Lecture Note 11 Designing Effective Output Systems Analysis and Design Kendall & Kendall Sixth Edition Part IV: The Essentials of Design

Lecture Note 11Designing Effective Output

Systems Analysis and Design

Kendall & Kendall

Sixth Edition

Part IV: The Essentials of Design

CS206 System Amalysis & Design Note 11 By ChangYu

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Major Topics

• Designing output• Output technologies• Factors in choosing an output

technology• Report design• Screen design• Web site design


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Output• Output is information delivered to users through the

information system by way of intranets, extranets or the World Wide Web.– Some data require extensive processing – Some data are store.– Some data with little or no processing.

• Output can take many forms:– The traditional hard copy of printed reports.– The soft copy such as computer screens, microforms and

audio output. • To create the most useful output possible, the SA works

closely with the user through an interactive process until the result is considered to be satisfactory.


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Output Design Issues

Before designing output, ask yourself several questions:• What is the purpose of the output?• Who wants the information, why it is it needed, and

how will it be used?• What specific information will be included?• Will the output be printed, viewed on-screen , or both?• When will the information be provide and how often

must it be update?• Do security or confidentiality (保密 ) issues exist?

Your answers will affect your output design strategies.


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Output Design Objectives

Output should be designed to:– Designing output to serve a specific purpose.

(Output is designed based on user purpose.)

– Making output meaningful to the user. (Designing output to fit the user)

– Delivering the appropriate quantity of output. – Delivering it to the right place. (Make sure the output

is where it is needed)

– Providing output on time. (daily, monthly, annually)

– Choosing the most effective output method.(Printing paper reports, information on screens, audio with digitized

sounds, microform and web documents)


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Relating Output Content to Output Method

• Internal output is used within the corporation, such as material available on an intranet, historical reports and exception (例外 ) report.

• External output is used outside the organization, such as utility (公共事業 ) bills, advertisements (廣告 ), paychecks, annual reports and so on.

• External output differs from internal output in its design and appearance (外表 ).

• A turnaround document is one that is sent out and then returned, such as utility bills.

The content of output from information systems must be considered as interrelated to output method.


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This figure is a gas bill that is a turnaround document for a gas company’s data processing. The output for one stage of processing becomes the input for the next.


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Output Technologies• Producing different types of output requires different

technologies.• Output technologies differ in their:

– Speed.– Cost.– Portability (便攜式 ).

– Flexibility (靈活的 ).

– Storage and retrieval possibilities (可能性 ).

• Output can be in the form of:– Print.– Display screen.– Audio.– CD-ROM or CD-RW.– DVD.

– Electronic output: is created with special software tools.


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Printers• It is a common kind of output, it is logical to assume that in

any large organization printers are ubiquitous (無處不有的 ).

Although other types of output are gaining popularity, it is likely that businesses will still desire printed output or will want to design output that will look good.

• It is toward increased flexibility.

• SA must determine the purpose for the printer. Once that is established, three key factors of printers to keep in mind are: -- Reliability (可靠性 ).

-- Compatibility (相容 ) with software and hardware. -- Manufacturer support.


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Displays as Output

• Display screens are an increasingly (越来越 ..) popular output technology. Once used mostly for data entry, screens are also becoming a feasible technology.

• Screens have distinct advantages over printers because of their quietness and potential (有可能的 ) for interactive user participation.

• Screens output can afford (提供 ) flexibility in allowing the user to change output information in real time either through deletion, addition or modification. • Screen also permit the review of stored output through access to and the display of items from a relevant database.


Video (視頻 ), Audio (音頻 ) and Animation (動畫片)

• Video clips (片段 ) are useful for:– Supplementing static, printed output.– Distance collaboration that connects people who do not often get to see

each other. It helps for virtual (真實 ) project team members who must work together, but who do not typically meet face to face.

– Showing how to perform an action, such as demonstrating how a form should be filled out, how software should be installed or how a product should be assembled.

– Providing brief training episodes (插曲 ) that are job-specific in order to emphasize a new or unfamiliar skill.

– Shifting the time of an actual event by recording it for later output.– Preserving an important occasion (時刻 ) for addition to an organization’s

archives (檔案 ) .

• Video is a complex form of output, as it combines the strength (力量 ) and potential emotional impact of audio (including sound effects, voice and music) with a visual channel.


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CD-ROMs and DVDs• With the demand for multimedia output growing, the

display of material on CD-ROM has become increasingly widespread.

• CD-ROMs are less vulnerable (易受損害 ) to damage from human handling than other output.

• CD-ROMs can include full-colour text and graphics as well as music and full-motion video, so as an output medium they provide a designer maximum creativity.

• DVD is fast becoming a useful output technology. A DVD has more capacity than a CD-ROM, and a DVD drive can read CD-ROMs as well as DVDs. Not only are DVDs used for output, but they also are used for backup storage.


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Electronic Output• Many of the new Web-based systems you design will have

the capability of sending electronic output in the form of email, faxes and bulletin board messages.

• Electronic output includes:– Fax.– Electronic mail (email): By designing email systems, you

can support communication throughout the organization. A useful and flexible email system can form the basis of support for workgroup.

– The World Wide Web:• Pull technology allows the user to take formatted data

from the Web.• Push technology sends solicited (懇求給予 ) or

unsolicited information to a customer or client.


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Factors in Choosing an Output Technology Factors that must be considered:

– Who will use the output?• Technology that can access appropriate Web sites and databases,

such as screen output or interactive Web documents are excellent for managers.

