Internal Assignment No. 2

Master of Computer Application (MCA)

Paper Code: MCA - 107Paper Title: System Analysis & Design

Section-A

(i) What is electronic data processing?EDP (electronic data processing), an infrequently used term for what is today usually called "IS" (information services or systems) or "MIS" (management information services or systems), is the processing ofdataby a computer and its programs in an environment involving electronic communication. EDP evolved from "DP" (data processing), a term that was created when most computing input was physically put into the computer in punched card form and output as punched cards or paper reports.Electronic Data Processing(EDP) can refer to the use of automated methods to process commercial data. Typically, this uses relatively simple, repetitive activities to process large volumes of similar information. For example: stock updates applied to an inventory, banking transactions applied to account and customer master files, booking and ticketing transactions to an airline's reservation system, billing for utility services. The modifier "electronic" or "automatic" was used with "data processing" (DP), especially ca. 1960, to distinguish human clerical data processing from that done by computer.

(ii) What do you mean by post installation review? "Completing a project" is not the same thing as ending the project management process.Simply finishing doesn't ensure that the organization benefits from the project's outcome.For example, after completing a year long project to establish a new quality management process for your organization, you want to make sure that what you set out to do was actually achieved. Your objective wasn't to simply deliver a process but rather, to deliver the process that addresses the specific business need you intended to meet. This is the real measure of success.To make the most of the benefits that the project can deliver, however, you also need to check to see if further improvements will deliver still greater benefit.So how can you properly measure a project's success, and work toward continuous improvement? This is where the process of Post-Implementation Review (PIR) is helpful. It helps you answer the following key questions: Did the project fully solve the problem that it was designed to address? Can we take things further, and deliver even bigger benefits? What lessons did we learn that we can apply to future projects?The PIR ProcessThe key to a successful PIR is recognizing that the time spent on the project is just a small part of an ongoing time-line.For people and organizations that will be working on similar projects in the future, it makes sense to learn as many lessons as possible, so that mistakes are not repeated in future projects.And for organizations benefiting from the project, it makes sense to ensure that all desired benefits have been realized, and to understand what additional benefits can be achieved.(iii) What are verification and validation? Validation: Are we building the right system? Verification: Are we building the system right?In other words, validation is concerned with checking that the system will meet the customers actual needs, while verification is concerned with whether the system is well-engineered, error-free, and so on. Verification will help to determine whether the software is of high quality, but it will not ensure that the system is useful.The distinction between the two terms is largely to do with the role of specifications. Validation is the process of checking whether the specification captures the customers needs, while verification is the process of checking that the software meets the specification.Verification includes all the activities associated with the producing high quality software: testing, inspection, design analysis, specification analysis, and so on. It is a relatively objectiveprocess, in that if the various products and documents are expressed precisely enough, no subjective judgments should be needed in order to verify software.

Example of verification and validation are explained below:-Suppose we have the specifications related to the project than by checking that specifications without executing to see whether the specifications are up to the mark or not is what we have done in verification.

Similarly Validation of the software is done to make sure that the software always meets the requirements of the customer by executing the specifications of the project and product.

Note that the customer and end users are concerned in validation of the software.

It is also crucial to differentiate between end users, and customers. Considering example, if you are developing a library monitoring system, the librarian is the client and the person who issue the books, collect fines etc. are comes under the category of the end users.

(iv)Explain business systems planning (BSP).Business systems planning looks at the whole organization to determine what information systems the business requires to fulfill its goals. For large businesses, this can be an expensive process involving consultants and specialists, but smaller businesses can often perform the analysis and planning in house. Prerequisites for effective business systems planning are the existence of a business plan that details the goals and strategies of the company and the communication of the plan to the people responsible for implementing the plan.Goals and StrategiesThe requirements for a company's information systems can only be integrated into a plan when it is clear where the company wants to go and how it plans to get there. A strategic plan lays out the company goals and the strategies it intends to implement to achieve them. In small businesses, such strategies often focus on financial goals and corresponding marketing plans. These business plans are the initial input for the information systems plan and influence the types of systems that the company will consider.Corporate ProcessesOnce the overall orientation of the information system is clear from the strategic plan, the business systems planning process has to look at what the company does. If the company has manufacturing, the information system has to include production planning. If it is service oriented, the software has to have hourly billing and cost assignment features. The key corporate processes are a second step in defining the requirements for the proposed information systems. Sometimes the processes themselves require re-engineering to let them work with information systems.

(v). Discuss the role of system analyst?

Role and Tasks of System AnalystThe primary objective of any system analyst is to identify the need of the organization by acquiring information by various means and methods. Information acquired by the analyst can be either computer based or manual. Collection of information is the vital step as indirectly all the major decisions taken in the organizations are influenced. The system analyst has to coordinate with the system users, computer programmers, manager and number of people who are related with the use of system. Following are the tasks performed by the system analyst:

Defining Requirement: The basic step for any system analyst is to understand the requirements of the users. This is achieved by various fact finding techniques like interviewing, observation, questionnaire etc. The information should be collected in such a way that it will be useful to develop such a system which can provide additional features to the users apart from the desired.

