Modelling System Requirements: Events & Things
- 1. Modelling System Requirements: Events & Things Module 5
- 2. Learning Outcomes Explain the many reasons for creating information system models Describe three types of models and list some specific models used for analysis and design Explain how events can be used to define system requirements Identify and analyze events to which a system responds Recognize that events trigger system activities or use cases
- 3. Learning Outcomes ( continued ) Explain how the concept of things in the system also defines requirements Explain the similarities and the differences between data entities and objects Identify and analyze data entities and objects needed in the system Read, interpret, and create an entity-relationship diagram Read, interpret, and create a class diagram
- 4. Overview Document functional requirements by creating models Models created during analysis phase activity: Define system requirements Two concepts that help define system requirements in traditional approach and object-oriented approach Events Things
- 5. Models and Modeling Analyst describes information system requirements using a collection of models Complex systems require more than one type of model Models represent some aspect of the system being built Process of creating model helps analyst clarify and refine design Models assist communication with system users
- 7. Types of Models Different types of models are used in information systems development Mathematical - formulas that describe technical aspects of the system Descriptive - narrative memos, reports, or lists that describe aspects of the system Graphical - diagrams and schematic representations of some aspect of the system
- 8. Analysis phase activity named “define system requirements” Logical models Provide detail without regard to specific technology Design phase Physical models Provide technical details Extend logical models Overview of Models Used in Analysis and Design
- 9. Models Used in Analysis
- 10. Models Used in Design
- 11. Events and System Requirements Events Occurrence at a specific time and place Can be described Remembered by the system Trigger all system processing Requirement definition Determine relevant events External events first Temporal events second Decompose system into manageable units
- 12. Events Affecting a Charge Account Processing System
- 13. Types of Events External Occurs outside system Initiated by external agent or actor Temporal Occurs as result of reaching a point in time Based on system deadlines State Occurs when something happens inside system triggers processing need
- 16. Identifying Events Can be difficult to determine Often confused with conditions and responses May be useful to trace a transaction’s life cycle Certain events left to design phase Systems controls to protect system integrity Perfect technology assumption defers events
- 17. Sequence of Actions that Lead up to Only One Event Affecting the System
- 18. Sequence of “Transactions” for One Specific Customer Resulting in Many Events
- 19. Events Deferred Until the Design Phase
- 20. Events in the RMO case Important external events involve customers Customer checks item availability, customer places order, customer changes or cancels order Other external events involve departments Shipping fulfills order, marketing sends promotion to customer, merchandising updates catalog Temporal events include periodic reports Time to produce order summary reports, Time to produce fulfillment summary reports
- 21. Looking at Each Event Note information about each event for later use Information entered in event table Event table includes rows and columns representing events and their details Each row records information about one event
- 22. Information about each Event in an Event Table
- 23. Things and System Requirements Define system requirements by understanding system information that needs to be stored Store information about things in the problem domain that people deal with when they do their work Analysts identify these types of things by considering each event in the event list What things does the system need to know about and store information about?
- 24. Types of Things
- 25. Procedure for Developing an Initial List of Things Step 1: Using the event table and information about each event, identify all nouns about system Step 2: Using other information from existing systems, current procedures, and current reports or forms, add items or categories of information needed Step 3: Refine list and record assumptions or issues to explore
- 26. Characteristics of Things Relationship Naturally occurring association among specific things Occur in two directions Number of associations is cardinality or multiplicity Cardinality constraints Binary, unary, ternary, n-ary Attribute One specific piece of information about a thing
- 27. Relationships Naturally Occur Between Things
- 30. Data Entities Things system needs to store data about in traditional IS approach Modeled with entity-relationship diagram (ERD) Requirements model used to create the database design model for relational database
- 31. Objects Objects do the work in system and store information in object-oriented approach Objects have behaviors and attributes Class: Type of thing Object: Each specific thing Methods: Behaviors of objects of the class Objects contain values for attributes and methods for operating on those attributes An object is encapsulated – a self-contained unit
- 32. Data Entities Compared with Objects
- 34. Cardinality Symbols of Relationships
- 35. Expanded ERD with Attributes Shown
- 36. Customers, Orders, and Order Items
- 37. RMO Customer Support ERD
- 38. The Class Diagram Models classes of objects instead of data entities Generalization/specialization hierarchies General superclasses to specialized subclasses Inheritance allows subclasses to share characteristics of their superclasses Whole-part hierarchies Relates objects and its parts Defines object in terms of its parts Aggregation and composition
- 39. A Generalization/Specialization Hierarchy for Motor Vehicles
- 40. A Generalization/Specialization Hierarchy for Orders
- 41. Aggregation or Whole-Part Relationships
- 42. The Class Symbol for the Class Diagram
- 43. Bank Account System Class Diagram
- 45. Where You Are Headed
- 46. Summary Analysis Phase: Define system requirements Models created to: further learning process, reduce complexity, communicate with team members, and document requirements Many types of models used: Mathematical, descriptive, graphical Key early step in modeling to identify and list: Events that require a response from system Things users deal with in work environment
- 47. Summary ( continued ) Events are memorable, can be described, and occur at specific time and place External events occur outside system, triggered by someone interacting with system Temporal events occur at defined point in time, such as end of day or end of month State events based on internal system change Event table records event, trigger, source, activity or use case, response, and destination
- 48. Summary ( continued ) Things are what user deals with and system remembers, such as customer placing an order Traditional approach uses entity-relationship diagrams (ERD) for data entities, attributes of data entities, and relationships between entities Things are shown as data entities Object-oriented approach uses class diagrams for classes, attributes, methods of class, and associations among classes Things are shown as objects belonging to a class
- 49. Readings Module 5: Modelling System Requirements – Events & Things
- 50. To Do Tutorial 5
- 51. Next… Module 6: Traditional Approach to Requirements