Using SSADM for Relational Design

The Structured Systems Analysis and Design Method (SSADM) is the standard method for systems analysis and design in Government batch and transaction processing projects. In SSADM, analysis and design are clearly separated activities. Systems analysis is concerned with defining what has to be done, systems design with how it will be done.

The case study described in this chapter concerns the introduction of a new computer based integrated Clinical Information System (CIS) into a British National Health Services Trust-the Sunrise Trust. At the time of the study most of the system modules had been developed and were being tested largely for technical aspects. The system was being introduced during a period when the organization was experiencing significant changes. It was an environment where new structures were being created and the existing ones changed. Indeed, the case study was selected primarily because of these factors. The analysis of these structures, formal and informal, provides insight into the management of information systems. Various stakeholders in the Hospital Trust felt that a computer based information system would facilitate the change process. However the analysis and design of the system posed its own problems. The system turned out to be inflexible with respect to the core health care delivery process. It was also nonresponsive to the needs of the key stakeholders. Analysis of the case shows that clearly the formal methods adopted by the system analysts fell short of determining the rapid changes required for care. In particular this was an important issue, since the context of the British National Health Services posed pressures on individual trusts to be cost effective. This resulted in long term patients being moved out into the community. However, this richness in the context was overlooked by the analysts. They developed “logical” models of the system, which ended up in being “tidy pictures of reality” and were prescriptive and utterly inflexible. Structured Systems Analysis and Design Method (SSADM) was used as a modelling tool, which amplified the rational view of decision making and information technology (IT) applications (for more details on SSADM see Downs et al., 1988). The interpretations identified in the case show a clear mis-match between the formal models and perceptions of the system users who inevitably reflect a more informal and pragmatic approach to their own organizational realities. The analysis of the case poses a number of interesting issues. It questions the relationship between the complexity of the social relations and systems design. Furthermore it brings to the fore the paradoxical viewpoints of different stakeholders and the emergent concerns for a system analyst. The chapter also identifies the impact of an “overformalized” information system on the integrity of an organization. In doing so it evaluates the nature and significance of social power structures in systems analysis, design and implementation.

The reverse engineering into CASE technology method (RECAST) takes the source code for an existing COBOL system and derives a no-loss representation of the system documented in a structured systems analysis and design method (SSADM) format. One key element of the method is the abstraction of logical processing that affects the individual entities of the system. For each entity this processing is extracted from the physical implementation of the system using a program slicing technique and is then transformed into a logical representation (as an entity life history) using a set of translation and transformation rules. How the abstraction is achieved is described, and an example derived from an existing operational system that has been used as a case study for the method is given. >

This chapter examines how a system developed using the Structured Systems Analysis and Design Methodology (SSADM) evolves to fit the UML and XML. As a vehicle, the chapter will consider the addition of a new user story to an existing SSADM system. SSADM developed in the early 1980’s. It is still popular. It is similar to other Structured Analysis and Design methods. Evolving SSADM to use the UML and XML is important. This chapter argues that XML is an opportunity, not a problem. It also shows that the earlier UMLs did not support SSADM but the new UML 2.0 does.

Integrating human factors with the Jackson System Development method: an illustrated overview.

We explain the main ingredients of the Abstract State Machines (ASM) method for high-level system design and analysis and survey some of its application highlights in industrial software-based system engineering. We illustrate the method by defining models for three simple control systems (sluice gate, traffic light, package router) and by characterising Event-B machines as a specific class of ASMs.We point to directions for future research and applications of the method in other areas than software engineering.

Results of survey of use of SSADM in commercial and government sectors in United Kingdom

