What deliverables from the SDLC?

The project manager should see all of the documentation.

• Project Scope and Objectives
• Systems investigation Report
• The current business systems functions
• Technical Aspects of the system
• Their interpretation of want I want the system to do
• Feasibility Study Report
• Economical Consideration
• Technical
• Organizational
• System Analysis
• Logical Model of existing Systems
• Data Flow Diagrams
• Data Modeling Diagram
• Data mold of Business entities

The project manager should review all these and signed off before we have proceeded to the Systems Design phase. In the Systems Design Phase I would want to see:
The user interface (screens)

• Reports
• The interface to other systems.
• The data and how it will be stored.
• How the systems process will work

In the detailed design phase I would want to see the main design document.

• Set of program specifications
• Pseudo-code
• Data flow diagrams
• Physical components of the system such as PC’s, phone lines, electrical wiring etc.

What do you need to see before you commit more money to the project?
One of the very first questions that I would ask is:

• Have you ever developed a system like this before?
• If so, do you have examples of your work or references?

I would commit more money:

• If all the documentation is in order.
• It is clear and concise.
• I understand the end game of each phase.
• I personally feel confidant in the development team and the management.
• There are no sales guys present.
• I have had personally one on one casual conversations with key players and developers.
• If the budget was reasonable and customary.
• If I believe in their proposal.
• If my past experience with the development team was positive.
• Other customers are positive about the development team.
• The development teams personal commitment, attitude and observations of work ethics.

These are just a few factors that give me a warn and fuzzy about moving forward and making more commitments. Since I am a systems developer and a systems engineer by trade, I am much more aware of certain things that some customers would not be aware of in the attention to detail of the project and developers.

For example a simple walk through the office I can tell by what type of computer, OS and software tools as to where management is given the development teams the appropriate and industry standard and currently used tools. If the development team are all Linux developers, creating a Windows application that will immediate throw up a red flag. Why? Linux users/developers are much less likely to follow the development guidelines publish by Microsoft for developing Windows applications. Another red flag would be if all the developers are running on Windows 98. That tells me management is not supporting the development team with the latest tools and it is very likely the development team has little experience and exposure to developing for Windows XP or the platform I require.


What will cause you to pull the plug on the project?

With all the things stated above:

• If some or most of the above that are negative.
• Unclear and confusing documentation.
• Smoke and Mirror documentation.
• Lack of planning.
• Lack of documentation.
• The project is completely off base from my vision.
• Too expensive.
• The development team is not experience enough in the are that I need development for.
• I feel uncomfortable with the people I am working with because of the attitude and their motivation.
• I feel unsure of the teams abilities.
• They have greatly exceeded the last proposal budget.
• They are severely late with the deliverable.
• I have found someone else that is better, that is cheaper, faster and better.
• I have been told by management that I must discontinue the project for reasons that my company might give such as being bought out by another company, or (the customer and I work for the same company) and we are bought out.
• The business situation changes, such as the lead developer quits, dies or leaves the project.
• There is a major break down in communications and personalities.
• Lack of cooperation from the development team.

There are many reasons, but these are a few that come to mind.


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Comparing between High-level vs. Detail Design

High-level DesignThe High-level Design is a basic idea or concept of the design. It is the 30,000 foot view and very little detail about individual components and is mainly the major much larger components. An example would be a diagram of out solar systems with each of the planets with their respective moons rotating around the sun. An even higher-level would be the Hubble telescope deep space view. In each a one inch area view of the night sky contained a million new un-before seen galaxies like our own. Wow now that is high level. Something a little more close to home would be like a data flow diagram. This is a high-level design that contains very little detail of each component, but gives the overall view of the entire process.

Detailed Design
A Detailed Design can be an individual process or components in which it can be much more closely examined. It doesn't show all the connections in the over all systems, but rather it show all the connections within it's own component or process. A good example of a detailed design would be the diagram that Bob posted the other day. This could be one component from the above diagram such as the "Material Attribute Data" component above. This type of diagram actually shows the data tables, fields and table relationships with primary and foreign keys.


