Hey guyz,
Am a programmer at the intermediate level and I would really love to embark on projects to strengthen my grounds but the issue is that each project I embark on, I always leave uncompleted because I always realise that I did not include somethings from inception; in other words, am inadequately prepared. Could someone pls help me with Systems analysis and design?
I really don't need a bulky book to read now,
Thanks.

Hi
Let me just share from my personal experience i guess it might help.

1. The first step is what I call the story, a kind of description of what the system is about, this mostly gotten from the person that wants the system. You get this in many ways from interviews, group study, observation etc.
Once you get the story right is important you write it down in a notepad.

2. The second question is what are the object(domain objects of the user story) There is a simple way for me, looking at the story that I have written I underline all the NOUNS,  thats where I get the domain of that project, you do elimination of the once that are repeated and with your own reasoning make out your initial objects.

3. Users of the system(you have to be careful here) I do not mean users in number, This is user scenario or roles. who and who will be using this system in terms of what they can and can not do. example in a simple office application , we can have the data entry people ( they will just enter data into the system) and we will also have administrator that will view reports and create users.
So in this system we have two basic users
1. Data Entry Users
2. Administrators.

4.  Use Case: This is the interesting part of the project and to me the most crucial.
    you ask questions what exactly will the data entry staff be adding?
    How do they add that?
    After adding what  next?
    Eg  A data entry staff will have
          1. Login
           2. Click on Add Customer button
           3. Enter Customer information( name, address, phone and email)(detailed u have to get this information)
               ( A customer can not be added twice in the system)[business logic]
           4. Click Save
         
This is a simple use case for Add Customer work-flow, you can have tens or thousands of use cases depending on what you are building.
looking at this you can pick out the following methods that you will write in the application
    Login  Functionality
    Customer CRUD functionality with business logic taken care of too.

5. You re-factor and refine your objects and will get most methods/functions from the user case.

This is a brief, you will learn more with practice and reading.
Hope this helps, had to take sometime off my coding to reply this.

Peter
Software Developer
ihesiepeter(at)complustech.net ( the (at), my little anti spammers moves)
Complustech Limited.

We do software development as a service!!!!!!!!!

Gomez:

Hi
Let me just share from my personal experience i guess it might help.

1. The first step is what I call the story, a kind of description of what the system is about, this mostly gotten from the person that wants the system. You get this in many ways from interviews, group study, observation etc.
Once you get the story right is important you write it down in a notepad.

2. The second question is what are the object(domain objects of the user story) There is a simple way for me, looking at the story that I have written I underline all the NOUNS,  thats where I get the domain of that project, you do elimination of the once that are repeated and with your own reasoning make out your initial objects.

3. Users of the system(you have to be careful here) I do not mean users in number, This is user scenario or roles. who and who will be using this system in terms of what they can and can not do. example in a simple office application , we can have the data entry people ( they will just enter data into the system) and we will also have administrator that will view reports and create users.
So in this system we have two basic users
1. Data Entry Users
2. Administrators.

4.  Use Case: This is the interesting part of the project and to me the most crucial.
    you ask questions what exactly will the data entry staff be adding?
    How do they add that?
    After adding what  next?
    Eg  A data entry staff will have
          1. Login
           2. Click on Add Customer button
           3. Enter Customer information( name, address, phone and email)(detailed u have to get this information)
               ( A customer can not be added twice in the system)[business logic]
           4. Click Save
         
This is a simple use case for Add Customer work-flow, you can have tens or thousands of use cases depending on what you are building.
looking at this you can pick out the following methods that you will write in the application
    Login  Functionality
    Customer CRUD functionality with business logic taken care of too.

5. You re-factor and refine your objects and will get most methods/functions from the user case.

This is a brief, you will learn more with practice and reading.
Hope this helps, had to take sometime off my coding to reply this.

Peter
Software Developer
ihesiepeter(at)complustech.net ( the (at), my little anti spammers moves)
Complustech Limited.

We do software development as a service!!!!!!!!!

