Analysis : Introduction

The analysis is the first stage you must tackle when developing an information system. Analysis is the process of deciding what (if anything) the information system should do. It is not concerned with how it will be done. During the analysis you should not discuss which software package you are going to use to produce the system. You do not decide on this until the design stage.

Sometimes it is not clear whether or not it is a good idea to create a new information system to perform a job. If there is an existing system (manual or computerised) doing the same job as the new system will then it may be that a new system would offer few or no benefits over the older system. The analysis should consider whether or not to set up an information system.

The analysis stage of the development of an information system can be broken down into three smaller steps :

Feasibility Study
Breaking Down The System Into Tasks
Requirements Specification

GCSE ICT Companion 04 - (C) P Meakin 2004