Review of "Business Systems, by Theodore C. Willoughby and James A. Senn." The Association for Systems Management, Cleveland, 1975

Abstract

When you pick up this book you may suspect that the title is presumptuous. Business systems? In one volume? On the other hand, the book is heavy and the table of contents seems comprehensive: Part I Information Systems in Organizations, Part II the Systems Project, Part Ill Information Analysis, Part IV System Design, Part V Systems Implementation and Part VI Systems Control and Minor Maintenance. Not only that, but the chapter headings sound good and they fit, too. So far so good, but we've all seen plenty of books that don't live up to the promises of the table of contents. Well, BDP fans, you have a surprise in store. Wil loughby and Senn have done an impressive job. The book is aimed directly at the practical processes and problems of system analysis, and it begins precisely where it should: the organizational setting within which systems analysis must function. The book goes on to cover the processes of systems analysis and a wide array of applicable tools and techniques. The authors use an interesting device in presenting system tools. They present a matrix with tools represented as rows and the phases of the systems process as columns. They then indicate, by number, where the tools are most used (1), frequently used (2), occasionally used (3) and infrequently used (4). The tool is then introduced in the text at the point or phase where it first sees extensive use. This book has many good features not the least of which is an obviously extensive practical experience in systems analysis on the part of the authors. The chapters are many (30) and relatively short, which will make it highly adaptable for use as a textbook. There is a substantial bibliography at the end of each chapter, which will be a useful guide to the reader who would like to pursue a subject further. While this book may not be the last word in textbooks on applied systems analysis, it is certainly going to be a tough one to beat. I also recommend it to those who would like to be systems analysts or those who are systems analysts and are not quite sure what they should be doing.