O LYMPIA B USINESS S CHOOL

ADVANCED DIPLOMA IN INFORMATION SYSTEMS

F ILO -T EXT

System Design
October,1998 12 weeks

R AFFLES E DUCATION G ROUP

School Of Computing and Information Science

System Design

T ABLE

OF

C ONTENT

TABLE OF CONTENT ................................................................................................................................. 2 INTRODUCTION.......................................................................................................................................... 3 THE SUBJECT SYSTEM DESIGN ..................................................................................................................... 3 HOW TO USE THE FILO-TEXT? ............................................................................................................... 4 ASSESSMENT ............................................................................................................................................... 5 INDIVIDUAL ASSIGNMENT ............................................................................................................................ 5 MID-TERM E XAMINATION............................................................................................................................. 5 TEAM PROJECT............................................................................................................................................. 5 FINAL E XAMINATION.................................................................................................................................... 6 ATTENDANCE.............................................................................................................................................. 6 FEES............................................................................................................................................................... 6 CONTACT-TIME.......................................................................................................................................... 7 FULL-TIME ................................................................................................................................................... 7 PART-TIME ................................................................................................................................................... 7 THE ACADEMIC TEAM ............................................................................................................................. 8 THE ACADEMIC PLANNER....................................................................................................................... 9 TOPIC 1 ....................................................................................................................................................... 10 TOPIC 2 ....................................................................................................................................................... 12 TOPIC 3 ....................................................................................................................................................... 15 TOPIC 4 ....................................................................................................................................................... 18 TOPIC 5 ....................................................................................................................................................... 21 TOPIC 6 ....................................................................................................................................................... 24 TOPIC 7 ....................................................................................................................................................... 27 TOPIC 8 ....................................................................................................................................................... 30 TOPIC 9 ....................................................................................................................................................... 33 TOPIC 10 ..................................................................................................................................................... 36 TOPIC 11 AND TOPIC 12 .......................................................................................................................... 39

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I NTRODUCTION

THE SUBJECT

SYSTEM DESIGN

Computers are affecting almost all aspects of our lives. With the development in the information technology and the computer being in the forefront of all information technology, it is important for contemporary human beings to become IT literate. Modern man can not afford to ignore the numerous computer applications in various aspects of human activities. You have already undergone extensive study to qualify you for the Advanced Diploma. Here, you will learn how to design systems, ensuring that these systems are comprehensive and are able to fulfil their intended functions. You will understand how the programming that creates individual components and sub-components of a system are put together to form a whole system. You will also learn how systems work together. Most importantly, by the end of this semester, you would be able to efficiently design systems of your own. The System Design task is an important one. Just as you would need to carefully plan a building to ensure that all its spaces and rooms come together to form a beautiful and functional whole, so should you design computer systems to ensure that the end product is easily understandable, conveniently used by the end user, and is fully able to achieve its design objectives. Students will be able to apply the knowledge they gain in the real life situation when they actually start working.

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H OW

TO USE THE

F ILO -T EXT ?

The Filo-text is a tool providing you guidance for this subject. It provides you a general information on the following: Assessment Attendance Fees Contact time The academic team The academic planner

For every week, it then provides you with the following information: The topic The objective(s) of the lecture The textbook and the chapter(s) and page(s) related to the given topic The other reference books available to you in the library Additional reference material for your own research The objective(s) of the tutorial Questions to prepare for discussion during the tutorial Questions for your personal research

Use the Filo-text to prepare yourself prior to the lecture, between the lecture and the tutorial and after the tutorial.

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A SSESSMENT
Student assessment will be evaluated based on the following breakdown: 1) 2) 3) 4) Individual Assignment Mid-Term Examination Team Project Final Examination 15 % 15 % 20 % 50 % 100 %

Total INDIVIDUAL ASSIGNMENT

An individual assignment will be given to the student on the first week and will have to be returned no later than week 6. The marked assignment will be returned to the student by no later than week 8. The assignment will be related to the topics covered between week 1 and week 4 inclusive. It will comprise a written report of approximately 500 words. Should the student fail to submit his/her assignment on week 6, the result will automatically be nil. MID-TERM EXAMINATION A mid-term examination will be conducted during the lecture session of week 8. It will assess the students knowledge and understanding of the topics covered up to week 6. The results, together with the answer scripts, will be returned to the students no later then week 10. Should a student be absent without a valid apology, the result will automatically be nil. TEAM PROJECT A team project will be assigned to students during the first week. The team will comprise of 4 to 6 students. The report of the team project will have to be submitted to the subject lecturer by no later than week 10 and will be presented on week 11. Late submission wont be entertained and will automatically result in no marks being awarded.

