INFO 3 specification notes

7/26/2019 INFO 3 specification notes

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ContentsChapter 1..................................................................................................................4

1.1 Diferent organisations have diferent inormation needs...............4

1.2 Diferent activities within an organisation have diferentinormation needs...................................................................................................4

1.3 Diferent levels o task have diferent inormation needs................4

1.4 Diferent personnel have diferent inormation needs......................5

Suppliers;................................................................................................................5

Customers;.............................................................................................................5

!cial and legal "odies;..................................................................................5

1.# $%change o inormation with e%ternal inormation...........................5

Chapter 2..................................................................................................................62.1 &he role o 'C& in organisations..................................................................6

2.2 Common 'C& s(stems used in organisations.........................................6

2.3 &he re)uirements o e%ternal agencies...................................................6

Suppl( chain*.........................................................................................................6

+egac( s(stems*..................................................................................................6

2.4 &(pes o 'C& s(stems and their uses........................................................7

,ack o!ce s(stems............................................................................................7

&ransaction processing s(stems....................................................................7

-ork ow s(stems..............................................................................................7

C/S$ 0 computer aided sotware engineering.........................................7

Document anagement s(stems..................................................................7

S(stems or colla"orative working................................................................7

anagement inormation s(stems 'S....................................................8

Decision support s(stems D'S.....................................................................8

$nterprise s(stems.............................................................................................8

Data mining...........................................................................................................8

Computer relationship management C..............................................8

$5commerce...........................................................................................................8

Data warehouse...................................................................................................8

Chapter 3..................................................................................................................8

3.1 'C& anagement St(les.................................................................................8

,usiness /ims and "6ectives........................................................................8

3.2 'C& strategies and policies...........................................................................8

7olicies o an organisation*..............................................................................9


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Securit( 7olicies...................................................................................................9

3.3 &he contri"ution o 'C& management to 'C& "usiness strateg(.....9

7rocurement 0 shopping...................................................................................9

&raining 7olicies....................................................................................................9

/ccepta"le 8se 7olic(........................................................................................9

9e( terms................................................................................................................9

+egislations............................................................................................................9

3.4 :actors inuencing 'C& strateg(...............................................................10

Internal..................................................................................................................10

External.................................................................................................................10

/vaila"le nance;..............................................................................................10

3.# Corporate 'C& strategies.............................................................................11

ain risks rom continued computer use*................................................11

Data 7rotection /ct 1


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7hased conversion............................................................................................17

7ilot conversion..................................................................................................17

easons wh( maintenance is needed...........................................................17

&(pes o s(stem maintenance o large s(stems....................................18

aintenance teams..........................................................................................18

8ser support........................................................................................................18

Chapter 8................................................................................................................18

&raining and Supporting 8sers.........................................................................18

=.1 'nternal and $%ternal 8sers........................................................................18

&(pes o training.................................................................................................18

=.2 &raining 8sers..................................................................................................19

Cost5"enet issues............................................................................................19


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Chapter 1

1.1 Diferent organisations have diferent

inormation needs /n( group o people who have a common interest 0 charities

or pu"lic sector organisations.

&he inormation needs o organisations will depend on their

purpose? scale and si@e.

&he unction o the organisation is also ver( important. Smallorganisations are ver( dependent on their 'C& s(stems?whereas "ig organisations not as much.

+arge organisations ma( generate more data "ut ma( notneed to process it in an( comple% wa(.

rganisatoAins that rel( on large data"ases or e5commerceoperations are ver( dependent on their 'C& s(stems.

&he management st(le will also have a "ig impact.

Some organisations will preer to use the newest technolog(and want ver( sophisticated 'C& s(stems? whereas others ma(preer to "e Blow tech.

1.2 Diferent activities within an organisation havediferent inormation needs.

Some departments ma( use 'C& more than others in an

organisation. 7a(roll sotware helps calculate their emplo(ees salaries and

wages? with the deductions the( have to make or nationalinsurance and income ta%.

:inance departments can use accounting and nancial

modelling sotware to track income and e%penditure and planor the uture.

etail organisations need to use 'C& to order stock? and searchor suppliers.

Some organisations use the B6ust in time polic( that relies

heavil( on inormation rom 'C& s(stems. 'normation is e%changed with suppliers and customers

through a computer5"ased s(stem. 't agrees ormats.

1.3 Diferent levels o task have diferentinormation needs.

ost organisations have a hierarch(.

perating level tasks are ever(da( tasks.

&actical and strategic level tasks are concerned with managing

the activities o the organisation.


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&he operational level staf would "e sales assistants andwould ollow a clear set o rules when making decisions a"outhow to chare a customer structured decisions are eas( toautomate in s(stems such as $7S tills and pa(roll sotware.&heir decisions take immediate efect and re)uire inormation

in considera"le detail. &actical level staf would "e store managers and senior

administrators. &hese decisions do not ollow straight orwardrules 0 the(re semi5structured. &he( afect the medium termoperation o the organisation. &he inormation re)uired at thislevel needs to "e summarised. &he )ualit( o the inormationcan afect how eas( the decisions are.

&he strategic level is the highest in an organisation and thedecisions at this level afect the wa( the organisation movesorward in the long term. &hese decisions are comple% and

lack structure. &he inormation or these decisions ma( comerom man( diferent sources. &he directors would need to seesummarised reports.

