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1. CHAPTER 1: THE WORLD
OF THE INFORMATION
SYSTEM ANALYST
1

2. Learning Objectives
2
 Explain the concept of an information system
 Describe the various types of systems an
analyst might work on
 Explain the key role of a systems analyst in
business
 Explain the importance of technical, people, and
business skills for an analyst
 Describe the analyst’s role in a system
development project

3. What Is An Information
System?
3
 An information system is a collection of
interrelated components that collect, process,
store, and provide as output the information
needed to complete a business task.

4. Examples of Information
Systems
4
 Course registration system
 Online order system
 Online banking system

5. Why Are Information Systems
Important?
5
 Support business functions in modern
business organizations
 Make business more competitive
 Enhance productivity and profits

6. The Role of a System Analyst
 Investigate, analyze, design, develop, installs,
evaluate, and maintains a company’s
information systems.
 A business problem solver
 The solution to the “problem” is generally a
new information system
 Help translate business requirements into IT
projects.
6

7. Types of Information Systems
7
 Customer Relationship Management (CRM)
 Supply Chain Management (SCM)
 Accounting and Financial Management (AFM)
 Human Resource Management (HRM)
 Manufacturing Management
 Knowledge Management (KM)
 Collaboration Support Systems (CSS)
 Business Intelligence System

8. 8
Information Systems and Subsystems

9. 9
Information Systems and
Component Parts

10. 10
System Boundary vs.
Automation Boundary

11. Quick Quizzes
 How are systems boundaries defined?
 What are the types of information systems
found in most organizations?
11

12. Strategic Planning
12
 Strategic planning is a process during which
executives try to answer such questions:
 Where the business is now
 Where they want the business to be
 What they have to do to get there

13. What Is System Analysis
About?
13
 Understanding the goals and strategies of the
business.
 Defining the information requirements that
support those goals and strategies.
 It is not about programming.

14. The Analyst’s Role in Strategic
Planning
14
 Develop information systems that support
strategic planning
 Develop an application architecture plan
 A description of the integrated information systems
that the organization needs to carry out its business
function.
 Develop a technology architecture plan
 A description of the hardware, software, and
communications networks required to implement
planed information systems.

15. Quick Quiz
 What is the difference between the application
architecture plan and the technology
architecture plan?
15

16. System Analysis
16
 Systems analysis is a process of
understanding in detail what a system should
accomplish.

17. System Design
17
 Systems design is a process of specifying in
detail how components of an information
system should be physically implemented.

18. System Analyst
18
 A business professional who uses analysis
and design techniques to solve business
problems using information technology.

19. Typical Problems SA Typically
Solve
19
 Customers want to order product anytime of
the day.
 Suppliers want to minimize inventory holding
costs.
 Marketing want to know customer needs
better.
 Management want to analyzing financial
information more efficiently.

20. The Analyst as a Business
Problem Solver
20
 Has computer technology knowledge and
programming expertise
 Understands business problems
 Uses logical methods for solving problems
 Has fundamental curiosity
 Wants to make things better
 Is more of a business problem solver than a
technical programmer

21. What is your problem solving
approach?
21
 Assume that you are deciding whether to buy
a new laptop to replace the old one.

22. Analyst’s Approach to Problem
Solving
22
1. Research and understand the problem
2. Verify benefits of solving problem outweigh the costs
3. Define the requirements for solving the problem
4. Develop a set of possible solutions (alternatives)
5. Decide which solution is best and recommend
6. Define the details of the chosen solution
7. Implement the solution
8. Monitor to ensure desired results

23. Quick Quiz
 What is the primary long-term value that an
analyst can bring to an organization?
23

24. Required Skills of the Systems
Analyst
24
 Technical
 Business
 People

25. Technical Knowledge and Skills
25
 Computers / peripheral devices (hardware)
 Communication networks and connectivity
 Database and database management systems
(DBMS)
 Programming languages (for example, VB.NET
or Java)
 Operating systems and utilities

26. Technical Knowledge and Skills –
Tools
26
 Software productivity packages
 Integrated development environments (IDEs)
for programming languages
 CASE tools, testing, documentation support,
reverse engineering, configuration
management

27. Technical Knowledge and Skills –
Techniques
27
 Project planning, systems analysis
 Systems design, database design, network
design
 Construction, implementation, systems support

28. Quick Quizzes
 What is the primary difference between tools
and techniques?
 What are the fundamental technologies an
analyst needs to understand?
28

29. Business Knowledge and Skills
29
 Business functions performed by organization
 Strategies, plans, traditions, and values of the
organization
 Organizational structure
 Organization management techniques
 Functional work processes

30. People Knowledge and Skills
30
 Systems analysts need to understand how
people
 Think
 Learn
 React to change
 Communicate
 Work (in a variety of jobs and levels)

31. People Knowledge and Skills
(continued)
31
 Interpersonal and communication skills are
crucial to
 Obtaining information
 Motivating people
 Getting cooperation
 Understanding the complexity and workings of an
organization in order to provide necessary support

32. Hard and Soft Skills
32
 Hard skills are the skills in technical areas
such as database design, programming, and
telecommunication.
 Soft skills are the skills in nontechnical areas
such as interviewing, team management, and
leadership.

