INFORMATION SYSTEM DESIGN

System: A system is a set of components that interact to accomplish some

purpose.
Information System (I.S.): Interrelated components working together to
collect, process, store, and disseminate information to support decision
making, coordination control analysis and visualization in an organization
Information: Data that have been shaped into a form that is meaningful
and useful to human beings
Data: Streams of raw facts representing events occurring in organizations.
Input: The capture or collection of raw data from within the organization or
from its external environment
Processing: The conversion, manipulation, and analysis of raw input into a
form that is more meaningful to humans.
Output: The distribution of processed information to the people or activities
where it will be used
Feedback: Output that is returned to the appropriate members of the
organization to help them evaluate or correct the input
Computer-Dasea 1.5.(CBIS): I.S. that rely on computer hardware and
software for processing and disseminating information.
Systems Analysis & Design: The process of examining a (business)
situation with the intent of improving it through better procedures and
methods
System Analysis: Process of gathering and interpreting facts, diagnosing
problems, and using the facts to improve the system
Systems Design: Process of planning a new system to replace or
complement the old.
 Analysis specifies what the system should do and design states how
to achieve the objective
Note:
 This examination should always be initiated by the people involved in
the situation.
 It is the job of the analyst to suggest solutions, but not make business
decisions.
 A computer based solution is not necessarily the only one.
What Systems Analysis is NOT
 Studying a business to decide which existing procedures should be
handled by the computer and which should be done by non-computer
methods
 Determining what changes should be made.
 Initiate new procedures and practices
SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT LIFE CYCLE (SDLC)
A process by which systems analysts, software engineers, programmers,
and end users build information systems and computer applications.
 It consists of 5 stages.
Stage 1. Problem Identification; Identify and prioritize those technologies
and applications that will return the most value to the business
 Systems Planning: ongoing study of a problem environment to
identify problem-solving possibilities.
Stage 2. System Analysis: Priorization of the requirements for solving the
problem.
 The emphasis is on the business, not the computer.
 It is the study of current business and information system, and the
definition of user requirements and priorities for new information
system.
 Synonyms include business problem analysis, requirement analysis,
and logical design.
What should system do?
- keep records of sales
- keep records of stock levels
- produce sales reports
Feasibility Study
Advantages Vs Disadvantage
T Technical feasibility (technically practical, staff, expertise)
E Economic feasibility
L Law feasibility
O Operational feasibility
S Schedule feasibility
Stage 3. System Design: The evaluation of alternative problem solutions
and the detailed specifications of the final solution computer-based.
- Emphasis shifts from the business to the computer solution.
- Sent to programmers.
- It is also called physical design.
Logical
• What data to hold?
• Which process to transform data?
Physical
• Which software and hardware to use?
• Decided on a package which could be modified

Stage 4. System Implementation

The construction or assembly of the new system and the delivery of that
system into “production” (meaning “day-to-day operation”).
Buy and install hardware
• Install software
• Set up data files
• "Test Run" system
• "Go live"

Stage 5. System Support & Maintenance

The ongoing maintenance and enhancement of a system after it has been
placed into operation. This includes program maintenance and system
improvements.
• Enhancements to software.
• To produce reports on certain items only “group" items and sort into
various orders for reports.

Systems Development Life Cycle - Main Steps

1. Produce Identification Terms of Reference
2. Preliminary Analysis Feasibility Reports
3. Systems Analysis Functional Specification
4. Systems Design Detailed Systems Specification
5. Implementation Fully documented System
6. Maintenance Test Runs
 Project: a sequence of activities that have one goal or purpose and that
must be completed by a specific time, within a predefined budget, and
according to some specification.
Project Manager: The person responsible for supervising a system project
from its initiation to its completion.
System Design
 System design includes the organization of people, equipment,
money and procedures to process the information.

System analysis and design draw heavily on the General Systems Theory
as a conceptual background.