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FINAL EXAMINATION The final examination will be conducted on week 13 or week 14 and its duration will be 3 hours. Registration for the examination is open from week 3 and is closing on week 6. Make sure you register on time. No late registration will be entertained. The format of the examination is as follows: Section A Section B Total Short Answer Questions Essay-type Questions 5 * 4 Points Any 4 out of 6 * 20 Points 100 Points

A TTENDANCE
Attendance for both the lectures and the tutorials is compulsory. Any student not attending a class should provide a medical certificate or a written justification (signed by a parent or guardian in the case of a full-time student). Should a student fail to do so, he/she will be considered truant. Should a student attendance for a given subject be lower then 70 %, he/she will not be allowed to sit for the final examination. Punctuality is equally important. The lecturer is entitled to refuse entry into the classroom to any student that would present him/herself late.

F EES
The registration fee is to be paid upon registration. The course fee is paid either in full, per semester or by instalments. For payments made in full, the payment is due before the first lecture. For payments made by semester, the payment per semester is due on the first day of the semester. For monthly instalments, the first payment is due on the first day of classes while the subsequent payments are due on the first day of each subsequent month. Should any student have difficulty to pay his/her fees on time, he/she must meet with the (Deputy) Principal to arrange an alternative. Any student that would not have settled his/her fees and would not have met with the (Deputy) Principal will not be allowed to attend classes nor to sit for an examination.

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C ONTACT -T IME

FULL-TIME The duration of the classes is 12 weeks. Contact time consists of 1 hour of lecture and 1 hour of tutorial per week. PART-TIME The duration of the classes is 12 weeks. Contact time consists of 1 hours of lecture per week. For each hour of contact, the student is expected to spend at least 2 hours of unsupervised work, be individually or in group.

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T HE A CADEMIC T EAM
At the beginning of the first lecture, please fill-in the following: Day Time Starting Lecture Lecturer Consultation Tutorial Tutor Consultation Class Lecturer Consultation Lecturer-in-Charge Consultation Principal Consultation Head of Department Consultation Subject Representative Finishing Room

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T HE A CADEMIC P LANNER
Here is an outline of the topics you will cover, week after week. Week 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 & 14 Date Topic System Design Objectives Output Design (1) Output Design (2) Input Design User Interface Design File Design Code Design Process Design Checking & Testing the Design System Implementation & Review Case Study Case Study Final Examination

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TOPIC 1
Lecture Subject: Lecture Objectives: On completion of this lecture, the student will have acquired the following: What is System Design Design Objectives Design Constraints Measures of Design Effectiveness SYSTEM DESIGN OBJECTIVES

Textbook: Chapter(s) Introduction to System Design (Steve Skidmore) 1 Pages 1-15

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Tutorial Objectives: On completion of this tutorial, the student will have:

Analyze the descriptive details of an existing system to determine what features a new
information system should include.

Describe how requirements are transformed into a system design.

Questions to prepare for discussion during the tutorial: 1) 2) What areas should a system analyst evaluate in examining descriptive data collected during the investigation? Briefly describe each area, for each, indicate the options the analyst can choose when specifying new system requirements.

Questions available for self-assessment: 1. Define system design and its objectives. 2. What are the components of a system design? 3. Explain the desirable features of a good quality design. 4. Briefly explain the design constraints. 5. How do we measures design effectiveness? 6. What are the two major components of system analysis? How are they related? 7. Distinguish between logical design and physical construction. 8. Describe the activities associated with the logical design. 9. What design methodologies are used in system design? 10. How are personnel allocated in system design? Illustrate.

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TOPIC 2
Lecture Subject: Lecture Objectives: On completion of this lecture, the student will have acquired the following: Textbook: Chapter(s) System Analysis & Design (Kendall & Kendall) 15 Pages 481-500 State the output design objectives Describe the various output media Discuss advantages and disadvantages of the output media Factors to consider when choosing output OUTPUT DESIGN (1)

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Tutorial Objectives: On completion of this tutorial, the student will be able: To relate output content to output method To realize how output bias affects users Questions to prepare for discussion during the tutorial: 1. How often will the output be accessed? 2. How long the output be stored 3. Under what special regulation is the output produced? 4. What are the initial costs and continuing costs of maintenance and supplies? 5. What are environmental requirements for output technologies?

