Week 1

After having a read through the lecture notes for week 1, the unit guide, attending Peter's lecture and googling "Systems Analysis and Design", I now have a picture of what is expected from me in this unit. FIT2001 is a unit that takes us deep into PROBLEM SOLVING (in caps lock), that is systems are created to SOLVE problems. It teaches us to start to look @ problem from all sides and perspectives, analyse it and break it down into simple sections and carefully scrutinise each bit of the problem and finally come up with solutions to them.
Another thing I noted about the unit is that it DISCOURAGES people from abruptly running into programming/coding once a problem is given to them as this in most cases is the MAIN cause of errors that later show up in the programs/applications we, as IT proffessionals, make. The gospel that FIT2001 is preaching is FAILING TO PLAN IS PLANNING TO FAIL.
A system can also be defined as a collection of entities and components that work closely together to realize some common predefined objectives. The various stages involved in the development of a system, the SDLC, come in crucial at this point. The seven stages of the Systems Development Life Cycle are as follows:

1. Initial Planning
2. The Analysis Stage
3. The Design Stage
4. The Development Stage
5. The Testing Stage
6. Maintenance.

So what is the role of a systems analyst? This is the fellow who will use analysis and design techniques to solve business problems using the help of information technology. He will have to look @ matters critically in depth and visualize solutions to these problems. To achieve this goal he will first of all research and understand the problem well before jumping into any conclusion. Prove to the business people that the benefits of solving the problem will be more than/outweigh the costs incurred in the process just to make sure the project is worthwhile. He will then define the requirements for solving the problem and develop a set of possible solutions/alternatives to tackle the problem being faced, choose the best and solution and make a recommendation. The details of the chosen solution are defined and later implemented accordingly. Finally he/she monitors the system to make sure that he/she obtains the desired results!