What phase involves collecting information about the present system's operations?

The phase that involves collecting information about the present system's operations is the analysis phase. During this stage, the focus is on understanding how the existing system functions, identifying its strengths and weaknesses, and determining the requirements for the new system. This includes gathering data through various methods such as interviews, surveys, observations, and reviewing existing documentation. The information collected during the analysis phase serves as a foundation for designing a new or improved system that meets the users' needs and addresses any issues identified in the current operations.

The design phase follows analysis and involves creating specifications to build the system, while research typically pertains to the overall project understanding but does not specifically target the operations of the current system. The implementation phase is concerned with putting the designed system into action, which comes after analyzing the current operations.