Systems Analysis in Business

John Graham

• Publisher: Taylor & Francis
• Year: 2018
• Print ISBN: 9781138566668
• eBook ISBN: 9781351342926
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Business
• Subtopic: Business General
• Index: Business

Originally published in 1972. Managers at all levels and management students may all expect to become involved increasingly in the development of computer-based information systems. This book, based upon practical training given to systems analysts, is designed to help managers achieve a route to successful implementation of computer systems, or to prepare them for involvement in computer projects.

Chapter 1

The Work of
the Systems Analyst

The Computer Age

The second half of this century is characterized by the rapid acceleration of scientific and technical achievements. Many remarkable advances have been made; e.g. in nuclear physics, biochemistry, medicine, electronics, communications, as well as in industrial production and business organization. Some of these stand out more than others - man’s first footsteps into space have caught the imagination of the public, potentially turning fiction into fact. Yet each achievement is dependent upon continued progress in other related fields; for instance advancement in the aerospace industry requires the concerted exploitation of success in many other fields.

The general-purpose digital computer is a tool which has a vital position in all these matters, and it assumes increasing importance. Yet computers are continually misunderstood by both the layman and the technologist who may have to use them. If economic progress is not to be hampered, the mystique of computers has to be removed, and we must all learn to use them in the same way that one uses a typewriter or an automobile.

Is this ideal really practicable ? There is no doubt that computers are frequently misused, and to some extent the intricacies of the equipment have outstripped the potential that some organizations have to make use of it. The software specialist has done much to overcome the problem of communication with the machine, by producing compilers that permit users to write programs in languages relevant to their own training. For example, a language such as Fortran may be learnt fairly quickly, and is used by managers and technologists throughout the world from the central business planner to the petroleum engineer in the field.

Languages are not the answer to all problems. Computers have existed in commercial organizations since the early 1950s, and although rapid advances have been made in their application to business problems, many promised benefits remain unfulfilled. This is true particularly where one seeks to utilize the computer’s potential as a vehicle of communication - to store large volumes of data in a coordinated fashion so that one fact can be correlated with another on demand to satisfy the need for accurate, up-to-date information. Whenever one considers any application involving the collection of large volumes of data and the maintenance of data files in an integrated manner, the specialized skills of the systems analyst are needed. It is he who has to bridge the gap that invariably comes between the user and the computer. His talents are not vested purely in his skill as a data processing practitioner, but also in his overall knowledge of the business, of its data, and the relevance of information to good decision-making in the organization.

Computers have existed as a tool of man for a comparatively minute period of time; during our lifetime the systems analyst, the software developer, and the design engineer will probably change the state of the art considerably. It is to be hoped that such changes will make computers familiar to everyone - not as objects to be feared or avoided, but as valuable tools that remove much drudgery and free ourselves for more interesting and fruitful activities. Whatever the outcome, the systems analyst has a key role, both now and in the future, to use his specialized skills and organizing ability to achieve progress; in the final reckoning it is he who has responsibility to ensure that a system works.

Computers are extremely powerful and flexible tools. They are also expensive and complex and it must be clear by now that many computer projects have become financial headaches to management. Why is this so? Why is it that many managements have failed to reap the benefits that computerized systems afford ?

First of all we have to acknowledge that general-purpose digital computers are ambivalent. Conceptually they can be used to aid any enterprise which needs to process and communicate information, but they have to be managed with insight into the technical and social problems which will arise.

At heart every good manager has some talent for systems analysis, and the intention in this book is to summarize the precepts and show how the computer has influenced the approach to systems design.

Background to Systems Work

It would be useful at this point to give a concise answer to the question: What is a systems analyst? The first problem that we encounter, however, is that the term itself, although widely used, has many substitutes which seem to imply different functions: system designer, system investigator, analyst/pro- grammer, systems and methods analyst, systems engineer, and so on. None of these expressions even mention the word computer, although many people immediately think of computer applications when considering these terms.

The functions performed by systems staff have in fact grown considerably with the development of digital computers in commerce and industry, but there are still strong relationships between the work of the systems department and the activities formerly associated with organization and methods and work study. Nowadays it is common to find these functions grouped under the control of a data processing manager. All are concerned with analysing the operations performed by people and machines, and improving working procedures and methods of communication to enhance the efficiency of an organization.