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Questions available for self-assessment: 1. List six objectives the analyst pursues in designing system output 2. What are three situations that point to printers as the best choice for output? 3. What are two of the drawbacks of audio output? 4. Cite two instances in which microforms would be a worthwhile choice for output. 5. List ten factors that must be considered when choosing output technology. 6. Contrast external output with internal output produced by the system. 7. Give two instances that indicate that on-screen output is the best solution for the choice of output technology. 8. What are the drawbacks of multimedia and electronic output?

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TOPIC 3
Lecture Subject: Lecture Objectives: On completion of this lecture, the student will have acquired the following: Textbook: Chapter(s) System Analysis & Design (Kendall & Kendall) 15 Pages 500-519 Printed Output Design Screen Design OUTPUT DESIGN (2)

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Tutorial Objectives: On completion of this tutorial, the student will be able to : Design printed output Design screen output Questions to prepare for discussion during the tutorial: Here are several situations calling for decisions about output content, output methodology ,distribution, etc. for each situation, note the appropriate output decisions, justify your answer. 1. Internal brain storming memos are circulated via staff regarding plans for company picnic/fundraiser. 2. A summary report of financial situation is needed by a key decision maker to use in presenting proposal to potential external backers. 3. A listing of current nights hotel room reservations is needed for front desk personnel. 4. A listing of current nights hotel room reservations is needed for the use of local police. 5. An inventory system must register an item each time it has been scanned by a wand.

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Questions available for self-assessment: 1. In what ways do screen and printed output differs? 2. List four guidelines to facilities the design of good screen output. 3. Describe the type if screen that might be suitable for a senior manager consulting a system infrequently to obtain summarised information. 4. Describe the type screen dialogue that might be suitable for a sales office entry clerk entering orders into an on line processing system. 5. Describe the features of good reporting, which would improve the quality of existing reports in a typical organisation. 6. What is the difference between constant and variable information presented on the report? 7. Why is it important to show users a prototype output report rather than the printer layout worksheet? 8. List six functional elements of printed reports. 9. List five stylistic/aesthetic elements of printed reports. 10. What output type is best if frequent updates are a necessity?

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TOPIC 4
Lecture Subject: Lecture Objectives: On completion of this lecture, the student will have acquired the following: Textbook: Chapter(s) System Analysis & Design (Kendall & Kendall) Reference Books: Chapter(s) Pages 16 Pages 527-558 Discuss Various Input Media Input Design Guidelines Understand Form Design Understand Input Screen Design Input Controls INPUT DESIGN

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Tutorial Objectives: On completion of this tutorial, the student will be able to: Design Form. Design Input screen. Questions to prepare for discussion during the tutorial: Elkhorn College needs to keep better track of the books checked out from its Buck Memorial library. 1) 2) Design and draw a form on 4-1/4 by 5-1/2 inch-long paper to use for checking out library books. Label the seven sections of a form that you included. Design and draw a representation of a VDT screen to accomplish the same thing.The screen has 80 columns and 24 rows. Label the three sections of a screen that you included .

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Questions available for self-assessment: 1. List the factors to be considered in form design with a brief explanation of each factor. 2. Explain with examples what terms verification and validation mean. 3. List four guidelines for good VDT screen design. 4. Care and Repair (CAR) in an organisation funded by members' subscriptions, to provide services for motorists. These service include the supply of handbooks, road maps, a monthly magazines and preferential rates for insurance and continental ferries. Most of the members join to take advantage of a breakdown service where they can make a local telephone call from anywhere in the country and receive assistance free of charge at the roadside in the event of a mechanical breakdown of their car. Currently there are approximately 7 million members each paying an annual subscription. Some members pay by direct debit, other by standing order but most receive an annual invoice and the first day of the month I which they first jointed. If payment is not received within two months of the invoice date a remainder is sent and if not received within a further month the member is truck off the membership list and notified that privileges are withdrawn. Rejoining and paying the joining fee in addition to a full year's subscription can only make reinstatements. The membership master file is maintained on a computer at the Head Office from where all invoices and remainders are dispatched. It is proposed to streamline membership application by accepting new member on the telephone with payments by credit card. The clerk processing the applications would enter the data direct into the computer using a VDU terminal. The field to be entered include: Membership number Name Address Category of Membership (i.e. code 1 to 3) Credit card number Status (i.e. paid up, in arrears or deleted) Make of car Model of car Registration mark Task Describe and explain the control and check necessary for each field to ensure the accuracy of input. 5. What are the differences between mainframe and microcomputer screen design? 6. What is an attribute character? Where it is used?

