Systems Analysis & Design 5th Edition BBA

About This Course

SYSTEM
ANALYSIS AND
DESIGN
Fifth Edition
ALAN DENNIS
Indiana University
BARBARA HALEY WIXOM
University of Virginia
ROBERTA M. ROTH
University of Northern Iowa
John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
http://www.wiley.com/college/dennis
CREDITS
VP & PUBLISHER: EXECUTIVE EDITOR: EDITORIAL ASSISTANT: MARKETING MANAGER: DESIGNER:
SENIOR PRODUCTION MANAGER: SENIOR PRODUCTION EDITOR:
Don Fowley Beth Lang Golub Elizabeth Mills Christopher Ruel Maureen Eide Janis Soo
Joyce Poh
This book was set in 10.5/12 Times New Roman by Aptara and printed and bound by RR Donnelley. The cover was printed by RR Donnelley.
This book is printed on acid-free paper.
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Dennis, Alan.
Systems analysis and design /Alan Dennis, Barbara Haley Wixom, Roberta M. Roth.–5th ed.
p. cm. Includes index.
ISBN 978-1-118-05762-9 (acid-free paper)
1. System design. 2. System analysis. 3. Computer architecture. I. Wixom, Barbara Haley,
1969-II. Roth, Roberta M. (Roberta Marie), 1955-III. Title. QA76.9.S88D464 2012
004.2’2–dc23
Printed in the United States of America 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
2011043317

To Kelly
To Chris, Haley, and Hannah
To my father—an inspiration to all who know him; and as always, to Rich and the boys.

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PREFACE
PURPOSE OF THIS BOOK
Systems Analysis and Design (SAD) is an exciting, active field in which analysts continually learn new techniques and approaches to develop systems more effec- tively and efficiently. However, there is a core set of skills that all analysts need to know no matter what approach or methodology is used. All information systems projects move through the four phases of planning, analysis, design, and imple- mentation; all projects require analysts to gather requirements, model the business needs, and create blueprints for how the system should be built; and all projects require an understanding of organizational behavior concepts like change manage- ment and team building.
This book captures the dynamic aspects of the field by keeping students focused on doing SAD while presenting the core set of skills that we feel every sys- tems analyst needs to know today and in the future. This book builds on our pro- fessional experience as systems analysts and on our experience in teaching SAD in the classroom.
This book will be of particular interest to instructors who have students do a major project as part of their course. Each chapter describes one part of the process, provides clear explanations on how to do it, gives a detailed example, and then has exercises for the students to practice. In this way, students can leave the course with experience that will form a rich foundation for further work as a systems analyst.
OUTSTANDING FEATURES
A Focus on Doing SAD
The goal of this book is to enable students to do SAD—not just read about it, but understand the issues so that they can actually analyze and design systems. The book introduces each major technique, explains what it is, explains how to do it, presents an example, and provides opportunities for students to practice before they do it in a real-world project. After reading each chapter, the student will be able to perform that step in the system development life cycle (SDLC) process.

