Course Outline
• Tutorial assignments 16%
– Eight Assignments of equal weight
– Tutorials and Assignments start next week
(after lecture 2)
• Midterm Examination 20%
– Twenty Short Answer Questions
– focus on Systems Analysis
• Final Examination 30%
– Short Answer Questions and a Mini Case Analysis
• the questions focus on Systems Design
• The Mini Case is ‘Comprehensive’
Course Outline
• Analysis Project 20%
– Due in tutorials Week 9
– Write Up an Analysis of an Organization
• Design Project 14%
– Design a Web Page for the Organization
– Explain Design Criteria
– Present in Final Tutorial
These are explained in detail on the course website.
http://bus362.com
The Tutorials
•
•
•
•
•
Start after the lecture next week (Week 2)
Normally performed in your project groups
Run weekly
Focus on techniques and their application
Most of the work is typically done in the
tutorial time
• Tutorials are mandatory for completion of this
course
BUS 362 and the MIS Program
100,200 level
300 level
400 level
Intro to Info
Systems
Project
Management
Data Mgmt
& IS Audit
Web-based
Business
Analysis and
Design of Business IS
Business
Intelligence
Managing the
IT Environment
Investment in IT
BUS 362: Course Overview
• Objectives:
– Be Completely Familiar with the Systems
Development Process
• For Co-Op Jobs
• For Work Assignments
• As part of general business ‘literacy’
– Learn Current Techniques Used in Companies and
Consulting Firms
BUS 362: Course Overview
– Understand the Quality Assurance Role in the
Systems Development Process
– Be comfortable with the linkage between
Accounting (particularly the audit and quality
control function) and Systems Analysis and Design
A little motivation…
First, A Suggestion
• Get involved if you want to know where
everything is going in this area:
– Our program has been CIPS Accredited:
http://www.cips.ca
• This gets you to 80 points out of the 100 required for the I.S.P.
Designation
• CIPS also now supports the international ITCP and IP3P
designations
• Management Information Systems Association at
Simon Fraser University
Systems Analysis and Design
A Methodological Approach to Evaluating
and Building Management Information
Systems
• Define Objectives for Systems
• Define Indicators of Success
• Find Alternatives
• Methodically Select and Implement the
Best Strategy
Roles in an IS Project
•
Six Types of Analysts
1. Project Manager
 Experienced. Responsibility includes moving the
project forward to be completed on time and on
budget.
2. Change Management Analyst
 Focus on people and management issues. Ensures
adequate training, documentation, and consultation
with users and managers.
Roles in an IS Project
3. Business Analyst
F Focus on business issues. Has business expertise.
Represents users interests in assuring that
business processes are targeted for improvement.
4. Infrastructure Analyst
F Skill set in hardware, software, database and
networks. Responsible to make the infrastructure
work. Focus on design phase.
Roles in an IS Project
5. Requirements Analyst
 Relatively new, critical role. Elicits requirements
from stakeholders. Must communicate clearly
with stakeholders and focus on scope, function,
and expectations.
6. Systems Analyst
F Broad scope. Must integrate functions. Focus on
integrating information technology to meet
business needs. Involved in planning, analysis
and design.
Typical Career Paths
Demand for IT Jobs
• Has been growing recently…
http://www.bls.gov/news.release/ecopro.nr0.htm
17
IT Association of Canada Study
March 28, 2011
• From 2011 to 2016, Canada’s ICT industry will
need to hire 106,000 ICT workers.