1.4 Diferent personnel have diferent inormationneedsSuppliers;

&he( need to know details o the materials theorganisation needs to order and how the(re going to "epaid or. 'n order to do this the organisation will need to

set up an account with the supplier 0 username?password are supplied to maintain securit( and preventunauthorised orders.

+arge organisations ma( have an e%tranet? access will"e limited to the parts the suppliers need.

Customers and suppliers ma( also communicate viaemail and telephone. ,ut man( suppliers insist onwritten orders. :inancial inormation is dealt withthrough more secure methods 0 encr(ption.

Customers;

-e"site :/Es can "e useul to deal with )uestionsasked. &he( can nd the answer )uickl( and is e!cient 5no staf time used. 'mpersonal and limited method.

$mail allows compan( to answer personall(? not as

personal as telephone calls "ut avoid customer havingto wait on hold. &he( do not need to "e answeredinstantl(.

'nternet chats are more popular now. Customers indicatethat the( want an internet chat and are placed in a)ueue. &his uses instant messaging services. &his

provides a written record o the discussion.


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!cial and legal "odies; an( organisations deal with o!cial "odies 0 inland

revenueFG revenue and customs. &he Directgovwe"site is a we" portal that links to governmentagencies. &he( are issued with securit( codes.

1.# $%change o inormation with e%ternalinormation.

-hen communicating with an e%ternal "od(? theorganisation needs to ensure that it complies withprivac(? securit( and legal re)uirements.

$.g. Data 7rotection /ct 1


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purchse4d in modules to save the compan( mone(. &hesotware will have powerul reporting options so that thedata"ase could produce a list o people who have the righta"ilities or a 6o". /ll organisations will need to transerinormation "etween themselves and government agencies

e.g. ta%.

2.3 &he re)uirements o e%ternal agenciesSuppl( chain*&he links "etween the raw materials rom which a product is madeand the customers who purchase them. 't needs to "e maintainedsmoothl(. Ho organisation wants to hold large amounts o stock"ecause it ties up nance and the( ma( "e let with let over stock.aw materials 0 processed materials 0 manuactured products 0warehouse storage 0 customer orders in shop 0 delivered to

customer+egac( s(stems*-hen an organisation invests in a new s(stem it ma( not replaceever( part o the older one. 't is essential that data porta"ilit( ismaintained. &his means that data can "e transerred "etween theold and the new s(stems electronicall( without "eing re5entered.' the legac( s(stem is to "e totall( replaced "( the new one? thendata transera"ilit( is important. Data rom the old s(stem can "eimported into the new s(stem when the s(stem is "eing installed.

2.4 &(pes o 'C& s(stems and their uses,ack o!ce s(stems&he usual la(out o a "uilding or earl( companies had a B"ack o!ce.&he 'C& s(stems that run the internal operations o an organisationand are not accessi"le or visi"le to general pu"lic.

&ransaction processing s(stems&hese carr( out the da(5to5da( activities o most organisations atoperational level.

-ork ow s(stems-orkow management s(stems use 'C& to manage "usiness

processes. &he sotware helps the organisations to dene andanal(se their "usiness processes and to identi( possi"le pro"lemareas that are slowing down the inormation ow and afecting thee!cienc( o the complete s(stem.

C/S$ 0 computer aided sotware engineering&ools can "e used in the creation o workow5"ased applications.

't denes activities

/llocates staf to activities

Denes organisations

/llocates staf to organisations /ttaches programs to activities


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Document anagement s(stems&he( were originall( developed to store paper "ased documentselectronicall(. &he( were scanned and stored as picture les? withke(words? authors and other data relating to the documentrecorded. Documents were much easier to search or and retrieve 0

paper "ased s(stem too.etadata 0 data a"out data. 't provides inormation a"out thecontent o documents using ke( words? descriptions and dates.

S(stems or colla"orative workingS(stems should "e set up to onl( one mem"er o the team can haveownership o a document a one time? the( are the onl( ones allowedto make changes to it. -hen the( have nished with it? the updatedversion num"er and send the new version to other mem"ers o theteam. &his sometimes does not work "ecause mem"ers oten do notcheck or new versions. / "etter method is to set up a shared space

0 an e5room. Documents are uploaded to this central space the(have to "e checked out to "e changed.

anagement inormation s(stems 'S&his converts the data rom internal and e%ternal sources andprocesses it to provide inormation that can "e used "( managers atdiferent levels to aid efective decision making.

Decision support s(stems D'SComputer5"ased s(stems that anal(se data to provide inormationto help managers make decisions.

$nterprise s(stems

&hose that serve the enterprise as a whole rather than an(individual department.

Data mining&he e%traction o previousl( unknown and potentiall( useulinormation rom data.

Computer relationship management CSotware that is used to store data a"out customers in order toimprove the service that customer receives and increase thelikelihood o repeat "usiness.

$5commerce

Designed to support the "u(ing and selling o goods and services?usuall( over the -orld -ide -e".

Data warehouse&he storage acilit( or large )uantities o data.

Chapter 3anagement and strategies


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3.1 'C& anagement St(les,usiness /ims and "6ectives

Statements that are used to meet the aims o theorganisation.

o /n e%ample; to integrate 'C& s(stems to improve the"usiness processes and hence improve "usinesse!cienc(.

Strategies are the method the organisation will use to achievethese aims.