What are the differences and/or similarities?

The major differences is the level of detail for each component. The High-Level is a general overview of the entire process using simple concepts, shapes and design. The Detailed Design is very detailed about it individual components or processes. The similarities are the structure, flow and the fact they show the pathways of how components and processes are related and connected.

When do they occur in the SDLC?

• Stage 1 Determine Scope - High-level Design (old detailed designs used as reference)
• Stage 2 System Investigate and Feasibility Study - High-level Design (old detailed designs used as reference)
• Stage 3 System Analysis - High-level Design, but maybe the beginning creation of the Detailed Design Ideas
• Stage 4 System Design - Creation of the Detailed Design, High-level Design used as reference
• Stage 5 Detailed Design - Refinement of the Detailed Design, High-level Design used as reference
• Stage 6 implementation - High-level Design & Detailed Design used as reference
• Stage 7 Changeover - High-level Design & Detailed Design used as reference
• Stage 8 Eval & Maintenance - High-level Design & Detailed Design used as reference

What is the purpose of each?

The High-Level design is to give the customer, management, and a developers and over all idea of what the project and process are about.

The Developers then take the High-level designs and develop them into individual components and processes designs.


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CASE Tools

A good way to manage the timeline is to use a CASE Tool like Microsoft Project. It can be used individually or on a team on a sever to manage the different phases of the SDLC and the timelines. Makes the project file available to all members on the team ensure that everyone is on the same page and knows what is coming next. It also aids in having to make adjustments to the project timeline less laborious. Managing a project on paper can be very time consuming, and not everyone will know what needs to be next or the status of certain phases of the project.

http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/FX010857951033.aspx

Another good CASE tool to use is Microsoft Visio. It has many features to make the creation of these logical models less laborious. It can import data and automatically build models. It can import database design information allows for the reverse engineering of a database to include relationships. It can do organization charts, network designs and many more. You can build and link the designs and even layer a design. This is one of my favorite features. It comes with a huge library of symbols and automatic snapping and connecting lines. Once you create a design you can use it in Microsoft Biztalk server and with Visual Studio.Net to create real-time living diagrams of processes and network monitoring.

Visio
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/FX010857981033.aspx

Biztalk
http://www.microsoft.com/biztalk/

Visual Studio.Net
http://msdn.microsoft.com/vstudio/

This is not meant to be a commercial for Microsoft. These just happen to be tools that I use.


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How to Troubleshoot a USB Port

If you have an optical mouse, plug that into the USB ports. If the optical light does not come on the ports are dead. You will have to call the vendor that made your computer like Dell. More than likely they will have to replace the motherboard. Hopeful it is still under warranty. If not then just go buy a USB 2.0 card for about $30 and that will bypass the issue.

If the optical mouse light come on and it works, the USB port maybe an older 1.1 versions and the USB adapter may not be compatible with the ports. In that case just go buy a USB 2.0 card for about $30 and that will bypass the issue.

Also check with the computer vendor and check to see if the have any firmware updates for the BIOS or driver updates for the USB ports. Then check to ensure that you have all the Windows Updates.

Once you have done this and it is still not working, but you do get a light on the optical mouse then uninstall/reinstall the USB drivers.

To do this:

• Right Click on My Computer on the Desktop
• Select Manage
• Expand the Device Manager
• Uninstall everything under the Universal Serial Bus Controller
• Then reboot.

If this fails then USB ports must be damaged in some way. Then just go buy a USB 2.0 card for about $30 and that will bypass the issue.


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Computer-Aided Software Engineering (CASE) Tools

CASE tools are used to facilitate and expedite the documentation and design of the process. CASE is also known as Computer-Aided Systems Engineering. Both are accepted to be one in the same in the industry.

CASE tools include planning tools, diagramming tools, and prototyping tools, such as computer display, projectors and report tools. Analyst can diagram and prototype ideas that can be display, refined and updated on the spot. By using CASE Tools one can compare the old designs with the new designs to determine what improvements can be made where in a visual form and fashion.

