Information Systems Analysis
Current Events Discussions and Announcements
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 The final exam.
Mr. Craft's Presentation
Cost-Benefit Analyses
- 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
- VIDEO: How to do a Cost-Benefit Analysis
- VIDEO: Cost-Benefit Analysis
- VIDEO: How to do a Cost-Benefit Analysis
(4/29/13)
 The diagrams from the midterm: Context Diagram, and the Level 0 Diagram.
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
(04/17/13)
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
(4/17/13)
 Some Paper Prototyping Videos that might help you understand it better
- Hammail Paper Prototyping
- Usability Testing with Paper Prototyping
- Paper Prototyping Testing
The midterm grade distribution.
Why security belongs to developers first
Mr. Obernuefemann's talk on Project Management
Questionnaires and Interviews
- Interviews and Data Gathering Techniques
- Interview Content
- Jargon!
- VIDEO: IT Systems Analyst - Plan the Interview
- . VIDEO: IT Systems Analyst - Conduct Interview
- Business Analysts Need Creative Questioning for Better Requirements: What Are Your Best Questions?
- Challenges of Requirements Elicitation
- Humor!
How to Design Breakthrough Innovations
The Hazards of Literal Listening
A tutorial for using Visio to create Data Flow Diagrams
Data Flow Diagrams
- Introduction to Data Flow Diagram (DFD)
- Give us back our verbs!
- 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)
- VIDEO: Connect your Data to the Diagram
- What is MetaData?
The midterm
Gathering User Requirements
Using Validation Tools
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?
(2/26/13)
IDEO: Humanity Centered Design
More on Creativity
- The Stairs Problem
- Step up to the world's coolest staircases
- How to be Creative
The Value of Information
More on the Systems Analysis Process: Getting to the right idea
An overview of Methodologies (09/11/12)
Some information about Methodologies
- Software Development Life Cycle
- Cost of Software
- A Comparison of Methodologies
- The Life Cycle
- Application Lifecycle Management
(2/20/13)
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
(02/20/13)
The Ten Most Innovative Companies In America
Information
- Measures of the value of information
- alternate syllabus (an example of data, not information)
- Information Comparison (View pdf version)
- Building Blocks of IS
(2/20/13)
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
(2/20/13)
- Week One Slides
- Week Two Slides
- Week Three Slides
(2/7/13)
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.
(1/23/13)
The Standish Reports
- Standish Group Report: Chaos
- Resolution of Projects
- Resolution of Projects, 1994-2004
- Cost Overruns
- Cost Overruns, 1994-2004
- Top Ten Reasons for Success
- CHAOS Report: 1994
- Glass, Robert L. The Standish Report: Does It Really Describe a Software Crisis?, Communications of the ACM, 49(8), August, 2006, pp. 15-16.
- Jørgensen, Magne and Kjetil Moløkken, How Large Are Software Cost Overruns? A Review of the 1994 CHAOS Report, Information and Software Technology, 48(4), April 2006.
- Standish view of Best Practices for SAD
- A humorous view of best practices. (View pdf Version)
(1/23/13)
Software Project Failure Costs Billions.. Better Estimation & Planning Can Help(1/23/13)
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
(1/23/13)
An example consultant's analysis report: Strider and Cline evaluate UM's implementation of PeopleSoft. (1/23/13)
The previous edition of your textbook had a chapter entitled "Succeeding as a Systems Analyst." It is available here with permission of the publisher. (1/23/13)
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