Assignment 11 (SAD 1)

You were tasked by the IC-dean to evaluate the enrollment system of the university, list and briefly describe the characteristics that an anlayst(you) examines when choosing or defining deployment environment. (at least 500 words)

You were tasked by the IC-dean to evaluate the enrollment system of the university, list and briefly describe the characteristics that an analysts (you) examines when choosing or defining deployment environment. (At least 500 words)

It is very important to consider the deployment environment in developing a system because it helps also IT people enhance their skills.
Let me define deployment environment. As I have my research, I found out that deployment environment or application deployment environment comprises the computer hardware (specifically computer platforms), operating systems, system software, and networks that will hold up the application program.

In evaluating the enrollment system of our university there are some characteristics on the analyst in choosing the deployment environment for the particular system one of this is that

The system requirements may refer to the functional and non-functional requirements of a system that will be deployed. Conducting an analysis on system requirements would be beneficial to the future system or application that will be deployed, hardware and software interfaces and also to human involvement in the system. That is because determining the compatibility with system requirements would show whether what is needed to be given and to be done in order to run the application.

Consider the topology. As a system analyst, you have to select the best networking topologies suited for the system.

The location or area to be deploy on the system. It is essential to consider the location because this place where the developers/ analyst deploying the system. It’s clear that most of the locations in deploying the system are located in the MIS offices, server rooms, network and system’s office and sometimes the control room.

Compatibility among hardware and system software. Of course, compatibility of the application, hardware and system component must be considered. This would check whether your application has reached the minimum and/or maximum requirements on the hardware interfaces.


As an analyst, I should oversee the development, deployment, and direction of complex programs and processes as part of the tactical execution. Good communication skill is also required. Analyst must communicate clearly and concisely both on verbal and written.

Reference:

http://www.google.com.ph/url?sa=t&source=web&ct=res&cd=2&ved=0CA0QFjAB&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhercules.gcsu.edu%2F~adahanay%2Fcbis3210%2FChapter%25208-reviewQ.doc&rct=j&q=characteristics+that+an+anlayst+examines+when+choosing+or+defining+deployment+environment.&ei=7FaOS7mdBorsswOTm7HbCA&usg=AFQjCNEjAujz6gbFma0-N7KpwUDhwRvsbw

Assignment 10 (SAD 1)

With reference to assignments 8 and 9, what characteristics does an analyst (you) examine when evalauating DFD quality? (1500 words)

Before going through the characteristics that an analyst must have in order to properly evaluate a DFD, let us first define what Data Flow Diagram is and how to create it. After showing the basics of a DFD, I will enumerate and briefly explain the characteristic as based on the previous assignments.

What is a DFD?
A data-flow diagram (DFD) is a graphical representation of the "flow" of data through an information system. DFDs can also be used for the visualization of data processing (structured design). A DFD provides no information about the timing of processes, or about whether processes will operate in sequence or in parallel. It is therefore quite different from a flowchart, which shows the flow of control through an algorithm, allowing a reader to determine what operations will be performed, in what order, and under what circumstances, but not what kinds of data will be input to and output from the system, nor where the data will come from and go to, nor where the data will be stored (all of which are shown on a DFD).

The data flow diagram has a purpose and it provide a semantic semantic bridge between users and systems developers. And it diagrams are first graphical, eliminating thousands of words; second is logical representations, modeling WHAT a system does, rather than physical models showing HOW it does it; third is hierarchical, showing systems at any level of detail; and last jargonless, allowing user understanding and reviewing

One of the characteristic for the evaluation of the DFD quality: Completeness. DFDs offer a way to check the completeness of the process model, particularly with regards to the understanding of the data that would be required by an information system (e.g., is all the data that would be needed for input actually available? Does each processing step produce data that could be used by subsequent steps? Is all data generated usable by an information system where necessary?). DFDs can provide a fast way to generate further questions that need to be asked about the process.
All diagrams must have a basic DFD symbol present for the system.
Here are examples of symbol of a DFD using Gane and Sarson notation.
*Squares representing external entities, which are sources or destinations of data.
*Rounded rectangles representing processes, which take data as input, do something to it, and output it.
*Arrows representing the data flows, which can either, be electronic data or physical items.
*Open-ended rectangles representing data stores, including electronic stores such as databases or XML files and physical stores such as or filing cabinets or stacks of paper.

