Suppose the student registration system of our school is to be upgraded from a current manual system to a computerised one. A system analyst had investigated it and gathered the following data:

a) The registration of new students is handled by the Student Registration Section.

b) Cikgu Hj Bakar is in charge and he is assisted by 3 other teachers.

c) The system used to be fully manual, i.e. by writing and using the typewriter. But now, it is
g) somewhat semi-computerised, with some data on spreadsheets.

d) Each student has a paper file to store her documents, e.g. enrollment form and examination
g) results slip.

e) The files are arranged by class for the current year and stored on wooden shelves. They are
g) rearranged the following year when the students change classes.

f) During a typical use, say, photocopying the enrolment form:
g) 1) a teacher would go to the shelves;
g) 2) shift through the files;
g) 3) take out the ones needed;
g) 4) open the clip;
g) 5) take out the unnecessary top layer;
g) 6) place back the documents;
g) 7) return the files back onto the shelves, shifting them in the right position.

xxIt was tiring and time-consuming according to one assistant, especially when there are many
g) students to process.

g) Occasionally, other teachers would take out the files and for some reasons,
g) 1) the documents were unavailable when needed;
g) 2) the documents were lost or misplaced;
g) 3) the files were disorganised.

h) Apart from accessing the personal data, the section receives many requests for class lists.

Quote:

If this is to be a system analysis project, I wonder how to write the documentation? Even though I know the theory, what to do and what to include, unfortunately, it is how to put them down on paper that many books have forgetten to show. Until I see how others had done it, I am still not sure how I could write my own documentation. Could someone who had some experience write a sample for me to use as a guide?

g)

ANALYSIS PLAN


BACKGROUND OF SECTION
1) The Student Registration section handles the storing of students particulars.
2) Cikgu Bakar is in charge of it, and is assisted by 3 other teachers.

PROBLEMS
1) It uses a lot of paper.
2) Files need to be resorted when the students change classes at every new year.
3) Searching a record is tedious and time-consuming.
4) The files and wooden shelves occupy a lot of space.

GENERAL AIMS
1) To reduce spending on paper and files.
2) To clear up more physical space.
3) To eliminate unnecessary routines, e.g. resorting students files.

COMPUTER TARGETS
1) To have a large storage space for storing records.
2) To have a search tool for finding records fast.
3) To have a report tool for printing reports.

INPUT METHODS OF EXISTING SOLUTION
1) Every new student must fill in her data on a green enrollment form.
2) She must provide 2 passport-sized photographs.
3) She must submit photostat copies of her PSR results slip, identity card and birth certificate.

OUTPUT METHODS OF EXISTING SOLUTION
1) The assistant gives a photostat copy of data to anyone who needs it.
2) The assistant prints a list of names and classes from a spreadsheet.

PROCESSINGS OF EXISTING SOLUTION
1) The class teacher fills in student data on the front page of each file.
2) The class teacher paste a photo on each file.
3) The assistant sorts list of names and classes using a spreadsheet.

ADVANTAGES OF EXISTING SOLUTION
1) If there is a power cut, the records are still accessible.

DISADVANTAGES OF EXISTING SOLUTION
1) Searching a record is tedious and slow.
2) The files and shelves occupy a lot of physical space.
3) It uses a lot of paper.
4) Documents are misplaced and lost.
5) Data is manually collected and processed to produce a report.

IMPROVEMENT TO EXISTING SOLUTION
1) Create a search tool to find records fast.
2) Store records into computer databases on hard disks.
3) Create a report tool to print reports fast.
4) Make back up copies of data on CDROM regularly.

HARDWARE REQUIRED
1) 1 desktop PC:
1) a) 17-inch LCD monitor - it is wide screen and easy to move.
1) b) 2.0 GHz CPUxxxxxxx - it processes data fast.
1) c) 120 GB hard diskxxx - it can store a large amount of records.

2) 1 laser printerxxxxxxxx - it prints fast and in high resolution.

3) 1 scanner.

SOFTWARE REQUIRED
1) Microsoft Accessxxxxxx - it has many tools to develop the components of a database.
2) Windows Vistaxxxxxxx - the operating system for the PC; its graphical user interface is powerful
xxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxand user-friendly.

I noticed many students were unable to write their analysis report, despite having given an example here and having explained the requirements. There were also those who described things that were not related to what they were doing or what is expected. I cannot help the English language part, which many seemed to have trouble with, nor can I help identifying things maturely. But I hope the following list of questions will be able to give you some ideas of what to write down in the analysis of your project.

