Information Systems Analysis
Current Events Discussions and Announcements
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 David Kelley: How to build your creative confidence
The Final
Surveys for you to complete
- Library Research (this was Mr. Raleigh Muns who talked about how to get more information about your client
- Post Service Project Survey
Secrets of Success
Feasibility
- Random Thoughts on Project Management
- Overview of Issues
- Feasibility
- To learn more about interacting with clients, read the article Know Thy Client
- Political Considerations in Requirements Analysis
- Managing Customer Expectations
- Screening Feasibility Issues
- Project Mix
- VIDEO: Roman Fountains
- VIDEO: Brydon vs. Not Brydon
(4/18/12)
Mr. Craft's presentation. (4/18/12)
More on creativity: Tim Brown on creativity and play, and shorthand for design process. (4/11/12)
Humor in Prototyping. (4/11/12)
Prototyping
- Introduction of Prototyping
- An analogy: Prototyping Star Wars Figures as an example of how different kinds of prototypes are used to answer different kinds of questions
- Lessons Learned
- Variations in interpretation of specifications (requires Power point: you must "run show" and turn on speakers to appreciate)
- Examples
- An example of how prototyping can be used to elicit user feedback: this example is replicated here for you to consider as a way of doing prototyping, and does not function
- The Analysis and Prototyping of Effective Graphical User Interfaces
(4/11/12)
Paper Prototyping
- The Paper Prototyping Website
- Paper Prototyping
- What is Paper Prototyping?
- Paper Prototyping: Getting User Data Before You Code
- How do we decide if we should use paper?
- Five Paper Prototyping Tips
- Checklist: Working Interface or Paper Prototype
- Paper Prototyping Methods
- Six Signs that you Should Use Paper Prototyping
- Pros and Cons of Paper Prototyping
- Using Paper Prototypes to Manage Risk
- Examples
- More References
(4/11/12)
 Questionnaires and Interviews
- Traditional Methods of Defining Rerquirements
- Why Interview?
- Introduction to Interviews
- Interview Content
- Be careful about jargon!
- VIDEO: IT Systems Analyst - Plan the Interview
- VIDEO: IT Systems Analyst - Conduct Interview
- Fables about Interviewing
- The King's Companion
- The Kingdom of Beal
(4/4/12)
Project Management by Eric Lemmons and Sharyn Lemmons.
Midterm grade distribution
More from Dr. Ackoff: the difference between getting better at doing the wrong things and figuring out the right things to do.
Group Data Flow Diagrams: Group A, Group B, Group C, Group D. My solution.
More on Creativity
- Step up to the world's coolest staircases
- How to be Creative
More on the Systems Analysis Process: Getting to the right idea
The Midterm
From the Accidental Successful CIO: What CIOs Can Learn From The Failure Of A British IT Project and Hello IT Manager: You’re In Politics Now!.
The Coming Culture Shift for IT/Web Analysts and CIOs
Google's New Privacy Policy
Data Flow Diagrams
- Introduction to Data Flow Diagram (DFD)
- VIDEO: Drawing a Context Diagram
- VIDEO: Tools of Analysis (part 6 of 8) - Process & Data (DFD / Data Flow Diagram)
- Data Flow Diagram (DFD) Example (Context and Level 0 Diagrams)
- Data Flow Diagram (DFD) Example (Level 4 Explosion)
- An example
- VIDEO: Using Visio to Draw Data Flow Diagrams
- VIDEO: Connect your Data to the Diagram
(2/27/12)
Data Dictionaries
- Data Dictionary
- More samples (2/13/12)
Object Oriented Analysis
- VIDEO: Use Cases
- Overview
- Use Case Notation (view as a pdf)
- An Example
- VIDEO: Creating Use Case Diagrams in Visio 2007
(3/14/12)
Project Teams
| Group A
Cheolhong Choi
Ross Creager
Marshall Howell
Denis Klinac
Michelle Maslin
| |
Group B
Abdullah Albahrani
Andrew Fergus
Jason Givens
Ashley Hardges
Katie Reece
| |
Group C
Khalid Almutawa
Michael Macke
Robert John Perez
Nijaiananth Sivagurunathan
Helen Ward
| |
Group D
Laura Bretsnyder
Mallory Davis
Wesley Emery
Brittae Gray-Ross
Ronald Simmons
|
The resumes are now available for your review. There are a couple I have had trouble downloading, but
I am hoping for new files soon.
Your task is to construct good systems analysis teams.