Charities* undraise and achieve donations and support or

particular charit( organisations.

School* to educate the (oung people and achieve high grades.

Nursing Home* to ensure people have a "etter )ualit( o lie?

to look ater the people in their care.

3.2 'C& strategies and policiesAim: to increase market shareStrategy: to introduce e5commercePolicies: ,uild a we"site

Support site with "ack o!ce s(stems8se content management

7olicies o an organisation*o +egac( s(stemso ,ack o!ce s(stems

o &ransaction processing s(stemso Data porta"ilit(

o Data transera"ilit(o -ork ow management s(stems

Securit( 7olicieso +egal issues 0 Data protection act 1


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&raining 7olicies Jo" descriptions

9nowledge a"out laws that afect them

Kearl( training meetings /ppraisals

&raining plans provided 0 not in emplo(ees own time ecords o training are maintained

Hew s(stem 0 new training

/ccepta"le 8se 7olic( 7ersonnel use o email

7ersonnel use internet

9e( terms Contract o emplo(ment

Disciplinar( procedures

Securit( o data 0 involves making sure that the data is correct

and kept condential and sae. 7rivac( o data 0 'nvolves ensuring the data is not seen or

accessed "( an(one who is not authorised to.

+egislations Data 7rotection /ct

:reedom o inormation act

Computer misuse act

Cop(right? Designs and 7atents act

Gealth and Saet( at work act

3.4 :actors inuencing 'C& strateg(&he goals o the "usiness

,usiness goals 0 missions and aims

:inance

+egac( s(stems

Leograph(

+egislation

/ssets over time't is worth taking the time to point out the "enets to the peopleinvolved in the "usiness so that the( understand the reason ormaking changes to the compan(? which in the short term ma( maketheir lives more di!cult. &his applies to users o all levels 0operators and managers who will all have to work with the news(stem.

'C& strategies will "e afected "( man( internal and e%ternalinuences;

Internal Si@e

7urpose


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Staf

anagement st(le

+egac( s(stems

/vaila"le nance

External +egislative "odies e.g. the government

Customers

Standards and protocols

Competitors

&echnological change

/vaila"le nance;The cost beneft o new system costs may inclu!e"

Development o the data"ase

Hew sotware licences Hew serves hardware

8pgrades to some work station hardware

8pgrading operating s(stems to "e a"le to run the newsotware

improved communications network to ensure enough"andwidth to deliver accepta"le response times

'mporting data rom legac( s(stems

&raining users and support stafKet "enets ma( include; improvements in e!cienc(? a reduction in

time spent transerring data "etween s(stems? aster response tocustomer )ueries? ewer customer support staf needed? andincrease in new clients.

#$shoring"the transer o an organisational unction to anothercountr(? regardless o whether the work is outsourced or sta(swithin the same corporation.

3.# Corporate 'C& strategies%ee&ing &ace with !e'elo&ments

5 &he re)uenc( with which e)uipment is replaced5 &he distri"ution o new technolog( within the compan(

Inormation management5 /ccess levels5 Gow much control levels o emplo(ees have5 -hether the access o individuals is no access? read onl( or

ull control.Peo&le

5 ecruitment policies5 Sta!ng issues 0 securit( procedures5 Jo" roles and responsi"ilities

5 &he hierarch( o the organisation


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5 &he organisation is structured "( unction? each departmentwill "e responsi"le or its own 'C& s(stems? "u(ingapplications? e)uipment or services as the( need them.

anaging Director

ain risks rom continued computer use* S'

,ack 7ain

Heck ache

ules or emplo(ees*

# point chair

/d6usta"le workstations 0 height ad6usted

/d6usta"le chair

$mplo(ees trained

Data 7rotection /ct 1


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9ept sae and secure.

Hot "e transerred outside o the $uropean economic areawithout appropriate protection.

ne o the eight principles in the data protection act is that the

inormation needs to "e accurate. &his means that the data needs to"e kept up5to date so that it is correct? it should "e appropriate 0onl( the inormation needed should "e stored? all other data should"e discarded. &he inormation should also "e valua"le? and provideke( details or the compan(Forganisations needs? otherwise itshould not "e stored. /n e%ample o this would "e i a g(m wantedto store the customers details? the( should onl( have access toinormation the( need such as gender? name? address? contactdetails age etc. &he( should not have the clients amil( histor( listedon the s(stem as this is e%cessive. 'n addition? i the customers

data changes? it should "e kept up5to date.

Computer isuse /ct5 &hree sections5 7assed in 1


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4.1 'C& policiesnce an esta"lishment has chosen an 'C& strateg(? the( must outpolicies into place. an( o these will orm part o an emplo(eescontract.

Contracts o emplo(ment are essential tools in enorcingorganisational policies.

Securit( 7olic(/ statement o how an organisation intends to protect its assets.

't will initiall( la( down procedures that emplo(ees must ollow inorder to protect its data and e)uipment. &his includes the hardware?sotware? data and storage media. 't is vital that the polic( issupported "( the top levels o management as the( are the onesultimatel( responsi"le in law or the organisations data

7olic(; 'denti( potential threats to data and manage the risks

associated with the threats.

/llocate responsi"ilities or data securit(.

