lecture 3

Question 1

what is system analysis

Answer 1

the process of studying a procedure or business in order to identify goals and purposes and the way to accomplish them efficiently

Question 2

what are the 5 system analysis activities

Answer 2

1) gathering information
2) defining requirements
3) prioritizing requirements
4) developing user interface
5) evaluating requirements with user

Question 3

what are ways to gather information

Answer 3

• interviews
• questionnaires
• documents
• observing business processes
• researching vendors
• comments and suggestions

Question 4

how do you define requirements

Answer 4

by modeling functional and non-functional requirements

Question 5

define system requirements

Answer 5

specifications that define a new system and can be based off an old system
it has two parts: functional and non functional

Question 6

what is meant by functional requirements

Answer 6

activities that the system must perform

Question 7

functional requirements are based off what

Answer 7

• business procedures

- functions that users conduct

Question 8

what is meant by non-functional requirements

Answer 8

characteristics of the system

Question 9

give categories of non-functional requirements

Answer 9

• reliability
• usability
• security
• performance
• design constraints

Question 10

give examples of non-functional requirements

Answer 10

• failure rate
• ease of use
• recovery methods
• encryption
• support software
• size
• data interchange formats

Question 11

what do complex systems require

Answer 11

more than one type of model

Question 12

models represent..

Answer 12

some aspects of the system thats being built

Question 13

benefits of creating models

Answer 13

• helps analysts clarify and refine design

- assist communication with system users

Question 14

types of models

Answer 14

• textual/descriptive
• graphical
• mathematical

Question 15

describe a textual model

Answer 15

a model that contains written texts that describe aspects of the system e.g. reports and memos

Question 16

describe a graphical model

Answer 16

a model that contains visual and schematic representation of some aspect of the system in the form of a diagram e.g. activity diagram

Question 17

describe a mathematical model

Answer 17

a model that uses algorithms, statistics and formulas to describe the technical aspects of the system

Question 18

unified modeling language (UML)

Answer 18

a standard language used for diagrams and contains terminology that is used for developing information systems

Question 19

why do analysts use models

Answer 19

• reducing complexity
• to remember all the details
• to communicate with other development teams, users and stakeholders
• to document what will be done for future maintenance/enhancement

Question 20

stakeholders

Answer 20

anybody who has interest in the successful implementation of the system

Question 21

internal stakeholders

Answer 21

persons within the organization e.g. employees

Question 22

external stakeholders

Answer 22

persons outside of the organization e.g. customers

Question 23

operational stakeholders

Answer 23

persons that interact with the system directly (can also be internal)

Question 24

executive stakeholders

Answer 24

persons that don’t interact directly but use the information or have financial interest

Question 25

horizontal flow roles

Answer 25

information flows horizontally across departments

Question 26

vertical flow roles

Answer 26

information needs of clerical staff, middle management and senior executives

Question 27

steps of an interview

Answer 27

1) prepare detailed questions 2) meet with users 3) obtain and discuss answers 4) document the answers 5) follow up

Question 28

types of questions in interview

Answer 28

- closed questions - bipolar questions - open ended questions

Question 29

what are closed questions

Answer 29

are questions with a limited set of answers

Question 30

what are bipolar questions

Answer 30

questions that lead to answers such as yes/no true/false

Question 31

what are open ended questions

Answer 31

questions that result in a free form answer with no limits

Question 32

basis of interviews

Answer 32

- to build trust - listen to stories - understand meaning

Question 33

3 types of questions

Answer 33

- why - tell me more - (stay silent)

Question 34

advantages of an open interview

Answer 34

- can help put interviewee at ease - provides details - allows for further questioning - phrasing is easier during the interview

Question 35

disadvantages of an open interview

Answer 35

- may receive too much irrelevant details - may give the impression that the interview has no objective - amount of useful information gained can take a long time

Question 36

probes in an interview

Answer 36

why can you give an example why do you feel that way

Question 37

what does an interview agenda contain

Answer 37

- setting - interview discussion - follow up

Question 38

what does the settings section include in the interview agenda

Answer 38

- time, date, location - objective of interview - participants names - project team participants names

Question 39

what does the interview discussion section include in the interview agenda

Answer 39

the main questions that will be asked during the interview

Question 40

reviewing inputs and outputs

Answer 40

information assessed can be external - studying and observing competitors - or internal - manuals and physical environment

Question 41

workflow

Answer 41

process of documenting sequenced steps that occur when handling a business transaction or a customer request

Question 42

activity diagrams describe..

Answer 42

1) user/system activities 2) the person who does each activity 3) the sequential flow of the activities

Question 43

activity diagram is an example of a..

Answer 43

UML diagram

Question 44

activity diagram shows..

Answer 44

a graphical model of the workflow

Question 45

link for activity diagram (not a question)

Answer 45

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wf_xlagfHmg