Contemporary Methods for Determining Requirements

In this section, you will learn about several contemporary information-gathering techniques for analysis JAD, CASE tools to support JAD and Prototyping.

·         Joint Application Design (JAD)

o   Brings together key users, managers, and systems analysts

o   Purpose:  collect system requirements simultaneously from key people

o   Conducted off-site

·         Group Support Systems

o   Facilitate sharing of ideas and voicing of opinions about system requirements

·         CASE tools

o   Used to analyze existing systems

o   Help discover requirements to meet changing business conditions

·         System prototypes

o   Iterative development process

o   Rudimentary working version of system is built

o   Refine understanding of system requirements in concrete terms

Joint Application Design

• Brings together key users, managers, and systems analysts to work together in series of intensive meetings to specify or review system requirements.
• Team member meet in isolation for an extended period of time.
• Purpose:  collect  system requirements  simultaneously  from key  people involved with the system
• Conducted off-site. It is usually conducted at a location other than the place where the people involved normally work.

Illustration of the typical room layout for a JAD

JAD Participants

1.       Session Leader: facilitates group process

2.       Users: active, speaking participants

3.       Managers: active, speaking participants

4.       Sponsor: high-level champion, limited participation

5.       Systems Analysts:  should mostly listen

6.       Scribe: record session activities

7.       IS Staff: should mostly listen

Joint Application Design

1.       End Result

• Documentation  detailing  existing  system
• Features  of proposed  system

2.       CASE Tools During  JAD

• Upper  CASE  tools  are used
• Enables  analysts to enter  system  models  directly  into  CASE during  the JAD  session
•  Screen  designs  and prototyping  can be done  during  JAD and shown  to users

3.       Supporting JAD  with GSS

• Group support systems (GSS) can be used to enable more participation by group members in JAD
• Members type their answers into the computer
• All members of the group see what other members have been typing

Prototyping

• Quickly converts  requirements  to working  version of system
• Once the user sees requirements  converted  to system, will ask for modifications  or will generate additional  requests

Most useful when:

·         User requests  are not clear

·         Few  users are involved  in  the system

·         Designs  are complex  and require  concrete  form

·         History  of communication  problems  between  analysts and

·         users

·         Tools  are readily  available  to build  prototype

·         Prototyping (cont.)

Drawbacks

·         Tendency to avoid  formal documentation

·         Difficult  to adapt  to more general user audience

·         Sharing  data with other systems is often not considered

·         Systems Development Life Cycle (SDLC) checks are often bypassed