Rating: 
Summary: It just doesn't work
Review: (based on 4th edition, 692pp)
If you've never studied the fundamental concepts of SDLC, this book will teach you standards when using CASE tools/Project Management software, how to create your first Requirements Statement and how to facilitate between Users, Owners, Vendors, Steering Committees, Programmers, Network Admins, Interface Designers, DB Admins and misc Managers. Examples of Gane & Sarson (the book's standard), DeMarco/Yourdon and SSADM/IDEF0 shapes and diagramming methods are used for diagramming Data, Processes, Networks and Objects. The redudancy of the text prevented me from madly flipping back and forth to try and keep everything in memory - THANK YOU! It's like having a pre-hyperlink referal manual. While SAaDM 4th ed. also thoroughly delves into the core theory & logic of Database/Process/Network modeling, Object Modeling, Input/Output/Interface Prototyping and Project Management, it is not a replacement for experience. Consider it a comprenhensive, illustrated encyclopedia or HOWTO that builds off of the project's Objectives/Constraints by cross referencing the technology behind Data, Process, Interface and Geography with human Owners, Users, Designers and Builders. Each cell of that cross reference has requirements, methods, an outcome & a deliverable which compiles to a standardized, template-based Requirements Statement that you would be proud to submit to the boss. The downfalls:
A) It can't cover the remaining SDLC phases (part 3: Implementation & Support is covered in about 35 pages), but the title already tells us that.
B) Many of the methods use very similar terms and templates, (e.g. the difference between a Data Flow Diagram & a Data Model, or the reason we have a Decomposition Diagram AND a Context Diagram). With experience, every part of this book reveals neccessity, but a first-time reader would benefit from sidebars like "Why Decomp Diags differ from Context Diags" or "Common mistakes of translating an Entity Relationship Diagram into a Data Flow Diagram". Finally, 140 pages of the book reveal essential Organizational Behavior habits that every System Architect should learn: Project & Process Management Techniques, Fact-finding, Feasibility & Cost Analysis, Joint Application Development and Interpersonal Skills.
Rating: 
Summary: Book in excellent condition, but took longer than expected!!
Review: Book in excellent condition, but took longer than expected to receive. More importantly, the seller failed to initiate the contact to update me on the shipment status. I almost lost hope lost hope that the book was shipped.
Rating: 
Summary: Since its cheap I guess you can't lose too much
Review: But the book really was only marginally useful. It was written as a textbook but I don't really think that it gave a good understanding of Systems Analysis and Design, except for small systems design.
Rating:
Summary: completely unsatisfied!
Review: I am completey unsatisfied customer with the order. I have to return the book not only it was a wrong one, but it took forever. I am gona have to re-order the right one and wait again while the class already started. I guess I am paying for the mistake I made by ordering my textbook from you guys!
Rating:
Summary: One of the worst text books I have ever had.
Review: I have read the earlier reviews of this book. You see the wide disparity of reviews. Numerous Best ever, and lots of really bad. I am on the bad side, and if it could be awarded negative stars I would do so. This book is a disorganized, piece of junk. I have now read it twice and feel less informed than when I started. It takes fairly easy concepts, hides them in buzzwords and wordy explanations in order to make the subject seem infinitely more complicated than it actually is. If I did not have to complete this class with this book I would throw it out the window right now. It is nearly impossible to sort the garbage from the meat in each chapter. As a student text it is probably the worst I have seen. My dissatisfaction with it is nearly limitless. The first 10 chapters are a nearly incomprehensible and overly complicated, then the last 3 chapters then drop to computer 100 level information such as "much information is printed on paper" or "a keyboard is a common way to input information". V/R Bob Morgan
Rating:
Summary: Good candidate for Comedy Central
Review: I think I just severely overrated this book.. Should have selected 0 stars, but there is no such a choice in the drop-down menu... This is written in the worst style imaginable. It has fundamental technical mistakes and demonstrates the authors' ignorance on a variety of related topics. Apparently the authors are absolutely clueless on the subject... ...Imposing this "masterpiece" on your students and forcing them to read it is not only a waste of their time; it is also an insult on their intelligence. At the beginning it is very hard to keep reading, but after a certain point it becomes almost amusing... You can't wait to see what's next! Keep on, you won't be disappointed. A lot of laughter is awaiting you!
Rating: 
Summary: An excellent resource
Review: I've used this textbook to teach a Systems Analysis course. There are a few "fluffy" chapters here and there, but overall the textbook is excellent. This edition focuses exclusively on the Analysis and Design phases of the Systems Development Life Cycle. There are also two chapters that introduce Object Oriented Analysis, but the treatment here is very high-level. Some of my students have complained about the wordiness of the textbook. The authors have opted to explain several of the key concepts in several different ways. Some students will feel as if the book has repeated itself, but I've found the pedagogical use of varied approaches to explain a concept to be quite effective.