State what resources will "e needed to maintain data securit(.&he organisation needs to anal(se its data and esta"lish howvalua"le it is and what potential conse)uences there are i thesecurit( is "reached? nancial ina"ilit( to trade? legal "reaking theData 7rotection /ct or to do with loss o trust rom customers orsuppliers. Gow long will the data "e kept or>

Classication o Datao Public0 data that can "e made availa"le to an(one without

risk to the organisation.o Internal use only0 can "e used an(where within the

organisation? "ut should not "e released outside.o Conf!ential0 restricted to certain mem"ers o the

organisation onl(.

Securit( 7olic( ,acked 8p,(

:orm7arto

Disciplinar(7rocedures

Contract o$mplo(ment

/ccepta"le 8se7olic(


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Chapter 5

Development ethodologiesDeveloping 'C& solutions

S(stems Development +ie C(cle; Analysis o re-uirements

o Heeds to esta"lish e%actl( what the e%isting s(stem

doeso -hat its strengths and weaknesses areo -hat is re)uired o the new s(stem

o /n( constraints that ma( "e placed on the new solutiono &o do this;

'nterviews with users and people o diferent levels

Euestionnaires and surve(s

"servations

Current documentation

(esigno Heeds to include sotware? tools and techni)ues to "e

used? and 6usticationo Data capture and validationo 7rocessing to "e carried outo utputs to "e producedo Gow the solution will "e tested

Construction o solutiono Customising a packageo -riting a code

Testingo Diferent &(pes o testing;

MODULE; testing each individual section o the

sotware to make sure each section works asintended.

INTEGRATED; com"ined modules are tested? one at

a time at each stage. 'ncluding de"ugging thesections.

FUNCTIONTESTING; test the operation o the s(stemand to pick up errors that might have "eenmissed.

SYSTEMSTESTING; tests the complete integrated

s(stem in preparation or user testing. USER/USABILITYTESTING; to see how eas( to use

something is "( testing it with real users. 8sersare asked to complete tasks? t(picall( while the(are "eing o"served "( a researcher? to see wherethe( encounter pro"lems and e%perience

conusion.


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OPERATIONALTESTING; testing the s(stem in a

simulated environment or the real environment ouse.

WHITEBOX; a method o testing sotware that tests

internal structures or workings o an application?

as opposed to its unctionalit( BLACKBOXTESTING; where unctional testing takes

place. 't checks that a given input produces thecorrect output.

DEBUGGING; the process o testing program code to

isolate and remove an( errors.

eview and aintenance5 Correct maintenance; putting right an( errors once the s(stem

has "ecome operational.o An example;when apple produce updates to

improveF% "ugs and minor aults 0 iS


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Construction o solution

-orking solutions

S(stem documentation

8ser anualsTesting

&est results

odications.aintenance

8pdates and patches or corrective? adaptive and perectmaintenance.

-hat needs to "e managed> 7ro6ects need to have;

/ dened timescale

/n approved "udget +imited resources 0 an agreed amount o la"our and

e)uipment.

7ro6ect anagement / set o specialist skills? knowledge and e%perience to reduce

the risks and improve the likelihood o the pro6ect succeeding.

/ suite o tools such as document templates and registers?planning and modelling sotware? audit checklists and revieworms.

&echni)ues and processes to monitor and control time? cost?)ualit(? risk and issue management.

:actors that cause success anagement and end user involvement

ealistic e%pectations

7roessional standards

Lood team work

:actors that cause ailure 'nade)uate anal(sis

7oor design

'nappropriate testing

7oorl( organised installation and changeover

7oor user support

7oor pro6ect management

+inear $ach stage o the process "egins when the previous stage

have "een completed.

Heed contingenc( time i a previous section is not completedon time.


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o &he( are eas( to manageo Close control o time and "udget can "e e%ercised

o +ess a"le to respond to changes

-aterall odel/n alternative model is the waterall model. 't allows or eachstage to "e revisited as the pro6ect develops.

'terative5 / process o repeating each se)uence o steps until the

re)uired answer is achieved 0 lots o independent mini5wateralls.

5 &he( loop round the stages o the development until thedevelopers andFor the clients are happ(.

o &his is more di!cult to manage and sta( within

constraints o time and mone(.o ,ut it is ver( e%i"le.

Developmental methodologiesDevelopment o s(stems can "e "roken into two t(pes.

/inear"waterall method o development.o &he( ollow a set path and one stage o the process

"egins as the previous one ends with little eed"ack"etween stages.

Iterati'e"apid /pplication Development.

ethods o introducing s(stemsDirect changeover

'nvolves stopping using the old s(stem one da( and startingusing the new s(stem the ne%t.

/n element o risk; i the hardware and sotware are cuttingedge.

A!'antage; re)uires ewer resources people? mone(?

e)uipment and is simple provided nothing goes wrong.

7arallel change over ld 'C& s(stem is run alongside the new 'C& s(stem or a

period o time until all the people involved with the news(stem are happ( with it working correctl(.

8sed to minimise the risk in introducing a new 'C& s(stem.

ethod involves a lot o unnecessar( work as the work isdone twice and is thereore e%pensive in peoples time.

ethod also adds to the amount o planning needed or theimplementation.


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7hased conversion / module at a time can "e converted to the new s(stem in

phases until the whole s(stem is transerred.

A!'antage; '& staf can deal with pro"lems caused "( module"eore moving onto new modules.

(isa!'antage; onl( suita"le or s(stems consisting o separatemodules.