The article considers the problem of adaptive project management, programs, and strategic portfolios of organizations, their impact on the adaptive response of project-oriented organizations to destructive environmental factors, and ways to improve system control by increasing the properties of the system. Approaches to understanding the adaptation essence of the organization, and the duality of management based on making operational and design decisions, their timeliness are analyzed. Purpose. The paper's aim is to study the impact of management actions on the adaptation of project-oriented organizations in accordance with timeliness and efficiency in order to reduce the destructive harmful effects of the environment. It is also considered the issue to neutralize or transform the destructive harmful effects into positive ones, ensuring the development of project-oriented organizations to increase ideality to increase their efficiency. Method. The system approach, the theory of solving inventive problems (TRVZ), decision-making methods, heuristic methods, logical-structural approach, method of structural analysis and system design are used in solving the tasks set in the work. Results. A matrix of managerial decisions and actions based on the sum of criteria "efficiency" and "timeliness" of project implementation, programs and strategic project portfolios has been developed. In contrast to existing models, it allows you to assess the results of the adaptation of project-oriented organization (viability, destruction, non-viability), the effectiveness of management, system manageability, strategy implementation through projects, competitiveness. The criterion of "efficiency" is proposed to be evaluated according to the orientation to the ideality of the system through the evaluation of properties and the effectiveness of counteraction to harmful external, internal and entropic environmental factors. Findings. The methodological approaches of substantiation of adaptive management of project-oriented organizations to destructive factors of environment due to increase of properties of system ideality and timely monitoring of administrative decisions on the sum of criteria "efficiency-timeliness" have received further development. Practical value. The practical useful effect of the proposed matrix "effectiveness of management decisions-timeliness" is to ensure operational monitoring and early detection of deviations in the management of the organization. It is in order to implement a development strategy with fewer losses and, consequently, increase the number of successfully implemented projects. The obtained results are aimed at improving methodological approaches to making timely and effective decisions in operational and project activities based on ensuring the implementation of adaptation principles, implementation of the strategic project portfolio, the flexibility of time management system, the efficiency of adjustment in case of deviations from the plan.

This research work focused on development of a model of web based virtual University Administration for Nigerian universities. This is necessary as there is still a noticeable administrative constraint in our Universities, the establishment of many University Web portals notwithstanding. More efforts are therefore needed to enhance or improve on the software that drives these portals to make them more efficient and render real time services. The model enables members of academic community to set up curriculum, register students and staff, enter exam scores, post news, view results, pay school fees, request for transcripts, obtain vital information from the university and update information on daily basis. The model has a watch-dog monitor called Web Patrol that monitors and keeps a log of the transactions by students and staff. The methodologies adopted for this work are top-down, prototyping and Structured Systems Analysis and Design Methodology (SSADM). This research work helps in bringing university administrative products and services to the door steps of people, thereby reducing administrative bottleneck witnessed in our universities today. It generates results and transcripts, thereby solving the current problems of delay in result and transcript processing and transfer in our universities.

The present internet version which was established and consolidated over internet protocol version 4 (IPV4) in 1981, and whose amount of public addresses available is insufficient to meet the demands explosion and current internet multimedia devices, services and application intensive environment has posed serious problems of incomplete web transactions. Stakeholders and communication industry in Nigeria are unwilling and feel reluctant to migrate to IPV6 because of inhibiting factors. This needs urgent redress to overcome the tractions that are responsible for apathy to migration from IPV4 to IPV6 launched in 1994 by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF). If nothing is done, sometime, internet may run out of space, ARIN [1]. Users may suffer disillusionment and frustration. The objective of this study therefore is to design a model for predicting migration from IPV4 to IPV6 in Nigeria by 2027 based on growth trend developed from statistical indices. The essence is to explore and analyze the factors that can encourage migration to IPV6 in the next 10 years and use those factors to forecast growth, so that IPV6 will receive boost in terms of growth and patronage. The study also aims at designing a predictive model that simulates the behaviour of the restrictive policies on migration to 1PV6 so as to ascertain the current impact on non-motivation and unwillingness to migrate to IPV6 in Nigeria. The motivation behind this study is to identify the inhibiting factors responsible for lack of motivation to migrate from IPV4 to IPV6 in Nigeria. The methodologies that were deployed in packaging the model include the statistical methodology, Structured Systems Analysis and Design Methodology (SSADM) and prototyping. The result is indeed functional software, programmed through Visual Basic. Net. (VB.Net) that can be used to simulate the behavioural impact of any government policy formulation for Telecommunication industry and stakeholders.

Traditional structured analysis and design methods have been criticized because the methods lack formality to provide a design for rigorous development. Several approaches have been developed for verifying a design by integrating traditional structured analysis and design methods with formal specification languages. However, the integration of traditional structured analysis and design methods with formal specification languages may confuse the problem definition and understanding with the attempt to define system structures and algorithms in the design phase. In addition, formal specification languages may add complexity to the design due to the complexity of the language syntax and semantics. In this paper, we are presenting an approach to verification of a structured design in HOS without using formal specification languages. Rules for the partial and total correctness of the design are also discussed.

