Assignment: Systems Analysis & Design Exercise
Length: 3500 words Team Project
The purpose of this project is to pull several ideas together that we have covered throughout the semester and to help prepare you for what may lie ahead of you in future employment. After you graduate, your future employer may ask you to represent your department in meetings with the Information Technology department and their systems analysts. A systems analyst serves in an intermediary role between the business workers (accountants, financial planners, managers, sales managers, etc.) and the programmers. Thus, a systems analyst is familiar with both the business side/terminology and the programming side/terminology.
Many of you do not plan on being systems analysts when you graduate, however, you will have to work with them as you represent your department's interests in the systems development and implementation process. (You may take on project management responsibilities or help define requirements as an end user.)
Although you will not be involved in the analysis and design process for your employer to the extent of the systems analyst, you will be involved in every aspect to some degree. There is a lot of planning, justification and analysis that goes on behind the scenes before a new system is developed. The goal of this project is threefold:
• to help you to understand the steps involved in the system development process
• to help your future employer align technology with the vision, mission and goals of the organization
• to help you, as future business managers, save your future employers significant money by carefully analyzing the company's business needs and then buying or building the most appropriate system rather than just jumping immediately into the programming process
This is a two part project. The first part is a group paper and the second part is an individual database assignment. Both parts are described below since Part 2 builds upon Part 1.
Background
Assume that Sandy is a member of your MBA group project team and you are helping Sandy design the system. In Part 1 of the project you are developing the underlying documentation to justify and design a conference management system that will be built in Part 2. (Your databases will not be online databases.)
Part 1:
The focus of this project is on the underlying process leading up to, during and after the development and implementation of an application. As a team, you will develop one paper for the system design portion of the project as Part 1. In Part 2, each person will separately develop his/her own database that will be used as a prototype for the Tween Esteem conference.
Systems Analysis and Design Portion
Using the scenario described in the case linked to the assignment, create the documentation to develop a conference management system that can be used to do what Lisa had imagined. You are to develop the underlying documentation and structure that will be used to create the database. Then, for Part 2, after you have written the paper, you will then individually create a database for a portion of the design you developed in part 1.
1. Sandy has been tasked with developing the documentation to initiate a new system project for the development of the databases. This entails creating a formal request for the system.
o Since it all starts with the mission, briefly describe what you think the conference and IT mission statements are and how the database can be used to fulfill those mission statements.
o Include an introductory paragraph describing the processes for which you are making the applications, any other processes that would be
affected, the problems you are solving, the benefits you anticipate and organization's needs fulfilled, etc.
o Then, describe the project costs and benefits, scale and scope of the system to be developed, etc. For the costs, tell me what hardware and software will need to be purchased to run the database at the conference. Also, provide an estimate of the costs to implement the scanners.
o Do not use generic definitions. Apply the concepts to the case.
2. Develop the underlying paperwork and structure to develop the systems. Essentially, you will want to follow the Systems Development Life Cycle approach and incorporate the diagrams and documentation as indicated. Use some type of modeling software to create your diagrams such as PowerPoint, Lucid Charts or Visio. (Lucid Charts is a free add-on to Google Drive.I have created a video tutorial linked on the Video Tutorials page and provided links to Lucid Chart tutorials.)
1. In the Requirements Definition portion of the Definition Phase, you will want to include: (Note: Do not assign this section to one person. This is too much for one person. Consider having each person create two diagrams with explanations and then having everyone edit.)
o AS-IS Model (the way Lisa envisions the processes)
- One swim lane diagram and explanation of the diagram for contacting and registering participants in the conference.
- One swim lane diagram and explanation of the diagram for the vendor booth side of the process.
- One context diagram and explanation of the diagram for participant registration.
- One context diagram and explanation of the diagram for the vendor booth side of the process.
o Logical To-Be Model
- One Data Flow Diagram and explanation for the flow of data in the process of receiving registrations and registering participants for the workshops (top level)
- One Data Flow Diagram and explanation for the flow of registering and charging vendor's for booths. (top level)
- ER-Diagram and explanation for the conference database
- Do NOT provide definitions.(For instance, do not explain that arrows in your diagrams represent data flows or squares represent entities.)
- Do NOT describe what the diagram looks like. (For instance, do not write something like "The Course table is connected to the Schedule table.) Explain what the diagrams mean (i.e. The process begins with a customer inquiring about a product. The request is then checked with the inventory on hand to see if the products are available...)
3. In the System Design portion of the Construction Phase, you will want to include, written for this specific system: (Do not write in generalities and do not provide definitions.)
o A description of how the system will be tested.
o An explanation of how the data and databases will be kept secure.
o Anything else that you think should be included.
Although this information comes from the PowerPoint, in your write-up, apply it to your specific system.
4. In the Implementation Phase, you will want to include:
o Implementation models: Because this is a totally new conference with no prior processes, explain how each of the implementation models (cutover, parallel, phased, pilot, combo) would be executed for the conference.
o Backup and recovery procedures.
o Anything else you think should be included.