7ilot conversion Hew s(stem can "e used "( one "ranch and then transerred

to other "ranches over time.

'deal or large organisations that have lots o locations or"ranches.

A!'antage; the implementation is on a much smaller andmore managea"le scale.

(isa!'antage; takes longer to implement the s(stem in all the"ranches.

easons wh( maintenance is needed ,ugs in sotware ma( cause pro"lems to crash.

8ser dissatisaction ma( mean program should "e altered.

Hew operating s(stems ma( re)uire applications sotwarealterations.

Changes to legislation ma( necessitate changes. Securit( weaknesses ma( need a sotware patch to %.

't ma( "e possi"le to improve the perormance "( altering theprogram code.

&(pes o s(stem maintenance o large s(stems Perecti'e0 maintenance that will improve the perormance o

the sotware.

A!a&ti'e0 the wa(s o doing things in the organisation ma(change. Sotware will need to "e adapted to cope with this

change. Correcti'e0 correcting aults or "ugs that did not reveal

themselves during testing.

aintenance teams5 -hen sotware is rst introduces there are usuall( pro"lems

or the rst couple o months.5 aintenance teams consisting o programmers and technical

staf will help resolve an( pro"lems.5 /s pro"lems die down? maintenance teams concentrate on

adaptive and perective maintenance.


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8ser support5 Gelp5desks are created to support users.5 :re)uent calls a"out the same pro"lem ma( necessitate the

maintenance teams making ad6ustments to the sotware.5 8ser pro"lems ma( also identi( a need or user training.

Chapter 7Disaster ecover( anagement or +arge ScaleS(stems/ disaster is an(thing that makes data that is critical to a"usiness or organisation unavaila"le.

5 Vulnerability;weakness in a s(stem such as a programmingerror in server securit( sotware.

5 Threat;something that might cause damage to or loss o data?such as a hacker e%ploiting the weakness.

5 Likelihood;the chances o the pro"lem occurring 0 high i itgives the hacker access to the whole s(stem.

5 Severity;the amount o damage that could "e done 0 high i itgives the hacker access to the whole s(stem.

5 Risk;i the severit( and likelihood are high? so is the risk.5 Countermeasure;temporaril( monitoring e%ternal access "( using

a pro%( server to lter access re)uests.5 Contingency;stand"( server that is restricted to internal access

or use until the s(stem is repaired.Example;isk M likelihood % severit(TERRORISTATTACK:+ow likelihood? high severit( M low risk.OPERATORFORGETTINGTOSAVE:Gigh likelihood? high severit( Mhigh risk.

Conse)uences' data is lost or unavaila"le? the conse)uences might "e*

/ loss o income

$%tra costs

Damaged reputationDisaster recover( planning involves more that "asic "ackup. 'tinvolves imagining that the worst has actuall( happened andplanning what the organisation would need to do to recover.

7rioritising Date ecover(&he loss o applications will cause disruption to productivit( andcompan(5wide unctions.

o Email;toda( most organisations rel( on it and customers

e%pect it to "e answered promptl(.o Databases;organisations have huge data"ases containing

mission critical data.o &hese applications need to "e recovered )uickl(.


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o Other data? or e%ample personnel records? are important and

must "e recovered? "ut are not so urgent.

ecover( 7oints/ data recover( point is the last time (ou can recover data rom.

' data is "acked up overnight? the data recover point is last night 0all data rom the 24 hours could "e lost.Data recover( time is how long it will take to reload the data and"ecome operational again.&he plan needs to set targets or these and should include*

ecover( point o"6ectives

ecover( time o"6ectives.

,alancing isk and Cost

ission Critical$5commerce? email

ecover( time o"6ective

:ailover s(stem that

pick up operationsinstantl( andautomaticall(.


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Hear CriticalData"ases

'mportant:ile S(stems

Cost o 7rotection

eplicated s(stems

or )uick recover( egular data

snapshots

7eriodic "ack up to

disk


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Heed 7rotectingecords

educing recover( time is e%pensive and so it is important to appl(the right level o protection depending on how critical the data is.

ther esources&he( need to "e protected? so the ollowing need to "e availa"le*

5 Suita"le rooms5 Computer s(stems5 Communication networks

5 7ersonnel

&hings to remem"ero 7revention is "etter than cure? or e%ample hardware

perormance monitoring might ag up a ailing server "eore itactuall( ails.

o ,ackup les should "e encr(pted to improve their securit(.o ecover( strategies need to "e tested regularl(.o Data volumes grow ver( )uickl( on large s(stems.o Some data is more important than others.

o Disaster planning should allow or "oth ever(da( incidentsand ma6or disasters.

Chapter 7

&raining and Supporting 8sers&raining users in an organisation so that the( have the knowledgeand skills to do their 6o" efectivel(. /s well as supporting users intheir 6o" to help them overcome pro"lems.

/rchive

,ack up to tape


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=.2 &raining 8sersCost5"enet issues&raining will need to "e 6ustied in nancial terms? it should "e seenas an investment.

&raining methods availa"le

7ersonal &raining&hese methods are ones where the user is trained "( anotherperson. &his can "e part o a course or a one5to5one session withanother emplo(ee. &he personal contact with the trainer is preerredover learning rom "ooks and computers? "ut it does cost more.

