This textbook is intended primarily for juniors taking a core course in the information systems major,

1 Copyright © 2020 Pearson Education, Inc.Chapter 1 The Systems Development Environment

Chapter Overview

Chapter 1 is an overview of the systems development process, as well as an overview of the textbook.This chapter introduces students to the modern approach to systems analysis and design using various methodologies. Students are introduced to several systems development components, including the process and data-oriented approaches to systems development, different types of information systems, and the systems development life cycle.

This textbook is intended primarily for juniors taking a core course in the information systems major, although the book can be adapted for a similar course at the junior college level or for a two-course sequence on analysis and design. Often students are not familiar with the systems development process, different organizational components, or how these components work together. This chapter provides the general organizational context in which systems development takes place.

The text uses the Systems Development Life Cycle (SDLC) methodology (including its associated problems with the traditional waterfall approach) to introduce students to the structured approach in creating new systems. The student is also introduced to other methodologies such as the Agile Methodologies, eXtreme Programming, Object-Oriented Analysis and Design (OOAD), and the Rational Unified Process (RUP). The text compares and contrasts the new with more traditional methods in an effort to show both the advantages and limitations of these methods.

Chapter 1 introduces students to visual and emerging development tools. CASE tools are used to apply an engineering approach to systems development and can support each phase of the SDLC.

Instructional Objectives

Specific student learning objectives are included at the beginning of the chapter.

From an instructor’s point of view, the objectives of this chapter are to:

• Define and discuss the modern approach to systems analysis and design from an

organizational perspective incorporating techniques, tools, and methodologies.

• Explain how an organization’s objectives, structure, and processes are essential in the

development of systems to meet their needs.

• Explain that the SDLC process is not sequential but cyclical and that the order is adaptable as

required for different projects; also, to emphasize that often analysts and designers may go backwards to the previous step to complete unfinished products or to correct errors or omissions discovered in the next phase.

• Explain the difference between the logical design and the physical design as it relates to

systems development.

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Chapter 1 Modern Systems Analysis and Design 9th edition Instructor’s Manual

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• Discuss the problems with the waterfall SDLC and explain the different approaches analysts,

designers and developers have developed to improve the Systems Analysis and Design process.

• Discuss Agile methodologies and eXtreme programming and how these compare to the

traditional Systems Development Life Cycle (SDLC).

• Explain and discuss object-oriented analysis and design (OOAD) and the Rational Unified

Process (RUP).

• Show students that the life cycle is a flexible basis for systems analysis and design and that it

can support many different tools and techniques, such as Agile methodologies and eXtreme Programming.

• Compare and contrast the various development approaches introduced in Chapter 1 and

depict how they all use an iterative approach.

• Finally explain that the boundaries and divisions of the 5 steps in Figure 1-2 when imposed to

explain the steps are neither hard nor fast and that in many real-world situations phases or sub-phases may be combined to improve efficiency and understanding. The cycle is an organizing and guiding principle; however, in companies and software development teams will adapt it to suit their needs for specific projects.

Classroom Ideas

• Figure 1-1 depicts that methodologies, techniques, and tools drive organizational approaches to

systems analysis and design. Ask students to identify the names of methodologies, techniques, and tools. List them on the board under the heading that they suggest; then after they have identified 5 or 6 in each heading, review and emphasize the differences among the three and move any from an incorrect category to the correct one and explain why it is one and not the other.

• When introducing the systems development life cycle model featured in the textbook, discuss

other life cycle models using actual ones from existing organizations. Show that the basic model presented (Planning, Analysis, Design, Implementation, and Maintenance) are broken down into smaller phases by many companies but that in the end they could be categorized into one of the basic five explained. This reinforces to students that no one standard life cycle model exists and the model they will use as a systems analyst will likely differ from the textbook’s life cycle model. The point is that the life cycle represents activities that must be done; and the phases are a way to introduce, in an organized way, the methods, techniques, tools, and skills necessary for successful systems analysis and design.

• Provide a brief overview of the activities and outputs from each of the five life cycle phases,

based on your own experience or from reading the rest of the textbook. Table 1-1 summarizes the products, outputs or deliverables of each phase based on the in-text descriptions.

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Chapter 1 Modern Systems Analysis and Design 9th edition Instructor’s Manual

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• Figure 1-9 illustrates the RUP life cycle. Discuss RUP, and its benefits and drawbacks as it

relates to OOAD. Discuss the differences between RUP and the traditional SDLC. Table 1-2 presents the Agile Manifesto.

