Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
Suppose analysis reveals that a marketing manager thinks a weakness of the existing system
is its inability to provide accurate reports on product availability. These requirements and a
preliminary list of the corporate objectives for the new system will be in the systems analysis
report. Particular attention is placed on areas of the existing system that could be improved
to meet user requirements. The table of contents for a typical report is shown in Figure 12.24.
Figure 12.24
A Typical Table of Contents for a
Report on an Existing System
Johnson & Florin, Inc.
Systems Analysis Report
CONTENTS
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
PROBLEM or NEED STATEMENT
DATA COLLECTION
DATA and REQUIREMENTS ANALYSIS
RECOMMENDATIONS
APPENDIXES of DOCUMENTS, TABLES, and CHARTS
GLOSSARY of TERMS
The systems analysis report gives managers a good understanding of the problems and
strengths of the existing system. If the existing system is operating better than expected or
the necessary changes are too expensive relative to the benefits of a new or modified system,
the systems development process can be stopped at this stage. If the report shows that changes
to another part of the system might be the best solution, the development process might start
over, beginning again with systems investigation. Or, if the systems analysis report shows
that it will be beneficial to develop one or more new systems or to make changes to existing
ones, systems design, which is discussed in Chapter 13, begins.