Courses

External Course Away 0rom the #rganisationColleges and universities deliver courses that are e%ternall( veriedand lead to a )ualication. Some organisations allow theiremplo(ees time of to attend these courses in order to develop theirknowledge and skill. &his will help to progress their career within theorganisation.an( o these are delivered on a part5time "asis? so that theemplo(ee can maintain their 6o" and stud( at the same time.

an( training organisations e%ist who run regular courses. &he( lastor one or two da(s at a %ed cost per person. &he cost can "enegotiated depending on how man( are attending over the courseo the (ear.

&he emplo(ee will "e awa( rom the o!ce? there will "e travel andrereshment costs to "e paid or and possi"l( an overnight sta(.$mplo(ees ma( nd the time awa( rereshing? others ma( nd thechange di!cult child care. Some courses ofer ollow upopportunities e.g. telephone calls? and access to the companies

B+earning 7ort.

Induction Training5 Compan( procedures.5 +ogging client calls.

Task!ased training5 ,asic 6o" skills.5 8sing the knowledge

"ase."kills!ased training5 'mproving customer

service.5 +eading a support

team


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&hese courses are not tailored specicall( to the organisation. 'tmight "e di!cult to nd a course that ts the re)uirements.Gowever? emplo(ees who attended these courses ma( "e a"le topass on their knowledge to other colleagues. Casca!ing.

External Trainer (eli'ering Courses within an #rganisation&his is "est i there are a lot o people that re)uire training? it ismore cost efective as it avoids the cost o travel and hotel. 't willalso "e tailored to the organisations needs. Gowever? it does meanthat the compan( will need to provide the acilities or the course to"e delivered. Di!cult i the course is Bhands5on. +arger companiesma( have training suites with computers.

$ver(da( o!ces ma( not "e suita"le "ecause o the wa( the( arearranged? as well as other work that needs to "e completed.

:or this t(pe o course? the organisation will need to pa( the trainera dail( rate? plus travel and e%penses costs. &his is cheaper thansending emplo(ees to a course. / large num"er o emplo(ees ma("e unavaila"le or their regular duties which ma( impact thecompan(? "ut the( are all onsite in case o an emergenc( or urgent)ueries.

8sers should also "e a"le to support each other when putting intopractice what the( have learned team5"uilding.

Internal Trainer'n5house training courses can "e delivered "( an emplo(ee o theorganisation. $.g. a mem"er o the 'C& department or someone withspecialist knowledge and skills. 'nduction training can "e given inthis wa(. &his has the same di!culties as the a"ove e%ternal trainer?"ut the cost o the trainer is removed. Gowever? this means theemplo(ee is removed rom their Bda(56o" or the duration o thetraining so this ma( impact the organisation.

Some emplo(ees ma( nd training their peers di!cult and all

parties must treat the training seriousl(. &he person "eing trainedma( "e reluctant to ask )uestions or ear o looking oolish "( theircolleagues? whereas others ma( nd it less intimidating. &his traineralso has the compan(s interest at heart so is likel( to know there)uirements well.

#isit to trainingcompan$

Skills5"ased

ne or more da(s

Harrow ocus 8suall( no e%ternal

certication

Course at o%n compan$

Skills or task "ased

ne or more da(s

an( emplo(ees

trained at once Ho e%ternal

)ualication

Colleges and&ni'ersities

Skills5"ased

+ong term

,asic level degree ten lead to e%ternal

)ualication


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#ne2to2one Training&he "est wa( to show someone how to do something is to sit withthem while the( do it. &his can "e ormal 0 induction training 0 orinormal 0 as a person realises the( need to learn how to dosomething the( havent done "eore. 7rovided that the two people

get along? this can "e a riendl(? reassuring wa( o trainingsomeone.

&hese are preerred "( man( as the( are ver( interactive. 8sers canask )uestions and discuss di!culties and receive a personalresponse. &he( are e%pensive? however? the cost needs to "e6ustied "( the "enet to the organisation.

ther ethods

#nline Tutorials

&hese can "e a set o step5"(5step training e%ercises provided "(the internet. / large organisation ma( have a set o trainingpackages provided "( the sotware developer. ' it is a speciall(tailored? "espoke package then the provision o online trainingmight "e included in the contract. &he cost i training ma( "eincluded in the price o the sotware or availa"le as an optional e%tracost.

/dvantages or users*

nline tutorials are interactive and the practical nature o thetasks tends to "e more interesting than paper5"ased tutorialswould "e.

8sers can work at their own pace? at a time convenient to

them.

't is possi"le to repla( tutorials as oten as the user needsthem.

&hese can "e cost5efective or the organisation "ecause the( can"e used man( times and the training delivered is consistent.

&he disadvantage o this is that it is impersonal and the user cannotask individual )uestions. ,us( users ma( nd it di!cult to nd the

time to complete the training. Specic time is not allocated to thetraining.

Training .anuals&hese are usuall( paper5"ased? "ut ma( come with a CD. &he( ma("e produced "( the sotware house that produced the sotware? or"( a third part( pu"lisher. &he( are widel( availa"le or popular?generic packages. &he( tend to "e "ased on step5"(5step e%ercisesand ma( have tests "uilt in at intervals.