General Systems Theory Importance for information system design

1) Components of a system interact Delineate components and their interrelations during analysis
2) A system is a whole Be sure to define the entire system before examining subsystems.
3) Systems are goal seeking What is the goal of an information system?
4) Systems have input and output A major design task is to specify input and output
5) Systems transform input to yield A major design task is to specify output processing to output.
Produce from input.
6) Systems yield entropy Information processing is critical to an organization's success
7) Systems must be controlled Information systems help control the organisation, information
systems have to have feedback on their own performance and be
controlled
8)Systems form a hierarchy Information systems design is a hierarchical task, systems consist of
hierarchies of Subsystems
9)Systems exhibit differentiation Information systems have many specialized parts
10) Systems exhibit equifinality It is better that it is explained through example. There many ways to
design a system to achieve desired goals.
Principles of a Well-designed System
 Just as in systems analysis, systems design too needs effective
management and is the result of a series of principles.

1) Principle of acceptability
The success of a new system is highly dependent upon its acceptability by
organizational personnel or the persons for whom it is designed.
 For a successful system, the people who use it should participate in
its analysis, design and development.

2) Principle of enhancing the decision-making process

The new system should enhance the decision making ability of
organizational personnel.
 This design approach allows more effective decisions

3) Principle of economy
For economy in the new system, no information service should be provided
that cannot be cost- justified.

4) Principle of flexibility
The new system should be adaptable in a changing environment by
allowing easy expansion or contraction.

5) Principle of reliability
Reliability in a new system refers to consistency over an extended period of
operation.
 A high degree of reliability can be designed into the system by
including good internal controls.

6) Principle of simplicity
The simplicity of a system can be affected by providing a straight-line flow
from one step to the next, avoiding needless backtracking.
 Additionally, a simplified system is easier to understand and use than
more complex system
Steps in System Design Process.
a) Review new system requirements
Systems design, devising new system approaches, centers on determining
the requirements for a new system.
 This initial step in systems design management takes into account
the information compiled to date on the present system.
 After system analysts have reviewed appropriate date, they must
specify the following:
- New policies consistent with the organization objectives
- Planned inputs
- New methods and procedures
- Data files to be maintained
- Output needs
- Internal control considerations
- Equipment considerations
The foregoing requirements for newly designed systems are not complete
until the human factors are considered

b) Design the new system

It is recommended that a methodical approach to systems design be
undertaken initially during this critical phase.
 Recommended is the modular or building block approach wherein
major system functions are successfully separated into distinct minor
functions.
 When the functional analysis is complete, the systems analyst
creates a structure for the functional modules that is capable of
operating within whatever hardware constraints are imposed.
 The net result of the modular approach is that duplicated activities are
eliminated and the complexity of the overall systems is reduced.

c) Flowchart and document the new system

An important step is preparation of the final system flowcharts for the
recommended system, without specifying the equipment.
 Accuracy, simplicity and ease of understanding are the essential
components since non-technical personnel may be reviewing and
evaluating them.
 d) Consider and review system design alternatives with proper
personnel
e) Select the more promising alternatives with the help of properly
experienced personnel
f) Compare the tangible and intangible benefits of the promising
alternatives.
 Cost factors, volumes and requirements for equipment and personnel
should be carefully analyses to check the validity
g) Select the system design from among the promising alternatives
that best meets the study’s requirements
h) Prepare the final system specifications for the recommended
systems design. Relate the systems design to other appropriate parts
of the information system
I) Document the final design.
One of greatest contributions of following the above steps in systems
design is that the right hand knows what the left is doing.
 The final step remains the selection of the equipment.

SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT CYCLE

A system can be seen as a life-cycle that passes through a number of
standard phases.
 In each of these phases, different management activities are
involved.

