Sad 1 chapter 1- additional material

Systems Analysis and Design [Additional Material]
Chapter - 1
Birhanu Atnafu /2005 E.C. Page 1 of 1
1. Chapter 1: INTRODUCTION TO SYSTEMS
In this chapter, the material highlights a number of concepts of systems, the workload and reasons
behind the workload in a system's life cycle. In this part, you'll get to know the techniques applied in
studying survey methods, topic discussions, specification of systems‟ requirement and analysis skills.
After reading this part, you'll gain more experience in dealing with systems issues which managers,
users of different levels, and technicians, consider through different views.
1.1. Overview
1.1.1.Definition of System
There are many common types of systems that we come into contact with every day. It is important to be
familiar with different kinds of systems for at least two reasons:
 First, even though your work as a systems analyst will probably focus on one kind of system –
an automated, computerized information system – it will generally be a part of a larger system.
For example, you may be working on a payroll system, which is part of a larger “human
resources” system, which is, in turn, part of an overall business organization (which is itself, a
system), which is, in turn, part of al larger economic system, and so on. Thus, to make your
system successful, you must understand the other systems with which it will interact. Many of
the computer systems that we build are replacements, or new implementations of, non-
computerized systems that are already in existence. Also, most computer systems interact with,
or interface with, a variety of existing systems (some of which may be computerized and some
which may not). If our new computer system is to be successful, we must understand, in
reasonable detail, how the current system behaves
 Second, even though many types of systems appear to be quite different, they turn out to
have many similarities. There are common principles and philosophies and theories that
apply remarkably well to virtually all kinds of systems. Thus, we can often apply to systems
that we build in the computer field, what we have learned about other systems, based on
our own day-to-day experience, as well as the experience of scientists and engineers in a
variety of fields.
Thus, if we understand something of general systems theory, it can help us better understand
computerized (automated) information systems. Today, this is more and more important, because we

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want to build stable, reliable systems that will function well in our complex society, and of course, there
are many examples of non-computer systems that have survived for thousands of years.
And now, we can consider a definition of the basic term "system". It provides several definitions:
a. A regularly interacting or interdependent group of items forming a unified whole
b. An organized set of doctrines, ideas, or principles, usually intended to explain the arrangements
or working of a systematic whole.
c. An organized or established procedure.
d. Harmonious arrangement or pattern: order.
1.1.1.1. Common types of systems
There are many different types of systems, but indeed, virtually everything that we come into contact
with during our day-to-day life is either a system or a component of a system (both).
It is useful to organize the many different kinds of systems into useful categories. Because our ultimate
focus is on computer systems, we will divide all systems into two categories: natural systems and man-
made systems.
 Natural systems
There are a lot of systems that are not made by people: they exist in nature and, by and large, serve
their own purpose. It is convenient to divide natural systems into two basic subcategories: physical
systems and living systems.
Physical systems include such diverse example as:
 Stellar systems: galaxies, solar systems, and so on.
 Geological systems: rivers, mountain ranges, and so on.
 Molecular systems: complex organizations of atoms.
Physical systems are interesting to study because we sometimes want to modify them.
We also develop a variety of man-made systems, including computer systems, which must interact
harmoniously with physical systems; so it is often important to be able to model those systems to
ensure that we understand them as fully as possible.
Living systems encompass all of the myriad animals and plants around us, as well as our own

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human race. The properties and characteristics of familiar living systems can be used to help
illustrate and better understand man-made systems.

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A System has nine characteristics
1. Components – A component is either an irreducible part or an aggregate of parts , also
called as a subsystem
Figure-1: Characteristics of System
2. Interrelated Components – The function of one component is tied to the functions of
the others. Output from one is input for another, the dependence of a part on one or more
other parts.
3. Boundary – A system has boundary, within which all of its components are contained
and which establishes the limits of a system, separating it from other systems. Components
within the boundary can be changed whereas systems outside the boundary cannot be
changed.
4. Purpose – All components work together to achieve the overall purpose of the system.
5. Environment – A system exist within an environment, everything outside the system’s
boundary that influences and / or interacts the system.
6. Interfaces – The points at which the system meets its environment and there are also
interfaces between subsystems.
7. Input – System takes input from its environment
8. Output - System returns output to its environment as a result of its functioning to
achieve the purpose. Output from individual subsystems may be inputs to other subsystems.
9. Constraints – There are limits to what the system can do (capacity, speed, capability),
some of these constraints are imposed inside the system and others are imposed by the
environment.

