ANALYSIS – System Planning

Identifying the need for a new information system and launching an

investigation and a feasibility study must be based on an MIS master plan that
has management support. It is the first step in developing and managing
systems. Understanding MIS planning functions and their relationships to
system analysis and design, is crucial to successful system installations.

BASES FOR PLANNING IN SYSTEM ANALYSIS

Planning information system in business has become increasingly important
as:-
• Information in today’s era is recognized as a vital resource and must be
managed. It is equal to cash, physical facilities and personnel.
• more and more financial resources are committed to information system. As
computer systems are becoming integral to business operations, top
management is paying more attention to system development.
•There is a growing need for formal long-range planning with information
systems that are complex, require months or years to build, use common
databases, or have a great competitive edge.
 System Planning …contd..
Information systems embedded in an organization provide users with the
opportunity to add values to products and business operations at lower
costs. Therefore, they must be planned carefully.

Strategic MIS Planning

Planning for information system development must be done within the
framework of the organization’s overall MIS plan. It may be viewed from
two dimensions:-
• The time horizon dimension specifies whether it is short range (usually less
than two years), medium term (two to five years) or long term (more than
five years).
• The focus dimension tells whether the primary concern is strategic,
managerial or operational.
 System Planning …contd..
Strategic (MIS) planning is an orderly approach that determines the basic
objectives for the user to achieve, the strategies and policies needed to
achieve the objectives, and the tactical plans to implement the strategies.
• First task in strategic planning is to set the MIS objectives and the results
expected. Consideration of these objectives must deal with their fit with the
organization’s strategic plan, the types of the systems and services to be
offered, the role of users in system development, and the technology to be
used.
• Once the MIS objectives are set, MIS policies are defined as a guideline to be
used in carrying out strategy. MIS policies, in turn, are translated into long-
range (conceptual), medium-range (managerial) and short-range (operational)
plans for implementation.
Managerial and Operational MIS Planning
It integrates strategy with operational plans. It is a process in which specific
functional plans are related to a specific number of years to show how
strategies are to carried out to achieve long-range plans. The next step is to
devise short-range plans that spell out the day-to-day activities of the system.
 System Planning …contd..
The MIS operating plan requires the heaviest user involvement to define fully
the system’s requirements. System development must support
organizational MIS objectives that are the organization’s priorities. This has
been described in a three-stage model as under:-
• Strategic system planning - establishing relationships between the
organization plan and the plan for a candidate system.
• Information requirements analysis – identifying organizational requirements
to direct the specific application of system development projects.
• Resource allocation – determining hardware, software, telecommunication,
facilities, personnel, and financial resources to execute the development of
the system.
Planning for system development activities is a major aspect of the overall
planning job in terms of its importance and commitment of planning
resources. Formalizing the planning process makes it easier to reorient and
gain the support of upper, middle and operating management for candidate
system.
 Initial Investigation
The first step in the system development life cycle is the identification of a need.
This is a user’s request to change, improve, or enhance an existing system. The
initial investigation is the one of the way of handling this. The objective is to
determine whether the request is valid and feasible before a recommendation
is reached to do nothing, improve or modify the existing system, or build a new
one.
The user’s request form specifies the following:-
1. User -assigned title of work requested.
2. Nature of work requested (problem definition).
3. Date request was submitted.
4. Date job should be completed.
5. Job objective(s) – purpose of job requested.
6. Expected benefits to be derived from proposed change.
7. Input/output description – quantity (number of copies or pages) and
frequency (daily, weekly, etc.) of inputs and outputs of purposed change.
8. Requester’s signature, title, department and phone number.
9. Signature, title, department and phone number of person approving the
request.
 Initial Investigation …cont…
The user request identifies the need for change and authorizes the initial
investigation. Once the request is approved, the following activities are
carried out:- Background investigation, fact finding and analysis and
Presentation of results – called project proposal.
The proposal, when approved, initiates a detailed user-oriented specification
of system performance and analysis of the feasibility of the candidate
system.
A feasibility study focuses on identifying and evaluating alternative candidate
systems with a recommendation of the best system for the job.