AnalysisDesignImplementationOperation evaluationDecayReplacement
The System Life Cycle
 First an analysis should be conducted in order to establish system
requirements and options available in system design.
 In system design a specific system will be developed to match the
application.
 Implementation leads to operation evaluation during which the
system fulfills its objectives and is modified from time, to time to
reflect changes, if any, in requirements
With time the system becomes less effective, either due to any faults or
because the system environment changes and the system is not able to
meet its objectives
Thus, decay sets in and this calls for planning a new system. The final
stage of the system’s life cycle, thus, is its replacement.
 The duration of each of these stages varies from system to system
but the operation evolution phase is usually the longest, many times
lasting a few years.
 The other stages like analysis usually last for a very short period.
 Rapid changes in the technology and the environment are the cause
of the decay and eventually call for replacement of the system.
The various stages in system development are:
1) Definition of objectives
2) Definition of systerequirements
3) Design phase
4) Implementation phase
5) Evaluation phase
Definition of Objectives
The first step is to engage in discussions leading to defining the objectives
of any new system.
 This phase is valuable as it helps not only in evolving guidelines and
requirements which may be invaluable later in the project, but also in
commencing the communication process and ensuring that all points
of view are considered.
This phase should review established practices and procedures and
attempt to identify where, when and why and how a change in system
might be helpful.
 An initial conduct of needs analysis in cooperation with staff whose
activities are going to be affected by any change is helpful.
The next step is to start gathering information on how to achieve the
objectives identified in the first phase.
 This is basically about information gathering both from internal and
external sources.
This collected information should facilitate a decision about the type of
system that is available to meet the requirements of the organization.
The definition of objectives therefore helps in establishing the terms of
reference to be developed, initial needs analysis, evaluation of options and
analysis of existing systems.
Definition of Systems Requirements
After having complete knowledge of the options available, and some insight
into how the various solutions might be applied to meet the requirements in
a specific application, it is necessary to go back and develop a full system
specification.
Usually this phase should seek to answer aspects like, the operations the
system is likely to cover, regular users of the system, kind of information
sought from the system, kinds of required records, vital features etc.
System Specification
The objective of the analysis phase of a systems analysis and design
exercise is the establishment of the requirements for the system that is to
be acquired, developed and installed.
The analysis and logical design of a system can be summarized in a
system specification, or specification of operational requirements.
Usually such a specification will include:
 Background information about the organization
 Details of the facilities to be provided by a computerised system,
identifying which are mandatory and which are optional Details of the
environment in which the system will operate, including any
standards, protocols
 The size of the system in terms of the numbers of records and
transactions to be handled, the number of workstations
 A timetable for implementation of the system
 Mandatory questions to be answered by suppliers, such as size of the
hardware, systems support arrangements, costs, etc.
 Information concerning any specific constraints
 Information about terms or forms of contract and any acceptance
tests
The system requirements specification sources both as a communication
document, as it supports discussion and development amongst those
concerned with the system, and also a reference document during
maintenance and review
Design Phase: Is concerned with the analysis, flowcharting and other
charting of the functions and operations that the system must perform.
 The design phase also includes the logical systems model, physical
systems model, choice and ordering of hardware and software
configuration

Implementation Phase: involves planning and preparation, education and

training of personnel, database creation, system installation and switch-
over from old system to the new system.

Evaluation Phase
The last stage of this exercise is a long way from the initial establishment of
requirements, but after successful implementation it is necessary to
complete the exercise by going back to the specifications and assessing
the extent to which the system is meeting its stated objectives.

SYSTEMS FLOWCHART
In each phase of the information system’s development process, the
systems analyst relies on specific tools or techniques for accomplishing the
goals and objectives. These include:
 Interview
 questionnaire approach
 observation
 sampling
 document gathering
 charting on decision tables
Charting: is a technique which pictorially represents some dimension of
the organization or an organizational activity.
 Of all the techniques utilized by systems personnel, charting is one
technique most closely identified with systems efforts.
 It is not only an important fact finding technique but also a valuable
one for performing analysis, synthesis and communication.