Thanks a lot it really does help. One more thing, how do u make up a complete story when you are the sole generator of the idea and there is only one perspective from which is yours alone?
Really Appreciate it,

Alot of us face this everyday. Advice from me, this might not be best practices.

If you are the originator then you have to define very well but not necessarily a complete process of what each user of the application should do.
I understand that change/new idea/Update are part of the software development therefore you have to use and be agile in your development.

This has to come from the way you write your code such that it can be easily changed or updated, the way you respond to changes and all of that. Going back to your question is better if you define the basic process start simple and get the first version out as quickly as possible and get people and friends to use it, then you can do the second version quickly using the feedback that you got and the new ideas that you have.

I believe that will be a better app that you can sell or lunch, once lunched you have to have a good feedback mechanism, believe me, you can not stop modifying a software till the day the solution will go out of market.

Thanks
peter

You saying you don't want to read any book is where you got it all wrong. People replying to your posts here wouldn't really help you. NOt that they are saying crap but you also need to understand whats going on. Now take a look at you second question. You have already been told /taught how to do it but you don't know how to bring up the story.

Analysis and Design isin't all about 1 post or 2. you need to start from the beginning. Go back to what you are running away from, A BOOK. You need a good book to fully understand these concepts. Its just like getting a plan for a building. you can't tell me that a post on nairaland would make you an architect. Absolutely NO FORUM on the internet can make you an architect. They can only help you wile you are learning or help you with little challenges you are facing.

Don't know if i made some sense here but in essence, go get articles and books related to system analysis and design. READ THEM.

Fayimora:

You saying you don't want to read any book is where you got it all wrong. People replying to your posts here wouldn't really help you. NOt that they are saying crap but you also need to understand whats going on. Now take a look at you second question. You have already been told /taught how to do it but you don't know how to bring up the story.

Analysis and Design isin't all about 1 post or 2. you need to start from the beginning. Go back to what you are running away from, A BOOK. You need a good book to fully understand these concepts. Its just like getting a plan for a building. you can't tell me that a post on nairaland would make you an architect. Absolutely NO FORUM on the internet can make you an architect. They can only help you wile you are learning or help you with little challenges you are facing.

Don't know if i made some sense here but in essence, go get articles and books related to system analysis and design. READ THEM.

I am not against books but I just don't think an whole course on Information System Analysis and Design ( books that average 600 pages) is necessary for a mini project thats not going past systems that I would test them on.
Sure, when it get really serious I would have to read something or even take a course on it but let me remind you that am still trying to bring my programming up to a certain level and I don't think I can combine both together,
What do u think?

@Nov1ce
Try these series of videos on youtube, I found it very helpful when I was doing the same module and after completed the module I felt writing programming codes was like child’s play

1.01
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RRXe1omEGWQ&feature=related

1.02
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WvAHT3V_dlw&NR=1

Note that the word 'stereotype' means inheritance or interface.

You'll also find this presentation slide useful for turning your usecase diagram into class diagram:
http://www.authorstream.com/Presentation/tallurijkumar-64216-class-diagrams-uml-final-science-technology-ppt-powerpoint/

If you cannot design your system, you can't build it. Design is more important than the codes. Yes the codes is the life wire but what holds the life wire itself? Doing the 2 together is no bad idea. Trust me, if you have a project no matter how big, if you are able to design it properly with good UML diagrams. Coding is just going to be child's play(just as csharp said)

I remember building large programs without UML. It wasn't much fun at all cause you code --> delete -->code --> delete and it goes on and on. Wasting valuable time. If you have a specification, then get a design, then pull out UML diagrams, coding is going to be ur least problems. Nowadays, i spend more time on design than coding.

@Everyone.
Thanks a lot, I really appreciate it,

Wanna learn analysis and design? Go τ̲̅ȍ the OCMJD forum at the moose saloon on javaranch.com
You will see live analysis of exam projects and valuable materials. Also check the book SCJD with J2SE 5 by Andrew Munkhouse and Terry Carmalengo.

Good books on the basics is where to go but you must be very careful about the book, you must see that it is focused on what you want but in a simplified way.