ISDS 3100 : FinalCheatSheet
15 Mar 2019
School
Department
Course
Professor
Requirements Determination 1. Know where the phase is in the SDLC: 2nd a. Know the 3 major activities Requirements determination (fact finding), Requirements
Structuring (thorough and clear description of both the current system and the proposed system from:[ UCD, UCN, Activity charts; Processes & data flows (DFDs);
Logic & timing of events (primarily structure English, Decision Tables, or Decision Trees); Data (ER diagrams and database designs)], Alternatives Generation and
Selection (choice b/t alternate strategies usually accompanied by a recommendation using the Business Case-Feasibility analysis & risk analysis). b. Know the inputs
Baseline Project Plan (BPP), Work Breakdown Structure (WBS), Statement of Work (SOW). c. Know the outputs and deliverables User requirements statement
(System Proposal), Set of models that are used as detailed input to next phase of SDLC (Logical Design). d. Know the purpose Using the Baseline Project Plan as input,
determine what information and processes are needed to support selected objectives and functions of the project (and organization) and model this information,
which is used as input to the 4th phase (Logical Design). The goal of this phase is to converge on a recommended “solution”. 2. Why is it critical to do a good job here?
Many errors in production systems are directly traceable to inadequate efforts in the analysis phase.3. What are the 4 traditional methods of gathering information?
Interviews (individual and group) (P:Opportunity to motivate open responses, can probe for more feedback, can adapt/reword questions, can observe non-verbal
communication; C:Time-consuming/costly, highly dependent on analyst’s HR skills, impractical due to location), questionnaires (P:Answered quickly, relatively
inexpensive, anonymity, quickly tabulated and analyzed; C:Low responses, no guarantee for answers, inflexible (no clarification), no body language, difficult to
prepare), observation (P:Highly Reliable, can see exactly what’s being done, won’t have to explain complex tasks, inexpensive, can do work managements; C:May
unwittingly perform tasks differently, difficulty/volume may not be the same when observed, scheduling inconvenience, interruptions, official/unofficial procedure),
collecting procedures & written documents. 4. What are some of the more modern methods of gathering information? Joint Application Design, Group Support
Sytems, CASE, Prototyping, Business Process Techniques (Automation, improvements, re-engineering). 5. Know the difference between functional and nonfunctional
requirements Functional-What the system must do. Processes (tasks) the system must perform and information that is must contain to do them. Processes oriented
ones often end up as the processes in DFD while informational ones often end up as the data flows or data stores in DFD. Nonfunctional-What characteristics the
system must have. Behavioral properties the system must have (operational, performance, security, cultural, and political). Influence the design phase (user interface
designs) more than the analysis phase. Their influence on the modeling is largely indirect, although still important. 6. For the 3 business process techniques, know the
goal of each, one method within each and what size improvement opportunities are available for each. Business Process Automation: User Efficiency; Problem
Analysis, Root Cause Analysis; Small process improvement. Business Process Improvement: User Efficiency & User Effectiveness; focus on the “to-be” system,
Duration Analysis, Activity-based costing, Informal Benchmarking; Mid-range (incremental) improvements; most common. Business Process Re-engineering: Radical
Redesign of Business process; focus on “to be” system, outcome analysis, Technology analysis, Activity elimination; Large improvements.7. Know Whitten’s good Fact-
Finding strategy Learn all you can from existing documents, forms, reports, and files. If appropriate, observe the system in action. Given all the facts that you’ve
already collected, design and distribute questionnaires to clear up things you don’t fully understand. Conduct your interviews (or group work sessions like JAD).
Follow up. 8. For Interviews a. What are the 5 questions you are trying to answer What people do, how they (want to) do it, what they need to do it, who does it, why
do they do it, what procedures, expectations, guideline, policies are. b. Know at least 2 guidelines Prepare. Make appointment. Explain purpose. Create agenda,
checklist, and/or questions. Verify questions if possible. Listen. Review notes within 48hr. Maintain neutrality. Seek diverse opinions/views. c. Know the types of
questions and the differences between them Open-ended, close-ended, question guidelines (follow-up questions). d. Advantages and disadvantages Disadvantage of
single interviews is there is no consensus building/reconciliation of diverse interview. 9. Group Interviews a. Advantages and disadvantages More effective use of
time, allows for consensus building; Disadvantages: Unequal participation, scheduling. 10. Questionnaires a. Advantages and disadvantages Takes less time, can
access more people than interview, cheaper, less biased, anonymous. Disadvantages: Passive, don’t go into depth of interviews, miss unknown info, impersonal,
difficult to judge accuracy. b. Know what I recommend as 2 good uses of them Measure levels of user (dis)satisfaction. Choose (Rank) list features offered by COTS
packages to determine which ones are crucial. 11. Observation a. Advantages and disadvantages Can verify previously-gathered info, supplement info from other
sources, determine what area to question. Disadvantages: Hawthorne Effect, only get snapshot of entire process. b. What is the Hawthorne effect? People make
mistakes when they’re nervous, deliberate slow-downs/speed-up, follow formal system instead of informal) 12. Document collection a. Advantages and
Disadvantages May need to redesign procedures before system design. Missing/out of date procedures. Formal vs informal system. b. What is the major key piece of
information you can get from documents? c. I gave you a list of things to look for in documents, know 2 of them to list and describe with one sentence Problems with
existing systems. Opportunities to meet new needs. Organizational direction. Titles and names of key indiciduals. Values of the organization/stakeholders. Principles
by which the organization operates, special irregularly occurring info, reasons for current system design. Data, rules for processing. Problems with written
procedures. 13. Modern methods – know at least 2 of them and why/when you might use one. Group support systems-group info collection tools. CASE tooles-
“Upper CASE” planning, diagramming and prototyping parts. RAD (Rapid Application Development). JAD (Joint Application Design) Essentially a highly structured
group interview). Prototyping-[Rapid interpretation of requirements into a testable design. Most useful when: Unclear/unknown user requirements. Small number of
users involved. Complex designs easier to evaluate concretely. Communication issues/history of poor communication. Readily available tools and data. Drawbacks:
Tendency to forget formal documentation, too customized, stand-alone systems, SDLC process by-passed, subtle-requirements forgotten).]