Again, although this information comes from the book and PowerPoint, in your write- up, apply it to your specific integrated system.
Paper Format
1. Start with the introductory paragraph described in Step 1.
2. Include a paragraph stating any assumptions you have made throughout your project. Since I would like to try to submit the case for publication consideration, this will not only help me understand your thinking, but will also give me ideas for details I need to incorporate into the case.
• My instructions are just a guideline, you will have to make assumptions and use those assumptions as you develop the database. This is the paragraph where you let me know what assumptions you made such as "we assumed that there were only five people manning workshops employees in each department." (You may not have any assumptions, but assumptions how me to understand decisions you made that were not in the case.)
3. Use headings in your document to facilitate reading and concept finding.
4. Follow the concept order in the homework description to facilitate grading.
5. Create a data dictionary/directory for all of the fields for just ONE of the larger tables in your database. (The table should contain at least five fields.)
• Introduce your DD/D and explain why it is important.
• Do not create one DD/D for each table. One table is sufficient. (An example of a DD/D is in the Basic Design Tools PowerPoint.)
• Include only four properties per field of your table. (Four properties shows me that you understand what a DD/D is.)
6. Have one member of your group submit the project to the dropbox. Make sure that all group members' names are listed on the title page of the document.
Part 2: Database
Using the analysis and design created in the previous exercise, build your databases. Since it will take quite a bit of time to grade the analysis and design portion, you will have to create your databases based upon the ungraded report. When I grade the projects, I realize that you are creating the databases based upon your initial ungraded analysis and design report. (As you start creating your database, you may find that your database design has to change from your original planned design.)
Also, I realize that there are templates out there; however, I want you to create the database from scratch (brand new). Do not rework the class example or submit someone else's work.
Individually, create a small scale Access database for the conference. You may want to focus on two of the process areas rather than building the database for everything. For the database:
1. Each person is to create a database that should have at least six tables.
(I anticipate 1 table to be participants or vendors, 1 table to be addresses, and 1 table to be a zipcode table, thus you need at least three more tables. You do not have to have those three tables I have indicated, this is just an example.)
1. Each table should have at least 4 records. However, your transaction table(s) (the schedule table in the Access database example) should have at least 3 records per person/workshop for a total of 12 records. (The transaction table in the student database was the schedule table which linked the students to courses offered by the University. -- Students take courses.. that is what links students to the courses --- You could think that this table is probably the purpose of the process being turned into a database i.e. workshop attendance.)
2. Use appropriate field names, field descriptions, field sizes and captions.
3. Include a Lookup field in at least one table. (Indicate where this is located in your accompanying database report.)
4. Use restricted values where possible, at least three. (i.e. in the video tutorial, we allowed only "M" or "F" to be entered into the gender field.) (Indicate where these are located in your accompanying database report.)
5. Create a menu form or navigation form for your database.
2. Use your ER diagram and the relationships feature in Access to create relationships between your tables.
• Print Preview your ER report and save it so it will display in the reports section of the navigation window.
3. Create forms for two of your larger tables.
1. Insert a graphic at the top of your forms.
2. Use a Combo box control to select a record on each form.
3. Adjust the text controls (labels) so that they are easier to read (spell out label names, apply formatting, insert spaces where needed and increase text control box size as needed).
4. Create at least two buttons that perform an action. (i.e. You might have one button close a form.)
5. Create at least two macros. (i.e. you could create one to open your navigation form when the database is opened. You may also want to create one attached to a button.)
6. You will need to create at least three join queries and one specialized query in your database. (A join query means that the query contains multiple tables.) (Do not include duplicate fields in a query. i.e. with StudentID, we only included it once although it was found in both the Student table and the StudentAddress table.)
• Create a calculated field in at least two of the queries in your database.
• Create a parameter query that asks the user to provide an input.
• One of your queries should be a specialized query (Choose one):
CrossTabs OR Find Duplicates OR Find Unmatched
6. You will need to create three valuable reports in your database for each of your join queries. (One for each join query.)
• Include at least one appropriate calculated field.
• One report should be a letter.
• Arrange fields to make the report easier to read and to fit on one page wide. (Make sure that you spell out labels and adjust control sizes so words completely fit on the report.)
• Assume reports will be distributed using envelopes with the plastic transparent windows. Thus, you will gather address information together at the top of the report.
• You may have one report that provides a list, such as a list of workshops and their registrants, but the content needs to come from multiple tables.
7. Each person is to write a short word processed document explaining the importance and purpose of each query/report pair. (About a 5 to 7 sentence paragraph for each query/report pair, enough to explain the importance and purpose of each pair.) Also include the location of the lookup field, restricted values, macros, buttons, criteria, etc. as indicated above.
8. Upload both the database and the paper into the drop box by the deadline.