THE ASSOCIATION OF BUSINESS EXECUTIVES DIPLOMA PART 2

SA

Systems Analysis
afternoon 10 June 2005

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Time allowed: 3 hours. Answer any FOUR questions. All questions carry 25 marks. Marks for subdivisions of questions are shown in brackets. No books, dictionaries, notes or any other written materials are allowed in this examination. Calculators are allowed providing they are not programmable and cannot store or recall information. Electronic dictionaries and personal organisers are NOT allowed. Candidates who break ABE regulations, or commit any misconduct, will be disqualified from the examinations. Question papers must not be removed from the Examination Hall.

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Answer any FOUR questions Q1 Read through the following narrative carefully and then create a single-level Logical DFD. Find4U Advertising services are outside the boundary of your study and are not to be considered in your Logical DFD. Use and clearly define the symbols that you were taught on your course. You should state any assumptions that you make. Marks will be awarded for tidy diagrams. The Find4U Employment Agency specialises in matching suitable applicants with job vacancies in the professional and executive levels of business. Find4U has three major functions: Advertising services, Employer services and Job-Seeker services. The particular skill that the agency performs is that of identifying and introducing employers and job seekers who may have compatible interests and talents. Find4U spend a great deal on advertising their services. Firms are approached directly by the marketing staff (lists of appropriate firms are purchased from trade organisations), and high-quality advertisements are placed in the top personnel journals. Job seekers are attracted by means of nationwide television and newspaper campaigns, with emphasis placed on the quality and exclusivity of the service. Let us consider the Employer services first. Organisations that have a vacancy at the executive level will contact Find4U, providing details according to a pre-defined checklist. This includes information on the corporate culture, the organisational structure, the company ethos, as well as the nature of the position to be offered. The type of service provided to organisations varies but might involve: Straight vacancy matching with job seekers on the books, then sending the candidates to the organisation for more detailed selection procedures; Designing a specific advertising campaign for the post, or simply providing advice and expertise on advertising to the organisations personnel staff;

(25 marks)

Carrying out a rigorous sifting process based on criteria devised by or agreed with the organisation, and providing a short list of well qualified candidates; Arranging and conducting the whole selection and appointment process at the Find4U offices; Trawling the industry for an appropriate candidate, who might already be in employment, but who may be interested in changing employment for the right kind of deal. Secondly, job seekers who register with Find4U may be currently unemployed, or may simply be looking for a change of role or environment. When a job seeker applies, details are taken relating to qualifications, past employment history, interests, type of work being sought, etc. A similar variety of services are provided for them as for employers: The straight matching of the job seekers details against the current register of vacancies; The provision of advice on the construction of CVs, application letters, approaches to prospective employers, etc.; The provision of a list of specific firms within a market sector, and the extra option of trawling those firms for any sign of interest, possible salary range, etc.; An approach to a specific firm to sound them out on behalf of the job seeker, and to help negotiate salary and terms. Both job seekers and organisations pay for the services provided by Find4U, though for the more basic services a proportion of the fee is based on results (i.e. eventual appointment). As befits a high-quality service organisation, the fees are commensurate with the importance of the task being undertaken. Find4U have found a new source of job-seeker clientele, by persuading employers who are about to impose redundancies to include some of the Find4U placement services for staff as part of the redundancy package.
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Q2 In the SSADM approach to systems design, a very important document is the Systems Requirement Document. (a) This document should be created before the start of any project. What is its purpose? (5 marks)

(b) Functional and supporting features are listed. Give an (10 marks) example of each of these items. (c) Requirements should be quantified. Give your reasons (10 marks) why this should be necessary. (Total 25 marks)

Q3 Entity Life Histories (ELH) are important modelling tools within the SSADM structure. (a) What is their purpose? (b) Using only alphabetic characters to identify the events, draw simple diagrams with outline descriptive narrative for the following ELH constructs: (i) (ii) (iii) (iv) A Sequence; A Selection; An Iteration; A Parallel Structure. (5 marks for each of the four constructs) (Total 25 marks) (5 marks)

Q4 The analysis of business systems has evolved over the past 4060 years during which time a number of methodologies have been developed. One of the most popular has been the Structured Systems Analysis and Design (SSAD) approach. (a) Identify and describe the key features you would expect to find in the SSAD approach. (15 marks)

(b) Approaches to systems development can be characterised as being hard or soft. Explain what is (10 marks) meant by each of these terms. (Total 25 marks)

P.T.O.

