Modern Systems Analysis and Design covers the concepts, skills, methodologies, techniques, tools, and perspectives essential for systems analysts to successfully develop information systems. This course uses the systems development life cycle (SDLC) model as an organizing tool throughout the topics to provide students with a strong conceptual and systematic framework.

This is a practical course about information systems development methods. All businesses and organizations develop information systems. You can be assured that you will play some role in the systems analysis and design for those systems – either as a customer or user of those systems or as a developer of those systems. Systems analysis and design is about business problem solving and computer applications. The methods you will learn in this course can be applied to a wide variety of problem domains, not just those involving the computer.

We start in Part One – Foundations for Systems Development (The Systems Development Environment, The Origins of Software, Managing the Information Systems Project) with fundamental concepts, philosophies, and trends that provide the context of systems analysis and design methods – in other words, the basics! If you understand these basics, you will be better able to apply, with confidence, the practical tools, and techniques you will learn in Part Two – Planning (Identifying and Selecting Systems Development Projects, Initiating and Planning Systems Development Projects). Part Three - Analysis (Determining System Requirements, Structuring System Process Requirements, Structuring System Data Requirements). Part Four - Design (Designing Databases, Designing Forms and Reports, Designing Interfaces and Dialogues, Designing Distributed and Internet Systems), and Part Five – Implementation and Maintenance (System Implementation, Maintaining Information Systems).

While providing broad coverage of the systems development life cycle, this course also presents topics that should be covered in any introductory systems analysis and design course. Such topics include business information systems concepts; mission statements; strategic planning; feasibility studies; fact-finding techniques; data flow diagrams; structured English; decision tables; decision trees; object-oriented analysis and design; enterprise computing; make or buy decisions; employee empowerment; prototyping; CASE tools; systems flowcharts; the use of codes; reducing input errors; data security; automated design tools; entity-relationship diagrams; cardinality; normalization; UML notation; database design and management; traditional file organization; online versus batch processing; centralized versus distributed processing; LANs and WANs; client/server systems; software engineering; unit, link, and system testing; documentation; training; systems changeover; post-implementation evaluation; support activities; maintenance activities; capacity planning; communication tools; feasibility and cost analysis tools; and project management tools. Each of these topics is covered in detail and clearly linked to the appropriated phase or phases of the SDLC, so that students understand where they fit with the larger systems development life cycle.