IS 401 Ch. 2

Question 1

Describe the activities of systems analysis

Answer 1

• Gather detailed information
• define requirements
• prioritize requirements
• develop user-interface dialogs
• evaluate requirements with users

Question 2

What are requirements?

Answer 2

System Requirements: the activities a system must perform or support and the constraints that the system must meet
Generally, analysts divide system requirements into two categories: functional and nonfunctional requirements.

Question 3

Explain the difference between functional and nonfunctional requirements

Answer 3

Functional requirements: are the activities that the system
must perform (i.e., the business uses to which the system will be applied). For example, if you are developing a payroll system, the required business uses might include such functions as“generate electronic fund transfers,” “calculate commission amounts,” “calculate payroll taxes,” “maintain employee-dependent information,”and“report tax deductions to the IRS.”

Nonfunctional requirements are characteristics of the system other than those activities it must perform or support. It is not always easy to distinguish functional from nonfunctional requirements. One way to do so is to use a framework for identifying and classifying requirements.
There have been many such frameworks developed over time; the most widely used today is called FURPS+

Question 4

FURPS

Answer 4

FURPS is an acronym that stands for functionality,
usability, reliability, performance, and security.
The“F”in FURPS is equivalent to the functional requirements defined previously.

Question 5

URPS

Answer 5

• Usability requirements describe operational characteristics related to users, such as the user interface, related work procedures, online help, and
  documentation.
• Reliability requirements describe the dependability of a system—how often a system exhibits such behaviors as service outages and incorrect processing and how it detects and recovers from those problems.
• Performance requirements describe operational characteristics related to measures of workload, such as throughput and response time.
• Security requirements describe how access to the application will be controlled and how data will be protected during storage and transmission.

Question 6

Describe the role of models in systems analysis

Answer 6

Analysts build models to describe system requirements and use those models to communicate with users
and designers.By developing a model and reviewing it with a user, an analyst demonstrates an understanding of the user’s requirements.
Designers construct high-level and detailed models to describe system components and their interactions. Design models serve as a scratch pad for evaluating design alternatives and as a way to communicate the final design to programmers, vendors, and others who will build, acquire, and assemble components to create the final system.
A model is a representation of some aspect of the system being built.

Question 7

Analysis and design models can be grouped into three generic types:

Answer 7

Textual models—Analysts use such textual models as memos, reports, narratives, and lists to describe requirements that are detailed and are difficult to represent in other ways.
Mathematical models—Mathematical models are one or more formulas that describe technical aspects of a system.
Graphical models—Graphical models make it easier to understand complex relationships that are difficult to follow when described as a list or
narrative.

Question 8

Identify and understand different kinds of stakeholders and their contributions to requirements definition

Answer 8

Stakeholders are your primary source of information for system requirements.Stakeholders are all the people who have an interest in the successful implementation of the system.
One useful way to help identify all the interested stakeholders is to consider two characteristics by which they vary: internal stakeholders versus external stakeholders(those outside the organization’s control
and influence) and operational stakeholders(those who regularly interact with a system in the course of their jobs or lives) versus executive stakeholders (those who do not interact directly with the system but who either use information produced by the system or have a significant financial or other interest in its operation and success)

Question 9

Other two groups (Stakeholders)

Answer 9

The client is the person or group that provides the funding for the project.
An organization’s technical and support staff are also stakeholders in any system. The technical staff includes people who establish and maintain the computing environment of the organization.

Question 10

Describe information-gathering techniques and determine when each is best applied

Answer 10

• Interviewing users and other stakeholders
• Distributing and collecting questionnaires
• Reviewing inputs, outputs, and documentation
• Observing and documenting business procedures
• Researching vendor solutions
• Collecting active user comments and suggestions