ISYS 471 Introduction to Systems Analysis and Design

Course Description: Development of an information system from the analysis of present information flow, system specifications and equipment selection to implementation. Emphasis on analysis of existing systems and design of new systems. 

Course Objectives: The overall course objective is to provide students with the concepts and skills needed to analyze and design information systems. The course concentrates on the front-end of the systems development process; that is, the course only lightly touches on the design and development of computer programs and their testing and maintenance. Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

• Describe the major alternative methodologies used in developing information systems and the considerations involved in choosing which methodology to use. 
• Produce the requisite systems documentation at each point in the analysis and design of an information system, and to do so with clarity and completeness.
• Analyze a business need for information and to develop an appropriate strategy to solve the problem and provide the required information service.
• Prepare and use various information gathering techniques for eliciting user information requirements and system expectations.
• Construct and interpret a variety of system description documents, including physical and logical data flow diagrams, entity-relationship diagrams, Structured English, structure charts, and decision tables, as well as screen, form, and report layouts.​

In this class we have learned many concepts such as system development environment, identify and select projects, initiate and plan projects, and system requirements. This class has a prerequisite, which is Database Management, so we also touch base on database concepts that we learned in that class. This assignment shows a lot of aspects that I am learning in this class, such as the fundamentals to creating a website. For our major project at the end of the semester our group is creating a website for one of the local pet shops that is here in Farmville, VA. We will be creating a website that will be more beneficial to their customers that want to see what types of animals they have and what items they have for these types of animals. This project helps me understand what objectives need to be covered when making our website for the company. We also need to make the website user-friendly for all customers to use and find items in a more efficient way. This project helps me see the layout of my website and how it should look to users in a more simplistic way.