effective output design.
Relate
output content to output methods.
Realize how
output bias affects users.
Design
display output.
Design
tabular and graphic output for decision support systems.
Design a
Web site for ecommerce.
Case Studies:
Hypercase Experience 11
CPU
Case Episode 11
Designing Effective Input
Topics:
Input design objectives
Good form design
Good screen and web forms design
Internet and intranet page design
Objectives:
Design
functional input forms for business systems.
Design
engaging input displays for information systems.
Design
useful input forms for the Web.
Design
useful input pages for intranets and the Internet.
Case Studies:
Hypercase Experience 12
CPU
Case Episode 12
Human Computer Interaction
Topics:
User
interface objectives
Types of
user interface
Dialog and
desktops
Feedback
for users
Designing
queries
Searching
on the web
Data mining
Productivity and economics design
Objectives:
Identify a
variety of user interfaces and their appropriate uses.
Design
effective dialog for human-computer communication.
Understand
the importance of seven different kinds of user feedback from information
systems.
Articulate
the special design considerations for ecommerce Web sites.
Formulate
queries that permit users to search the Web.
Understand
the concept of data mining.
Case Studies:
Hypercase Experience 14
CPU
Case Episode 14
Designing Accurate Data Entry Procedures
Topics:
Data-entry objectives
Effective coding
Effective and efficient data capture
Assuring data quality through input validation
Accuracy, codes, and the graphical user interface
Objectives:
Understand
the uses of effective coding.
Design
effective and efficient data capture approaches.
Recognize
how to ensure data quality through validation.
Articulate
accuracy advantages of user input on ecommerce Web sites.
Case Studies:
Hypercase Experience 15
CPU
Case Episode 15Project Assignment:
Input
form designs
Output/reporting form designs
Week X
Quality Assurance Through Software Engineering
Topics:
Approaches to quality
The total quality management approach
Software engineering and documentation
Code generation and design reengineering
Testing, maintenance, and auditing
Objectives:
Recognize
the importance of taking a total quality approach to the entire SDLC.
Create
structure charts to design modular, top-down systems.
Use a
variety of techniques to improve the quality of software design and maintenance.
Understand
the importance of running a variety of tests during systems development to
identify unknown problems.
Case Studies:
Hypercase Experience 16
CPU
Case Episode 16
Successfully Implementing the Information System
Topics:
Implementation approaches
Implementing distributed systems
Training
users
Conversion
Evaluation
Objectives:
Comprehend
the implementation of a variety of distributed systems.
Design
appropriate training programs for users of the new system.
Recognize
the differences among physical conversion strategies, and be able to recommend
an appropriate one to a client.
Address
security concerns for traditional and Web-based systems.
Understand
the importance of evaluating the new system, and be able to recommend a suitable
evaluation technique to a client.
Case Studies:
Hypercase Experience 17
CPU
Case Episode 17Project Assignment:
Follow-up interviews
Week XI
Object-Oriented Systems Analysis and Design Using UML
Topics:
The object-oriented idea
Object-oriented analysis
Object-oriented design
Objectives:
Understand
what object-oriented systems analysis and design is and appreciate its
usefulness.
Comprehend
the concepts of the unified modeling language (UML), the standard approach for
modeling a system in the object-oriented world.
Apply the
steps used in UML to break down the system into a use case model and then a
class model.
Diagram
systems with the UML toolset so they can be described and properly designed.
Document
and communicate the newly modeled object-oriented system.
Presentations:
Netbeans UMLProject Assignment:
Final report submission
Week XII
Review of Topics
Method of Evaluation:
· Class Participation: 20%
· Hypercase Experience: 15%
· CPU Case: 15%
· Group Projects: 50%
Systems Analysis and
Design, 7/E
,
2007 Prentice Hall
Supplementary Reading:
Essentials of Systems
Analysis and Design, 2/E
2004 Prentice Hall
Object-Oriented
System Analysis and Design
2004 Prentice Hall
Systems Analysis &
Design Methods with Projects and Cases CD
by Jeffrey L
Whitten, Lonnie D. Bentley, Kevin Dittman,
2001 McGraw Hill
Additional References – Web Links:
Public domain CASE tools web page
An index of shareware and freeware CASE tools available on the Web. Many of the
tools can be downloaded directly from this site.
MetaCASE home page
Website dealing with issues related to MetaCASE tools.
I-CASE web site
The Integrated CASE website contains much useful information about I-CASE
products.
Methods & Tools
A newsletter to improve the development of information systems.
List of CASE tools and CASE vendors
The following companies design/sell CASE products:
LogicWorks
LogicWorks is a vendor of CASE tools, with special emphasis on database
modeling.
Microgold Software Inc.
WithClass Tool
Joosen Software Development
Fed-CASE Tool
Intersolv Inc.
Excelerator OO A&D Tool
CSA Inc.
Silverrun Tool
MetaCase Consulting
MetaEdit Tool
Clear Lake Lab (formerly ProtoSoft)
ASCENT CASE Tool
A CASE tool which has been specifically developed for education.
ISWorld Net Undergraduate Course Page
Undergraduate Systems Analysis and Design course page.
Software Design References
Index of schools with software design, system design, and IS design home pages.
PR-Tracker
PR-Tracker is a tool that helps project managers track software bugs with
problem reports. This tool can be downloaded from
ftp://ftp.halcyon.com/local/softwise/prtrack.zip.
Why Information Systems are Important
This detailed and well presented area provides a good introduction to
Information Systems issues.
Why General Managers Need to Understand Information Systems
Information Systems Meta-List
A comprehensive list of information resources on the Internet.
Information Systems Resources
A list of information systems resources, grouped by subject, of general interest
to IS educators.
A Business Researcher's Interests
An extremely valuable resource for all manner of information relating to
information systems.
Interactive Age Digital, The Online Newspaper for Electronic Commerce
Links to online publications produced by CMP publications, including Electronic
Buyers' News, Network Computing, and Communications Week.
Crossroads (ACM): The ACM Student Magazine
ACM is an international organization which promotes information technology.
Crossroads is an effort of students around the world who collaborate to produce
an ACM student publication.
DBMS Magazine
A magazine devoted to database and client-server solutions.
Center for IS Management
A service of the Center for IS Management at UT-Austin, this area provides a
discussion forum for MIS issues and access to on-line research papers.
Infosys Junction
A repository for dynamic IS information, such as conference announcements and
calls for papers, as well as directories of research centers, IS groups and
journals.
MISQ Central
This electronic extension of MIS Quarterly includes past issue archives, "MISQ
Discovery" (an experimental electronic forum), and article abstracts.
The syllabus can change at any time at the discretion of the instructor or the university.