The development of computer applications in business organizations has tended to change the emphasis of the systems department. In the early 1950s the analyst with computer training was concerned largely with improving overhead costs by designing systems to operate in problem areas where large volumes of transactions had to be handled. Thus computing power was often confined to standard application areas, e.g. payroll, inventory control, production control and sales statistics. The systems analyst was sometimes regarded as a computer programmer capable of converting, say, a punched-card application into a computer system with greater power to handle larger data volumes at increased speed. The turnround of results was improved and, in many cases, so was the quality and variety of information available from the system. Appreciation of the potential information-handling qualities of computer systems has lead to a widening of the scope of systems departments.

The systems department has become an instrument for putting into effect major policies of the top management of organizations. Its place in the organization and its relationship with other departments is not based solely upon the data processing skills and techniques that it can bring to bear on problems, but upon ability to improve the communication of information to managers and to provide a sounder basis for decision-making and evaluating the effects of management decisions at every level.

It was not until the mid 1960s that educational establishments and computer authorities began to lay down a basic syllabus for training systems staff and to specify standard methods for tackling the various stages of systems work. It is to be expected that these standards will be greatly developed in the years ahead, but nevertheless, a substantial amount of practical information can be set down as the basis of any course on this subject.

The managers within an organization have a need to understand the process of systems analysis and particularly to familiarize themselves with the potential and problems associated with computers. The intention in this book is to provide the necessary background to prepare managers for a deeper involvement with data processing. The best results in systems design and implementation are invariably achieved where the management in the using department takes a firm interest and control in the project. The failures nearly always arise where management leaves the responsibility to the technical specialists.

It is against this background that the opening chapter of this book is written. An attempt is made to define the functions to be performed by a systems analyst, the environment in which he works and the personal qualities and technical ability required to do the job. At the end of this chapter it should be possible to appreciate the role of the systems analyst and understand in general outline the way in which his work has to be conducted.

Structure of the Data Processing Department

A data processing department may be considered as consisting of the following functional units:

1. Systems development;
2. Programming;
3. Computer operations.

Role of the Systems Department

The systems development department is normally responsible for developing clerical and computer procedures to meet the operational and information requirements of an organization. Systems are developed to meet specified aims of the company’s management, and the basic stages in tackling a particular problem include:

1. Problem identification;
2. Analysis of current procedures;
3. Design and specification of proposed system including files, programs, and all data handling and data control procedures;
4. Documentation, presentation, and acceptance of proposed system;
5. Programming, program testing, and preparation of operating documentation;
6. System testing;
7. Education of user departments and computer operations staff;
8. Implementation of new system;
9. Monitoring operation of new system;
10. System review, if necessary.

These stages do not occur in distinct phases, but usually arise in the general sequence indicated above. The systems department is responsible for all these functions except possibly the programming function which may be done by a separate programming department; even so, the systems department will have to prepare detailed written specifications of the programs required. The systems department is responsible for ensuring that the whole of a system works correctly as specified, and have to ensure that every participant knows his role and has the knowledge and resources necessary to perform his function when the system goes live. We shall discuss the functions listed above in more detail later, but first will look at other units in the data processing organization.

Role of the Programming Department

The programming department may be part of the overall systems development function as shown in FIG. 1.1, but may otherwise be part of computer operations or even be a separate department in its own right. Programming is a specialized skill, and although most people can be trained to write programs, only experienced programmers are able to write, test, and debug programs efficiently so that they can perform the functions specified without errors. A programmer has to develop his programs in a logical manner, and has to chart and document the procedures so that other programmers can understand and amend them easily, if necessary, at a later date. The programming department usually has to work to a time schedule, and the final programs must be efficient in regard to the storage facilities and the computer time consumed when operational. As well as developing new programs, the programming department has also to support the programs currently running in routine production - maintaining programs where necessary to meet system changes, or changes caused by external events, e.g. changes in tax rates.

FIG. 1.1. Organization of a data processing department.

FIG. 1.2. Outline program flowchart showing breakdown into segments.

The functions...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• 1 The Work of the Systems Analyst
• 2 The Assignment Brief and Initial Investigation
• 3 The Feasibility Study
• 4 The Approach to Systems Design
• 5 Data Collection and Preparation
• 6 Designing File Systems— Magnetic Tape
• 7 Designing File Systems— Direct Access
• 8 On-line and Real Time Systems
• 9 Control of Systems Development
• 10 Documentation in the Systems Department
• 11 Installing and Monitoring a System
• 12 Introducing Change
• Bibliography
• Index