Amongst the most important of all charting techniques available to the

analyst is the flowchart.
Flowchart: is a set of symbols representing an activity.
 Flowcharts are widely used in systems work because they can
graphically represent the interrelationships among elements in a
system to varying degrees of detail.
 Consequently, flowcharts can be used in problem definition, anlaysis,
synthesis, communication and documentation.
Three broad classifications of flowcharts are:
a) Systems Flow-chart: is a chart which depicts the system as a whole
with only subsystems or major elements shown.
b) Procedural Flowchart: is a graphic representation of a specific
operation or data flow with the system.
c) Logic Flowchart: is a flowchart that provides an in-depth analysis of
a given set of logical processing step

Flowcharting Symbols
For drawing flowcharts, a variety of symbols are used to represent certain
logical or processing operations.
The systems personnel for a number of reasons use these symbols:
 The symbols have specific connotations attached to them
 These connotations are standard among computer and technical
persons, and
 These symbols can be drawn quickly
Although it is not necessary to use special symbols when flowcharting, the
use of symbols can enhance the viewer’s understanding. Some of the
important flowcharting symbols are:
SYSTEM IMPLEMENTATION
Implementation refers to the entire change effort associated with a new
system.
 We design a system to improve information processing, and
improvement implies that we must change existing information
processing procedures.
 Implementation is the part of the process of designing a system and
considerable time should be spent in planning the installation and
implementation of the system.
 Implementation can be lengthy and it is important not to
underestimate the impact that the implementation of a new system
may have on working practices and customer service

The installation phase starts with a review of the way in which the system
will affect the existing operations of the organization.
 If a thorough analysis has been made in the earlier stages of the
systems analysis exercise, many of the jobs, issues and other
matters concerned with the installation of the system will have been
identified and planned already.

At this point it is necessary to gather a quantitative picture of the work to be

done in order to achieve implementation and to identify specific staff
responsibilities

A detailed timetable of training, installation and other activities needs to be

agreed and finalized. Implementation process involves:

a) Preparation and planning the implementation

Various preparatory activities involving a good understanding of the work
necessary to implement the system design help in developing a detailed
implementation plan.

b) Installing hardware
The system design is made available to the suppliers of the computing
equipment contained in the approved configuration. This includes the
computer itself and the various workstations, as well as other peripherals.
c) Installing software
After installation of the hardware, the software is to be installed, run and
tested on small trial databases.

d) Preparation of the database

Once the hardware and the software start performing satisfactorily,
preparation of the database commences.
 In some cases, it will be necessary to gather new data, and in others
it will be necessary to reformat existing data to conform to the new
system design.
 Once these tasks are completed, the data is entered into the
database.
e) Educating the participants and the users
The new system will most likely affect many people. Some will make the
system work. These are the participants, which include data entry
operators, coding, and other administrative personnel. Others will use the
system’s output. All these people must be educated about their roles in the
system.
f) System conversion
There are a number of implementation strategies that can be adopted for
moving from one system to another. The options include:
 Complete changeover: Involves the old system being replaced by a
new system on a specified date.
 This is risky if the system is central to the organization’s
operations and should only be contemplated if all aspects of the
new system have been carefully tested and the changeover has
been very carefully planned.
 Phased approach: in which the total system is divided into sections.
Each section is installed individually and the sections are introduced
one at a time.
 This approach allows staff to change gradually but on occasion
there can be difficulties associated with maintaining parts of the
old system, whilst introducing a new system.
 Parallel running: where both old and new systems are operated in
parallel for is some period of time, until there is confidence in the new
system and the old system can cease to operate.
 Although this is a secure approach, it is expensive and staff can
easily become impatient at having two systems
  Pilot running: Pilot operation of a system in a more controlled
environment, such as a smaller department, before full introduction at
all sites.
 Pilot running allows the system to be tested in operation in a
controlled environment upon which systems staff can focus
their support, as a means of testing the system before it is
released system-wise.

SYSTEM EVALUATION
System evaluation is the last stage of the systems analysis and design
process.
 Although it is a long way from the initial establishment of the
requirements, it is important to emphasise that after successful
implementation, it is necessary to complete the exercise by
going back to the specifications and assessing the extent to
which the system is meeting its stated objectives.
 Such an assessment may lead to improvements and
refinements in the way in which a system is used.

The evaluation process also includes testing of the equipment as systems

analyst, while selecting equipment, must be aware of modularity,
compatibility, reliability, maintainability and vendor support.
 Here, vendor support refers to availability of training facilities;
installation support; system development, conversion and testing
assistance; experience level and competence; availability of a user
group and availability of specialized software systems.
Evaluation helps to assess whether the operational characteristics of the
sub-systems have been made compatible with interrelated subsystem and
with the overall system.