– That’s just over 17,000 per year
• Canada’s postsecondary education
complement of undergraduates in
mathematics, computing science, engineering
and information systems combined is…
18
IT 2013 Salary Calculator
Elicits business requirements then critically evaluates
information gathered from multiple sources, reconciles
conflicts, decomposes high-level information into details,
abstract up from low-level information to a general
understanding, and distinguishes user requests from the
underlying true needs. Drives and challenges business units
on their assumptions of how they will successfully execute
their plans. Interprets business needs and translates them
into application and operational requirements. Collaborates
with developers and subject matter experts to establish the
technical vision and analyze tradeoffs between usability and
performance needs. Is the liaison between the business units,
technology teams and support teams
http://www.itworldcanada.com/salarycalculator
19
15 IT Certifications that Pay the Big
Bucks
• (IT World April 7, 2015)
①CCDP: Cisco Certified Design Professional
($107,878)
②ITIL (Information Technology Information
Library) Expert Certification (L3) ($107,092)
③PMP: Project Management Professional
($103,570)
④CISSP: Certified Information Systems
Security Professional ($100,735)
15 IT Certifications that Pay the Big
Bucks
⑤CCDA: Cisco Certified Design Associate
($97,995)
⑥CCNP: Cisco Certified Network Professional
($97,296)
⑦ITIL v2 Foundation & ITIL v3 Foundation
(L1)($96,128 & $93,250)
⑧CCNA: Cisco Certified Network Associate
Voice ($92,837)
15 IT Certifications that Pay the Big
Bucks
⑨HP AIS: Hewlett-Packard Accelerated
Integration Specialist Storage Works ($91,158)
⑩AIS: HP ProLiant ML/DL/SL Servers ($87,332)
⑪VCP: VMware Certified Professional ($87,151)
⑫CompTIA Project+ ($87,057)
⑬APS: HP Blade System Solutions ($86,554)
⑭CEH: Certified Ethical Hacker ($86,053)
⑮MCDBA: Microsoft Certified Database
Administrator ($84,683)
Your job
A systems analyst shall be responsible for studying the
problems and needs of an organization and for determining
how people, methods, and information technology can
best be combined to bring about improvements in the
organization. A systems analyst helps system users and
other business managers define their requirements for new
or enhanced information services. As such a systems
analyst is an agent of change and innovation.
Systems Analyst Skills
 Technical – Must understand the technical
environment, technical foundation, and technical
solution.
 Business – Must understand how IT can be applied to
business situations.
 Analytical – Must be problem solvers.
 Interpersonal – Need to communicate effectively.
 Management – Need to manage people and to manage
pressure and risks.
 Ethical - Must deal fairly, honestly, and ethically with
other project members, managers, and systems users.
SDLC: systems development life cycle
• The SDLC usually incorporates the following general purpose
problem solving steps:
 Planning – identify the scope and boundary of the problem
and plan the development goals and strategy
 Analysis – study and analyze the problems, causes, and
effects. Then identify and analyze the requirements that
must be fulfilled by any successful solution
 Design – design and construct or purchase the solution
 Implementation – implement the solution
 Support – analyze the implemented solution, refine the
design, and implement improvements to the solution. This
may lead to cycling back to previous steps.
Planning – “why build the system”
• Identify business value
• Analyze technical,
economic and
organizational feasibility
• Identify tasks and estimate
time required
• Staff the project
• Control and direct the
project
• System request
• Feasibility study
• Work Plan
• Staffing Plan
• Gantt charts, CASE tools,
risk assessment
Analysis – “who, what, where, when”
• Analyze the problem, perform benchmarking,
reengineering
• Gather business requirements – interviews, questionnaires,
etc.
• Specify the requirements – use cases
• Model the processes – data flow diagrams
• Model the data – entity relationship diagrams
• Deliverable: the system proposal
Design – “how will the system work”
• Decide who will do the construction
• Architecture design
• Interface design
• Database and file design
• Program design
• Deliverable: System specification
Implementation – system delivery
• Construction
– Programming
– Testing
• Installation
– Conversion (direct, parallel, phased)
– Training
– Change management
– Support
Errors Are Costly
Relative Cost to Fix an Error
250
200
150
100
50
0
Large Scale Project
Small Scale Project
The Feasibility of a New System
An important starting point
 Is there a technical solution that will work?
 Should we build it? Does it make economic
sense?
 Will we be able to use it?
Technical Feasibility
• Familiarity with the application
• Familiarity with the technology
• Project size
Can it be built and function as envisioned using
appropriate technology?
Economic Feasibility:
Expected Value
• Costs
– usually come first
– easier to quantify at outset of project
• Benefits
– look carefully for tangible, monetary items
• convertible
– space, productivity, risk of loss
• nonconvertible
– morale, ‘showcase’
Organizational Feasibility
• Can the organization handle the new system?
– Stakeholders
• winners and losers
– Champions
• operational, functional, financial
– Objectives
• what is possible?
• what is expected?
Feasibility Analysis
• A dynamic document – should be revisited and
updated regularly
• In addition to technical, economic, and organizational
feasibility, might also consider schedule feasibility,
etc.
• Establishing benchmarks for costs and benefits is
important - you can’t manage what you can’t
measure
For Next Week
• Prepare to come to the tutorials after the lecture
– We’ll set up teams for assignments then
• Read Chapters 1 and 2
• Try to find the most interesting and/or important
development in Information Technology in the week
– try Surfing a bit: CNN MSNBC etc...