Project Management and Systems Analysis

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Project management

Project management is the process of scoping, planning, staffing, organizing, directing, and controlling the development of an acceptable system at a minimum cost within a specified time frame.

There are three constraints that projects need to be delivered under. They are time, cost, and scope. These three constraints will determine the quality of the product delivered. Each constraint does have an effect on the other. For instance, if the scope or requirements of the project grow larger, then the cost of the project most likely will increase and the time it takes to finish the project will be longer.

Project management is being able to apply the knowledge you have learned, apply the skills you have developed, use the tools you have acquired, and apply the experience you have gained.

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Systems Analysis

Systems Analysis is a problem-solving technique that decomposes a system into its component pieces for the purpose of studying
how well those component parts work and interact to accomplish their purpose.

Systems analysis is driven by the business concerns of system owners and system users. Hence, it addresses the knowledge, process and communications building blocks from system owners' and system users' perspectives. The Systems Analysts serve as facilitators of systems analysis. The documentation and deliverables produced by systems analysis tasks are typically stored in a repository. A repository is the a location (or set of locations) where systems analysts, systems designers, and system builders keep all of the documentation associated with one or more systems or projects.

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System Analysis Phases

There are five systems analysis phases.

Scope Definition Phase

The scope definition phase is the first phase of the classic systems development process. The entire phase should not exceed two or three days for most projects One of the most important tasks of the scope definition phase is establishing an initial baseline of the problems, opportunities, and/or directives that triggered the project.

Problem Analysis Phase

The problem analysis phase provides the analyst with a more thorough understanding of the problems, opportunities, and/or directives that triggered the project. The problem analysis phase answers the questions, Are the problems really worth solving? and Is a new system really worth building?.

Requirements Analysis Phase

The requirements analysis phase defines the business requirements for a new system.The requirements analysis phase answers the question, What do the users need and want from a new system?. The requirements analysis phase is critical to the success of any new information system.

Logical Design Phase

The logical design phase further documents business requirements using system models that illustrate data structures, business processes, data flows, and user interfaces. In a sense, the analyst validates the requirements established in the previous phase. In this phase, the analyst draws various system models to document the requirements for a new and improved system.

Decision Analysis Phase

In the decision analysis phase, it is necessary to identify candidate solutions, analyze those candidate solutions, and recommend a target system that will be designed, constructed, and implemented. The tasks in this phase includes (1) identify candidate solutions,
(2) analyze candidate solutions, (3) compare candidate solutions, (4) update the project plan, and (5) recommend a system solution.