Q5 A large collection of old and modern motor cars is exhibited in a modern purpose built building. The whole collection of cars cannot be exhibited at any one time and so some are lent out to other organisations from time to time. Because the locations (the places in the exhibition halls) vary in size then some locations can only hold one car whilst other locations may hold several cars. Locations are sometimes cleaned and decorated in which case the car(s) are removed into storage. Because some cars are unique and are always on display, certain locations are specified as always containing a car. You have created the following four Entity Relationship Diagrams (ERD) to cover all the above situations concerning cars and possible locations. (a) Study the following four Entity Relationship Diagrams very carefully and then in narrative format describe precisely the meaning of each diagram. Each relationship between the two entities should be described in terms of must and may. Car Car Car Car Location Location Location Location

(5 marks for each of the four narrative descriptions of the ERDs) (b) Why are complete system ERDs so important in the (5 marks) analysis stage of any development project? (Total 25 marks)

Q6 Computer Aided Systems Engineering (CASE) tools have become an essential element in the design of current business systems. (a) Describe the environment in which they might be used when designing a new system, clearly indicating (10 marks) why they should be used. (b) Describe five desirable features that such a tool (3 marks for each of the five features) should possess. (Total 25 marks)

Q7 Data and Information should be considered as separate entities as evidenced by the following definition: Information is data which is structured within context and is meaningful to the recipient. (a) Bearing this definition in mind, consider the following situation: Digital cameras create a unique file identification (I/D) for each picture that they take, which is of the form: P1010001. Ignoring the P, the first character provides the month using numeric and alpha characters (1-9, A, B & C), the second two numeric characters the day, and the last four characters a serial number which can run from 0001 to 9999. Given this structural information, interpret the following picture I/D: P6060025. (10 marks)

(b) Once a standard structure has been agreed in human terms, do you consider that a camera/computer provides information or just processed data? Your answer should clearly state your views on the (15 marks) question posed in part (b). (Total 25 marks)

P.T.O.

Q8 Write short notes on five of the following topics: (a) Systems Changeover/Cutover; (b) Feasibility Study; (c) Audit trail; (d) Project Management time and resource planning techniques; (e) Human/Computer Interface; (f) User involvement. (5 marks for each of five topics) (Total 25 marks)

Diploma Part 2 Systems Analysis Examiners Suggested Answers Question 1 Logical DFD for Find4U scenario:

Question 2 Learning objective 2: The Systems Analysis and Design Framework System Requirements Document (SRD). (a) The creation of an SRD occurs at a very early stage in the development of any new business system and establishes the basis for subsequent work by focusing on the existing IS and the future information needs of the users whom this development may affect. Descriptions of the existing system are established and the future information needs of users are discussed. All user requirements are entered into the SRD along with the associated originator for subsequent discussion with other relevant user. (b) Functional features should include the services that the new IS should provide. Examples of functional might cover sales order recording, student registration, employment recording etc. Supporting features should include security arrangements, performance levels, backup arrangements, disaster recovery plans etc. (c) Quantification of requirements should be stated if at all possible as this helps to ensure that the requirements are based on reality. They also help to provide criteria against which subsequent work may be compared which is very useful for both developers and users. Not only should volumes of existing transactions be recorded but anticipated growth/decline should be estimated so that a clear updating policy can be established to meet these volume changes. Question 3 Learning objective 6: SAT&T. ELHs ELHs (a) The purpose of an ELH is to establish the concept of time. The ELH provides a dynamic view of the data by modelling the effect that events have on the entities in the Entity Relationship Model. ELHs model all the possible combinations of events that could affect an occurrence of an entity during its life in the information system, and the permissible sequence of those events. (b) ELH Diagram constructs: (i) A sequence is when events follow a strict time sequence and are diagrammed as event boxes running from the left to the right of the diagram. A selection/option is when there is a choice between two or more events and is denoted by a small 0 in the right hand top corner of each event box concerned.

(ii)

(iii) (iv)

An iteration is when an event can occur zero or many times and is denoted by a small * in the top right hand corner of the event box. A parallel structure is when two or more independent sets of events occur that can affect an entity and is denoted by a pair of parallel lines linking the different entity sets.

Question 4 Learning objective 3: Structured Systems Analysis & Design SSAD Key features and hard and soft systems. (a) SSD key features (i) (ii) (iii) iv) (v) (vi) Define stages into which the development process should be broken down; eg. A development life cycle; Specify the tasks to be carried out at each stage; Develop physical DFDs and ERDs; Specify the outputs to be produced at each stage; eg. Logical final ERMs, HCI structures; Provide a set of modelling techniques eg. DFDs, ERDs, ELHs and Normalisation; Provide guidelines for the management and control of the project; Gantt charts, Critical Path; An underlying philosophy underpinning the approach it advocates to systems development. Why a particular approach is suitable for a particular project development.

(b) Soft and Hard approaches to systems development. (i) Soft approaches emphasise the human and social aspects of information systems within a given environment and are often directed towards problem solving without any reference to the possible use of computer systems. Once a problem has been considered and a number of options identified, hard approaches may be used to complete the task. Checklands Soft Systems Methodology is an example of the soft approach. (ii) Hard approaches emphasise the use of techniques in a systematic manner which usually results in the development of a computer system. SSAD approaches are typical of the hard approach.