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 Man-made systems
Man-made systems include such things as:
Most of these
systems include computers today. As a systems analyst, you will naturally assume that every system
that you come in contact with should be computerized.
1. Social systems: organizations of laws, doctrines, customs, and so on.
2. An organized, disciplined collection of ideas.
3. Transportation systems: networks of highways, canals, airlines and so on.
4. Communication systems: telephone, telex, and so on.
5. Manufacturing systems: factories, assembly lines, and so on.
6. Financial systems: accounting, inventory, general ledger and so on.

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And the customer or user, with whom you interact will generally assume that you have such a bias. A
systems analyst will analyze, or study, the system to determine its essence: and understand the
system's required behavior, independent of the technology used to implement the system. In most case,
we will be in a position to determine whether it makes sense to use a computer to carry out the functions
of the system only after modeling its essential behavior.
Some information processing systems may not be automated because of these common reasons: Cost;
Convenience; Security; Maintainability; Politics.
Automated systems
Automated systems are the man-made systems that interact with or are controlled by one or more
computers. We can distinguish many different kinds of automated systems, but they all tend to have
common components:
1.Computer hardware (CPUs, disks, terminals, and so on).
2. Computer software: system programs such as operating systems, database systems, and
so on.
3. People: those who operate the system, those who provide its inputs and consume its outputs,
and those who provide manual processing activities in a system.
4. Data: the information that the system remembers over a period of time.
5. Procedures: formal policies and instructions for operating the system.
One way of categorizing automated systems is by application. However, this turns out not to be terribly
useful, for the techniques that we will discuss for analyzing, modeling, designing, and implementing
automated systems are generally the same regardless of the application. A more useful categorization of
automated systems is as follows:
 Batch system: A batch system is one which in it, the information is usually retrieved on a
sequential basis, which means that the computer system read through all the records in its
database, processing and updating those records for which there is some activity.
 On-line systems: An on-line systems is one which accepts input directly from the area where it is
created. It is also a system in which the outputs, or results of computation, are returned directly
to where they are required.
 Real-time systems: A real-time system may be defined as one which controls an environment by
receiving data, processing them, and returning the results sufficiently quickly to affect the
environment at that time.
 Decision-support systems: These computer systems do not make decisions on their own, but
instead help managers and other professional “knowledge workers” in an organization make

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intelligent, informed decisions about various aspects of the operation. Typically, the decision-
support systems are passive in the sense that they do not operate on a regular basis: instead,
they are used on an ad hoc basis, whenever needed.
 Knowledge-based systems: The goal of computer scientists working in the field of artificial
intelligence is to produce programs that imitate human performance in a wide variety of
“intelligent” tasks. For some expert systems, that goal is close to being attained. For others,
although we do not yet know how to construct programs that perform well on their own, we can
begin to build programs that significantly assist people in their performance of a task.
1.1.1.2. General systems principles
There are a few general principles that are of particular interest to people building automated information
systems. They include the following:
a. The more specialized a system is, the less able it is to adapt to different circumstances
b. 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.
c. The larger a system is, the more of its resources that must be devoted to its everyday
maintenance.
d. Systems are always part of larger systems, and they can always be partitioned into smaller
systems.
e. 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.
1.1.2. Participants to system development
In the role of a systems analyst, you will work on systems development projects with a variety of other
people. The cast of characters will change from project to project, the personalities will differ
dramatically, and the number of people that you interact with will range from as few as one to as many
as several dozen. However, the roles are fairly consistent, and you will see them over and over again.
In a typical systems development project, there are the following major categories of players:
User
Management
Auditors, quality assurance people, and „standards bearers
Systems analysts