The computational cost of reliability analysis and optimization of medium/large structural systems is prohibitively high. One of the reasons for this situation is the use of inefficient methods, such as finite differences, for design sensitivity analysis. A significant increase in the efficiency of reliability computations is expected from the integration of reliability methods with the discrete and continuum methods of design sensitivity analysis. So far, only the discrete method has been used in the so-called stochastic finite element method. Integration of reliability computations with the continuum method of design sensitivity analysis is proposed in this paper as a new, powerful approach to the probabilistic design of large structural systems. Basic formulations and solution methods of reliability analysis, design sensitivity analysis of reliability indices, reliability-based optimization, and multiobjective reliability-based optimization are reviewed with focus on the sensitivity informatio...

This thesis presents a new modelling method for information systems analysis and design, where the concept of service and the principles of service orientation are used for integrated modelling and reasoning about information systems architectures across organisational and technical systems boundaries. The concept of service enables cohesion of the intersubjective and objective modelling traditions by using a single type of diagram that facilitates detection of semantic inconsistency, incompleteness, ambiguity and discontinuity between the static and dynamic aspects of information systems specifications. The thesis is focused on three research topics, which are fundamental to the development of a new service-oriented modelling method. The first research topic concerns a pragmatic-driven specification of information systems. It clarifies answers to the research question: How can a conceptual modelling process be driven by pragmatic considerations? The second research topic provides a service-oriented modelling foundation for information systems analysis and design. It answers the research questions: How can the concept of service be used explicitly for the analysis and design of information systems and how can the static and dynamic aspects of information systems specifications be integrated at the conceptual level? The third research topic presents transition principles to implementation-specific design and answers the research question: How can service-oriented conceptual representations be aligned with implementation-specific design? The thesis contributes with a new knowledge to the area of conceptual modelling of information systems. The service-oriented modelling method consists of the modelling process, modelling language and techniques for the analysis and design of information systems on three levels of abstraction: pragmatic, semantic and syntactic. These three levels are necessary for a holistic understanding of enterprise architecture by stakeholders. The advantage of the service-oriented modelling method is that it can help to control traceability from information system design to original requirements. The method facilitates the semantic integration of the structural, behavioural and interactive aspects of information systems conceptual representations by using a single diagram type. The modelling language provides service-oriented constructs that are fundamental to building the major systems analysis patterns. The service-oriented modelling process contributes with seven steps of incremental design, which justifies various information systems components. The method provides the basis for a gradual and systematic way of modelling and an understanding of how pragmatic, semantic and logical information system requirements are linked together. The possibility to detect and eliminate undesirable characteristics of service-oriented diagrams can help to improve communication among stakeholders. Service-oriented specifications are computation-neutral and therefore they are more comprehensible for business analysis experts in comparison to implementation specific graphical representations of information systems. Finally, this thesis presents the challenges for future research, one of which is the development of the automated tools for the alignment of business models with implementation-specific information systems specifications.

Background: Piezoceramic materials have unique property which enables direct and bilateral conversion between mechanical and electrical energy. This ability facilitates significant miniaturisation of technology and opens many opportunities in design of new actuators and energy harvesters. Mathematical modelling of piezoelectric modules is notoriously hard due to complex constitutive equations defining mechanical and electrical energy conversion. Methods: The article presents research on a new synthesis method based on the Cauer’s method for electrical and mechanical system design. Mechanical damping is introduced with the use of Rayleigh’s approximation. A discrete electromechanical model is formed based on the Mason’s piezoelectric model. As an additional element of the research, a non-standard model analysis method using edge graphs and structural numbers is employed to investigate potential reductions in computational requirements for model analysis. Results: The electromechanical model analysis has shown an error of 5% in relation to the resonance target. The calculated peak in magnitude of displacement at the resonant frequency was well above the capability of a 3.5mm thick piezoelectric plate. The proposed non-standard method of analysis gave identical results in terms of obtained resonance frequencies. The calculated magnitude of vibrations was varying by 50 – 58%. Conclusions: The synthesis method presented in this paper allows an approximation of piezoelectric parameters of a real system based on the created mathematical model. Currently this method is subject to a considerable error in the determined vibration amplitudes of the system, but it allows a coarse approximation of the parameters while having a very limited number of input data. The additional method of analysis based on structural numbers offers a promising alternative to matrix calculations but requires a more thorough investigation of the computational power required to determine whether it can compete with existing algorithms.

Structured design with mathematical proofs