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TOPIC 5
Lecture Subject: Lecture Objectives: On completion of this lecture, the student will have acquired the following: Textbook: Chapter(s) System Analysis & Design (Kendall & Kendall) System Analysis & Design (I.T HawryszKiewycz) 18 14 Pages 635-675 301-319 Objectives of User Interface Design Types of User Interface Guidelines for User Interface Design Queries Design USER INTERFACE DESIGN

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Tutorial Objectives: On completion of this tutorial, the student will be able to : Design a user interface Questions to prepare for discussion during the tutorial:

1. Design a nested menus interface for a hotel reservation, checkin, and check-out system.Use numbers to select a menu item. Show how each menu would look on an 80 column by 24-row screen. 2. Design a form fill interface for inventory control of a musical CD and tape wholesale company question for use on a 80 column by 24 row screen.

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Questions available for self-assessment: 1. What are the four objectives for designing user interface? 2. Explain what is meant by Q & A interface. What kind of users are they beat suited for? 3. This exercise uses the same data as TOPIC 4 (question 4). Task: Provide a design for the screen layout of the VDU for the input of new member details, including any information not specified in TOPIC 4 (Exercise 4) which you might consider appropriate. 4. Define natural-language interfaces .What is their major drawback? 5. Explain what command language interface are . What types of users are they best suited to? 6. Define graphical user interfaces. What is the key difficulty they present for programmers? 7. What are the seven situations that require feedback for users? 8. When a request is not completed, what feedback should be provided to the user? 9. List in short hands notation the six basic query types. 10. Give three guidelines for setting up VDTs for user productivity and comfort.

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TOPIC 6
Lecture Subject: Lecture Objectives: On completion of this lecture, the student will have acquired the following: Types of Files File Organisation & File retrieval Factors To Consider When designing Files FILE DESIGN

Textbook: Chapter(s) Analysis & Design of Information systems (James A.Senn) 11 Pages 538-556

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Tutorial Objectives: On completion of this tutorial, the student will able to Know Basic components of a File Compare and contrast the types of files used in information systems. Questions to prepare for discussion during the tutorial: 1. What are record keys? Do all files rely on use of record keys for storage or retrieval of data? 2. Explain the difference between search key and a record key. 3. How do sequential and direct-access organizations differ? 4. Discuss the different methods of storing data, using direct-access organizations.Which direct access organization is most frequently used? Why?

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Questions available for self-assessment: 1. List file types commonly used conventional files. 2. What are the major factors to consider in record layout & design? 3. Define 'hit rate' and explain how 'hit rate' affect file design 4. Explain the term 'file volatility' 5. Explain the meaning of the following terms: hashing, synonym, overflow area. 6. What characterizes index files? What advantages do index sequential files offer in information processing systems 7. Is the index in an ISAM file part of the file or is it separate?

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TOPIC 7
Lecture Subject: Lecture Objectives: On completion of this lecture, the student will have acquired the following: Textbook: Chapter(s) System Analysis & Design (Kendall & Kendall) 19 Pages 689-699 Meaning of codes Types of Codes Available & Examples Principle of Good Code Design CODE DESIGN

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Tutorial Objectives: On completion of this tutorial, the student will be able to: Design code Questions to prepare for discussion during the tutorial: 1. A small, private university specializing in graduate programs wants to keep track of when a particular student actually enrolls. Suggest a kind of code for this purpose and give an example of its use in the university that demonstrates its appropriateness. 2. A code used by an ice cream store to order its products is 12DRM215-220.This code is deciphered in this manner: 12 stands for the count of items in the box, DRM stands for DREAMCICLES ( a particular kind of ice-cream novelty), and 215-220 indicates the entire class of low-fat products carried by the distributor. a. What kind of code is this? Describe the purpose behind each part (12,DRM,215-220) of the code. b. Construct a coded entry using the same format and logic for an ice cream novelty called Pigeon Bars,which come in a six_count package and are not low-fat. c. Construct a coded entry using the same format and logic for an ice cream novelty called Airwhips, which come in a 24-count package and are low fat.

