DS33010 - PRINCIPLES OF SYSTEMS ANALYSIS

Module Identifier	DS33010
Module Title	PRINCIPLES OF SYSTEMS ANALYSIS
Academic Year	2002/2003
Co-ordinator	Mrs Christine J Urquhart
Semester	Available all semesters
Other staff	Mr John Nelson, Ms Tanya C Rogers
Course delivery	Lecture	15 Hours
	Seminars / Tutorials	5 Hours
Assessment	Semester Assessment	Group Project: One Group Project (planning a systems analysis project)	50%
	Semester Assessment	Essay: of 1,250-1,500 words discussing a systems analysis issue	50%

Learning outcomes

At the end of the module students should be able to:

Design questionnaires and interview schedules;
Identify and represent users''information requirements, using a variety of charting techniques;
Consider the organisational issues involved in changing an information system;
Analyse in outline the information flows within a system.

Brief description

Systems thinking and systems behaviour, including the systems approach to management; the role of organisational culture in change and the application of chaos theory to organisational behaviour; questionnaire and interview techniques for assessing user information requirements; principles of soft systems methodologies; use of rich pictures and charting techniques UML use cases, introduction to project management techniques.

Reading Lists

Books
** Recommended Consultation
Armstrong, P. and Dawson, C. (1996) People in organisations. London: Elm

Journals
Information Systems Journal (available as an electronic journal).

Books
** Recommended Consultation
Avgerou, C. and Cornford, T. (1998) Developing information systems: concepts, issues and practice. 2nd. Basingstoke: Macmillan
Avison, D.E. and Shah, H. (1997) The information systems development cycle: a first course in information systems. Maidenhead: McGraw-Hill
Bennett, S., McRobb, S and Farmer, R. (2002) Object-oriented sytems analysis and design using UML. 2nd. Maidenhead: McGraw-Hill
Bertalanffy, L Von. (1968) General systen theory: foundations, development, applications. London: Allen Lane, Penguin Press
Britton, C. and Doake, J. (1996) Software system development: a gentle introduction. Maidenhead: McGraw-Hill
Checkland, P.B. (1981) Systems thinking, systems practice. Chichester: John Wiley
Checkland, P.B. and Scholes, J. (1990) Soft systems methodology in action. Chichester: John Wiley
Dewitz, S. (1996) Systems analysis and design and the transition to objects. London: McGraw-Hill
Handy, C. (1993) Understanding organisations. 4th. Harmondsworth: Penguin
Handy, C. (1994) The empty raincoat. London: Hutchinson
Huczynski, A. and Buchanan, D. (2000) Organizational behaviour: and introductory text. 4th. London: FT Prentice Hall
James, B. (1989) The systems analysis interview: a guide to interviewing in organisations. Manchester: NCC
Katz, D. and Kahn, R.L. (1978) The social psychology of organisations. 2nd. Chichester: Wiley
Open University: T247. Working with systems. Milton Keynes: Open University
Parker, D. and Stacey, R. (1994) Chaos, management and economics: the implications of non-linear thinking. London: IEA
Sauer, C. (1993) Why information sytems fail: a case study approach. Maidenhead: McGraw-Hill
Skidmore, S. (1997) Introducing systens analysis. Oxford: Blackwell
Taylor, D. (1998) Object technology: a manager's guide. Radeing, Massachusetts: Addison-Wesley
Underwood, P. (1996) Soft systems analysis and the management of libraries, information services and resource centres. London: LA Publishing
Whitten, J. and Bentley, L. (1997) Systems analysis and design methods. 4th. Maidenhead: McGraw-Hill
Wilson, D.C. and Rosenfeld, R.H. (1996) Managing organizations: text, readings and cases. 2nd. London: McGraw-Hill