Systems analysis Flashcards
Waterfall
sequential design process where developers drafts out all of the requirements for a system up front
waterfall pros
client knows what to expect (cost, time), strong documentation allows new team members to be added easily
waterfall cons
sequential so cannot go back to previous stage of development, if initial requirements are faulty project will likely fail, product only tested after completion so early bugs will impact large bits of code.
agile/scrum
incremental approach, start with simple project design and work on small modules in sprints - best suited when end goal not clearly defined
agile pros
changes can be made after initial phase, testing done throughout so bugs are found early, closer relationship between customer an developer
agile cons
can be hard to predict time needed/costs so can be easy to overrun/go overbudget
user documentation
targeted towards novice users so must be straightforward without technical terms. should help user perform any task on system
user documentation examples
instruction manual
installation guide
FAQs
technical/maintentance documentation
helps employees maintain system and ensure it runs smoothly once implemented
maintenance docs examples
data dictionary,
annotated code listings,
variable listing
feasability study
1st stage in systems analysis
aims to understand the problem and determine if it is worth proceeding
feasability report produced at the end
feasability study components
economic
time
technical
political
operational
legal
economic feasability
cost effectiveness
do benefits outweigh costs (wages, hardware etc)?
time feasability
can it be completed in desired time frame?
technical feasability
does technology needed exist?
can project be done with resources available?
does dev team have technical skills needed?
political feasability
is it politically motivated?
does it go against people’s beliefs?
eg government work
observations
analyst shadows employee in natural environment making notes on how they do their job
operational feasability
are current work practises and procedures enough to support new system?
investigation (analysis)
2nd stage of development
defines all the requirements of the project
main investigation methods
observations
questionaires
interviews
document collection
legal feasability
will project comply with laws in all countries it will be released in?
observation pro
picks up subtle aspects that may have been otherwise missed
observation con
people may feel intimidated being watched altering their behavior
questionaires pros
can be given to large num of people to get large num of opinions
questionaire cons
creator must have knowledge of the system being built and the people it is being sent to
not all sent out will be completed
document collection
analyst gathers documents relating to system eg invoices, orders etc to help see what new system needs