CASE tools are visual in a graphic form and allow everyone to see and understand what the designs are going to look like.CASE tools are known as Upper Level or Upper CASE tools to start at a high level concept and drill down on sub levels to more details of individual components within the entire process.

Examples of CASE Tools are Microsoft Power Point for presentations; Microsoft Visio for organizational charts, system design, database designs, data flow diagrams, etc; Microsoft Word for word processing of documentation; Microsoft Excel for number crunching, connection to real-time inventory, budgeting tool, and data analysis; Microsoft Access for prototype design, proof of concept and connecting to real-time data for analysis; Visual Studio.Net for application development, design, code management, and process analysis; Microsoft BizTalk 2004 for combining Visio, Word, Excel, Access, and Visual Studio.NET into a single system that diagrams and demonstrates live functions and operations of a complete process in a single tool. See the references for links to all these tools.

CASE TOOLS Examples- BIZTALK: http://www.microsoft.com/biztalk/
- BIZTALK DEMO: http://www.microsoft.com/biztalk/evaluation/demo/default.asp
- Access: http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/FX010857911033.aspx
- Excel: http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/FX010858001033.aspx
- Power Point: http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/FX010857971033.aspx
- Visio http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/FX010857981033.aspx
- Word: http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/FX010857991033.aspx

GSS Tools that can be used in JAD with CASE
- ICQ: http://www.icq.com/
- IRC: http://www.irc.org/
- Outlook Express: http://www.microsoft.com/windows/oe/
- Newsgroups: http://groups-beta.google.com/
- MSN IM http://www.imagine-msn.com/messenger/default.aspx?locale=en-US
- YAHOO IM: http://messenger.yahoo.com/
- AOL IM: http://www.aol.com/aim/downloadaim.adp
- Bulletin Boards: http://www.phpbb.com/


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Deliverables in the Analysis Phase of the SDLC

There are three deliverables that the development team must build in the Analysis Phase before the Design Phase begins. What are they and why are they important to the customers of the new system? What are the three deliverables?

Deliverable #1: Design Strategy

It is composed of several alternative designs for the new system. It can include several choices for the system’s functionality, hardware, system software platform, and method for acquisition. These are possible courses of actions proposed by the development team. The customers are asked to choose between three designs that differ in cost and functionality.

Low-end: This the least costly that the other two solutions. This is the basic solution that has no extra amenities or enhancement. One could compare Windows Notepad as a basic barebones word processor and lacks many of the features of Microsoft Word 2003. Because it is basic it is the fastest to develop.

High-end: This is the most expensive solution that would contain many enhancements, features and functionality. Microsoft Word 2003 would be a good example of this as compared to Notepad. The extra features for this application is the main focus not the cost.

Middle: This is a in between solution that is basic but with moderate features within a certain set cost that is much less than the high-end solution, and more than the low end solution. Microsoft WordPad would be a good example. It is a very basic Word with formatting and rich text like Word 2003, but without the additional nice features and cost.


Deliverable #2: Recommended Course of Action
This is the course of action that the development team thinks is the best to build and why. The recommendation helps address customer issues before they commit to the project.

Requirements:
- Will all the customer requirements be incorporated in the new system?
- What functions were added or left out and why?

Software:- Will the new system run on a mainframe platform, standalone personal computers, or a client/server platform?
- What are the advantages and disadvantages of each?

Hardware:- Can the new system run on the current hardware or will the company have to spend money to upgrade their computer systems?

Infrastructure:- Will the company be able to trains and support the users.
- How big of a change will the new system require the company to make to the way it does business?

Implementation:- How difficult or easy will the system be to implement?

Organization:- Does the new system work well with the company’s organization?
- Will the users accept it?
- Can the users even understand the new system?
- How will it help the organization?

Deliverable #3: Baseline Project Plan

The plan should show task sequences, dependencies, time requirements and the project critical path. This can be in a Gantt chart like is used in Microsoft Project. It is important to have a plan for both you and the customer. This allows the development team to give the customer a feel for the amount of work involved in the recommended course of action.

