Systems Analysis Homework: Requirements, Validation, and Processes

This homework assignment addresses key processes in systems analysis. The first question explores important processes like requirements specification, engineering, elicitation, checking, and administration. The second question delves into requirement validation, a critical step in ensuring that a final product meets user needs. It discusses different types of checks, including validity, completeness, consistency, correctness, and naturalness/realism. The assignment highlights prototyping as a common technique for requirement validation. The provided solution references relevant literature, including works by Albayrak (2017) and Higuchi & Nakano (2017), to support the analysis. This assignment is designed to help students understand and apply the principles of systems analysis in software development and project management.

Q1. What do you feel are some of the most important processes that are used for systems
analysis, and why?
Answer:
(According to me) Some of the main processes used for system analysis are:
1. Requirements specification: This is a process in which we write down the user and system
requirements, generally in a requirement document. Here the 'user requirements' refer to the
functional and non-functional requirements that can be easily understood by the (end) user
who is presumed to lack and form of technical knowledge. And the 'system requirements' refer
to the different constraints with respect to the operational aspect of the software.
2. Requirements engineering: These include 3 sub functions:
(a) Discovery of Requirements: Here different means of communications are used to discover
the various requirements from the stakeholders.
(b) Conversion of Requirements: Here the language is converted to and/or from the things that
can be understood by the end user and the things that can be understood by the technical
expert.
(c) Validation of Requirements: This refers to making sure that the requirements specified are
actually viable with respect to the real world.
3. Requirements elicitation: This process requires the close coordination of the software
engineer with the client and/or with the end user to provide services the fulfill most of their
requirements.
4. Requirements Checking: In this process, each and every requirement is thoroughly
investigated to determine if it is viable to develop the services which fulfill these.
5. Requirements Administration: The aim of this process is to manage the dynamic
requirements of the various clients which constantly change in accordance to the current
trends (ALBAYRAK, 2017).
Q2. Select one area of systems analysis, and discuss the steps that are involved.
Answer:
Requirement validation is the process of checking that the services provided by the (final)
product are fulfilling the user requirements or not. This step in important because the rework
required, if in case all the user's requirements were not present initially, can be a very costly
affair.
The different types of checks that must be carried out during this process are:
1. Validity: These checks ensure that additional or supporting functions in addition to the
original ones, specified by the user, are viable or not.

2. Completeness: These checks ensure that all the constraints, specified in the requirement
document, are actually fulfilled.
3. Consistency: These checks are used to ensure the consistency among the different
requirements in the requirement document, i.e., ensuring that there are no contradictory
constraints present.
4. Correctness: In these types of checks, we have to ensure that there are sample inputs
present that are able to demonstrate that the final/delivered system meets the initial specified
requirements.
5 Naturalness/Realism: These types of checks are meant to ensure that the resources, in terms
of machinery and technology are actually present or can be acquired before the delivery of the
product.
Prototyping is one of the most used techniques in the process of requirement validation. In this
technique an executable model of the system is developed and demonstrated to the end user
(Higuchi & Nakano, 2017).
References
ALBAYRAK, A. (2017). Restructuring of System Analysis and Design Course with Agile Approach
for Computer Engineering/Programming Departments. International Journal Of
Advanced Computer Science And Applications, 8(11). doi: 10.14569/ijacsa.2017.081111
Higuchi, M., & Nakano, D. (2017). Agile Design: A Combined Model Based on Design Thinking
and Agile Methodologies for Digital Games Projects. Revista De Gestão E
Projetos, 08(02), 109-126. doi: 10.5585/gep.v8i2.528