33. Integrity and Ethics
33
 Analyst has access to confidential information,
such as salary, an organization’s planned
projects, security systems, and so on.
 Must keep information private
 Any impropriety can ruin an analyst’s career
 Analyst plans security in systems to protect
confidential information

34. Quick Quiz
 How can an individual’s lack of integrity or
ethics impact an organization?
34

35. Analyst-Related Careers
35
 ERP software related
 Business Analysts in different business
functions
 Auditing, compliance, and security
 Web Development

36. Some Job Titles of SA
36
 Programmer Analyst
 Business System Analyst
 System Liaison
 End-user Analyst
 Business/system consultant
 System support analyst
 System designer
 Software engineer
 System architect
 Web architect
 Web developer

37. Job Listing Web Sites
37
 http://promotions.monster.com/
 www.employment.com/
 www.jobs.com/
 www.jobs.net/

38. IT Jobs
 IT jobs thriving despite lackluster economy
 CNBC.com (8/15/2011)
 Computerworld 2011 Salary Survey
38

39. Rocky Mountain Outfitters
(RMO)
39
 RMO - a sports clothing manufacturer and
distributor is about to begin a customer support
system project
 Need to understand the nature of the business,
approach to strategic planning, and objectives
for customer support system
 RMO system development project used to
demonstrate analysis and design concepts

40. Introduction to Rocky Mountain
Outfitters (RMO) Business
40
 Began in Park City, Utah supplying winter sports clothes
to local ski shops
 Expanded into direct mail-order sales with small
catalog—as catalog interest increased, opened retail
store in Park City
 Became a large, regional sports clothing distributor by
early 2000s in Rocky Mountain and Western states
 Currently $180 million in annual sales and 600
employees and two retail stores
 Mail-order revenue is $90 million; phone-order revenue
is $50 million; Web-based revenue is $30 million

41. RMO Strategic Issues
41
 Substantially underperforming Web-based
ordering system.
 RMO sales growth was slow down and was
losing the market share.

42. Customer Support System
42
 An order processing and fulfillment system that
seamlessly integrates with supply chain
management system to support mail order,
phone order, and direct customer access via
Web.

43. Existing RMO Systems
43
 Small server cluster system
 Supports inventory, mail-order, accounting, and
human resources
 High capacity network connects distribution and
mail-order sites
 LANs and file servers
 Supports central office functions, distribution
centers, and manufacturing centers

44. Existing RMO Systems
(continued)
44
 Supply Chain Management System
 Client/Server system in C++ and DB2
 Mail Order System
 Mainframe COBOL/CICS. Unable to handle phone orders
 Phone order system
 Oracle and Visual Basic system built 6 years ago
 Retail store systems
 Eight-year-old point-of-sale and batch inventory package, overnight
update with mainframe

45. Existing RMO Systems
(continued)
45
 Office systems
 LAN with office software, Internet, e-mail
 Human resources system
 Thirteen-year-old mainframe-based payroll and benefits
 Accounting/finance system
 Mainframe package bought from leading vendor
 Web Catalog and Order System
 Outside company until 2011. Irregular performance

46. The Information Systems Strategic
Plan
46
 Supports RMO strategic objectives
 Build more direct customer relationships
 Expand marketing beyond Western states
 Plan calls for a series of information system development and
integration projects over several years
 Project launch: New customer support system to integrate phone
orders, mail orders, and direct customer orders via Internet

47. RMO Application Architecture
Plan
47
 Supply chain management (SCM)
 Product development, product acquisition, manufacturing,
inventory management
 Customer support system (CSS)
 Integrate order-processing and fulfillment system with SCM
 Support customer orders (mail, phone, Web)
 Strategic information management system
 Extract and analyze SCM and CSS information for
strategic and operational decision making and control

48. RMO Application Architecture Plan
(continued)
48
 Retail store system (RSS)
 Replace existing retail store system with system integrated with
CSS
 Accounting/finance system
 Purchase intranet application to maximize employee access to
financial data for planning and control
 Human resources (HR) system
 Purchase intranet application to maximize employee access to
human resources forms, procedures, and benefits information

49. RMO Technology Architecture
Plan
49
 Distribute business applications
 Across multiple locations and systems
 Reserve data center for Web server, database, and telecommunications
 Strategic business processes via Internet
 Supply chain management (SCM)
 Direct customer ordering via dynamic Web site
 Customer relationship management (CRM)
 Web-based intranet for business functions

50. 50
Timetable for RMO Strategic Plan

51. The Customer Support System
(CSS)
51
 RMO core competency is their ability to develop and
maintain customer loyalty
 CSS is a core system supporting complete
customer relationship management
 Inquiries, order entry, order tracking, shipping, back
ordering, returns, sales analysis
 Systems analysis activities will define system
requirements in detail
 Strategic plan’s stated objectives will form
guidelines as project proceeds

52. Summary
52
 A systems analyst solves business problems using
information systems technology
 Problem solving means looking into business problem
in great detail, completely understanding problem, and
choosing best solution
 Information system development is much more than
writing programs

53. Summary (continued)
53
 System – collection of interrelated components that
function together to achieve some outcome
 Information systems outcome – solution to a business
problem
 Information systems, subsystems, and components
interact with and include hardware, software, inputs,
outputs, data, people, and procedures

54. Summary (continued)
54
 Systems analyst has broad knowledge and variety of
skills, including technical, business, and people
 Integrity and ethical behavior are crucial to success
for the analyst
 Systems analyst encounters a variety of rapidly
changing technologies
 Systems analyst works on strategic plans and then
system development projects