Data flow Diagram symbols:


Reference:
http://www.agilemodeling.com/artifacts/dataFlowDiagram.htm

Assignment 9 (SAD 1)

Create at least 3 different types of Data flow diagram of USEP's pre-enrollment system

Assignment 8 (SAD 1)

Using the same narrative as refelcted in your assignment 4, develop an activity diagram and a fully developed description for a use case.

Activity diagrams are graphical representations of workflows of stepwise activities and actions with support for choice, iteration and concurrency

Assignment 7 (SAD 1)

Consider USEP's pre-enrollment system, develop a use case diagram and write a brief use case description.

Assignment 6 (SAD 1)

Consider the following dialogue between a systems professional, John Juan, and a manager of a department targeted for a new information system, Peter Pedro:

Juan: The way to go about the analysis is to first examine the old system, such as reviewing key documents and observing the workers perform their tasks. Then we can determine which aspects are working well and which should be preserved.

Pedro: We have been through these types of projects before and what always ends up happening is that we do not get the new system we are promised; we get a modified version of the old system.

Juan: Well, I can assure you that will not happen this time. We just want a thorough understanding of what is working well and what isn’t.

Pedro: I would feel much more comfortable if we first started with a list of our requirements. We should spend some time up-front determining exactly what we want the system to do for my department. Then you systems people can come in and determine what portions to salvage if you wish. Just don’t constrain us to the old system.

Required:

a.Obviously these two workers have different views on how the systems analysis phase should be conducted. Comment on whose position you sympathize with the most.
b.What method would you propose they take? Why?
On the conversation of Juan and Pedro It is very important in planning a system to listen the both sides, Juan and Pedro and then decide what is the best for the system they have been discuss. As IT professional, he must examine the old system that company wants to do. Since, the manager has planned to develop a new system which previously ended was the modified version of old system. It professionals are mostly depend on the requirements of the client. And he ask his client to identify the possible scenarios based on the old system set by the client. As a clienthe must know the whole scenario set by the old system and he must find a best strategy and adding new requirements in order to establish the new system. Also, he experienced his past scenarios and ended up a modified version of the said system. And he ended up unsatisfied.
On creating a system there are a lot of methods would be useful to the development. There are a lot of process models which can be functional, but they should choose which can be more fitted on creating their system.
I would like to propose a Software Life Cycle Model
A software life cycle model is either a descriptive or prescriptive characterization of how
software is or should be developed. A descriptive model describes the history of how a particular
software system was developed. Descriptive models may be used as the basis for understandingand improving software development processes, or for building empirically grounded prescriptive models (Curtis, Krasner, Iscoe, 1988). A prescriptive model prescribes how a new software system should be developed. Prescriptive models are used as guidelines or frameworksto organize and structure how software development activities should be performed, and in what order. Typically, it is easier and more common to articulate a prescriptive life cycle model for how software systems should be developed. This is possible since most such models are intuitive or well reasoned. This means that many idiosyncratic details that describe how a software systems is built in practice can be ignored, generalized, or deferred for later consideration. This, of course, should raise concern for the relative validity and robustness of such life cycle models when developing different kinds of application systems, in different kinds of development settings, using different programming languages, with differentially skilled staff, etc. However,prescriptive models are also used to package the development tasks and techniques for using a given set of software engineering tools or environment during a development project. On Tactical processes help in the achievement of a plan are more concerned with the tactics to be adopted for actual plan achievement than with the development of a plan of achievement. Lastly, Implementation processes are the lowest level processes are directly concerned with the details of the what an how of plan implementation.
One of the System life cycle model


Reference:
http://www.ics.uci.edu/~wscacchi/Papers/SE-Encyc/Process-Models-SE-Encyc.pdf

Assignment 5 (SAD 1)

Consider your school, how do you know that the life cycle was developed specifically for the university. How do we know it meets our needs? at least 500 words ..
In assignment 5 it tends to discuss how life cycle was develop and how do we know that it meets our needs. It’s an honor for me to be part and one of the student of the University of Southeastern Philippines. In developing the life cycle of the university it takes time and as what I have observe Our university requires a big real time system that could be adaptive to any changes that may occur from time to time. The vital parts of the system are the data, records or accounts, the system governance flow, and the management which must be taken care of seriously. Since it caters educational related professions, it is expected to last for a long period of time be it in a number of decades or century. An exclusive system for the university itself must be able to support the university needs and that would last up to the university’s existence. Yes It meets our needs.
We should discuss what is a system life cycle development:

Systems Development Life Cycle
According to the free encyclopedia the wikipedia "The Systems Development Life Cycle (SDLC), or Software Development Life Cycle in systems engineering and software engineering, is the process of creating or altering systems, and the models and methodologies that people use to develop these systems”.
Organizations should review and complete user, operator, and maintenance manuals during the testing phase. Additionally, they should finalize conversion, implementation, and training plans. In System Development Life Cycle methodology there are steps that an IT people or the organization should follow first If there is an existing system, its deficiencies are identified. This is accomplished by interviewing users and consulting with support personnel.Second The new system requirements are defined including addressing any deficiencies in the existing system with specific proposals for improvement. Third The proposed system is designed. Plans are created detailing the hardware, operating systems, programming, and security issues. Forth The new system is developed. The new components and programs must be obtained and installed. Users of the system must be trained in its use, and all aspects of performance must be tested. If necessary, adjustments must be made at this stage.Fifth The system is put into use. This can be done in various ways. The new system can phased in, according to application or location, and the old system gradually replaced. In some cases, it may be more cost-effective to shut down the old system and implement the new system all at once. And lastly Once the new system is up and running for a while, it should be exhaustively evaluated. Maintenance must be kept up rigorously at all times. Users of the system should be kept up-to-date concerning the latest modifications and procedures. It is very important to for us students to be aware of what the university being developed and how to implement and most especially follow the steps of SDLC.


References:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Systems_Development_Life_Cycle

Assignment 4 (SAD 1)

Identify and discuss at least 3 systems development models .. discuss each phases ... (at least 500 words/model).
There are many systems development models that can help IT people and having these models there are strategies what should be done for the system and help create the algorithm of the program.
Before any software is made there is a process to go through to make it work. It passes through phases to make it as faultless as possible for the users. It might go through planning, coding, developing and other steps before one can create a software system work. This now relates to process model. If I were to define it from the word itself it is a flow of steps to organize the building or engineering of a software system. For a better understanding and for a more concrete definition, here follows the definition of process model from Wikipedia.
“Process models are processes of the same nature that are classified together into a model. Thus, a process model is a description of a process at the type level. Since the process model is at the type level, a process is an instantiation of it. The same process model is used repeatedly for the development of many applications and thus, has many instantiations. One possible use of a process model is to prescribe how things must/should/could be done in contrast to the process itself which is really what happens. A process model is roughly an anticipation of what the process will look like. What the process shall be will be determined during actual system development.”
According to Kerem Kosaner (2008), Process models are processes of the same nature that are classified together into a model. Thus, a process model is a description of a process at the type level. Since the process model is at the type level, a process is an instantiation of it. The same process model is used repeatedly for the development of many applications and thus, has many instantiations. One possible use of a process model is to prescribe how things must/should/could is done in contrast to the process itself which is really what happens. A process model is roughly an anticipation of what the process will look like. What the process shall be will be determined during actual system development. Here are some Process models:

Waterfall Model
It is one of a process model, by definition waterfall model is a popular version of the systems development life cycle model for software engineering. Often considered the classic approach to the systems development life cycle, the waterfall model describes a development method that is linear and sequential. Waterfall development has distinct goals for each phase of development. Imagine a waterfall on the cliff of a steep mountain. Once the water has flowed over the edge of the cliff and has begun its journey down the side of the mountain, it cannot turn back. It is the same with waterfall development. Once a phase of development is completed, the development proceeds to the next phase and there is no turning back. There are phases of Waterfall model here are the following :
Phase 1: A Software Requirements Specification (SRS) is a complete description of the behavior of the system to be developed. It includes a set of use cases that describe all the interactions the users will have with the software. Use cases are also known as functional requirements. In addition to use cases, the SRS also contains non-functional (or supplementary) requirements. Non-functional requirements are requirements which impose constraints on the design or implementation (such as performance engineering requirements, quality standards, or design constraints).
Phase 2: Software design is a process of problem-solving and planning for a software solution. After the purpose and specifications of software are determined, software developers will design or employ designers to develop a plan for a solution. It includes low-level component and algorithm implementation issues as well as the architectural view.
Phase 3: Implementation is a realization of a technical specification or algorithm as a program, software component, or other computer system. Many implementations may exist for a given specification or standard. For example, web browsers contain implementations of World Wide Web Consortium-recommended specifications, and software development tools contain implementations of programming languages.
In the IT Industry, implementation refers to post-sales process of guiding a client from purchase to use of the software or hardware that was purchased. This includes Requirements Analysis, Scope Analysis, Customizations, Systems Integrations, User Policies, User Training and Delivery. These steps are often overseen by a Project Manager using Project Management Methodologies set forth in the Project Management Body of Knowledge. Software Implementations involve several professionals that are relatively new to the knowledge based economy such as Business Analysts, Technical Analysts, Solutions Architect, and Project Managers.
Phase 4: Verification is a methodical process of finding and reducing the number of bugs, or defects, in a computer program or a piece of electronic hardware thus making it behave as expected. Debugging tends to be harder when various subsystems are tightly coupled, as changes in one may cause bugs to emerge in another.
Phase 5: Software maintenance in software engineering is the modification of a software product after delivery to correct faults, to improve performance or other attributes, or to adapt the product to a modified environment.