viii Preface
Rich Examples of Success and Failure
The book includes a running case about a fictitious company called Tune Source. Each chapter shows how the concepts are applied in situations at Tune Source. Unlike running cases in other books, this text focuses examples on planning, man- aging, and executing the activities described in the chapter, rather than on detailed dialogue between fictitious actors. In this way, the running case serves as a template that students can apply to their own work. Each chapter also includes numerous Concepts in Action boxes that describe how real companies succeeded—and failed—in performing the activities in the chapter. Many of these examples are drawn from our own experiences as systems analysts.
Incorporation of Object-Oriented Concepts and Techniques
The field is moving toward object-oriented concepts and techniques, both through UML 2.0, the new standard for object-oriented analysts and design, as well as by gradually incorporating object-oriented concepts into traditional tech- niques. We have taken two approaches to incorporating object-oriented analysis and design into the book. First, we have integrated several object-oriented con- cepts into our discussion of traditional techniques, although this may not be noticed by the students because few concepts are explicitly labeled as object- oriented concepts. For example, we include the development of use cases as the first step in process modeling (i.e., data flow diagramming) in Chapter 4, and the use (and reuse) of standard interface templates and use scenarios for interface design in Chapter 9.
Second, and more obvious to students, we include a final chapter on the major elements of UML 2.0 that can be used as an introduction to object-oriented analysts and design. This chapter can be used at the end of a course—while students are busy working on projects—or can be introduced after or instead of Chapters 5 and 6.
Real-World Focus
The skills that students learn in a systems analysis and design course should mirror the work that they ultimately will do in real organizations. We have tried to make this book as “real” as possible by building extensively on our experience as profes- sional systems analysts for organizations such as IBM, the U.S. Department of Defense, and the Australian Army. We have also worked with diverse industry advi- sory boards of IS professionals and consultants in developing the book and have incorporated their stories, feedback, and advice throughout. Many students who use this book will eventually apply the skills on the job in a business environment, and we believe that they will have a competitive edge by understanding what success- ful practitioners feel is relevant in the real world.
Project Approach
We have presented the topics in this book in the SDLC order in which an analyst encounters them in a typical project. Although the presentation necessarily is linear (because students have to learn concepts in the way in which they build on each other), we emphasize the iterative, complex nature of SAD as the book unfolds.

Preface ix The presentation of the material should align well with courses that encourage stu-
dents to work on projects, because it presents topics as students need to apply them.
Graphic Organization
The underlying metaphor for the book is doing SAD through a project. We have tried to emphasize this graphically throughout the book so that students can better under- stand how the major elements in the SDLC are related to each other. First, at the start of every major phase of the system development life cycle, we present a graphic illustration showing the major deliverables that will be developed and added to the “project binder” during that phase. Second, at the start of each chapter, we present a checklist of key tasks or activities that will be performed to produce the deliverables associated with this chapter. These graphic elements—the binder of deliverables tied to each phase and the task checklist tied to each chapter—can help students better understand how the tasks, deliverables, and phases are related to and flow from one to another.
Finally, we have highlighted important practical aspects throughout the book by marking boxes and illustrations with a “push pin.” These topics are particularly important in the practical day-to-day life of systems analysts and are the kind of topics that junior analysts should pull out of the book and post on the bulletin board in their office to help them avoid costly mistakes
WHAT’S NEW IN THE FIFTH EDITION
The fifth edition contains several significant enhancements, including new and updated content, a new Spotlight on Ethics feature, a new example scenario, and many new Concepts in Action.
In Part 1, Planning, the discussion of the role of the systems analyst has been revised, with new emphasis on the business analyst role, plus an overview of poten- tial career path options. New to this edition, Business Process Management (BPM) is introduced to provide a context for how well-managed organizations continu- ously seek to refine and enhance business processes. BPM frequently identifies the need for new or revised information systems to support business processes. This important connection between BPM and information system development pro- jects is emphasized. The discussion of Business Process Automation (BPA), Busi- ness Process Improvement (BPI), and Business Process Reengineering (BPR) has been moved to Chapter 1 to help classify the types of projects that may be identi- fied from BPM initiatives. The section on Economic Feasibility has been revised and reorganized in response to requests from adopters of the book. We have moved the explanation of the detailed calculations associated with project cash flow analy- sis and measures of project value from an appendix into Chapter 1, and have improved and clarified the discussion to aid student understanding. Finally, we have expanded our discussion of Agile Development in the section on development methodologies in order to provide more coverage of this development approach. This textbook does not attempt to provide complete coverage of Agile Development methodologies, however.
Part 2, Analysis, has been substantially changed in order to provide a more rigorous and thorough treatment of Requirements Determination. We provide an