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Questions available for self-assessment: 1. Explain the purposes of codes? 2. Explain the term a) b) c) d) Mnemonic code Sequence code Faceted code Decimal code

3. The basis of all effective information system is a good system of classification and coding. You are required to:a) define classification and coding and discuss their relationship; b) describe six features of practical coding system. c) outline the coding system you would recommend as a basis for the nominal ledger of a medium sized manufacturing concerned operating an integrated accounting concern 4. When is an alphabetic derivation code useful? 5. Explain what is accomplished with a classification code. 6. Define the term block sequence code. 7. What is the simplest type of code for concealing information? 8. What are the benefits of using a significant-digit subset code?

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TOPIC 8
Lecture Subject: Lecture Objectives: On completion of this lecture, the student will have acquired the following: Textbook: Chapter(s) System Analysis & Design (Kendall & Kendall) 20 Pages 731-788 Functional Decomposition Modular Design (Top Down & Bottom Up) Structure Charts Transformation Analysis from DFD to Structure Chart Design Tools-Flowcharts, Pseudocode, NS Chart IPO chart PROCESS DESIGN

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Tutorial Objectives: On completion of this tutorial, the student will be able to : Draw Structure charts Draw flow charts Draw NS charts Obtain Knowledge about IPO charts

Questions to prepare for discussion during the tutorial: 1. Draw a N-S chart to update your checkbook. Start with the balance the last time you balanced it. Subtract checks,electronic withdrawls, and any service charges. Add deposits and interest . 2. Write a pseudocode for question 1. 3. Bestmonth Lumber Company is setting up a new payroll system. The system must: a. Prepare checks to employees. b. Prepare monthly reports to management. c. Prepare reports for taxes at years end. d. Add employees to the payroll. e. Modify a record (give employee raises and change tax with holding if needed). f. Delete employees from the payroll . g. Accept input about sick days ,half-days worked, etc. Draw a HIPO chart for Bestmonth of their new payroll system.

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Questions available for self-assessment: 1. List the advantages of taking a top-down approach to design. 2. Define modular development. 3. List four guidelines for correct modular programming. 4. List two ways that the data flow diagram helps to build a structure chart 5. How do structure charts helps the analyst? 6. Name the two types of arrows used in the structure charts 7. What does the acronym HIPO signify? 8. Do overview IPO diagrams provide a macro or micro view of input process and output? 9. What are the are the disadvantages of using flow charts? 10. Give two chief advantages of Nassi-Shneiderman charts.

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TOPIC 9
Lecture Subject: Lecture Objectives: On completion of this lecture, the student will have acquired the following: Textbook: Chapter(s) Analysis & design of Information Systems (James A.Senn) System analysis and design (Elias M.Awad) System Analysis & Design (Kendall & Kendall) 14 12 19 Pages 717-729 358-373 778-785 The various Methods of Checking Design Testing (System & Program) Test Data & Live Data File Conversion CHECKING & TESTING THE DESIGN

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Tutorial Objectives: On completion of this tutorial, the student will be able to know : Why do we test system. What do we test for? Activity network for system testing The audit trail Questions to prepare for discussion during the tutorial: 1. Outline the activities that represent a test plan. 2. What design specifications are considered in preparing a test plan? 3. Elaborate on the steps taken in system testing? What performance criteria are used for system testing 4. What levels of quality assurance must a system meet? Explain 4. What is the role of the DP auditor in system testing?

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Questions available for self-assessment: 1. Explain the various methods of checking design 2. Whose responsibility is it to test computer programs? 3. What is the difference between test data and live data? 4. Explain the file conversion process. 5. What is the purpose of software testing? 6. How do code testing and specification testing differ? Explain the purpose of each. 7. Discuss the six special systems tests? Explain the purpose of each. 8. Should systems testing use live or artificial test data? Explain the reason behind your answer. 9. What is syntax error? How does it differ from a logic error? Give an example. 10. What are the two types of system auditors?

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TOPIC 10
Lecture Subject: Lecture Objectives: On completion of this lecture, the student will have acquired the following: Textbook: Chapter(s) System Analysis & Design (Silver & Silver) System Analysis & Design (Kendall & Kendall) 15 21 Pages 322-335 803-830 The common approaches to System Changeover The Human and Psychological Aspect of System Implementation Training The Need for Documentation Guidelines for Preparing Documentation SYSTEM IMPLEMENTATION & REVIEW

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Tutorial Objectives: On completion of this tutorial, the students will Knowledge of: Establishing an information center Information center practices Distributed systems Questions to prepare for discussion during the tutorial: 1. List the four approaches to implementation. 2. What is the main purpose for creating an information center? 3. What type of analysis must be complete before the decision to create an information center is made? 4. List the advantages of the information center for users. 5. Describe what is meant by distributed system.