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n5line tutorials

7ractical? BGands on

/vaila"le at an( time

a( "e included with sotware

&raining manuals /vaila"le at an( time

/vaila"le or generic sotware

Can "e paper "ased or electronic

:actors to consider when choosing trainingo Gow man( users need training>o 's e%pertise availa"le on site>o /re e%ternal courses availa"le>o Can e%isting staf "e spared to train others>

o Gow oten will staf need to "e trained>o 8sers skill levelo 8sers own preerences

'nternal support methods

Sotware help les5 n screen within package5 Can "e conte%t sensitive

8ser guides5 Supplied with most packages

5 Ho e%tra e%pensen site technician or help desk

5 9now compan( re)uirements5 Euick response to urgent re)uests

$%isting user "ase5 $%perienced users support novices5 Euick and riendl(

$%ternal support methods

Supplier help desk

5 ,( telephone or online chat5 a( "e slow to respond and e%tra cost

$mail support5 Dont have to wait in a )ueue5 Can su"scri"e to updates and patches

emote support5 Support staf log on remotel(5 $!cient? "ut ma( compromise securit(

Call out support5 a( "e cheaper than emplo(ing a technician

5 a( "e used or additional support


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:actors to "e considered when choosing support 's there enough work to 6usti( emplo(ing support staf>

Gow much support is provided ree with sotware>

Gow much will a support contract cost>

Gow )uickl( will support "e delivered> /re there securit( issues with using e%ternal contractors>


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&(pes o s(stems

!ayroll0 ,ack o!ce s(stems. 'n goings and outgoings.

"#$S% management in&ormation systems? organises inormation or thes(stem. Gas internal and e%ternal data. ,rings in compan(scurrent inormation and outside inormation. $.g.supermarkets tracking the weather to order in products moresuited.

"DSS% Decision support systems0 interactive. 8se historic data 0 not

e%ternal. ,ased on patterns.

"D#S% Document management systems'Colla"orative working.

"CR#% Customer relationship management.

How !o these systems ensure that the business is e$ecti'e4 5)6mar1s7

(ack O&&ice Systemsare the s(stems that run the "usiness o anorganisation "ehind the scenes? such as*

pa(roll? accounts and human resources

telephone and network management s(stems

data"ases or stock control and order management

,anking clearing s(stems.

Transaction processing systems

'ndividual transactions that can "e carried out individuall( "( man(people at once? such as*

"orrowing a li"rar( "ook

"u(ing a theatre ticket

-ithdrawing mone( rom (our "ank account.

&he whole transaction must "e completed? so (ou might look or(our theatre tickets and reserve them? "ut i (our credit cardtransaction ails? the data"ase s(stem rolls "ack and releases thetickets or someone else to "u(.

)ork&lo* systemsmanage the se)uences o operations and resourceso an organisation.&he( are oten used to track progress o things such as*

items through a manuacturing process

,ooks and maga@ines through each stage o pu"lishing.&he s(stem keeps track o each stage? checking that completedprocesses have "een signed of and assigning them to the ne%tstage to ensure progress is maintained.

+ Document #anagement Systemallows authors to share their documents

with a wider group over a secure network.


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' man( authors are writing documents or the same pro6ect itcan "e di!cult to control permissions and versions? so peoplema( work on the wrong version.

/ we"5"ased DS means authors have to "ook out a le and

its version is updated when the( "ook it "ack in.

8se this link or urther inormation.

+ #anagement $n&ormation System "#$S%converts data rom internal ande%ternal sources into inormation.

't summarises data rom other s(stems in the organisation.

't adds inormation rom outside the organisation.

't provides inormation to ena"le strategic level staf to view iteasil( and use it to support decision making.

/n e%ample might "e a supermarket chain anal(sing its own

sales and comparing its prices to its competitors to decide on

special ofers and marketing strategies.

Enterprise systemsare used "( large organisations to*

integrate and coordinate their "usiness processes

handle large volumes o data e!cientl(

Create a standard structure to allow data and inormation to"e shared across the organisation.

Decision Support Systems "DSS%

&he( are interactive.

&he( help managers make decisions "ased on good )ualit(inormation.

&he( allow users to see summarised data "ut also to drilldown into the details.

't is important to consider the legal implicationso DSS s(stems.

/n organisation cannot den( responsi"ilit( or an error"ecause N&he computer got it wrongO.

' decisions are made "( automated s(stems? the Data7rotection /ct gives data su"6ects the right to know the "asison which the decisions are made.

E,commerce systemsallow companies to manage their we"5"asedtrading. &he( provide*

search engines or clients to nd products

secure pa(ment methods

tracking o customer "ehaviour via cookies

Communication methods or clients.


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$%ternal and 'nternal resourcesanagement o 'nternal esources

:unctions o managementanagement is a process o leadership involving 4 main

unctions*!lanning 5 &he development o long and short5term plans re)uiringgoals? o"6ectives? strategies? policies? procedures and standards.Organising0 delegating authorit( assigning responsi"ilit( so thattasks are accomplished.

Directing0 leadership through communication and motivation.Controlling0 o"serving and measuring perormance o theorganisation and modi(ing plans and activities where necessar(.