Why are they important to the customers of the new system? They are important to the customer because it gives them a understanding of the design, costs and the amount of work involved in the project. It also helps them understand if the project is addressing their needs and goals. By having them sign-off on it means that they claim that they understand the project and agree with the course of action.

In addition to this the deliverables are the bases in which the development team will be their design. The deliverables must be signed-off before proceeding to the design phase. This will provide your CYA and that the customer has committed to paying you for the project.


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About Feasibility Studies for the SDLC

Why is it so important?

As the title of the report states, is the project capable of being accomplished or brought about? Is it possible?Is it logical? It answers these questions. It is to establish whether or not at an early stage as possible the project is realistic.

• The principal work areas for the project will have been identified.
• Any needs for specialist staff to be involved in the later stages of the project willhave been noted.
• Possible improvement or potential for savings may have become apparent duringthe investigation.

What is its purpose? It is to establish the feasibility of introducing a computer system. There three main areas: economic, technical and organizational.
Economics

• Costs (Systems analysis and design, Purchase of hardware, Software costs, Training costs, Installation costs, Conversion and changeover costs, Redundancy costs)
• Benefits (Savings in labour costs, Benefits due to faster processing, Better decision making, Better customer service, Error reduction)
• Cost Benefit Comparison (This weights the difference in the hard costs and the non-measurable benefits.)

Technical
This is the technical possibility and desirability of a computer solution. There are several categories that are desired that can make the project more feasible:

• Does it follow Rule-governed tasks?
• Does it eliminate Repetitive task?
• Does it solve Complex tasks?
• Does it have a High degree of accuracy?
• Does it have Speed of response?
• Can the Data used for many tasks?

Organizational Feasibility This is also known as "Operational Feasibility". It addresses:

• Will the organization accept the system or will there be conflict?
• Will people be able to cope with the new system?
• Is the organizational structure compatible with the new system?

Who is it written for?
It is for everyone involved in the process the developers, management and the customer.

Why is SIGN-OFF necessary on this deliverable? Sign off means that all parties agree and it is a must in order to move onto the next stage. It is also there for the CYA factor. The fact that someone signed off means that they understand the project being proposed and are giving the ok to proceed.



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Pharming - The New Buzzword

Let me be the first to introduce to you a new security buzzword that I just read about today.

Pharming

Like Phishing it attempts to capture your user name and password by directing you to an evil web site that appears to be legit. Phishing requires the user to click on a link in SPAM. Pharming is handled at the DNS level. The evil doer changes your local host file to direct your request to your banking site to their evil server.

Another methods is to change your default ISP DNS server in your TCP/IP setting to the evil doers evil DNS server. Once that happens you can not tell if you are really at your banks web site or the evil doers web site. Once you enter your user name and password they have your banking account.

We have seen this with spyware putting entries into the local host file and changing the DNS settings over the last six months. Now evil doers are going for your bank account using the same methods.

More on Pharming
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/01/31/pharming/

Here is an article about Phishing.
http://security.efsnm.com/index.php/weblog/phishing_scams/



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System Audits Tools

There are hundreds of different tools out there. For example: When I do a network audit I use three different companies audit tools. They all claim to do the same thing, but I have found each has it strengths and weakness.

So I run all three to get the information I really need and disregard where they over lap or do not provide any new information. I have not found a single be all do all tool. So you will have to try several for the project that you may be working on.

Once you have identify the system you need to audit, let me know I can point you to a couple that you can try. Most provide a 15 to 30 day free trial. You will know on the first one or two audits if the tool is right for the job at hand.

Here are a couple of network audit tools that I use.

GFI: Network Security Scanner (Affordable)
http://www.gfi.com/lannetscan/

Shavlik: HFNETCHKPro: Security & Patch Management (Free for small businesses)
http://www.shavlik.com/hfn_windows.aspx

Sunbelt Network Security Inspector (Very Expensive, but not only ID's the issues, but provides supporting detailed documentation on how to fix the issues)
http://www.sunbeltsoftware.com/product.cfm?id=987

If systems are automated with self documentation, company policy mandates it, and the SDLC a lots time for it, then it can stay up to date. To get a company to get to that point really takes a lot of time and growth.

