4.a.i Definition - Nature of the problem.

The first task of the student is to select a problem to be solved as their project
according to the notes in the introductory chapter of this module. There are two very
important points about the problem. The first is that the person who has to assess the
worth of the project when it is finished knows nothing about the problem and must
have it explained to them in great detail if they are to understand the rest of the work.
The student and the owner of the problem must have the same idea about the nature of
the project otherwise the student can never be sure that they are solving the correct
problem.
The first of these problems gives rise to this section of the project work.
There is a need for the organisation to be explained. The difficulty here is the depth of
description that needs to be given. Is it necessary to list the members of the
organisation? Probably not. However it is necessary to list those members of the
organisation that have direct access to the data around which the project is going to be
written, and to describe what rights of access each of them should enjoy.
Students who are familiar with the area of the problem find this section more difficult
than others because they find it very difficult to gauge how much detail should be
given. The teacher is essential in this aspect of the work, to act as a sounding board
for the student, to ensure that the student is providing the right level of information.
The teacher may find this difficult if they have a knowledge of the problem area, if
this arises then it is sensible for the student to seek another arbiter who knows little or
nothing about the problem area.
In order to analyse the situation, the student must determine how the present system
handles the data, or solves some other problem. To do this, initial discussions must
take place with the users and the student needs to begin to collect some information in
the form of
methods by which these data are presently stored
types of data that are used/produced by the system
how the data is collected/where does it come from?
what form the data takes and in what form is it stored?
There should be some indication of possible areas that are not performing as well as
they should or that are not currently covered by the present system, because if there
are no such areas then the project does not have a problem to solve. This discussion
must, by definition, be somewhat sketchy because the views are all coming from the
point of view of the systems analyst, the owner of the problem has not yet become
fully involved. This is what happens in the next stage of the work.

Evidence:
The report should contain
A description of the organisation that has the problem and the place of the
problem within it. This does not have to be in any great detail, as a guide, half a
side of A4 should be quite adequate.
A description of how the chosen problem is dealt with at the moment. This can
only be a sketchy description because, until the analysis section has been
completed, it is not possible to describe the area in any detail.
A CLEAR description of the data that is used in the area of the problem. The
exact data that will form part of the solution is not yet known because the problem
has not yet been fully specified, however, it is necessary to be aware of all the data
that may be required. This does not mean all the information. We do not yet want
to know that John Jones hired a school locker (NO. 453) on the 18/11/01. He is in
form 8JHL and that he What we do need to know is that the pupil name is
important, that the name must be linked to a locker, that the date the hire began is
important in order to calculate the cost, that the form of the pupil is important in
order to give a point of contact,
A clear indication of where the data came from. How it is collected. Something
along the lines of: The school sends a letter home with a tear off portion that asks
for the following facts.; the lockers are in different areas of the building with
those in block 1 starting with the number 1; Different year groups are in
different blocks
Much of this information may not be known. The analyst may have to report, at this
stage, that the means by which particular locker numbers are assigned to different
pupils is not known, but that it will be necessary to find out during the interview with
the end-user or with other users.

4.a.ii Investigation and Analysis.

