INITIAL INVESTIGATION AND REQUIREMENT ANALYSIS

INITIAL INVESTIGATION AND REQUIREMENT ANALYSIS

System Investigation Concepts

Problem is difference of discrepancy (gap) between system purpose and real condition system, with other definition what is the problem system be fail to reach the system purpose. Analyst system better do investigation to know things of causing a fail system before conducted action to repair a system.

Report of detection problem can be unreal. That Because:

• Purpose to ideal so make difficult or can not unreal.

• System cannot be developed because not enough resources and or manner.

• System measuring not accurate.

• Statement of goals is dated.

• The gap between the ideal and the current system is temporary and will decrease given patience.

Problem solving:

• Formulation of condition system which walk to pass detailed investigation activity.

• Getting ideal system consensus

• Developing some alternative to lessen difference ( gap) between ideal system with another walk system

• Choose the best alternative and selling it to management.

Purpose of investigation is showing the real problem.

Constraint in system investigation

In conduct the investigation there are constraint to happened, such as:

• Time, insufficiency of analysis time resource, so that only conduct some activity of investigation. Usually time related to the problem of the required cost.

• Cost, oftentimes the outcome cost relate to the time duration for the investigation activity so that management will give limited of cost.

• Knowledge, manager of system information usually ordered junior analyst which not yet professional technical or enough knowledge so that will affect to result of less investigation and isn't complete.

• Politics, management or another staff may be disseminated issues to blocked investigation activity.

• Interference, there are any side to arrange in investigation activity so that can disturb.

Recommendation

Result of investigation is a recommendation, such as:

• Never take action because there aren’t find a problem.

• Do maintenance system to small problem.

• Improving user capability or user skill in running or using information system.

• Allowing for modification totally system, so need idea to change it with a new system.

• Put a happen problem into system development plan.

Tactics investigation

Tactics investigation required to find all problems, find out the reason and find out best solution. Tactics investigation conducted to all element system can accept of solution without disturb their activity.

Some tactic can be conduct, such as:

• Just listen, do not lecture, that mean listening opinion of user system.

• Do not presolve the problem, that mean don't try to show idea to solve problem before all activity of investigation have been done.

• Compare stories, mean comparing story some people system to same case because everyone have different opinion.

• Look for reluctant responses.

• Probe for logical inconsistencies.

• Observe your effect

• Expect hard, so boring work

• Avoid politics because your mission is fact, not judgment.

Technique of investigation

Direct is know directly, what is going in user environment.

• Questionnaires can be use in time and cost constrain of investigation.

• Interview will need a time and skill.

• Observation is a powerful internal probe

Indirect is Activity can conducted swiftly and invisible for operational of personnel, so that can know hidden something from user community.

• Procedure flow, if procedure flow isn’t true so system information can’t be true operation.

• Document review with get and collect critical document.

• Sample

• Tabular tools or matrix is checklists to find discrepancies in transaction flow

Description of system at moment

• Input

• Output

• File

• Data element

• transaction and action document volume

• Data flow diagram

Requirement analysis

Intensive interaction phase between system analyst with end user where system development team show its membership to get comments and trust user so get a good participation

Four goals in this phase:

• Explain system completely

• Describe ideal information system

• Bring ideal information system to condition in this time by attention resource constraint

• Give motivation to user confidence into system development

Method requirement analysis

• Interview, Some important factor in good interview, that is objective, audience, format, weighting, combining responses, and documentation.

• Questionnaire,

• Observation

• Procedure Analysis

• Document Survey

• Sampling

Resource constraint

• Time

• Money

• Skill

• Technology

• External factor

Document analysis requirement

• Instruction analysis: Relation with end user, Analysis record, report and forms, perception of process, Analysis a used method, problem of collecting data.

• User requirement: What is real requirement, report requirement, train requirement, new system effect

• System constraint: Explain time constraint, cost, skill, technology and external factor, System Realistic

• Documentation: Instrument data collecting, Statistical consensus, Stream Data by logical, and physical data dictionary element

Generating systems alternatives

How to approach the condition of system in this time with condition of ideal system?

• Create a alternative to solve the problem of system information

• Best alternative is applying wisely

Strategy selection

• Distributed versus centralized processing

Change of information decision from centralized data processing to decentralized end user responsibility center.

• Integrated versus dispersed databases

System designer must to consider any kind of data which in data base and incoming to file.

• Surround strategy of system development

Around environmental strategy important in the case confiscation of company because information system from other company possible differ from company in this time.

Tactic Selection

Selection is done before the operational design

Operational design selection

a. Input

• On-line versus off-line data entry.

• Keyed versus machine-readable data entry.

• Centralized versus decentralized data entry.

b. Processing

• Batch versus real-time record update.

• Sequential versus direct access to records.