Question 5 Learning objective 5: SAT&T. The Entity Model Entity Model (a) Various 1.M optionality situations. The Must relationship is shown as a solid line attached to the event box; The May relationship is shown as a dotted line attached to the event box; The crows foot indicates a one, or many relationship attached to an event box. (i) (ii) (iii) (iv) A car must be placed in just one location; A location must contain at least one, and possibly many, cars. A car must be placed in just one location; A location may contain zero, one or many cars. A car may be placed in just one location A location must contain at least one, and possibly many, cars. A car may be placed in a location A location may contain zero, one or many cars.

(b) Importance of ERD: The Final logical ERD with associated TNF analyses constitute the Entity Relationship model that will be used to create a physical data base on which the project will depend. If created soundly the ERM will be capable of extension to meet future business requirements without the need for a complete redesign. It is therefore essential to get it right. Question 6 Learning objective 7: SAT&T. CASE Tools CASE Tools (a) Computer Aided Systems Engineering tools are now being used in the development of various types of prototypes such as RAD, JAD and evolutionary which are based on the proficient use of CASE tools. Sometimes known as UPPER CASE because they deal predominantly with systems analysis and specification, whereas LOWER CASE tends to deal with systems design and programming. (b) Desirable features: (i) (ii) (iii) (iv) (v) Should cover all phases of the SDLC using both upper and lower CASE Code generation features are essential. Tools should be usable in a flexible manner so that different approaches to system development (eg. prototyping) can be followed. Diagramming tools should be configurable so that the tool can be customised to the users favourite diagramming convention. Tools should automate development steps where possible, so that the transformation from a specification to a design is formal, ie. if all the steps are predictable, then it can be automated. Tools should be flexible to support the analysts way of working eg. bottom up rather than top down.

(vi)

(vii) Tools should prevent errors where possible by pre-validation ie. allowing the user to enter only correct choices. (viii) The user interface needs to support high-resolution graphics. (ix) Central data base/repository is essential to store specifications and design.

Question 7 Learning objective 1: Information Systems: Background & Theory IS Theory. (a) Interpretation of ID:P6060025 (i) (ii) (iii) (iv) First character is 6 meaning month 6 June Second pair of characters is 06 Third set of 4 characters is 0025 6th day unique serial number of the picture.

To summarise: Specific picture was taken on the 6th June and is identified from other pictures that might have been taken on the same day by its I/D 0025.

(b) Considering carefully the processes which are involved in the computer and the human, the computer is a means of carrying out specific instructions as set out by the application program in use at the time. In this case, the camera, on taking a picture, also creates additional data about the day etc. This data is arranged in a certain structure as prescribed by the camera manufacturer and may be local to the manufacturer or as in this case, a global standard. The user of the camera is made aware of the structure by possibly reading the instruction manual supplied with the camera, or alternatively is aware of the global standard as set out in part (a) of the question. On inspecting the data which is structured and knowing the context in which the data is produced, the user then has the required information on the day the picture was taken and can find a specific picture from the picture I/D. It is only when the human user accesses the data that the data becomes information. It becomes meaningful to him/her. When considering information systems, it is the human element that turns data into information, not the computer. Any similarly argued answer will be acceptable.

Question 8 Learning objective: General question covering whole syllabus (a) Systems Changeover/Cutover: Three typical approaches, Direct, Parallel, Phased. Direct, the old system stopped and the new system takes over. Possibly only option if old and new system differ significantly, also dangerous as no backup system available if failure occurs. Parallel, old and new system run in parallel until the user is satisfied all is correct. Time consuming and expensive. Phased, where in a large organisation with many similar systems (supermarket/bank), a new system is implemented in one location and, after trialling, is successfully applied to the other locations over a period of time. (b) Feasibility Study: Often in three parts, technical, economic and social which attempt to establish the technical requirements, the economic aspects, and the social impact of a proposed system. (c) Audit Trail: Carried out by the Auditor to check the correctness of a transaction chain from order, through stock control, invoicing, accounting procedures etc. to ensure that no fraud has been committed and that appropriate control procedures are in place. (d) Project management time and resource planning techniques: Two typical techniques are Gantt charts and Critical Path/Network Analysis. Gantt charts show start/stop times for activities against a total project time scale. They do not show the interrelationship between activities. A Gantt chart is simple to construct and easy to understand and is a very popular technique. CP/Network analysis consists of a number of slightly different techniques which require an estimate of time for each activity as well as the activities relationship with other related activities. This creates a network and from activity timing information a Critical Path can be calculated. This Critical Path is very important to the project manager as any increase in the Critical Path means an increase in a projects completion time. Estimates of activity time can be made from past experience or from statistical techniques. (e) Human/Computer Interface (HCI): The designers of the HCI must be well aware of the users computer skills level, from novice to skilled, as this will affect the way the HCI is designed. Skilled users will probably have been trained to achieve high speed operation. Novice users will require instruction to complete a simple operation etc. (f ) User involvement: User involvement is critical to the success of any project. Experienced users are well aware of the variety of situations that can affect their work which may well impact on the way the new system operates. In the prototyping and HCI areas, their co-operation is essential.