What Diagrams Provide

1. Flow block diagrams: (If available, it has answers) Questions can be derived for the information contained or missing from them.

2. Organizational charts: (If available, it has answers) Questions can be derived for the information contained or missing from them.

3. Task templates: (If available, it has questions) The task templates a good baseline start but do not contain all the questions for everything.

4. Data flow diagrams: (If available, it has answers) Questions can be derived for the information contained or missing from them.

They are all important and merit value. The more data you have the better an informed decision you can make.


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Analysts Channels of Information

Contrast and compare the five Analysts Channels of Information

There are five channels are as follows:.

• Documentation
• Interviews
• Observation
• Questionnaires
• Measuring

I would also like to add to this with "System Audits". I will explain more in a moment.

Documentation
It has been said that this channel provides the least value. Ten years ago I would say that this is true, and it may still hold true for a number of organizations today. However our customer management database and work order system have become invaluable tools in keeping documentation up to date and current. So many people rely on it, it has become self updating as work is planned and completed.

The drug company that I used to be a consultant at now has a wonderful change control database and it is company policy that all systems documentation be kept current and the time to keep them current is built into the project. They have come a long ways from no or obsolete documents to very current and detailed documentation on all systems, the networks, severs, and mainframe systems.

The worlds biggest bank that a friend of mine works at carries it to level even more detailed. For example that have a specialist group for each phase of a project. Let's say you are the HR department and you need a new server. There is one groups that does the specs, one group that does the order from the vendor, one group that does the hardware build, testing and certification, one group that loads the baseline OS, one group that does all the updates and certifies the OS. The server is handed off to the group that handles the third party enterprise applications on the server. It is then hand to the security group and certified. Then the installation team does the install, testing for the customer/department. The server is then handed off the final group that does the support. This group is handed all the documentation for every phase and has detailed instructions on how to do each step and includes the log files and certification from the different groups. This is the most extreme documentation on a system that I have known. From the time of request for a server to the time of deliver is five to six months for a single server.

Interviews
These are very important. Spending a few minutes with a key player can yield huge insights that could save you from chasing a rabbit down a dead end hole and save you time and resources during your research.

Observation
Working with people is a must. Setting back and watch them drive the application can be an interesting experience. Each user has developed their own personal method of interacting with the system based upon their knowledge level, skills and usage of the system. As a developer it is very important to watch a user. They will have a different interpretation of the system and interface. The amazing part is they will do things that you would never have conceived possible, or why they are doing a task a certain way. Then you modified the system to trap for their issues or make it better for them. What is really incredible is the ways users will adapt the system to track or do something that it was never indented by the developer to do.

Questionnaires
These are great, but getting people to fill them out is like pulling teeth. You have to have it mandated, corner them or do it during an interview.

Measuring
This is important to size up the scale of the project, the scale for the database need, the number of users, the number of database transactions, etc. all aid in better understanding the systems.

System Audits
This is not part of the lecture or the reading material. This comes from my experience. In the old days most all system audits had to be done manually. Where is the system physically located? How is it connected? What is it used for? What is it's configuration? What are it's specs? What is it's current software update level. This is for all components involved, hardware, software, OS's, databases, network connectivity, etc.

With software interconnected components it has become too time consuming and too overwhelming complex with too many parts. In recent years there are new software tools that can do the job for you. There are network scanning and management tools. There are database reverse engineering and documentation tools. There are project development code management tools. There are tools for just about all aspects for creating data flow diagrams and flow charts automatically. All these tools can create the documentation that you need for your research.

White Papers
White Papers really help as case studies, lessons learned, a detail insight and the gotchas of a certain system. If there are white papers available for your project or a part of your project I encourage you to take a little time and review them. They can shape your ideas and opinions. The really nice thing is you can learn from other peoples pain and mistakes and avoid those in your project.