• Ask students to compare Agile methodologies to traditional SDLC (see Table 1-3 Five Critical

Factors that Distinguish Agile and Traditional Approaches to Systems Development). Introduce a case study project where Agile methodologies were employed. Ask students to identify problems that the project ran into using Agile methodologies as well as any benefits gained by this approach.

• This chapter introduces eXtreme programming. If your students have sufficient background,

assign students to programming pairs and have them work on a small programming problem, including testing. Ask students to report upon their experience.

• Discuss IBM’s Rational Unified Process (RUP) shown in Figure 1-9. This Web site

https://www.ibm.com/search?q=rup&lnk=mhsrch&v=18&en=utf&lang=en&cc=us should help with background information.

Answers to Key Terms Suggested answers are provided below. These answers are presented top-down, left to right

1.5. Information systems analysis and design 1.4. Implementation

1.2. Application software 1.8. Maintenance

1.15. Systems analyst 1.11. Object-oriented analysis and design

(OOAD) (RAD)

1.17. Systems development methodology 1.9. Object

1.16. Systems development life cycle 1.6. Inheritance

1.13. Planning 1.10. Object class

1.1. Analysis 1.14. Rational Unified Process (RUP)

1.3. Design

1.7. Logical design

1.12. Physical design

Answers to Review Questions

1.18. Information systems analysis and design is the complex organizational process whereby

computer-based information systems are developed and maintained.

1.19. In the early years of computing, analysis and design were considered an art. However, with the

growing importance and changing nature of information technology and its usage in the work environment, work methods have evolved, making analysis and design a disciplined process. The analysis and design of computer-based information systems began in the 1950s with emphasis placed on automating existing processes. All applications were developed in machine language or assembly language and developed from scratch. The 1960s saw the first procedural, or third- 3 / 4

Chapter 1 Modern Systems Analysis and Design 9th edition Instructor’s Manual

Copyright © 2020 Pearson Education, Inc.4 generation languages, become available. Computers were still large and expensive, and storage was at a premium. In the 1970s, systems development became more disciplined as many people worked to make it more like engineering. In the 1980s, microcomputers became key organizational tools, the software industry expanded greatly, fourth-generation languages were used more and more to write applications, and CASE tools were developed. In the 1990s, the focus shifted to system integration, and developers were using visual programming environments to design user interfaces. Databases began residing on servers, as well as the application logic. Companies began purchasing enterprise-wide systems and more and more systems development focused on the Internet, particularly the Web. The current focus is on Web-based systems development and wireless components. Additionally, many system implementations use a three-tier design.Currently, companies may assemble their systems using off-the-shelf components or by using application service providers.

1.20. The five systems development life cycle phases are planning, analysis, design, implementation,

and maintenance. During the planning phase, an organization’s total information system needs are identified, analyzed, prioritized, and arranged. During the analysis phase, requirements are gathered from users. The requirements are then studied and organized with any redundancies eliminated. The output of this phase is a solution recommended by the analysis team. During the design phase, the description of the recommended solution is converted into logical and then physical system specifications. During the implementation phase, the information system is coded, tested, installed, and supported in the organization. During the maintenance phase, the system is systematically repaired and improved. Another problem was that roles of system users or customers was narrowly defined with users relegated to the requirements determination or analysis phase where it was assumed that all requirements could be specified in advance. In addition, hard dates were set for the early phases and were judged successful if the dates were met leaving little time to incorporate important changes. The end result of these problems is that the focus on deadlines led to systems that did not match users'.

1.21. There have been several problems with the traditional waterfall SDLC identified in the literature.

One is that the “downhill” nature of the SDLC process treats each phase as separate and complete unto itself and feedback is often ignored, resulting in locking users into requirements that had been previously determined, even though those requirements might have changed. Another problem is that roles of system users or customers were narrowly defined with users relegated to the requirements determination or analysis phase where it was assumed that all requirements could be specified in advance. In addition, hard dates were set for the early phases and were judged successful if the dates were met leaving little time to incorporate important changes. The end result of these problems is that the focus on deadlines led to systems that did not match users' needs and that required increasing development costs.

1.22. Agile methodologies promote a self-adaptive software development process. While other

methodologies focus on roles that individuals play in a project team, Agile methodologies focus more on the individual. As software is developed, the process used to develop it is refined and improved through a review process done by the development team through iteration.

1.23. eXtreme programming is an approach to software development distinguished by short

development cycles, an incremental planning approach, a focus on automated tests written by programmers and customers to monitor the development process, and reliance on an evolutionary approach to development that lasts throughout the lifetime of the system. This methodology uses an evolutionary approach to software development. Coding and testing are part of the same process and are done by a two-person programming team. Code is tested shortly

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