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Systems designers
Programmers
Operations personnel
Users
The user, the most important player in the systems game, is the person (or group of people) for whom
the system is being built. He or she is the person whom will be interviewed, often in great detail, to learn
what features the new system must have to be successful. The user is the “owner” in the sense that he
or she receives, or inherits-and thus owns- the system when it is finally built. And the user is the
“customer” in at least two important respects:
As in so many other professions, “the customer is always right”, regardless of how demanding,
unpleasant, or irrational he or she may seem.
The customer is ultimately the person paying for the system and usually has the right and/or the ability to
refuse to pay if he or she is unhappy with the product received.
In most cases, it is fairly easy to identify the user: the user is typically the person who makes a formal
request for a system. In a small organization, this is usually a very informal process. In a large
organization, the initiation of a systems development project is usually much more formalized.
Whenever possible, the systems analyst should try to establish direct contact with the user. Even if other
people are involved as intermediaries, it is important to have regular, face-to-face meeting with the
person who will ultimately inherit the system.
If it is not possible to communicate directly with the user, then the documentation produced by the
systems analyst becomes even more crucial.
The heterogeneity of Users
One mistake often made by computer programmers, and sometimes by systems analysts is to assume
that all users are the same. “User” implies that the systems analyst will only have to interact with one
person, even when it is obvious that more than one user is involved, there is a tendency to think of them
as a formless, shapeless, homogeneous group of humans. Here are two ways of categorizing users:
1. Job category, or level of supervision
Categorizing Users by Job category: On a typical systems analysis project, we can usually count on

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interacting with three main job categories:
o Operational users: are the clerical, operational, and administrative people most likely to
have the most day-to-day contact with the new system. There are three things should be kept
in mind when working with operational-level users:
I. Operational users are very much concerned with the functions that the system will
perform, but they are likely to be even more concerned with the human interface
issues.
II. Operational users tend to have a “local” view of the system, they tend to be
knowledgeable about the specific job that they do and the people with whom they
have immediate contact. But they often are unfamiliar with the “big picture”, that is,
they may have trouble describing how their activity fits into the overall organization
or what the overall organization‟s charter really is.
III. Operational users tend to think of systems in very physical terms, that is, in terms of
the implementation echnology currently used to implement the system or in terms
of technology that they imagine could be used.
o Supervisory users are employed in a supervisory capacity: they usually manage a group of
operational users and are responsible for their performance. The significant things to
remember about supervisory users are these:
I. Many of them are former operational users who have been promoted to their current
position.
II. One reason that the supervisory user may be perceived as out of touch with the
operational user is that he or she is often measured and motivated by performance
against a budget.
III. It is usually the supervisory user who thinks of a new system as a way of reducing the
number of operational users or avoiding further increases in their numbers as the
volume of work increases.
IV. The supervisory user will often act as a middleman between the systems analyst and
the operational user.
o Executive-level users: are generally not directly involved in a systems development
project, unless the project is so large and so important that it has a major impact on the
organization.
To summarize, there are three different types, or levels, of users. Keep in mind that they have different
perspectives, different interests and priorities, and different backgrounds. These three types of users can
be characterized as shown below:

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2. Level of experience with data processing.
Different users will have different levels of experience. Today, we can distinguish between rank
amateurs, cocky novices, and a small (but rapidly growing) number of true computer experts.
The amateur is the one who has never seen a computer and who exclaims loudly and frequently that he
or she doesn‟t understand all this computer stuff. The real problem with the amateur user is somewhat
more subtle: he or she may find it difficult to understand the “language” that the systems analyst uses to
describe the features, functions and characteristics of the system to be built, even though that language
avoids obvious computer-related terminology.
The second type of user is the “cocky novice”, the person who has been involved in one or two systems
development projects, or the user who has a personal computer and who has written one or two basic
programs. This user often claims to know exactly what he or she wants the system to do and is prone to
point out all the mistakes that the systems analyst made on the last project.
Of course, there are some users who really understand systems analysis, as well as the underlying
technology of computers. It is a pleasure working with these people. The only problem may be that the
user and the systems analyst derive so much pleasure talking about the tools and techniques of systems
analysis that they forget that their true objective is to build a functioning system.

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