ICT INFO1

Revision

Health and Safety - Responsibility

• Employers responsibility– Equipment used correctly and safely– Employees don’t use plugs unsupervised– Equipment positioned in easily accessible

ways• Employees not having to stretch/strain to reach

equipment

– Provide training for employees to use equipment

– Provide regular eye tests and pay for glasses if needed

Health and Safety - Responsibility

• Employers responsibility– Safety testing carried out regularly– Perform regular risk assessments– Temperature is comfortable– Reduced noise pollution– Good amount of space– Correct equipment to allow for correct use– Good quality software

• Employees responsibility– Use workstations and equipment correctly

• Shown through training– Bring problems to employers attention immediately

and work with them to solve it

Health and Safety - Responsibility

• Manufacturers of IT equipments responsibility– Ensure products comply with Directive

• Screens must tilt and swivel– Keyboards must be separate and moveable– Promoting use of laptops not for entering large

amounts of data• Bad software design

– Inefficient design or bugs– Incomprehensible error messages– Use of non-standard keys– Badly structured menus– Poor input screen layout– Flashing effects/inappropriate colour– All cause more stress for user

Health and Safety – Problems Caused

• Stress– ICT systems stressful for beginners or unfamiliar users without proper training– Unable to avoid work through developments

• Receive work emails/calls at home– New software difficult to use

• RSI– Repetitive movements when of keyboard, mouse, mobile, etc.– Use wrist rest, take regular breaks, have keyboard at correct height

• Eyestrain– Long hours spent in front of screen– Glare from screen, sitting too close/far from screen, constantly refocusing

(looking from paper to screen repetitively)– Take regular breaks, use blinds, sit correct distance from screen

• About 3 feet• Backache

– Improper sitting position or position of keyboard/screen– Take regular breaks, sit correctly in chair, have screen at correct

height/position• Chair with 5 point base and height and tilt adjustable• Screen height and tilt adjustable

Health and Safety - Legislation

• Health and Safety at Work Act– Right to be safe at work– Employers must do as much as they can to

ensure workers are safe– Employers responsibilities

• Health and Safety (Display Screen Equipment) Regulations– Use of computers in the workplace

Analysis – Client, User, Audience

• Client– Person who came to you with a problem– Wants you to devise solution for it– Person you have most contact with throughout

duration of project– Will maintain system once finished

• User– Person who uses the system– Update/edit it once in use

• Audience– Person who will view the final system– Who the solution is aimed at

Analysis – What To Include

• Problem identification and background information– Find out information about problem

• Interview• Observation

– View current system and look for problems– How users interact with current system

• View documentation• Perform questionnaire

• Break problem down– Large problems broken down to smaller ones to help with design

• Client requirements and evaluation criteria– What they want, easily see what you are trying to solve, check

you’ve produced what the client wanted, signed to agree• Inputs, processing and outputs needed for client

requirements– Must match what client wants not what you think they want

Design of Solutions - Standards

• Agreed formal ways of carrying out tasks– Agreed nationally

• All developers use same standards when working on project

• Systems Analysis and Design Methodology– Structured methodology provides set approach to

information systems development– Specifies stages and tasks needed to be carried out– What needs to be produced– Techniques used in production

• Logical data modelling• Data flow modelling• Event modelling

Design of Solutions – Validation and Verification

• Verification– Checking data matches the original

• Double entry• Spell checker

• Validation– Check data entered is sensible or reasonable– Format

• Check data entered in correct format– DD/MM/YY

– Range• Check data entered is between two pre-defined ranges

– Age between 10-18

– Lookup• Check data entered is already in the system

– Log-in details

– Length• Check data entered is the correct length

– Mobile number is 11 characters long

– Presence• Check data has been entered

– A persons name or email when signing up to something

Input Devices

• Keyboard– QWERTY, ergonomic, concept

• Concept uses icons, found in fast-food places

• Mouse• Touch screen• Graphics tablet• Camera• Joystick• Microphone• Scanner

Input Methods• Optical Mark Recognition (OMR)