A Vendor created White Paper about their product DNS:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;810733

A Third Party White Paper about the Vendors DNS:
http://itresearch.forbes.com/data/detail?id=1094838407_866&type=RES&src=TRM_TOPN

What is a White Paper:
http://www.whitepapercompany.com/pages/387998/index.htm

Why White Papers:
http://www.whitepapercompany.com/pages/387343/index.htm

Here are IT White Paper Sources. The UoP Library contains some too.
http://itpapers.com/index.aspx

http://www.bitpipe.com/

Example of how you used one on a development project.
I recently did a security audit for a 15 user network with two servers for the purpose of checking overall security of their system, so they could allow a customer to connect and gain access to their network and database systems from a remote office. The auditing tool I used took about 20 minutes to complete the entire network and yielded 183 pages of quality current documentation. A manual audit would have taken me several days, and I still would not have the level of detail. Now do an audit on a very large system and you will have a new problem. That is information overload. The next thing is to learn what information is important and relative to the project.

All these are part of the documentation process and aid in your research and analysis.

Prototyping Methodology

Prototyping is one modern method of development. The first Apple computer was developed in the manner in 1976/77 by Steve Wozniak in Steve Job's garage with off the self parts in a wooden case.

Compared to SDLC:
This method is less structured, planned organized than the SDLC (Software Development Life Cycle). It is often off the hip last min assembly, testing or development. It is more or less for a smaller project often done as a proof of concept to test ideas, processes and systems before committing vast about of resources to a larger project.

A recent advancement in a fairly med size project in prototyping and testing unproven methods and ideas would be SpaceShipOne http://www.xprize.com/ with it's historical flight into space. It tested light weight materials, new engine designs, new methods of a control re-entry without heat shielding, new wind breaking systems, new computer systems and how it performs when the computers systems fails. Lastly it proved that space flight is not limited to government dollars and budgets. It's flight is in comparison to the first Apple computer as prototyping and leading to new production systems changing the world in the process.

Advantages:
It allows for more creativity and possibly new world changing solutions could be developed, where they might be hindered on the SDLC's control process.

Disadvantages:
In prototyping scope creep, cost over runs, miss management, and lack of focus are more likely to occur in this type of project. SpaceShipOne is a good example. It required Paul Allan and Virgin Records additional funding to complete the project. The total cost of the mission was 20 million dollars and the X-Prize was only 10 million dollars. While they did go over budget, I should point out it was one of the cheapest space flights in history, using less than 10% of the budget of a simple satellite launch that is not a manned flight.

While I am sure that SpaceShipOne had some type of development plan, prototyping can include a whole host of unknown variables that can not be determined until testing has been completed.

Prototyping is not a best practice method for getting your project completed, but it does have a place in developing something new.

Analysis Phase of the SDLC

Valuable/important to the Analysis Phase of the SDLC

All the items that are listed could have some impact on the SDLC (Software Development Life Cycle), depending upon what type of information they contained. I use all the items all the time. However one should note that the information contained in each of the ones listed may be dated, obsolete or incorrect. Having to choose one I choose the Data Flow Diagrams.
Although systems flowcharts provide a useful tool for analyzing a physical description they may impede the design process.


Why is it so valuable?
It is the heart of the system design. It gives the design and flow of data across many systems, databases and sites.

• Identifies the major processes.
• Identifies the major data sources, sinks and stores.
• Identifies the major data flows.
• Names the data flows, processes, sources, sinks and stores.

What information does it contain?
It shows all the pathways and connects to the varies systems, and databases. It would give the overall concept and configurations of the systems. It can also be data flows at varies levels of detail. It can be an overall view, then drilling down to a nuts and bolts view of great detail.

Data flow diagrams assist in building a logical model of the system independent of physical commitments. They show the various flows of data between the processes that transform it. Data stores and the points at which data enters and leaves a system are also shown.


How does it move the Analysis Phase forward?
It provides a place where to start looking first to begin your analysis. It would give you a base line to compare your findings, and prepare a number of questions. It is the base line data design that strip away the hardware layer and focuses more on the logic design and can allow for a clear understanding of the process. It could even make it possible to see new ways to improve the design. It's layering allows for the scaling of ideas, sections and data flows to different degrees of detail.