This section is really the pivotal section of the whole project. It is in this section that
the analyst and the end-user pool their knowledge in order that decisions can be made
about the direction that the project should take.
Following the first stage, the analyst should have a number of questions to which they
need the answers. Although the example used was one from within the experience of
most students because something similar will happen in their own schools or colleges,
this is simply for illustrative purposes. The ideal problem is one which the student
genuinely has to find out about because they know little about it.
This section of the work is in four parts:
1. Finding out what the problem is in some detail.
2. Learning about the area within which the problem is situated.
3. Considering different types of solution to the identified problem.
4. A requirements specification which will allow the student to carry on to the
next stage.
1. Problem. This is going to involve the end user. The analyst (student) needs to find
out, in detail, what the end user wants from the system. If this part of the project is not
done carefully, then the project will not be successful because the end user and the
analyst will have different ideas of what the problem is. The normal solution is to
arrange an interview with the end user. This is not a matter of the student having a
general chat with their end user, or even having detailed discussions where the student
has carefully considered all the questions and asks them in order. It must be planned
and yet be very different from simply reading from a questionnaire.
The first point to be considered is how the interview is going to be conducted. Will
the student try to copy down the end-users comments as they are being spoken or not?
This is a very poor interviewing technique because it does not allow the analyst to
consider what is being said before asking the next question. Two better alternatives
are for the analyst to take a third person with them whose job it is to write down
everything that is said, or to use a tape recorder to tape the interview. Whichever
method is used, it is simple politeness to tell the end user how the interview is planned
and to ask permission (particularly if the interview is to be taped). At the same time it
is wise to check with the end-user whether there are any subjects that should not be
brought up in the interview. In the real world there may be sensitive topics that the
student will not be allowed access to. Although it is simple for the end-user to refuse
to answer a question in the interview, it shows an understanding on the part of the
student if they cover this problem beforehand.
The student should go into the interview with a series of well prepared questions to
ask. However, they should not be asked as a simple list. If this is all that is done, the
interview is a waste of time, the end-user could simply have filled in a questionnaire.
The whole point about an interview is that the questioning should be flexible.
Students should have starter questions on each of the areas to which they want
answers. They should also have prepared a series of follow up questions that can be
used, dependent upon the answer to the initial question. If a student finds themselves
saying something on the lines of That is interesting, in which case what would you
do about then they are demonstrating a flexibility in their questions, they are

demonstrating that they are listening to the responses, and that they are showing an
interest in the end user. In short they really are playing the part of a true systems
analyst.
2.Background. Students should not forget that there are different people involved in
this organisation. Mrs. Robinson may be responsible for the allocation of lockers, so
she was the end user who was interviewed. However, Mr. Arapah is in charge of year
8 and therefore deals with any problems that may arise, the form teachers actually
distribute the keys and collect in the money, and the pupils and their parents are the
actual users of the lockers. There will be important information to be gleaned from
these people, which can be done by using different methods of collection. For
example, a sample of parents (how are they to be chosen?) could be sent a
questionnaire, while the student may be invited to go to the next Year 8 form
teachers meeting to lead a discussion about the present system
The present documentation needs to be collected and analysed. Does the present letter
collect all the information which is thought necessary?
3.Solutions. Having collected all the information, different types of solution may
present themselves for consideration. In this example, the main problem is found to be
keeping a check on the money (suggesting a spreadsheet solution) or form teachers
are fed up with writing letters home (a database solution producing standard letters
under particular circumstances) or security may be a problem leading to a computer
control solution with some kind of PIN to open lockers. These different types of
solution must be considered as they provide a pointer towards the identification of the
final problem. These different approaches should be discussed with the end-user and
the responses should be noted.
4. A requirements specification. The student has now identified the problem and the
type of solution which is necessary. Thoughts must now turn toward the hardware and
the software that will be necessary to provide a solution. It is at this stage that the
teacher must discuss with the student the requirements that they consider are going to
be necessary in order to make sure that the requirements are going to be available and
that there are not going to be any unpleasant surprises later on in the work, when it is
suddenly discovered that the chosen software cannot do something that was expected
of it.
Evidence:
The report should contain:
Detail relating to the planning of the end-user interview.
The original plan of the questions, showing that all areas had been planned to be
covered and that sensible follow up questions had been considered.
Transcript of the interview itself, including an element of later analysis and
isolation of important facts.
Further evidence of information collection relevant to the problem area.
Possibly a data flow diagram ( or some other representation) showing how the
present system works.
Consideration of different methods of solving the problem, together with some
evidence that the end user has been involved in the decision making.

Hardware and software requirements of the system with discussion about the
needs for each and any problems that may arise because some elements are not
available.