– Pre-designed pieces of paper– Put through mark scanner– Registers bits which have been filled in– Lottery tickets/readers, multiple choice tests

• Magnetic Ink Character Recognition (MICR)– Only used on cheques– Most secure but most expensive– Data written on bottom in magnetic ink and magnetised as read– Cheques becoming less popular so won’t be needed

• Barcodes– Very common in everyday life– Cheap and easy to use– Read through scanner and can be anyway up when read– Can’t always be read if damaged, creased or covered

• Optical Character Recognition (OCR)– Scans paper (handwritten or typed) into computer and displays as text document– Doesn’t work as well with handwritten as typed– Struggles with similar looking letters– Not 100% accurate

• Speech recognition– Good for people with disabilities that don’t allow them to use other methods or if other

methods aren’t possible (while driving)– Doesn’t always register correct terminology– Has difficulties with regional accents and different languages– Needs to be trained to recognise users voice

Storage Devices - Magnetic

• Floppy disk– Practically disappeared from computer use– Too small and expensive for modern computing

• Hard disk– Main storage device for all computers– Can hold large amounts of data

• Magnetic tape– Cheap to use as mass storage– Generally only used for backups– Data stored sequentially so tape has to run through

until record is found

Storage Devices - Optical

• CD-ROM– Bought with contents already on it– Read-only memory so can’t change what’s on it– Transfer pre-written material onto a computer

• Software needed in a business– Very fast as data read by laser

• DVD-ROM– Holds more data than CD– Read-only memory so can’t change what’s on it– Specially designed to store video, graphics, sound, etc.

• CD-R/DVD-R– Write once, read many– Store data and programs permanently– Very cheap so more efficient

Storage Devices – Flash Memory

• Memory stick– Generally cheap

• More expensive for large amounts of storage

– Small so easy to carry around– Should only be used to transfer data

• Not for backups• Should also be stored on another device from this

– Nearly all computers have USB port so can be read on many devices

Output Devices

• Monitor

• Projector

• Printer– Laser, ink-jet, dot matrix

• Plotter

• Embosser– For Braille

• Speakers/headphones

Systems and Utility Software

• Performs specific and useful task– Compressing files

• Reduces size of data file• Take up less space in memory and less time to send• Must be uncompressed to use

– Defragmenting hard disk• Cleans hard disk• Arranges file segments so next to each• Speeds up file access

• Most come as part of operating system– Manages components of computer system– Provides interface between system and user– Monitors input and output devices– Scheduling programs and resources

Applications Software

• Increases the functionality of the system• Allows user to do something useful• Generic

– General purpose/off the shelf• Word processing, databases

– Integrated package contains several types

• Specific– Used to solve problems for one specific purpose

• CAD/CAM

• Bespoke– One-off designed specially to solve a specific task– Very expensive to produce– Should meet all of the clients needs and be specific to the issue– Won’t get automatic upgrades (if any)

Wizards and Macros

• Wizards– Create applications whilst being guided

through process– Don’t have to create from scratch– Good for inexperienced users

• Macros– Allow user to automate tasks– Can be recorded actions or written by hand– Reduce time taken to perform task

• Using print macro rather than go through all stages

Implementation for Solution

• How data is entered

• Control mechanisms– Validation techniques

• How data is processed and organised

• What will be output and how will it look

• Overview of solution

Testing• Test no.

– Perform tests in logical order– Refer back to tests if needed later

• Test– Clearly see what is being tested– Test data

• Normal– Within boundaries

• Extreme– Maximum of boundaries– 1=<x=>100 = 1 and 100

• Erroneous– Not within boundaries/incorrect

• Reasons for testing– Validity of input– Accuracy of output– Presentation of output– Does it meet the clients requirements– Is it usable by the user and/or audience

• Expected outcome– What to look for when testing

• Actual outcome– What actually happened– Is it what was expected– If not, retest

Evaluation

• Assess effectiveness of solution– Does the solution do what it’s meant to do– Does the solution do it in the way it’s meant to– Is the solution an effective one– If not, what’s wrong with it and what would

make it effective

• Need to understand what’s been done and how mistakes could be corrected