• Several extranets are fit for user, clients, vendors and suppliers. • The ecommerce company’s Web site is powered for the

company’s strategy.

– How many people need the output?• Web-based documents or printed copies are probably justified for

many users.• A screen or audio may be more suitable for one person.• If many users in the business need different output at different

times for short periods and they need it quickly, Web document or screens connected to online terminals that are able to access database contents are a viable option.


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– Where is the output needed (distribution, Logistics) ?• Another factor influencing the choice of output technology is

the physical destination of the output .

– What is the purpose of the output?• If the output is intended to be a report created, well-designed,

printed output is desirable. Reports on Web as well as in printed form are used too.

• If the purpose of the output is highly changeable such as stock market, screen, Web pages or audio presentations are preferable.

– What is the speed with which output is needed?• Decision maker at lowest level of operations management

need output rapidly, online screen output may be useful.• Management level, strategic managers are more in need of

output for a specific time period.

– How frequently will the output be accessed?


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– How long will the output be stored?– Under what special regulations (規則 ) is the

output produced, stored, and distributed?– What are the initial and ongoing costs of

maintenance and supplies?– What are the environmental requirements for

output technologies?


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Output Bias

• Analysts must be aware (知道 ) of sources of output bias and inform users of the possibilities of bias (偏差 ) in output.

• Bias is introduced in three main ways:– How information is sorted.– Setting of acceptable limits.– Choice of graphics.


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Strategies to Avoid Bias

Strategies to avoid output bias:– Awareness of the sources of bias.– Design of output that includes users.– Working with users so that they are informed of

the output's biases.– Creating output that is flexible and allows users

to modify limits and ranges.– Train users to rely on multiple output for

conducting "reality tests" on system output.


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Report Design Considerations

• Constant (固定的 ) information is information that remains the same whenever the report is printed. The title of the report and all of the column headings are written as constant information.

• Variable information is information that can vary each time the report is printed out.

• Paper quality, type, and size should be specified.

• When designing reports, the essential goal is to match the report to the user’s specific information needs.

• Reports fall into three categories: – Detail report,

– Exception report and

– Summary report.


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Printed Reports

• Design reports using software.• Design guidelines for printed reports are:

– Include functional attributes, such as report headers and footers, page headers and footers, column headings and alignment, column spacing, field order, group of detail line, and control breaks.

Control Field — the field which controls the output.A Control break– when the value of a control field changes, a

control break occurs. A control break usually causes specific actions for group of records. That type of detail reports is called a control break report.


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Exception (例外 ) reports are useful when the user wants information only on records that might require action.

Upper-level managers often want to see total figures and do not need supporting detail.


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A detail report contains same data but provides much more information. Control breaks are used to separate the data for each store, with subtotals and grand totals for numeric field.


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Display Screen Design

Guidelines for display Screen design are:– Keep the display simple.– Keep the display presentation consistent.– Facilitate (使便利 ) user movement among displayed

output.– Create an attractive (吸引人的 ) display.


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Notes that it is uncluttered, but it still gives a basic summary of a heading. Instructions at the bottom of the display provide users with several options, including continuing the present display, ending the display, getting help, or getting more detail.


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Graphical Output

• Primary considerations for designing graphical output:– Output must be accurate, easy to understand and use.

• The analyst must determine:– The purpose of the graph.

– The kind of data to be displayed.

– It’s audience (觀衆 ) .

– The effects on the audience of different kinds of graphical output.


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In the instance of a decision support system, the purposed of graphical displays are to support any of the three phases of problem solving: intelligence, design or choice. An example from the Nebraska State Patrol workforce planning DSS is shown in figure. Here, current response times, forecasted (預測的 ) response times and minimum requirements are graphed as differently shaded bars.


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Web Site Design• Design principles must be used when designing Web

sites.– Using professional tools: Microsoft FrontPage. HTML– Studying other sites: analyze what design elements are being

used and see how they are functioning.– Using Web resources: look at Web site that give hints on

design.– Examining the sites of professional Web site designers.– Using tools that you are familiar with.– Consulting books.– Examining of poorly designed pages.– Creating Web templates. Style sheets allow you to format

all Web pages in a site consistently.– Using plug-ins, audio, and video sparingly (節省 ).

– Plan Ahead: Structure. Content. Text. Graphics. Presentations style. Navigation. Promotion.


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Web Graphics

Guidelines for using graphics when designing Web sites are:– Use either JPEG or GIF formats.– Keep the background simple and readable.– Create a few professional-looking graphics for

use on your page.– Reuse bullet or navigational buttons.– Examine your Web site on a variety of

monitors and graphics resolutions.


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Presentation Style Guidelines for entry displays for Web sites:

– Provide an entry screen or home page that introduces the visitor to the Web site. The page must be designed to load quickly.

• The entry page should contain a number of choices. An easy way to accomplish that is to design a set of buttons and position them on the left side or the top of the screen. (see example on next page)

– Keep the number of graphics to a reasonable minimum.– Use large and colorful fonts for headings.– Use interesting images and buttons for links.– Use tables to enhance the layout.– Use the same graphics image on several Web pages.– Avoid overusing animation, sound, and other “busy”

elements.


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The entry page that contains a large image and some content, but then directs the visitor to journey elsewhere in the site. This page was constructed with software that allows designers to see HTML code at the same time they see what the page would look like in a browser.

Documents

Lecture Note 11 Designing Effective Output Systems Analysis and Design Kendall & Kendall Sixth Edition Part IV: The Essentials of Design