System Definition What is a system? A system is an interrelated set of components that function together to achieve an outcome. It consists of three major components: • Input • Processing • Output It consists of the following elements: • Purpose • Subsystems • Environment • Boundary • Connections • Control Mechanisms System Concepts Business System - collection of policies, procedures, methods, people, machines, and other elements that interact and enable the organization to achieveits goals Information System - collection of interrelated components that collect, process, store, and provide as output the information needed to complete a business task Components - Work practice - Information - People - Information technology Reasons for the need of an information system _ growing size of the organization and the number of competitors _ growing ability of computers to process large amount of data with great speed _ dramatic increase in volumes of data generated _ advances in communication technologies to permit faster data transmission _ increase in pace of business transactions _ much more sophisticated technology today Types of Information Systems Transaction Processing Systems (TPS) _ process large amount of data for routine business activities or transactions _ very important for the organization since they gather all the input necessary for other types of information systems Management Information Systems (MIS) _ provide a standard reports for managers about transaction data _ work on the purposeful interaction between people and computers _ supports a broader range of organizational tasks to include not only TPS but also decision analysis and decision making _ help unite some of the computerized information functions of a business _ designed to take the relatively raw data available through a TPS and convert them into a summarized and aggregated form for managers, usually in a report format Decision Support Systems (DSS) _ designed to help organizational decision makers identify and choose between options or decisions _ provides an interactive environment in which decision makers can quickly manipulate data and models of business operations _ depend on a database as a source of data Office Automation Systems (OAS) _ support general office work for handling and managing documents and facilitating communication _ aspects include word processing, spreadsheets, desktop publishing, electronic scheduling, and communication through voice mail, email, and video conferencing Expert Systems (ES) _ perform a task that would otherwise be performed by a human expert _ designed to take the place of human expert, while others are designed to aid them _ are part of a general category of computerapplications known as Artificial Intelligence (AI) Executive Information Systems (EIS) _ provide a generalized computing and communication environment to senior managers to support strategic decisions _ rely on the information generated by MIS and allow communication with external sources of information _ designed to facilitate senior managers’ access to information quickly and effectively General System Principles 1) The more specialized a system is, the less able it is to adapt to different circumstances. 2) The more general-purpose a system is, the less optimized it is for any particular situation. But the more the system is optimized for a particular situation, the less adaptable it will be to new circumstances. 3) The larger the system is the more of its resources that must be devoted to its everyday maintenance. 4) Systems are always part of larger systems, and they can always be partitioned into smaller systems. 5) Systems grow. This principle could not be true for all systems, but many of the systems with which we are familiar do grow, because we often fail to take it into account when we begin developing the system. Players in the System Game System sponsors/owners _ pay for the system to be built and operated and set the vision and priorities for the system System users _ who actually use the system on a regular basis to support the operation and management of the organization System designers _ technical specialists that translate the business requirements into a feasible technical solution System builders _ technical specialists who build, test, and deliver the information system System analysts _ who determine the requirements that must be met by the information system Roles of the Systems Analyst Systems Analyst as Consultant _ address specific information systems issues within a business Systems Analyst as Supporting Expert _ draws on professional expertise concerning computer hardware and software and their uses in the business Systems Analyst as Agent of Change _ perform any of the activities in the SDLC and are present in the business for an extended period _ advocates a particular avenue of change involving the use of information systems Required Skills of the Systems Analyst Technical Knowledge and Skills _ Computers and how they work _ Devices that interact with computers, including input devices, storage devices, and output devices _ Communications networks that connect computers _ Databases and database management systems _ Programming languages _ Operating systems and utilities _ Software packages such as Microsoft Access that can be used to develop systems _ Integrated development environments (IDEs) for specific programming languages _ Computer-aided system engineering (CASE) tools that store information about system specifications created by analysts and sometimes generate program code _ Program code generators, testing tools, configuration management tools, software library management tools, documentation support tools, project management tools, and others Business Knowledge and Skills _ have an understanding of the business organizations in general _ understand the type of organization for which they work _ some specifics the analyst needs to know about the company: • What the specific organization does • What makes it successful • What its strategies and plans are • What its traditions and values are People Knowledge and Skills _ understand a lot about people since they usually work on development teams with other employees _ possess many interpersonal skills _ understand how people: • Think • Learn • React to change • Communicate • Work (in a variety of jobs and levels)
Posted on: Sun, 30 Jun 2013 02:52:46 +0000
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