• Single versus multiple-user update of records.

c. Output

• Traditional versus turnaround documents.

• Structured versus inquiry-based reports.

Selecting the proper system

Systems based on the comparison of costs and benefits relative. Cost is requirement of payment for the designer information system. Advantage is additional condition or value as result of implementation information system. That is such as: less error rates, increased customer sales, and faster time response.

There are 3 ways A system is told more superior then B system (other system):

1. Have the cheap cost than B, and both system have same advantage

2. Have the cheap cost than B, and A also have more advantage than B

3. A and B have the same cost, but A have advantage which more.

Some compare System methods:

• Break-even analysis (BEP)

• Payback period

• Discounted payback period

• Internal rate of return (IRR).

Cost category

• Hardware: mainframe, minicomputers, microcomputers, and peripheral equipment.

• Software: systems, utility, and application software.

• People: analysts, programmers, operators, data entry personnel, etc.

• Supplies: paper, tapes, disk, etc.

• Telecommunications: modem, local area network cabling, front-end processors, etc.

• Physical site: air conditioning, humidity control, security, etc.

Cost detail

Comparing the information system cost pass life of system, analyst projection several cost change for future and 3 cost model information system that is:

• Linear

• Exponential

• Step Function.

When costs occur

a. One-time (development) costs.

• Hardware purchase.

• Software purchase.

• Analysis, design, programming, and testing personnel hours.

• Preparation of computer site.

• Initial training and orientation of users.

• Documentation for new system.

• Changeover from old to new system.

• Conversion from old to new file format.

b. Recurring (operational) costs.

• Hardware and software lease.

• Hardware and software maintenance contracts.

• Day-to-day personnel cost including analysts and programmers, computer

• Operations, data entry operators, and end-user costs.

• Computer supplies.

• Telecommunication costs.

• Computer site rental or lease.

• Ongoing training.

System Information Factor

Some factor qualitative to goodness information system performance:

• Reduce errors (increased accuracy)

• reduce time to solve error

• reduce perceptive time from alternative workstation

• increase time to supply information

• raise security system

• increase update from active record

• raise user satisfied

Company Strategy Factor

• Customer satisfaction

• Increased sales

• Customer and vendor commitments

• Information product marketing

STUDI SISTEM

Problem statement

1. Nature of the problem detected (for example, increasing data entry backlogs).

2. How problem was detected (for example, customer complaints or performance measurement system).

3. Impact of problem on organizational goals (for example, delays processing of customer orders or reduces cash flow).

4. Departments and functions involved (for example, marketing department and order processing section of production department).

Existing system documentation

1. System function and interrelationships (this can be done with a graphic tools, such as a physical data flow diagram, accompanied by step-by-step narrative description).

2. Processing volumes by type of document.

3. Processing times by type of document.

4. Bottlenecks (distribution of backlogs).

5. Organization policies affecting processing (example, a policy requiring that clerks process all commercial orders before residential orders).

6. Processing constraints.

• People (for example, an average 20 percent vacancy rate among data

  entry operators).

• Hardware.

• Software.

• Development funds.

7. Organization of involved departments and function (for example, an organizational chart).

Problem correction alternatives

1. Procedure for generating information systems alternatives.

2. Cost determination for different alternatives.

3. Feasibility analysis.

· Break-even years.

· Payback years or discounted payback years.

· Internal rate of return.

1. Qualitative factors.

2. Alternative recommended and why.

3. Alternative comparison with firm's goals (for example, ROI).

Recommended solution

1. Overall system description for recommended alternative.

2. New system functions and relationships (for example, logical data flow diagram).

3. Expected new system results(Costs and Benefits)

4. Proposed development schedule.

5. Development resource needs.

Documentation

1. Physical and logical data flow diagrams.

2. Processing flow statistics (volume, timing, and so on).

3. Organizational charts.

4. Feasibility analysis details.

5. Development project schedule chart.

6. Development project proposed cost schedule.

Here are some guidelines for presenting the system study successfully:

• Conduct short presentation

• Reduce the detail description techniques

• represented clearly with visual tools

• bring workstation portable

• Emphasized advantage from information system with a few existing alternative according to condition of natural company.

Go / No-go decision

• If company decision to develop the system then information department will do advanced process is Process of Design System.

• If opposite the System Development Life Cycle (SDLC) will be stopped

• Often will be found the problem with study system and usually top management will ask conduct reworking to study system.

• Model will explain some step part repeated and sometime information department will make decision to repeat step before explaining study system

• With alternative, decision to repeat a step of previous SDLC or not is Go – No – Go Decision

Refference:
Slide Pengamatan Awal, Kebutuhan Analisis; Ngurah Agus Sanjaya ER, S.KOM, M.KOM
http://kuliah.dinus.ac.id/ika/