BACKGROUND OF SECTION/USERS
Who is the leader/head/manager?
How many staff are there?
What are the jobs/businesses/functions of the section/users?
What is the larger department/organisation in which the section/users belong to?

PROBLEMS
What are the problems that have resulted in excessive money being spent? Paper? Staff?
Is there a lack of space problem?
What are the processes that are slow and time-consuming to do?
What are the processes that are prone to errors?
What are the unnecessary routines/jobs/tasks?

GENERAL AIMS
Which are the non-computer problems that you want to solve? Paper, space, number of staff, processes?

COMPUTER TARGETS
What are the computer tools/hardware/program that you would create to solve the problems?

INPUT METHODS OF EXISTING SOLUTION
Where does the input data come from?
Who is giving the input data?
How is the data collected? Form? By questions and answers (interview)?
Who is collecting the data?

OUTPUT METHODS OF EXISTING SOLUTION
How is the information output? Photocopy? Making a list?
Who is doing this task?

ADVANTAGES OF EXISTING SOLUTION
What are the processes/tasks/jobs that are simple/fast to do?
What are the tools that are useful /efficient?

DISADVANTAGES OF EXISTING SOLUTION
What are the problems? (Rewrite the problems)

IMPROVEMENT TO EXISTING SOLUTION
What are the general aims and computer targets? (Rewrite them!)

DATA-ENTRY FORM - Student form
x

x


VALIDATION PROPERTY SETTING
The following fields must have their respective validation properties set as indicated in order to trap errorneous entries:

REPORT LAYOUT - Student Report
x


MACRO - Preview Student Report
x
1) The Student Report is opened by a macro.
2) The macro, Preview Student Report, is assigned to the Print button of the Student form.
3) It will output the Student Report of the current student displayed on the form, that is, by the
3) current Registration Number.
x

x

TEST PLAN
x x


NORMAL TEST
x x
EXPECTED RESULTS (TEST DATA)


TEST STRATEGY
1) Check the data entered:
x xa) Is the data stored on the Student table?
x xb) Is the data displayed on the Student form?
x xc) Are the classes displayed for a student the right ones?
x x
x xTest results: OK
x x
x x
2) Check the Find button of the Student form:
x xa) Does the Find dialog appear?
x xb) Could it find the record of "Kim Lian"?
x xc) Is the search fast?
x x
x xTest results: OK
x x
x x
3) Check the Print button of the Student form:
x xa) Does the Student Report appear?
x xb) Does it preview the report of the current student?
x x
x xTest results: OK
x x
x x

EXTREME TEST
xx
TEST STRATEGY
xx
1) Check extreme Date Of Birth and Date Of Entry:
xx a) Check negative day, month and year.
xx b) Check zero day, month and year.
xx c) Check blank day, month and year.
xx d) Check 5-digit year.
xx
xx
xx
xxTest results: OK
xx
xx
xx
2) Check finding an unknown student.
xx a) Does the Find program indicate an error for "Ali Bin Baba"?
xx
xxTest results: OK
xx
xx
xx

ABNORMAL TEST
xx
TEST STRATEGY
xx
1) Check that the following fields reject invalid data.
x x
xx
x xTest results: OK
x x
xx

USER DOCUMENTATION
xx
ADD A STUDENT RECORD
1) Open the Student form.
xx
xx
2) Enter data into the Student form.
xx
xx
**To delete an errorneous record, click the Delete button () on the toolbar.
xx

USER DOCUMENTATION
xx
PRINT A HARDCOPY OF CURRENT STUDENT RECORD
xx
1) Preview the Student report.
xx
xx
2) Set up the printer and print.
xx
xx

USER DOCUMENTATION
xx
FIND A STUDENT RECORD BY NAME
xx
1. Open the Find record dialog.
xx
** To find a student by another field, click inside the box of the required field in step 1.

SYSTEM EVALUATION
xx
OBJECTIVES VERSUS ACHIEVEMENTS


USER COMMENTS
1) Hj Bakar, Head of Student Registration Section:
xx "Wow, good job! How much are you going to sell this to us?"
xx
2) Miss Angela Chang, Registration Assistant:
xx "I am impressed but if you could also add in another facility to do class list, that will make my job
xx a whole lot easier."

FUTURE DEVELOPMENTS
1) To create a facility to enter classes for the new year by class, as opposed to only by student.
2) To create a facility to print class lists.
3) To create a menu to access each tool of the database, as opposed to using Microsoft Access's
xx menu.

CONCLUSION
Even though there are a few tools missing, I consider the main missions to computerise the student database and provide a means of accessing the records fast to be fully met. In short, I think this project is a success.