Prioritizing Requirements: Number of users uses the system in the organization. Each one has a different requirement and retrieves different information. Due to certain limitations in computing capacity it may not be possible to satisfy the needs of all the users. Even if the computer capacity is good enough is it necessary to take some tasks and update the tasks as per the changing requirements. Hence it is important to create list of priorities according to users requirements. The best way to overcome the above limitations is to have a common formal or informal discussion with the users of the system. This helps the system analyst to arrive at a better conclusion.

Gathering Facts, data and opinions of Users: After determining the necessary needs and collecting useful information the analyst starts the development of the system with active cooperation from the users of the system. Time to time, the users update the analyst with the necessary information for developing the system. The analyst while developing the system continuously consults the users and acquires their views and opinions.

Evaluation and Analysis: As the analyst maintains continuous he constantly changes and modifies the system to make it better and more user friendly for the users.

Solving Problems: The analyst must provide alternate solutions to the management and should a in dept. study of the system to avoid future problems. The analyst should provide with some flexible alternatives to the management which will help the manager to pick the system which provides the best solution.

Drawing Specifications: The analyst must draw certain specifications which will be useful for the manager. The analyst should lay the specification which can be easily understood by the manager and they should be purely non-technical. The specifications must be in detailed and in well-presented form.

Section-B

Q1 Explain the role of charts and its types in Structured Analysis.Structured systems analysis and design method(SSADM), originally released asmethodology, is a systems approach to the analysis and design of information systems. SSADM was produced for theCentral Computer and Telecommunications Agency (now Office of Government Commerce), aUK governmentoffice concerned with the use of technology in government, from 1980 onwards.Structure ChartsStructure chart is a chart derived from Data Flow Diagram. It represents the system in more detail than DFD. It breaks down the entire system into lowest functional modules, describes functions and sub-functions of each module of the system to a greater detail than DFD.Structure chart represents hierarchical structure of modules. At each layer a specific task is performed.Here are the symbols used in construction of structure charts - Module- It represents process or subroutine or task. A control module branches to more than one sub-module. Library Modules are re-usable and invokable from any module. Condition- It is represented by small diamond at the base of module. It depicts that control module can select any of sub-routine based on some condition. Jump- An arrow is shown pointing inside the module to depict that the control will jump in the middle of the sub-module. Loop- A curved arrow represents loop in the module. All sub-modules covered by loop repeat execution of module. Data flow- A directed arrow with empty circle at the end represents data flow. Control flow- A directed arrow with filled circle at the end represents control flow.

Q2 Explain the concept of cost/benefit analysis.Costbenefit analysis(CBA), sometimes calledbenefitcost analysis(BCA), is a systematic approach to estimating the strengths and weaknesses of alternatives that satisfy transactions, activities or functional requirements for a business. It is a technique that is used to determine options that provide the best approach for the adoption and practice in terms of benefits in labor, time and cost savings etc.[1]The CBA is also defined as a systematic process for calculating and comparing benefits andcostsof a project, decision orgovernment policy(hereafter, "project").Broadly, CBA has two purposes:1. To determine if it is a sound investment/decision (justification/feasibility),2. To provide a basis for comparing projects. It involves comparing the total expected cost of each option against the total expected benefits, to see whether the benefits outweigh the costs, and by how much.[2]CBA is related to, but distinct fromcost-effectivenessanalysis. In CBA, benefits and costs are expressed in monetary terms, and are adjusted for thetime value of money, so that all flows of benefits and flows of project costs over time (which tend to occur at different points in time) are expressed on a common basis in terms of their "net present value."Closely related, but slightly different, formal techniques includecost-effectivenessanalysis,costutility analysis,riskbenefit analysis,economic impact analysis, fiscal impact analysis, andSocial return on investment(SROI) analysis.Costbenefit analysis is often used by governments and other organizations, such as private sector businesses, to appraise the desirability of a given policy. It is an analysis of the expected balance of benefits and costs, including an account of foregone alternatives and thestatus quo. CBA helps predict whether the benefits of a policy outweigh its costs, and by how much relative to other alternatives (i.e. one can rank alternate policies in terms of the costbenefit ratio).[3]Generally, accurate costbenefit analysis identifies choices that increasewelfarefrom autilitarianperspective. Assuming an accurate CBA, changing the status quo by implementing the alternative with the lowest costbenefit ratio can improvePareto efficiency.[4]An analyst using CBA should recognize that perfect appraisal of all present and future costs and benefits is difficult, and while CBA can offer a well-educated estimate of the best alternative, perfection in terms of economic efficiency and social welfare are not guaranteed.

The following is a list of steps that comprise a generic costbenefit analysis. 1. List alternative projects/programs.2. Liststakeholders.3. Select measurement(s) and measure all cost/benefit elements.4. Predict outcome of cost and benefits over relevant time period.5. Convert all costs and benefits into a common currency.6. Applydiscount rate.7. Calculatenet present valueof project options.8. Performsensitivity analysis.9. Adopt recommended choice.