x Preface
expanded discussion on the categories of requirements that must be discovered in a systems development project and how those requirements relate to each other. The section on Requirement Elicitation techniques includes additional material on JAD and eJAD. New emphasis is included on how systems analysts not only elicit requirements, but also must make sense of them by applying Requirements Analy- sis techniques. This new emphasis is an important change in this edition, as it enables students to understand the critical role played by the system analyst in inter- preting and translating business and user requirements into essential functional requirements for the new system, not just as a “gatherer” of requirements. We have also added considerably more coverage of Use Case Analysis in Chapter 4. We believe that written use cases are increasingly more important in clarifying user requirements and then transforming those requirements into functional require- ments, and we have revised our discussion of this material to reflect this emphasis. We have also developed a new example scenario used throughout this section of the book to introduce and illustrate use cases, process models, and data models.
In Part 3, Design, the software acquisition strategies section has been revised to include more coverage of application service providers and Software as a Ser- vice. We have made substantial updates to the Architecture Design material, with expanded explanation of the Client-Server computing model. We have also included a discussion of several of the newer architectural concepts, including zero- client computing, virtualization, and cloud computing.
Throughout the book, the chapter objectives have been revised to reflect more active learning objectives. Chapter references to outside sources have been updated to current resources wherever possible. The new Spotlight on Ethics features pro- vide timely and real ethical dilemmas that confront systems analysts. New Con- cepts in Action features appear throughout the book to provide updated, real-world illustrations of the textbook content.
ORGANIZATION OF THIS BOOK
This book is organized by the phases of the systems development life cycle (SDLC). Each chapter has been written to teach students specific tasks that analysts need to accomplish over the course of a project, and the deliverables that will be produced from the tasks. As students complete the book, tasks will be “checked off ” and deliverables will be completed and filed in a project binder. Along the way, students will be reminded of their progress by road maps that indicate where their current task fits into the larger context of SAD.
Part 1 covers the first phase of the SDLC, the Planning Phase. Chapter 1 introduces the SDLC, the roles and skills needed for a project team, project initi- ation, the systems request, and feasibility analysis. Chapter 2 discusses project selection, the selection of an SDLC methodology for the project, and project man- agement, with emphasis on the work plan, staffing plan, project charter, risk assessment, and tools used to help manage and control the project.
Part 2 presents techniques needed during the analysis phase. In Chapter 3, students are introduced to requirements determination and are taught a variety of analysis techniques to help with business process automation, business process improvement, and business process reengineering. Chapter 4 focuses on use cases, Chapter 5 covers process models, and Chapter 6 explains data models and normalization.