Spiral Model
The spiral model, also known as the spiral lifecycle model, is a systems development method (SDM) used in information technology (IT). This model of development combines the features of the prototyping model and the waterfall model. The spiral model is intended for large, expensive, and complicated projects.
This is the phase of the spiral model wherein we determine the objectives, alternatives and constraints.
Objectives: functionality, performance, hardware/software interface, critical success factors, etc.
Alternatives: build, reuse, buy, sub-contract, etc.
Constraints: cost, schedule, interface, etc.
The Spiral Model has its strengths as a process model and these are as follows:
• Provides early indication of insurmountable risks, without much cost
• Users see the system early because of rapid prototyping tools
• Critical high-risk functions are developed first
• The design does not have to be perfect
• Users can be closely tied to all lifecycle steps
• Early and frequent feedback from users
• Cumulative costs assessed frequently

If the Spiral Model has its strengths, it also has weakness as a process model. These are as follows:

• Time spent for evaluating risks too large for small or low-risk projects
• Time spent planning, resetting objectives, doing risk analysis and prototyping may be excessive
• The model is complex
• Risk assessment expertise is required
• Spiral may continue indefinitely
• Developers must be reassigned during non-development phase activities
• May be hard to define objective, verifiable milestones that indicate readiness to proceed through the next iteration

V-Model
One of the process model , by definition The V-model is a software development process which can be presumed to be the extension of the waterfall model. Instead of moving down in a linear way, the process steps are bent upwards after the coding phase, to form the typical V shape. The V-Model demonstrates the relationships between each phase of the development life cycle and its associated phase of testing.
The V-model deploys a well-structured method in which each phase can be implemented by the detailed documentation of the previous phase. Testing activities like test designing start at the beginning of the project well before coding and therefore saves a huge amount of the project time.
The V-model has a two major phases it is the Verification Phases and Validation Phases. In the verification phases it discuss the Requirements analysis, System Design, Architecture Design and Module Design and in the validation phases it discuss Unit Testing, Integration Testing, System Testing and User Acceptance Testing.

References:

http://www.acmesoffware.com/acme/default.asp
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capability_Maturity_Model
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waterfall_model
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/V-Model_

Assignment 3 (SAD 1)

Discuss the role of a systems analyst as a project manager. (at least one thousand words) .... you need to interview an analyst/project manager ..
The third assignment also related in assignment 2 which discuss the role of a system analyst as project manager. Same in Assignment 2 we visited the Rhine Marketing for an interview regarding for our assignment. During our interview, we have been given a chance to ask some question. To answer that question, we approached Mr. Chris Abella of Rhine Marketing. Concerning our interview it is about systems analyst, but regarding the role of a project manager Mr. Chris give us few information yet is also the same in role of system analyst. He has also touched the some discussions in which some of our assignments are answered prior to its post. That’s why, we are able to answer our assignments and tackle about our discussion. That made me think that we are lucky and should I say thankful enough to interview IT people.
It is very important to have a Project Manager / Business System Analyst because project manager will be responsible for the project planning, execution, and implementation of technology-enabled solutions to an internal business unit which provides revenue generating services for the district. In addition to the project management responsibilities, this position requires demonstrated abilities to partner, collaborate and manage the relationship of a customer –focused and excellence driven team. The right candidate will have extensive organizational, strong leadership and relationship management skills in a multifaceted matrix organization. As the Project Manager / Business System Analyst you will be a full partner with the business unit in setting the strategic vision for future growth and expansion.