-hat are the internal resources>

o Gardwareo Sotwareo Communications

o Consuma"leso :acilities and powero 7eople

-h( do we need to manage resources>To improve compatibility

5 ' resources are managed centrall(? hardware and sotware

and data are more likel( to remain compati"le "etweendepartments.To reduce support

5 Standardising interaces and unctionalit( reduces thedemands on support teams.

To make best use o& &inance

5 ,ulk "u(ing licenses and hardware ma( lead to discounts.To make best use o& sta&&

5 Standardisation makes it easier or staf to move "etweendepartments.

Gardware7urchasing polic( 0 who chooses hardware and decides how otenit is upgraded or renewed>

Should e)uipment "e purchased or leased>5 +ocation o shared resources such as printers.5 /llocation o server resources such as disk space.5 ,ackup hardware to "e used.5 /vaila"ilit( o wireless access.5 Control o access to remova"le media.


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Sotware -ho chooses what applications sotware is purchased and who

has access to it>

's sotware installed locall( or on servers>

-hat network management sotware is to "e used>

8tilit( sotware 0 rewall? anti5virus? content ltering.

&o what degree can users congure sotware>

Communications Structure o network ca"ling or wireless access.

Gow internet access is to "e provided.

-hether an intranet is re)uired.

-hich staf need access to the internet>

Securit( issues such as encr(ption.

Consuma"les5 -hich users have access to which printers>5 Hetwork accounting? e.g. are )uotas to "e set or disk space

and printing>5 /re consuma"les changed to users or viewed as an overhead>

:acilities and 7owero -hat rooms will "e availa"le>

o -ill the( have secured access>o

-ill the( "e air conditioned>o -here will network inrastructure such as servers? routers and

switches "e positioned>o Gow will e)uipment "e protected against power surges or

power ailure>o Gow will use o power "e kept to a minimum>

7eople 0 securit( 8ser rights to data les across network 0 what access level to

which les>

Securit( controls 0 what times? which workstations> &raining.

Code o conduct and disciplinar( procedure as part o Contracto $mplo(ment.

Guman esources&he( should "e used efect ivel( and e! cient l(. Consider*

5 /ppropriate skill level and 6o".5 Gealth and Saet( provision5 &raining and support

5 pportunities or promotion5 $rgonomics and s(stem design or e!cienc(Fcomort


35/37

5 &eam leadership* right mi% o people

$%ternal and internal resources8sing e%ternal Services

-h( use e%ternal services> 't is not alwa(s possi"le or economical or an organisation to

provide all its 'C& services internall(. &he re)uired e%pertise ma( not "e availa"le and ma( not "e

needed all the time. Specialist e)uipment is e%pensive to "u( and ma( not "e used

ver( oten.

utsourcing't involves using other organisations to provide certain services?or e%ample*

Developing new sotware

&elemarketing

anuacturingeasons var( a good deal? "ut outsourcing ma(*

Save costs

esolve sta!ng issues

'mprove )ualit(

Sta!ng issues $conomies o scale

fshore services5 Sometimes organisations decide to outsource some part o

their operations to another countr(. &his ma( "e "ecausela!our costsare cheaper or certain skillsare easier to nda"road.

5 an( organisations use ofshore call centres and programmingis a skill that is oten cheaper a"road. &he ofshore work ma("e done "( another organisation or within the e%isting one.

5 &here ma( also "e disadvantages? largel( due to languagedi(culties.

&hings to consider 's there a danger o "eing Bheld to ransom "( rel(ing on

e%ternal services too heavil(> -hat happens i the e%ternal provider goes out o "usiness>

Gow do (ou decide whether a compan( is relia"le enough to

trust with all (our sensitive data>


36/37

+easingSome organisations decide to lease e)uipment or sotware "(pa(ing a ee each (ear rather than "u(ing it outright.

&his ma( "e "ecause*5 &he( do not have to und such a large initial investment

though the( will pa( more overall.5 aintenance and upgrades are usuall( included as part o the

contract.5 &he contract ma( include help and user support.

,ulk printingrganisations will alwa(s want to "e a"le to produce some hardcop( in house? "ut large )uantities or printing are oten contractedout to proessional printers.&heir proessional e)uipment ma(*

o 7roduce a "etter )ualit( nisho Save time

o ,e cheaper to runo educe the need to "u( e%pensive e)uipmento fer e%tra services such as cropping and "inding.

-h( use e%ternal services> / compan( ma( save mone( compared to emplo(ing staf.

&he arrangement can "e e%i"le as the level o service can "econtrolled without hiring and ring.

&he e%pertise ma( not "e easil( availa"le locall(.

/ large pool o e%pertise can "e made availa"le when it is

needed.

:uture Developments'C& in the 21stCentur(

5 &he processing power o computers is measured in FLOPS&loating point operations? and is constantl( improving.

5SUPERCOMPUTERS

are the most powerul computers in theworld.5 'n June 2AA=? the worlds rst PETAFLOPcomputer was

produced. 't is called ROADRUNNERand was "uilt or the 8Sdepartment o energ(.

7orta"ilit(o &he demand or mo"ile computing has increased. Small

devices have "ecome much more powerul? "ut there is still aneed or the user to interace with the s(stem.

o &in( screens and ke("oards are not eas( to use or large

documents.


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ConvergenceGow mo"ile devices have advanced over the (ears.

Connectivit( ,road"and has "rought a"out huge increases in data transer

rates and there is a constant pressure to increase themurther.

-ireless connectivit( using technologies such as -i and

,luetooth is allowing people to connect on the move.

7eople are communicating more through email? SS and P'7through "oth mo"ile devices and home and workplacecomputers.

Direct changeover 0 when the entire s(stem needs to "e redone.&he( cant have the old s(stem arguing with the new s(stem overwhat to do.