The Design Phase is covered in Part 3 of the textbook. In Chapter 7, stu- dents create an alternative matrix that compares custom, packaged, and outsourc- ing alternatives. Chapter 8 focuses on designing the system architecture, which includes the architecture design, hardware/software specification, and security plan. Chapter 9 focuses on the user interface and presents interface design; in this chapter, students learn how to create use scenarios, the interface structure dia- gram, interface standards, and interface prototypes. Finally, data storage design and program design are discussed in Chapters 10 and 11, which contain informa- tion regarding the data storage design, the program structure chart, and program specif ications.
The Implementation Phase is presented in Chapters 12 and 13. Chapter 12 focuses on system construction, and students learn how to build and test the system. It includes information about the test plan and user documentation. Conversion is covered in Chapter 13, where students learn about the conversion plan, the change management plan, the support plan, and the project assessment.
Chapter 14 provides a background of object orientation and explains several key object concepts supported by the standard set of object-modeling techniques used by systems analysts and developers. Then, we explain how to draw four of the most effective models in UML: the use case diagram, the sequence diagram, the class diagram, and the behavioral state machine diagram.
SUPPLEMENTS (www.wiley.com/college/dennis)
Online Instructors Manual
The instructors manual provides resources to support the instructor both in and out of the classroom:
• Short experiential exercises can be used to help students experience and understand key topics in each chapter.
• Short stories have been provided by people working in both corporate and consulting environments for instructors to insert into lectures to make con- cepts more colorful and real.
• Additional mini-cases for every chapter allow students to perform some of the key concepts that were learned in the chapter.
• Answers to end-of-chapter questions and exercises are provided.
Online Instructor’s Resources
• PowerPoint slides are provided that instructors can tailor to their classroom needs and that students can use to guide their reading and studying activities.
• Test Bank includes a variety of questions ranging from multiple choice to essay-style questions. A computerized version of the Test Bank is also available.
WebCT and Blackboard Courses
These online course management systems are tools that facilitate the organization and delivery of course materials on the Web. Easy to use, they provide powerful communication, loaded content, flexible course administration, and sophisticated online testing and diagnostic systems.
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xii Preface
Student Web Site
• Web Resources provide instructors and students with Web links to resources that reinforce the major concepts in each chapter. See http://www.wiley.com/ college/dennis.
• Web Quizzes help students prepare for class tests.
CASE Software
Two CASE (computer-aided software engineering) tools can be purchased with the text: 1. Visible Systems Corporation’s Visible Analyst Student Edition.
2. Microsoft’sVisio
Contact your local Wiley sales representative for details, including pricing and order- ing information.
Project Management Software
A 60-day trial edition of Microsoft Project can be purchased with the textbook. Note that Microsoft has changed their policy and no longer offers the 120-day trial previously available. Contact your local Wiley sales representative for details.
Another option now available to education institutions adopting this Wiley textbook. is a free 3-year membership to the MSDN Academic Alliance. The MSDN AA is designed to provide the easiest and most inexpensive way for academic departments to make the latest Microsoft software available in labs, classrooms, and on student and instructor PCs.
Microsoft Project software is available through this Wiley and Microsoft publishing partnership, free of charge with the adoption of any qualified Wiley text- book. Each copy of Microsoft Project is the full version of the software, with no time limitation, and can be used indefinitely for educational purposes. Contact your Wiley sales representative for details. For more information about the MSDN AA program, go to http://msdn.microsoft.com/academic/.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
We extend our thanks to the many people who contributed to the preparation of this fourth and past editions. We are indebted to the staff at John Wiley & Sons for their support, including Beth Lang Golub, Executive Editor, Elizabeth Mills, Editorial Assistant, Christopher Ruel, Marketing Manager, Joyce Poh, Senior Production Editor, and Maureen Eide, Senior Designer.
We would like to thank the following reviewers and focus-group participants for their helpful and insightful comments:
Name
Qiyang Chen Wayne E. Pauli Anthony Scime Kathleen Hunter Ram B. Misra Marisa Wilson Nancy Russo Shouhong Wang
School
Montclair State University
Dakota State University
The College at Brockport
Walden University, School of Nursing Montclair State University
Walden
Northern Illinois University
University of Massachusetts Dartmouth

James Anthos
Elaine Seeman
Seyed Roosta
Gunes Koru
Supapon Cheniam Samuel C. Yang Marisa Wilson Corrinne Fiedler Richard Gram
Patty Santoianni
Jeff Tirschman
Arpan Jani
Murugan Anandarajan Sharad Maheshwari Anthony Norcio Michael Lapke Younghwa Gabe Lee Bruce Hunt
Peter Otto
Chuck Downing Younghwa Gabe Lee Dr Wolfgang Garn Alice Shemi
Pawel Kalczynski Alan Anderson Michael Martel Lawrence Feidelman Robert Nields
South University
East Carolina University
Albany State University
UMBC
Chulalongkorn University
California State University Fullerton
Walden
University of Minnesota
WPI
Sinclair Community College
Towson University
University of Wisconsin—River Falls
Drexel University
Hampton University
UMBC
Rhode Island College
University of Kansas
Cal State Fullerton
Union Graduate College
Northern Illinois University
University of Kansas
University of Surrey
University of Botswana
Cal State Fullerton
Gwinnett Technical Institute
Ohio University—Main Campus
FAU
Cincinnati State Technical and Community College
We would like to thank the many practioners from private practice, public organi- zations, and consulting firms for helping us add a real-world component to this pro- ject. A special remembrance goes to Matt Anderson from Accenture, who was a role model for all who knew him—who demonstrated excellence in systems analy- sis and design and in life in general.
Thanks also to our families and friends for their patience and support along the way, especially to Christopher, Haley, and Hannah Wixom; Alec Dennis; and Richard Jones.
Alan Dennis Barb Wixom
ardennis@indiana.edu bwixom@mindspring.com
Robby Roth
Roberta.Roth@uni.edu