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Questions available for self-assessment: 1. Describes the various approaches to system changeover. 2. What psychological consideration must be evaluated when making a system change? 3. List three training considerations that must be evaluate when implementing a new system. 4. Describe some of the inconveniences that employees may face during a system change. 5. Summarise the need for documenting a system. 6. What is the purpose of systems training? How do user and operator training differ? 7. What is the relation between conversion and systems implementation? 8. Describe the role a data dictionary plays in the documentation of an existing system. 9. Discuss the basic principles that should be taken into account when planning implementation. 10. Discuss the possible sources of training for users of information systems.

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TOPIC 11
Lecture Subject: Lecture Objectives: CASE STUDY

AND

TOPIC 12

To give the student real life examples of the Application of System Design.

CASE STUDY 1 DECK ELECTRONIC SUPPLY Tim Stallard is a system analyst at Beck Electronic Supply. He has only been a systems analyst for six months unusual personnel turnover had thrust him into the position after only 18 months as a programmer. Now it is time for his semiannual job performance review. Scene: Ken: Tim: Tim enters the office of Ken Delphi. Ken is the assistant Director of MIS Beck. Another six-month! It hardly seems that long since last job performance review. I personally feel very food about my progress over the last six month. This new position has been an eye-opener. I didn't realise that analysts do so much writing. I enrolled I same continuing education writing classes at the local junior collafe. The courses are helping ..I think I wondered what you did. It shows in everything from your menos to your reports more than any technical skills your ability to communicate will determine your long-term career growth here at Beck. Now, let's look at your progress in other areas. Yes. You've been supervising the Materials Requirements Planning project implementation on for the last few months. This is your first real experience with the entire implementation process, right? Yes you know, I was a programmer for 18 months. I thought I knew everything them war to know about system implementation. But this project has taught me otherwise. How's that? The computer programming tasks have gone smoothly in fact, we finished the entire system of programs six weeks ahead of schedule.
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Ken:

Tim:

Ken : Tim:

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Ken:

I Don't mean to interrupt but I just want to rest Arm the role your design specifications played in accelerating the computer programming tasks Bob her told me repeatedly that he had never seen such thorough and complete design specifications. The programmers seem to know exactly what to do. Thanks! That rally makes me feel good, If takes a at of time to prepare design specification like that, but I think that it really pays on during implementation. Now what was I going to say? Oh yes Even though the programming and resting were completed ahead of schedule, the system skill hasn't been placed into operation: it's two weeks late. That means you lost the six-week buffer plus another two weeks. What happened? Well, I'm to blame. I just didn't know enough about the nonprogramming activities of systems implementation. First, I underestimated the difficulties of training. My first draft training manual made too many assumptions about computer familiarity. My end-users didn't understand the instructions, and I had to rewrite the manual. I also decided to conduct some training classes for the end-users. My instructional delivery was terrible to put it mildly. I guess I never really considered the possibility that as a systems analysts. I'd have to be a teacher I think I owe a few apologies to some of my former instructors. I can't believe how much time needs to go into preparing lot a class. Yes, especially when you're technically oriented and your audience is not. Anyway, the east me mote time than I had anticipated. But there are still of he implementation problems that have to be solved and I didn't budget me for them. Like getting data into the new file. We have enter several thousand new records and to top it off management is insisting that we operate me new system in parallel with the old system for at least two months. Then and only then, will they be willing to allow the old system to be discarded. I think you're learning a lot. Obviously we threw you to the wolves on this project. But I needed Bob's experience and attention elsewhere. I knew when I pulled Bob off me protect that it could introduce delays - I call n the rookie factor Under normal circumstances. I would never have let you work on this alone, but you're doing a good job and you're learning. Wee have to take the circumstances into consideration. You'll obviously feel some heat from your end-users because the implementation is behind schedule and I want you to deal with that on your own I think you can handle. But dont hesitate to call on Bob or me for once. Now lets talk about some training and job goals for the next six months.
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Tim:

Ken: Tim:

Ken:

Tim:

Ken:

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Discussion Question 1. Above and beyond programming, what activities do you think make up systems implementation? Can you think of any activities that weren't described in this mini case? 2. Why is training so difficult? How do you feel about the prospects of becoming a 'teacher'? how long do you think if taker to prepare for one hour of classroom instruction? What activities do you think would be involved in preparing for a lesson plan? 3. A 3,000-record master file must be created for a new system. Each record consists of 15 fields/ attributes. The record length is 200 bytes. How long do you suppose it would take to create that file? If necessary, use your own typing speed as a performance gauge. What factors would affect how long if may take to get the tie up and running? 4. What assumption did Tim make about transition from the old system to the new system? Why was if wrong? Can you think of any circumstances under which it would be correct?