While evaluating, the effectiveness of the system can measured only

after the following have been accomplished:
 Identification of user requirements at all levels of system design
 Measurement of subsystem and subsystem performance at all levels
of operation
The system user too dictates the criteria for evaluation. System
effectiveness can be measured in terms of reliability, supportability,
survivability, mobility, capability and dependability. Another aspect to be
considered in evaluation is the costs both direct as well indirect.
The various costs include the computer configuration costs, environment
costs, physical installation costs, cost of conversion, cost of operations,
program and program testing costs, training costs and documentation
costs.

SYSTEM DOCUMENTATION
System analysts and users usually develop procedures concurrently with
module coding and testing.
 A complete written set of manual procedures is developed by
documenting all manual processes to be performed by the user and
data processing personnel in the actual operation of the system.
 The procedures cover such items as input preparation, control and
balancing, error correction, and computer operator instructions.
Collectively, these procedures form a critical part of the system’s
documentation.
Documentation is sometimes the most neglected aspect of the systems
development life cycle.
 Organizations frequently depend on a key individual or group of
individuals to design and operate an information system.
If these people rely on their memories for programming, systems and
operating information and leave the organization for some reason the
organization has to study and document the existing system before work
can begin on modifying it or designing a new one. Rarely anyone
remember all the detailed design information of a complex computer
information system.
Adequate system documentation includes the following:
 All the specifications in the systems development life cycle
 Data flow diagrams and structure charts
 lData dictionaries
 Hardware specifications
 Performance specifications
 Joy descriptions
 Procedure manual
A successful documentation programme requires goals and procedures for
creating and updating documentation. Some specific goals include a
simplified yet comprehensive method for creating and updating
documentation; a standard development of a manual whose format and
organization would be a model for all documentation and a standardized
approach to documenting all systems.

SUMMARY
 The system design brings together the separate elements into a
viable whole and by doing so shows how something can be
accomplished.
 Knowledge required to perform the design phase encompasses the:
 Organizational resources
 User information requirements
 System requirements
 Data processing methods
 Data operations
 Design tools.
 An important aspect of the overall design of an information system is
the establishment of effective controls.
 During the design phase, the systems analyst must identify and
implement various controls to ensure the integrity and reliability of the
information system.
 Specific design activities necessary for the development of an
information system too are to be considered.
 A frequently used tool for a systems analyst while designing a system
is a flowchart.
  Flowcharts are widely used in systems as they can graphically
represent the interrelationships among elements in a system to
varying degrees of detail.
 Evaluation of a system helps an analyst to decide the merits of a
system before its actual implementation.
 In order to implement a new system successfully, there are a few
activities to be performed by the systems analyst.
 These include training and educating personnel, testing of the
system, system conversion and finally a followup to implementation

KEYWORDS

Flowchart: A flowchart is a set of symbols representing an activity.

Flowcharts are widely used in systems work because they can graphically
represent the interrelationships among elements in a system.

Systems Analysis: It is the study of an existing system for the purpose of

designing a new or improved system.

Systems Approach : It is a philosophy of structure which coordinates, in

an efficient manner, the activities of an organization or a system. System
Conversion : It is a changing process from one system to another and
occurs when the old system is completely abandoned upon implementation
of the new system.

System Design : System design is the determination of the processes and

data a new system will require. When the system is computer-based, the
design can also include a specification of the types of equipment to be
used.
System Development : The complete process from planning, analysing,
then Life Cycle designing and then implementing the computer processes.

System Documentation : Comprehensive documenting method for

creating and updating and maintaining the system a standards manual
whose format and organization would be a model for all documentation to
be developed; and a standardized approach to documenting all systems.

System Evaluation : It is the process that helps a systems analyst decide

the merits of a system before its final implementation and also assess the
performance of the system from time to time

System Implementation : System implementation is the acquisition and

integration of the physical and conceptual resources that produce a
working system.

System Life Cycle : The stages to first plan, then analyse, then design
and then implement the system.