Course Overview

Systems Analysis and Specification using UML

Systems Analysis and Specification using UML provides participants with the skills they need to become effective systems analysts. The course covers a number of the key systems development lifecycles plus a range of systems analysis techniques. These include requirements elicitation techniques, such as interviewing, sampling and scenarios, and systems modelling techniques, such as use case and class modelling. During the course, participants will apply these techniques to a variety of real-world exercises.

This course is delivered by trainers who have a wealth of systems analysis and modelling experience, some of whom are published authors on these topics. A comprehensive manual, containing detailed information about systems analysis principles and techniques and providing references for further reading, is supplied as part of the course.

ISEB qualifications

This course prepares participants to sit two ISEB examinations: one is for the ISEB Certificate in Systems Development Essentials and the other is for the ISEB Certificate in Systems Modelling Techniques. Each examination involves a one-hour, open book examination. These examinations may be taken during the course, at an agreed examination session or at a public examination session. Both of these certificates are core modules for the ISEB Diploma in Solution Development and specialist modules for the ISEB Diploma in Business Analysis.

SFIA Mapping

This course supports skill BSMO, level 4.

Course Content

1. Roles in systems development
   • The purpose, objectives and tasks of systems development
   • Roles and actors in systems development
   • Technical and interpersonal skills of the analysts
   • The emergence of skills frameworks (SFIA+)
   • The Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI)
2. Systems architecture
   • Enterprise, systems and infrastructure levels of architecture
   • The Zachman Framework
   • Inputs at an enterprise level (EAP)
   • Inputs at system and infrastructure level
   • Components of an EAP methodology
3. Development approaches
   • Bespoke software development
   • Commercial Off-The-Shelf (COTS) software package solutions
   • Configuring and customising COTS solutions
   • Component-based systems development
   • Service-based systems development
4. Systems development lifecycles
   • Waterfall model
   • V model
   • Incremental model
   • Spiral (iterative) models
   • Advantages and disadvantages of each approach
   • Selecting an appropriate approach
5. Systems development methods
   • Traditional and structured approaches
   • Agile Development / Rapid Application Development / eXtreme Programming
   • The Unified Process (UP) and the Unified Modeling Language (UML)
6. Systems Investigation and requirements
   • Fact finding approaches:
     • Workshops
     • Prototyping
     • Interviewing
     • Questionnaires
     • Scenario analysis
     • Other approaches
   • Functional requirements definition
   • Non-functional requirements definition
   • Documenting requirements
   • Human aspects of systems investigation and introducing change
7. Systems modelling – overview
   • The need for modelling
   • Models of the Unified Modeling Language (UML)
   • Interaction of selected UML models
   • Validating and verifying models
8. Use Case modelling
   • Use case diagrams - concepts and notation
   • <<include>> and <<extend>>
   • Use case descriptions
9. Class modelling
   • Objects and classes
   • Classes and attributes
   • Abstraction and encapsulation
   • Associations
   • Generalisation and inheritance
10. Interaction diagrams
    • Sequence diagrams
    • Classes and operations
    • Polymorphism
11. Activity diagrams
    • Users and task analysis
    • Activity diagrams
    • Modelling the user interface
    • State machine diagrams
12. Systems design, implementation and maintenance
    • Aspects of the production environment
    • Design principles and constraints (legal, ethical, financial)
    • The tasks of implementation
    • Sign off and hand over
    • Post-implementation reviews
    • Different types of maintenance
13. Quality Assurance
    • Definitions of software quality
    • The V model
    • Requirements-driven testing
    • Static Testing: types of walkthrough and inspection
    • Post-project reviews
    • Service Level Agreements
14. CASE and CAST tools
    • Features of Computer Aided Software Engineering (CASE) and Computer Aided Software Testing (CAST) tools
    • Life-cycle coverage
    • Requirements traceability
    • Advantages and disadvantages