The data flow design is an important tool of structured analysis and design. It ensures that a top-down approach is taken. This promotes a logical, as opposed to physical, view of data stores, flows and processes.

Learning from Failure

Having worked in IT for many years, I have seen a lot of failure. I do not consider failure as being a bad thing. In IT in many cases it can be a good thing. Sometimes when things go very wrong, initially no one may know what is the cause of a problem. A series of failures can be like bread crumbs leading to the real problem. Being a good sleuth to read, understand and interpret the failures as to what are they telling us, leading us, or NOT telling us is just as important.

Having a problem and having no failures to help guide you to a successful resolution can take a lot of time and resources. It can be very frustrating just trying to identify the root cause of a problem.

So I embrace failure as a key to solving the root of a problem.

Qualify the Project

One of the very first questions that should get asked right up front is "Who is paying for the project?".

If this is an internal project then it may be a special budget, or a specific department or multiple budgets or departments.

If it is a customer external to the organization it is best to qualify them to see if they are willing to pay x dollars for projects and check their payment history.

The last thing you want to do is a lot of leg work only to find out the customer never had any intention of buying or they did not realize the scope of the project that they were asking for or there is no budget or funding for the project.

What's in a Title for System Analyst?

You may find when working for a very large company that a system analyst maybe a generic title/term associated with a pay grade. However your title being a system analyst you may be limited to a certain area in a certain department.

I have two real world examples:

Employee A & B works for the worlds largest drug company. His & Her title(s) are both systems analyst and they both have the same pay grade within the company. Both work in the MIS Group. Employee A works as a Lotus Notes Administrator. Employee B works as a Java Developer. Neither do what is described in the text as a systems analyst.

Employee X & Y works for the worlds largest bank. Both are systems analysts and have the same pay grade. One is a network engineer and the other builds servers for the enterprise.

Neither of these big companies follow what a systems analyst description is. So when applying for a systems analyst job, make sure you understand the duties and responsibility of a systems analyst are for that job.

I am not trying to confuse what a systems analyst is. I am just trying to make you aware of a potential surprise.

Improving Your SDLC

I am sure that you will find that the US bugs are much different that the Belgium bugs!!! I found out the hard way with my own database development project.

When we first started beta testing of the application we had a Canadian company that makes plastic parts for cars that was Japanese own/run company call us to be a beta test site. So we went there and installed the application on site with the customer, as we were still a year away from a production version, but they really wanted to beta test it anyway. Then we went to enter their data into our system. We could not get their data into the application. We could not completely fill out and use the contact information for employees, vendors and their customers. We use this information throughout the program to prevent having to re-enter the data and save time on data entry.

Why? Silly me I used the Microsoft wizards to set the format masking on the fields for currency, phone numbers and zip codes. Well duh! Canada does NOT use the same formats. So it was cripple before we started. That night in the hotel I had to edit over a hundred places and strip out all field format masking to allow for Canadian formats so they could use the application.

Since then we have had an equal response from overseas test sites that I had to make allowances for more localization and date formats. We never thought we would get the response we have from over seas. We even worked with the local University in Costa Rica to allow for special characters and assistance with translation into Spanish for a major drug manufacturing company that makes plastic parts. We had only envisioned the good ole USA.

We did NOT make the connection or observation that US companies would also have plants in other countries. So the moral here is our version of the SDLC did not include or consider localization issues for other countries.

Not Using the SDLC

What if there is a small company that does not believe in the SDLC process?? Does this mean they will fail as a company???

Of course not! As with all things, there are several ways to do the same thing. A small business method could not follow the SDLC at all, but upon closer examination it might have traces of the SDLC process and they do not even know they are using it regardless of their belief.

When your home computer is broken and/or you want to upgrade it, you take it to your favorite computer store or you do it yourself. This meets the definition of a project.

http://dictionary.reference.com/search?r=67&q=project

Does a simple repair or upgrade require an elaborate SDLC? ...for the most part no. It is reasonable and manageable to do it without SDLC.

Now lets scale this a bit. Lets say you have 5 computers that need service. Would you need a SDLC? ...for the most part no, because the number of devices and the complexity are still minimized.