14. One of your readings is about identifying and defining problems – know the overall outline of the steps they recommend. I won’t ask you for details, but their
outline is a good approach. Identify yourself as a problem solver (one who distinguishes the professional from the line worker). Recognize problems (An obstacle that
stands in the way of achieving a desired goal; the difference between current state and where you want to be). Select intuitive approach (React immediately and
instinctively, without following a particular procedure; well suited for quick decisions/routine problems). Select a systematic approach (Solve problem in
methodical/organized manner; reasoned, rational approach and is appropriate for larger, more complicated problems that involve a lot of risk). Make decisions. Use
Case 1. Know which software development methodology was the original source of the Use Case technique. Object-oriented modeling-A result of UML being
accepted as a standard notation for object-oriented development. 2. In what phase of the SDLC are Use Case models developed? 2nd 3. I gave you several advantages
of using the Use Case technique. Be able to give me (and explain with one sentence) at least 3 of them. Provide tool for capturing functional requirements. Assist in
decomposing system scone into manageable pieces. Provide means of communicating functionality easily w/ users/stakeholders. Provides means of identifying,
assigning, tracking, controlling, and management system development activities. Aids in estimating project scope/effort/schedule. Baseline for testing in terms of
defining test plans/test cases; user help systems & manuals as well as system development documentation. Tool for requirements traceability. Starting point for the
identification of data objects/entries. Function specifications for designing user & system interfaces. Means of defining database access requirements. Framework for
driving the system development project. 4. Know what the characteristics of an actor are. Who or what can be an actor? Anything that needs to interact with the
system to exchange info. A role (not person); something (person/system) that derives benefit from system & is external to the system. Principal elements in system
environment—can provide input/receive output. Can be associated with other actors using specialization/superclass association. Label identifies role. Must be
associated w/ a use case. Place outside system boundary. 4 kinds: Primary business actors (stakeholder that benefits from execution of use care), primary system
actors (stake holder that directly interfaces with the system to initiate/trigger business event), external server actor (stakeholder that responds to a request from the
use case), and external receiver actor (the stakeholder that is not the primary actor but receives something of measurable/observable value. 5. What is the difference
between a Use Case Diagram and a Use Case Narrative? Use Case Diagram-A diagram that depicts the interactions b/t the system and external systems & users;
graphically describes who will use the system and in what ways the user expects to interact with the system. Use Case Narrative-Textual description of the business
event and how the user will interact with the system to accomplish the task. 6. What 4 things does a Use Case Diagram show at a high level? Actor, use case, system
boundary, shows relationships. 7. There is one type of relationship that exists between actors – what is it? Know its definition. Inheritance Relationships-When two or
more actors share a common behavior (they can both initiate the same use case) 8. There is one type of relationship that exists between an actor and a use case –
what is it? Know its definition. Association-An interaction occurs between them. Documents the communication that takes place between the use case and the actors
that use it. Typically two way, if one way, arrow show shoes direction) 9. Creating a Use Case Model is a 3-step process. What are the 3 steps? Gather requirements
from users. Prepare Use-Case Descriptions. Convert Use-Case Descriptions into Use-Case Diagrams 10. The first step in creating a use case is to identify the business
actors. The slides and notes give you several questions you can ask to help identify business actors. What are they? Who/what provides inputs to the system?
Who/way receives outputs from the system? Are there interfaces / other info systems? Are they automatically triggered (temporal) events? Who will maintain
information in the system? 11. The second step in creating a use case is to identify the business requirements use cases. The slides and notes give you several
questions you can ask to help identify business requirement use cases. What are they? What are the main tasks of the actor? What info does the actor need from the
Document Summary
Know where the phase is in the sdlc: 2nd a. Know the 3 major activities requirements determination (fact finding), requirements. Structuring (thorough and clear description of both the current system and the proposed system from:[ ucd, ucn, activity charts; processes & data flows (dfds); Logic & timing of events (primarily structure english, decision tables, or decision trees); data (er diagrams and database designs)], alternatives generation and. Selection (choice b/t alternate strategies usually accompanied by a recommendation using the business case-feasibility analysis & risk analysis). b. The goal of this phase is to converge on a recommended solution . Many errors in production systems are directly traceable to inadequate efforts in the analysis phase. 3. Sytems, case, prototyping, business process techniques (automation, improvements, re-engineering). Know the difference between functional and nonfunctional requirements functional-what the system must do. Processes (tasks) the system must perform and information that is must contain to do them.