The groups in which you will complete this exercise are:
| Group A
Laura Bretsnyder
Ross Creager
Michelle Maslin
Robert John Perez
Nijaiananth Sivagurunathan
| |
Group B
Cheolhong Choi
Andrew Fergus
Jason Givens
Brittaenorman Gray-Ross
Katie Reece
| |
Group C
Khalid Almutawa
Wesley Emery
Ashley Hardges
Marshall Howell
Michael Macke
| |
Group D
Abdullah Albahrani
Mallory Davis
Denis Klinac
Ronald Simmons
Helen Ward
|
Our classmates are famous!
An overview of Methodologies (02/8/12)
Some information about Methodologies
- Software Development Life Cycle
- Cost of Software
- A Comparison of Methodologies
- The Life Cycle
- Application Lifecycle Management
(02/8/12)
Teams
- Launching a Cooperative Learning Team
- Characteristics of Successful Teams
- The Guerrilla Guide to Interviewing (version 3.0)
- Skills Associated with the SDLC
- Winning Project Teams
- Importance of Group Members
(02/8/12)
Conceptual Design
Information
- Measures of the value of information
- alternate syllabus (an example of data, not information)
- Information Comparison (View pdf version)
- Building Blocks of IS
(2/6/12)
Please complete this service learning survey.
We will break into groups and look
at some creativity exercises today.
- A man walked into a bar and asked the barman for a glass of water. They had never met before. The barman
pulled a gun from under the counter and pointed it at the man. The man said "Thank you" and walked out. Why
should that be so?
- Two brothers were having a drink in a bar. Suddenly one of the brothers got into a heated argument with the
barman. He pulled out a knife and, despite his brother's attempts to stop him, stabbed the barman in the chest. At
the trial, he was found guilty of assault with a deadly weapon and grievous bodily harm. At the end of the trial, the
judge said, "You have been found guilty of a vicious crime. However, I have no choice but to set you free." Why
should that be so?
- A traveler came to a small town. He had never visited it before, he knew no one there, and knew nothing about the
town or its inhabitants. He needed a haircut. There happened to be two barbershops close to each other on the
main thoroughfare -- the only barbershops in town. The man studied each of them with care. One shop was very
neat and tidy. Everything about it was smart. The barber was sweeping away the last traces of hair from the floor
while waiting for his next customer. The other barber's shop was very untidy. Everything looked rather run down
and ramshackle. The scruffy looking barber within was lolling on a chair waiting for his next customer. Both shops
charged the same amount for a haircut. After careful consideration, the traveler decided to go to the scruffy barber
for his haircut. Why?
(1/30/12)
Creativity and Systems Analysis
- The Future of Design is Human-Centered
- An interview with Tim Brown, CEO of IDE-O
- Tim Brown - From Design to Design Thinking
- Stanford Design Thinking Process
- Sustainability -- Part 1
- Sustainability -- Part 2
- Sustainability -- Part 3
- IDE-O comes to St. Louis
- IDE-O's Website
(1/30/12)
A Systemic Perspective from the Systemic Perspective Series. (8/25/11)
- Habits of a Systems Thinker
- Systems Thinking in Schools
- Systemic Perspective Intent
- Systemic Perspective
- Systemic Perspective Situation
- Assumptions
- Boundary
- Insight Maker/Boundaries
- Leverage Points
(1/30/12)
Another system description: Healthcare Management Engineering
What IT Managers Can Learn From The Failure Of A British IT Project
Executive Order 200.015 Academic Inquiry, Course Discussion and Privacy
Systems and Systems Thinking
- Definition of a System
- A system definition courtesy of the Pentagon. This is the actual image used by Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, the leader of American and NATO forces in Afghanistan, to portray the complexity of American military strategy.
- Horizonwatching: A Smarter Planet --- aka a system!
- Systems and Systems Thinking
- Dr. Ackoff talk about his views of thinking, check out his YouTube video, Exploring Systems Thinking. See Part 2 and Part 3.
(1/18/12)
Systems Analysis
- What Does A Systems Analyst Really Do?
- What is Systems Analysis
- Systems Development Life Cycle
- Process v. Data Orientation
- Different Types of Systems
- Stage Deliverables
- Deliverables
- More about Deliverables
- Six 'Soft Skills' Every Analyst Needs to Know
- Agile Methods
- Soft Systems Methods
- Benefits of Systems Analysis
- Cost of software repair by lifecycle stage
- unintended consequences in systems analysis
(8/22/11)
An example consultant's analysis report: Strider and Cline evaluate UM's implementation of PeopleSoft. (1/18/12)
The previous edition of your textbook had a chapter entitled "Succeeding as a Systems Analyst." It is available here with permission of the publisher. (1/18/12)
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