Needs Identification
The success of a system depends largely on how accurately a problem is
defined, thoroughly investigated, and properly carried out through the
choice of solution. User need identification and analysis are concerned with
what the user needs rather than what he/she wants.
The user or the analyst may identify the need for a candidate system or for
enhancements in the existing system.
 Needs Identification …cont…
Determining the User’s Information Requirements
Shared, complete, and accurate information requirements are essential in
building computer-based information systems. Unfortunately, determining
the information each user needs is a particularly difficult task.
There are several reasons why it is difficult to determine user requirements:-
• System requirements change and user requirements must be modified to
account for these changes.
• The articulation of requirements is difficult, except for experienced users.
Functions and processes are not easily described.
• Heavy user involvement and motivation are difficult. Reinforcement for
their work is usually not realized until the implementation phase – too long
to wait.
• The pattern of interaction between users and analysts in designing
information requirement is complex.
• Users and analysts traditionally do not share a common orientation toward
problem definition.
 Needs Identification …cont…
Humans have problems specifying information requirements. “Asking” the user
what is needed of a candidate system does not yield accurate and complete
requirements. According to Davis, humans have these limitations:-
1. Humans as information processors. The human brain has both high-
capacity, long- term memory and limited- capacity (but fast), short- term
memory. The limits of short- term capacity affect the information
requirements obtained.
2. Human bias in data selection and use. Humans are generally biased in
their selection and use of data. Their behavior becomes a representation
of the bias.
3. Human problem- solving behavior. Humans have a limited capacity for
rational thinking. According to Simon, they must simplify it in order to deal
with it. Coined as the concept of bounded rationality, it means that
rationality for determining information requirements is “bounded” by a
simplified model (as well as by limited training, prejudice, and attitude of
user) that may not reflect the real solution.
 Problem Definition and Project Initiation
The first step in an initial investigation is to define the problem that led to the user
request. The problem must be stated clearly, understood and agreed upon by the
user and the analyst. Emphasis should be on the logical requirements (what must be
the results) of the problem rather than the physical requirements.

Background Analysis
Once the project is initiated, the analyst begins to learn about the setting, the existing
system, and the physical processes related to the revised system. Therefore, the
analyst should prepare an organization chart with a list of functions and the people
who perform them.

Fact Finding
After obtaining, the background knowledge, the analyst begins to collect data on the
existing system’s outputs, inputs and costs. The tools used in data collection are :-

 Review of Written Document

 On-site Observations
 Interviews and Questionnaires
 Problem Definition …. Contd…..
• Review of Written Documents: When available, all documentations on data carriers (forms, records,
reports, manuals, etc.) is organized and evaluated. Included in procedures manuals are the
requirements of the system, which helps in determining to what extent they are met by the present
system.
• On-site Observations: Another fact-finding method used by the systems analysts is on-site or direct
observation. As an observer, the analyst follows a set of rules. While making observations, he/she is
more likely to listen than talk, and to listen with interest when information is passed on.
The analyst observes the physical layout of the current system, the location and movement of people,
and the workflow. He/she is alert to the behavior of the user staff and of the people with whom they
come into contact.
• Interviews and Questionnaires: On-site observation is directed toward describing and understanding
events and behavior as they occur. This method, however, is less effective for learning people’s
perceptions, feelings, and motivations. The alternate method is interview and questionnaire. In either
method, heavy reliance is placed on the interviewee’s report for information about the job, the
present system, or experience. The quality of the response is judged in terms of reliability and validity.
Reliability means that the information gathered is dependable enough to be used for making
decisions about the system being studied. Validity means that the questions asked are so worded as
to elicit the intended information. So, the reliability and validity of the data gathered depend on the
design of the interview or questionnaire and the manner in which each instrument is administered.
In a interview, since the analyst (interviewer) and the person(s) interviewed meet face to face, there
is an opportunity for greater flexibility in eliciting information.s