Rating: 
Summary: The best I've seen, with a little room for improvement
Review: This book is simply the best I've seen on this topic to date. The authors present the material in order of the systems development life cycle, which I feel is of great value. Another thing adding value is the use of an adapted version of Zachman's framework. When I used this to teach class, I emphasized the development process, from the survey phase on. This book helped me do that well. Using the SDLC as a framework, the authors present specific and relevant skills, so a certain amount of repitition is unavoidable, even necessary. The chapter outlines of chapters 4, 9, 17 and 18 provide the life cycle framework. The chapters in between present the specific techniques and templates that are used to fill in the blanks. But there are opportunities to improve the book. There should be complete examples of all the important documents, not just outlines. A complete example helps the student visualize what the real deliverables will look like. The process modeling chapter should cover IDEF0 activity modeling and process mapping. Data modeling needs to mention relevant modeling tools like ERwin. (And there were a few errors here in the example.) Even so, this is a fine work that seems so lucid and well-structured that I still use it as a reference book.
Rating:
Summary: The best I've seen, with a little room for improvement
Review: This book is simply the best I've seen on this topic to date. The authors present the material in order of the systems development life cycle, which I feel is of great value. Another thing adding value is the use of an adapted version of Zachman's framework. When I used this to teach class, I emphasized the development process, from the survey phase on. This book helped me do that well. Using the SDLC as a framework, the authors present specific and relevant skills, so a certain amount of repitition is unavoidable, even necessary. The chapter outlines of chapters 4, 9, 17 and 18 provide the life cycle framework. The chapters in between present the specific techniques and templates that are used to fill in the blanks. But there are opportunities to improve the book. There should be complete examples of all the important documents, not just outlines. A complete example helps the student visualize what the real deliverables will look like. The process modeling chapter should cover IDEF0 activity modeling and process mapping. Data modeling needs to mention relevant modeling tools like ERwin. (And there were a few errors here in the example.) Even so, this is a fine work that seems so lucid and well-structured that I still use it as a reference book.
Rating:
Summary: Chapter-by-Chpter Review - Overall a Good Book
Review: This review is for the 6th edition. The 6th edition makes very good improvement from the 5th. Otherwise my review may be quite different. Overall, I feel this is quite a good book. (You may notice that I do not give many 4 stars for books).
I waited for quite a while before I start to write this review. It is quite difficult to give an overview to this quite complicate book since it covers many aspects of systems analysis and design, and some of the coverages are excellent and some are done in quite a hurry. Besides, I should tell you that I have not read many other text books in this subject lately so that I do not know how this book compares with others. I decide to review each chapter. I hope this will help the author to improve this book (if they do visit here. I do not know them at all) and help the readers to as a guide. I am teaching this book right now. In this way, I may develop this long review graduately.
This book is not written for experienced information technology professionals. Otherwise, they may not have the patient to read this book through. The authors write this book for "information systems and business majors at the sophomore, junior, senior or graduate level". The authors further recommended that the students take a computer- and information systems literacy course first. I do not agree with the recommendation of the authors for the best readership. Students with only computer and information systems literacy course may find this book difficult. This book is much better to teach senior students who have taken courses for various systems building blocks, such as database and programming. In other words, you better have a pretty good idea about various types of houses and the major building blocks before you study how to build them. The authors do cover the basic components for information systems. However, often such coverage is not well-written and it makes me guess that the authors are not as good on the building blocks level of information systems.
For business students, I feel this book may be too heavy for them. They most likely participate in the system development game as owners and users, and they should study a text from that perspective.
The book provides chapter maps based on a framework presentated in this book. I found them very useful for students and for instructors, in particular since the book covers very diversified topics and the book has to study the same element from several different perspectives at several chapters. Different stakeholders look at different building block of different types of house from many different perspectives when different construction techniques are used at different building stages... Try to write a book about it. You get the picture? Several reviewers complain they do not understand this book. It is indeed a complicated game. This is also why the authors use 5 different colors frequently to indicates different perspectives in terms of methods, data/knowledge, process, communication/interface and people. Some reviewers consider the usage of colors in this book confusing. It is partly the fault of the authors. Though the color legend is explained in preface of the book and somewhere else, the authors should know many students do not read preface.
A continuous story (Analyst in Action Episodes) is provided for each chapter about a supposedly real world like business and its development team. Many students like this story since it gives them some hints on the outside world. However, again, instructors should remind them to read this story. Otherwise they may not read it at all. At the end, I will return to discuss the quality of this story.
The book has 4 parts. Part One, The Context of Systems Development Projects, gives an overall picture about systems analysis and design. (to be continued)
/* The statement and opinions expresses here are my own and do not necessarily represent those of my employer */
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