Ok, lets scale this a little more. Lets say you have 35 computers to upgrade. Would you need a SDLC. ...yes and no. I would highly recommend that you come up with an action plan and costs before taking on such a project both for your sake and the customers.

Finally let really scale this up. Lets say you now have 10,000 computers to upgrade. Would you need a SDLC. Absolutely yes There are too many devices and too many variables that not having a SDLC could result is a huge disaster and be very costly. Then everything that is being taught in the lecture and text are applicable to a very high degree, and yes you had better have your CYA component in place.

Systems Analyst

What are the attributes/skills of an effective Systems Analyst?

Attributes:

• Analytical skills: The ability to understand the organization and its functions, to identify opportunities and problems, and to analyze and solve problems.
  
• Technical skills: The ability to understand the potential and the limitations of information technology.
  
• Management skills: The ability to manage projects, resources, risk, and change.
  
• Interpersonal skills: The ability to work with end-users, other analysts and programmers. You must also act as the liaison between users, programmers, and other systems professionals.
  
• Additional skills not listed in the lecture or the reading text that are a must are self discipline, the ability to work alone without direction and a healthy dose of problem solving skills. These can apply and enhance the four skills listed above.

Two ways a person can develop those attributes/skills.

Skill development is a life long process that is never ending. We are all imperfect and have areas that could use refinement, and enhancement. The moment you stop developing your skills is the moment that you could handicap yourself in certain areas.

First you must poses the desire for self improvement.

Second you must poses persistence. You must be determined to get backup on your feet after you have been knocked on the ground. Dust your self off and resume professionally your task at hand. Without persistence your desire can be squash by unforeseen events.

Next is simply do. Practice, Practice, Practice, Practice!

Next, do not fear failure. Embrace it and use it as a learning tool to achieve success. Learning from ones mistakes can lead to huge rewards in the future. Also learning from others failures is just as important.


Developing your Systems Analyst skills in your working environment.

There is opportunity of every moment of every day where one has the opportunity to develop their skills. Even though I have been out of traditional school for a very long time. I have never stopped learning, practicing and enhancing my skills. Sometimes it is easy; sometime it is hard. Sometimes it is very successful; sometimes it is a failure.

I was once told that you fail 100% of the time you do not try. This is something that I always keep in the back of my mind when evaluating my next move.

Scale usage of the SDLC

What if there is a small company that does not believe in the SDLC process? Does this mean they will fail as a company??

Of course not! As with all things, there are several ways to do the same thing. A small business method could not follow the SDLC (Software Development Life Cycle) at all, but upon closer examination it might have traces of the SDLC process and they do not even know they are using it regardless of their belief.

When your home computer is broken and/or you want to upgrade it, you take it to your favorite computer store or you do it yourself. This meets the definition of a project.

http://dictionary.reference.com/search?r=67&q=project

Does a simple repair or upgrade require an elaborate SDLC? ...for the most part no. It is reasonable and manageable to do it without SDLC.

The scale usage of SDLC:

• BIG: Use SDLC in all it's glory for big business and big projects, but not as company LAW.
  
• MEDIUM: Use a scaled down version(s) of SDLC for medium size business and projects.
  
• SMALL: Use a checklist type format and/or quick evals without all the massive detail of a formal SDLC.
  
• REALLY SMALL: For really small projects and small business hardly any SDLC at all is needed.

Now lets scale this a bit. Lets say you have 5 computers that need service. Would you need a SDLC? ...for the most part no, because the number of devices and the complexity are still minimized.

Ok, lets scale this a little more. Lets say you have 35 computers to upgrade. Would you need a SDLC. ...yes and no. I would highly recommend that you come up with an action plan and costs before taking on such a project both for your sake and the customers.

Finally let really scale this up. Lets say you now have 10,000 computers to upgrade. Would you need a SDLC. Absolutely yes There are too many devices and too many variables that not having a SDLC could result is a huge disaster and be very costly. Then everything that is being taught in the lecture and text are applicable to a very high degree, and yes you had better have your CYA component in place.