SAD

NVQ Level 05 - Semester 1 - Information and Communication Technology

System Analysis and Design

Answer any five (05) questions

Question -1

a) Define the Information System. (4 M)

It is an arrangement of Computer Technology (Hardware & Software) and Telecommunication  Technology (Data, image, voice) to support and improve day to day operations,  problem solving and decision making needs of management and users. 

b) Define the Stakeholders in Information System and give two examples. (4 M)

‘Any person who has interests in an existing or proposed information system. Stakeholders may include both technical and non-technical workers. They also may be the internal ones or may be the external one.’

In building the information system the system owners, system users, system designers, system builders and all of the above system analysts and the project managers all these are commonly known as the stakeholders.

c) Briefly explain "System Analysis" and state four skills of a system analyst. (4 M)

It is a process of collecting and interpreting facts, identifying the problems, and decomposition of a system into its components.

• Strong analytical skills
• Attention to detail
• Teamwork skills
• Written and verbal communication skills
• Interpersonal skills
• Flexibility
• Adaptability

d) Define the term "Use case". (4 M)

A use case is a written description of how users will perform tasks on a system.  It outlines, from a user’s point of view, a system’s behavior as it responds to a request.

e) List down the elements of use case diagram with suitable diagram symbol. (4 M)

1. Actor
2. Use case 
3. Communication 

Question - 2

a) List major components of software development. (2 M)

• Problem Definition (systems Investigation)
• Systems Analysis
• Systems Design
• Systems Implementation
• Systems Testing
• Systems Maintenance

b) Describe the Waterfall model of software development. (4 M)

"The Waterfall" approach, the whole process of software development is

divided into separate phases. In Waterfall model, typically, the outcome of one phase acts as the input for the next phase sequentially.

In a waterfall model, each phase must be completed before the next phase can begin and there is no overlapping in the phases.

Requirements Analysis, Design, Development, Testing, Implementation, and Maintenance.

c) State two strengths and weakness of waterfall model respectively. 

d) In which situation you can use Prototype software development model? State two types of prototype models (4 m)

The Prototyping Model should be used when the requirements of the product are not clearly understood or are unstable. 

It can also be used if requirements are changing quickly. This model can be successfully used for developing user interfaces, high technology software-intensive systems, and systems with complex algorithms and interfaces.

Types of prototype models

1. Evolutionary Prototyping
2. Incremental Prototyping

e) How does the agile model overcome the limitations of the waterfall model? (6 M)

• Waterfall is a Liner Sequential Life Cycle Model whereas Agile is a continuous iteration of development and testing in the software development process.

• Agile performs testing concurrently with software development whereas in Waterfall methodology testing comes after the “Build” phase.

• Agile allows changes in project development requirement whereas Waterfall has no scope of changing the requirements once the project development starts.

Question - 3

a) Explain the term Requirements elicitation. (4 M)

Requirements elicitation is the process of identifying the sources of requirements for a new system and obtaining those requirements from those sources.

b) Explain the difference between functional requirements and non-functional requirements. (4 M)

Functional requirements: Specify what the information system must do or Functionality or services that the system is expected to provide.

Non-Functional requirements:Specify a property / quality the system must have or These are constraints  on the services or functions offered by the system.

c) What do you understand by "Feasibility Study"? (4 M)

The measure of how beneficial an information system will be to an organization.

d) Define the Software Requirements Specification. (4 M)

A software requirements specification is a document which is used as a communication medium between the customer and the supplier.

When the software requirement specification is completed and is accepted by all parties, the end of the requirements engineering phase has been reached.

The software requirement specification should be edited by both the customer and the supplier, as initially neither has both the knowledge of what is required (the supplier) and what is feasible (the customer).

(any two answers)

e) List down the contents of Software Requirements Specifications. (4 M)

• Purpose

• Scope planning

• System overview

• Functional and non-functional requirements

• User interfaces

• Hardware requirements

• Data flow diagrams

• Other requirements –eg. Handling change requests etc.

• Cost benefit analysis

(any four answers) 

Question - 4

Young inventors club decided to implement new web site to motivate their members. They carryout various activities that aid the members to make their dreams a reality. Web site contains the following information:

- People who have sufficient qualifications are asked to apply by completing and submitting the application form. Member details are stored in "member file".

- The account department using information from the member file decide the membership fee and sends invoice to the relevant member. Membership Payments made are registered on the "payment file".

- Administrator can schedule activities for the members but members who have paid the fee can participate in those activities. 'Schedule file' maintains all the schedule details. 

- System maintains all the publications in "publication file' and Members can view the publications. 

a) Draw the context diagram for the above Young Inventors system. (8 M)

b) Draw the level 0 Data Flow Diagram (DFD) for above system (12 M)

Question - 5

a) Briefly describe the flowchart (4 M)

A flowchart is a diagrammatic representation that illustrates the sequence of operations to be performed to get the solution of a problem.

Notation that is often used during the design stage of the software life cycle for quick and easy understanding of a programs flow.

b) List and describe the function of the symbols used in flow charts (4 M)

c) Draw the follow chart for the given scenario. (12 M)

To log in the Learning Management System (LMS) account, we first enter the LMS URL https://lms.slgti.com in our browser like Google, Firefox, Safari, Internet Explorer etc. This request is sent to the LMS server and it responds by sending us the home page of LMS. Next, we enter our registered Index Number (Registration Number) and Password and click the Login button. Then our login credential is checked. If it is correct, we are show our profile. On the other hand, if the login credential is wrong then an error occurs and we are prompted to re-enter our Index Number and Password. 

Question - 6

Write short notes of the following titles.

a) Prototype

• Prototyping is the process of quickly putting together a working model (a prototype) in order to test various aspects of a design, illustrate ideas or features and gather early user feedback.
• Prototyping is an information-gathering technique
• Prototypes are useful in seeking user reactions, suggestions, innovations, and revision plans
• Prototyping may be used as an alternative to the systems development life cycle

b) Requirement gathering techniques 

• Sampling of existing documents
• Research and site visits
• Observations of the work environment
• Questionnaires
• Interviews
• Joint requirements planning
• Brainstorming

c) Sequence Diagram

A sequence diagram is a type of interaction diagram because it describes how—and in what order—a group of objects works together. These diagrams are used by software developers and business professionals to understand requirements for a new system or to document an existing process.

d) UML

The Unified Modeling Language (UML) is a graphical language for OOAD that gives a standard way to write a software system’s blueprint. It helps to visualize, specify, construct, and document the artifacts of an object-oriented system. It is used to depict the structures and the relationships in a complex system.

e) SRS Documents

A software requirements specification (SRS) is a document that describes what the software will do and how it will be expected to perform. It also describes the functionality the product needs to fulfill all stakeholders (business, users) needs.