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CASE STUDY 2 RICHARDS & SONS, INC. Scene: Richards & Sons Inc. is a large investment company located in Tampa, Florida, that buys stocks, bonds, commodities and various other assets for their clients. They also manage their clients investment portfolio for a variety of investment objectives. Finding new people with money to invest is crucial to their success, so, keeping track of their clients and potential clients is very important. Morgan Adamson is the senior analyst in charge of the new sales prospect and sales management system at Richard & Sons Inc. The new system has just been installed and the project team is working with the system users who are doing acceptance testing. Morgan is talking to Kevin Brook, the junior analyst who was responsible for the design of the systems users interface. I guess you've head that some of the system users are not very happy with the new contact tracking system. In particular, they are expressing dissatisfaction with the user interface that you designed. I don't understand what the problem could be-I put a lot of time and effort into that design. What are the specific problems? Same of the users are complaining that they don't know what to do next or how to use some of the screens. Are you sure that all of the screens are consistent with the screen template for this system? I didn't mind it was important where the information was as long as I clearly labeled if. Beside, the users should be expected to read the screens. I deliberately put lots of highlighting, blinking and reverse video fields on the screens to draw attention to important information. Yes, I know some of the users claim that them is so much highlighted information that it distract from the purpose at the screen. I've also had complaints that proper default values were not specified for some of the fields. Default values were specified for the most common fields, but the users should expect to have to type some of the information in that's their job, isn't it?

Morgan:

Kevin: Morgan:

Kevin:

Morgan:

Kevin:

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Morgan:

In some cases, maybe several possible default values should have been provided in a pop-up window to eliminate possible keying error. Remember that we want to reduce the amount of user entry keystrokes as much as possible. Some of the clients say that they don't understand some of the terminology and abbreviations on some of the screens. For instance, whaat does "HIT FUNCTION KEY 5" means? Oops! I must not have checked the screens carefully enough to catch some of the computer terminology. I'll fix that right away. Are there any other problems? Other users have indicated that the use of function keys is not consistent across all of the screens. For examples, this memo states that PF3 saves a new client record on the add new record screen, but the same PF3 key deletes a contact record on the phone log entry screen. Didn't you use the same function keys for the same actions throughout the entire interface? No, I didn't. I thought that I could Ruse the function keys, and to mean different things as long as I clearly labelled them on sad screen. Why? Some of the keyboards have only 12 function keys, and I war afraid I might run out of keys to assign unless I reused them. You need to realised that me system uses don't always read the instruction that you provide. Whether that is right or wrong is not important. You need to be consistent so that the users don't have to learn a different se of function keys for each screen. I guess I really didn't think that through very well - it shouldn't be too difficult to make all the function key assignments consistent. There has also been some complaint about an insufficient amount of help messages for some of the input screens. For instance, one clerk said the contact entry screen consistently refused to accept the date of contact he tried to enter. The system did output an error message indicating that the date was incorrect and should be reentered, but the clerk doesn't provide any information about the correct format of the date or any valid examples. You did design help screens and messages for each of the input screens didn't you?

Kevin:

Morgan:

Kevin:

Morgan : Kevin: Morgan:

Kevin:

Morgan:

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Kevin:

Uh, well. I'm not exactly sure what you mean by a "help" screen. I did very thorough input error checking so that invalid data could not be entered. I created error messages for each of the edited fields. I thought that would be sufficient for the users to identify the input error and make the necessary correction. I think. I'm beginning to understand the problem. We need to talk about some very important human engineering that you need do follow whenever you are designing a user interface. First..

Morgan:

Discussion Questions 1. What did Kevin do wrong in designing the user interface? What are some of the other mistakes that an analyst might make when designing a user interface? 2. How could these mistakes have been avoided (What would you have dine differently?) What role should the system user play in interface design?

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