Solving Business Problems with Information Systems

Systems approached to problem solving

Developing information system solutions
DEFINING A SYSTEM
 A collection of components that work together to
realize some objectives forms a system.
 Basically there are three major components in
every system, namely input, processing and output.
 For example, human body represents a complete
natural system.
 We are also bound by many national systems such
as political system, economic system, educational
system and so forth.
 DEFINING A SYSTEM
• The objective of the system demands that some output is
produced as a result of processing the suitable inputs.
• A well-designed system also includes an additional
element referred to as „control‟ that provides a feedback
to achieve desired objectives of the system.
• Term system is derived from the Greek word „Systema‟
which means an organized relationship among
functioning units or components.
 Definition of System
• "A system is an orderly grouping of interdependent
components linked together according to a plan to achieve a
specific objective“.
• Characteristics of a System:
• Organization
• Interaction
• Interdependence
• Integration
• Central Objective
 Characteristics of a System:
• Organization-It implies structure and order.
• Interaction-It refers to manner in which each component
functions with other components of the system.
• Interdependence-Units/parts are dependent on each other.
• Integration-The parts of a system work together within the
system even though each part performs a unique function.
• Central Objective-Objective may be real or stated. All the
components work together to achieve that particular
objective.
 SYSTEM LIFE CYCLE:

• System life cycle is an organizational process of developing

and maintaining systems.
• It helps in establishing a system project plan, because it gives
overall list of processes and sub-processes required for
developing a system.
• System development life cycle means combination of various
activities.
 Cont.
• In other words we can say that various activities put together
are referred as system development life cycle.
• In the System Analysis and Design terminology, the system
development life cycle also means software development life
cycle.
 Different phases of system development life
cycle:

• Preliminary study
• Feasibility study
• Detailed system study
• System analysis
• System design
• Coding
• Testing
• Implementation
• Maintenance
 PHASES OF SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT LIFE
CYCLE
• Preliminary System Study:
• Preliminary system study is the first stage of
system development life cycle.
• This is a brief investigation of the system under
consideration and gives a clear picture of what
actually the physical system is?
• In practice, the initial system study involves the
preparation of a „System Proposal‟ in the light of
the user requirements
 Cont.
• The system proposal is prepared by the System Analyst (who
studies the system) and places it before the user management.
• The management may accept the proposal and the cycle
proceeds to the next stage.
• The management may also reject the proposal or request some
modifications in the proposal.
• We would say that system study phase passes through the
following steps:
• problem identification and project initiation
• background analysis
• inference or findings (system proposal)
 Feasibility Study:

• In case the system proposal is acceptable to

the management, the next phase is to
examine the feasibility of the system.
• The feasibility study is basically the test of the
proposed system in the light of its workability,
meeting user’s requirements, effective use of
resource and of course, the cost effectiveness.
 Cont.
• These are categorized as technical ,operational, economic and
schedule feasibility.
• The main goal of feasibility study is not to solve the problem
but to achieve the scope.
• In the process of feasibility study, the cost and benefits are
estimated with greater accuracy to find the Return on
Investment(ROI).
• The result is a feasibility report submitted to the
management.
• This may be accepted or accepted with modifications or
rejected. The system cycle proceeds only if the management
accepts it.
 Detailed System Study:

• The detailed investigation of the system is carried out in

accordance with the objectives of the proposed system.
• This involves detailed study of various operations performed
by a system and their relationships within and outside the
system.
• During this process, data are collected on the available files,
decision points and transactions handled by the present
system.
• Interviews, on-site observation and questionnaire are the
tools used for detailed system study.
 Cont.
The following steps are used to draw the exact boundary of the new
system.
• Keeping in view the problems and new requirements
• Workout the pros and cons including new areas of the system
The main points to be discussed in this stage are:
• Specification of what the new system is to accomplish based on the
user requirements.
• Functional hierarchy showing the functions to be performed by the new
system and their relationship with each other.
• Functional network, which are similar to function hierarchy but they
highlight the functions which are common to more than one procedure.
• List of attributes of the entities – these are the data items which need
to be held about each entity (record)
 System Analysis:

• Systems analysis is a process of collecting factual data,

understand the processes involved, identifying problems and
recommending feasible suggestions for improving the system
functioning.
• This involves studying the business processes, gathering
operational data, understand the information flow, finding out
bottlenecks and evolving solutions for overcoming the
weaknesses of the system so as to achieve the organizational
goals.
 Cont.
• The major objectives of systems analysis are to find answers
for each business process:
• What is being done.
• How is it being done.
• Who is doing it.
• When is he doing it.
• Why is it being done and How can it be improved?
• It is more of a thinking process and involves the creative skills
of the System Analyst.
 System Design:
• This is the phase of system designing. It is the most crucial
phase in the developments of a system.
• The logical system design arrived at as a result of systems
analysis is converted into physical system design.
• The design proceeds in two stages:
- Preliminary or General Design
-Structured or Detailed Design
 Preliminary or General Design
• Preliminary or General Design:
• In the preliminary or general design, the features of the new
system are specified.
• If the project is still considered to be feasible, we move to the
detailed design stage.
 Structured or Detailed Design
• Structured or Detailed Design:
• In this stage, computer oriented work begins in earnest.
• Structure design is a blue print of a computer system.
• Input, output, databases, forms, codification schemes and
processing specifications are drawn up in detail.
 Cont.
• There are several tools and techniques used for describing the
system design.
• These tools and techniques are:
• Flowchart
• Data flow diagram (DFD)
• Data dictionary
• Structured English
• Decision table
• Decision tree
 Cont.
• The system design involves:
• Defining precisely the required system output
• Determining the data requirement for producing the output
• Determining the medium and format of files and databases
• Devising processing methods and use of software to produce
output
• Determine the methods of data capture and data input
• Designing Input forms
• Designing Codification Schemes
• Detailed manual procedures
• Documenting the Design
 Coding

• The system design needs to be implemented to make it a

workable system.
• This demands the coding of design into computer
understandable language, i.e., programming language.
• This is also called the programming phase in which the
programmer converts the program specifications into
computer instructions, which we refer to as programs.
 Testing

• Before implementation ,a test run of the system is done for

removing the bugs, if any.
• It is an important phase of a successful system.
• After codifying the whole programs of the system, a test plan
should be developed and run on a given set of test data.
• The output of the test run should match the expected results.
 Cont.
• Following test run are carried out:
• Program test
• System test
• Program test: When the programs have been coded, they
must be individually tested with the prepared test data.
• Any undesirable happening must be noted and debugged
(error corrections)
 Cont.
• System Test: After carrying out the program test for each of
the programs of the system and errors removed, then system
test is done.
• At this stage the test is done on actual data.
• The complete system is executed on the actual data.
• At each stage of the execution, the results or output of the
system is analyzed.
 Implementation:
• The major steps involved in this phase are:
• Acquisition and Installation of Hardware and Software
• Conversion: The data from the old system needs to be
converted to operate in the new format of the new
system.
• User Training: How to execute the package
How to enter the data
How to process the data (processing details)
How to take out the reports
• Documentation
 Cont.
• Changeover: working has to shift from manual to
computerized working.
• Direct Changeover: This is the complete replacement of the
old system by the new system. It is a risky approach.
• Parallel run: In parallel run both the systems, i.e.,
computerized and manual, are executed simultaneously for
certain defined period.
 Cont.
• Pilot run: In this type of run, the new system is run with the
data from one or more of the previous periods for the whole
or part of the system.
• The results are compared with the old system results.
• It is less expensive and risky than parallel run approach.
 Maintenance:
• Maintenance is necessary to eliminate errors in the system
during its working life and to tune the system to any variations
in its working environments.
• It also means the review of the system from time to time.