Project Scenario
Due to major flooding in Queensland, New South Wales and other affected areas in Australia, businesses are looking for solutions that will enable quick recovery from these disasters. Although these businesses have a number of physical items that need to be replaced, such as furniture, vehicles and buildings, their primary concern is to have all information systems functioning so that they can efficiently and safely maintain accounts, websites, administrative functions and conduct their business activities as quickly as possible. Aspects that should also be taken into consideration are the hardware, software and backup facilities for these businesses. Additionally, long term forecasts have predicted more cyclones and storms for Queensland over the next 6 months. Therefore any solution offered will need to be robust enough and portable enough that future hardware and software purchases are limited or in as many cases as possible, removed from potential future replacement requirements.
You have been engaged, as one of a number of Systems Analysts to submit a proposal for business to consider. This proposal will be in the form of an Information Systems (IS) Design Document. In order to complete your IS Design Document, you will need to complete a number of tasks, conduct some research and use template guides to assist. Each week you will be given exercises to complete. These are designed to build your "technical skills literacy", you will also be given time to then use those skills to complete your assessment pieces.
Getting Into Character
Being a Systems Analyst
A systems analyst is a person that is contracted by a business in order to facilitate the improvement of the various systems that make up that business. In many cases it is about designing or improving the design of the corporate information system (computers, networks, software, communications, databases, etc) so that communications and business processes run more efficiently.
So, you are a freelance systems analyst that has been called into a business as described in one of the four project descriptions below. You will be given a set of business requirements and parameters so that you can design different aspects of the business' new information system. You will create a range of different documents that outline your design tasks in MS Word, Excel and Access.
Your client is the business owner of whatever project you choose below, oh yeah, and that is your learning facilitator. The clients needs you to communicate with them by maintaining your own personal/professional website that will showcase your documents - project deliverables. At agreed times your client will require that you have certain documents linked to your website for their perusal and assessment. Like all good clients they will access your site to see how things are progressing.
Dont worry if you have trouble getting into character at the start. Your learning facilitators will give you every help to get things right and will even help you learn to build your website should you require it.
Remember it is a learning process more than anything. Linked to your main website you will keep a "Blog" page that is like an online diary. Each week you must make at least one entry onto the blog that states what you have learned. This "learning journal" will help the client to guage the rate at which you are assimilating new information. It will also help you reflect on important learning instances in your professional development.
You can talk to the client and other analysts to get ideas at any time. Each project will be slightly different so you must each create something original and properly reference any sources of information that you use.
Projects
General Descriptions
As a budding consultant systems analyst you have been called into one of the following organisations to create an effective and efficient information system. You will maintain your own website from which the documents you create and decisions that you reach will be submitted to your client on prearranged deliverables dates. A project manager will ensure that you have the information that you need to make decisions about an organisation's information architecture. A senior analyst will also be available on a weekly basis to help you with your analysis and design tasks.
Health Clinic - Psychology Department: In association with a large hospital the psychology department has been moved to a new wing and there is funding to upgrade the health information system that services that part of the organisation. You are engaged to design an information system that meets the needs of a range of different users and automates a number of organisational processes.
Users of the system include but are not limited to:
- Clinical Psychologists,
- Clinical Research Assistants,
- Psychology Nurses,
- External Consultant Psychologists,
- Referring Doctors,
- Patients,
- Receptionists,
- Facility Managers,
- Hospital Managers,
- Accountants,
- Office administrators.
Organisational processes include but are not limited to:
- Creating and maintaining clinical notes about patients
- Patient councelling via external communications
- Generating prescriptions for medication
- Viewing patient's clinical histories
- Creating online clinical observation forms
- Maintaining online diary with appointments
- Interacting with outpatients to organise appointments
- Interacting with hospital departments to organise incoming appointments
- Interacting with hospital departments to organise clinical medical procedures
- Interacting with health insurance providers
- Creating and finalising patient/interdepartmental accounts
- Communication with referring doctors
- Communication with consulting clinicians
- Communication with any staff member
- Human resource management
- Booking office and laboratory facilities
- Creating and maintaining a Web-based information service about the clinic
- Maintaining accounts and finances
- Maintaining redundant information, backing up organisational data
Key requirements of the organisation are:
- Physical security of patients and staff
- Security of patient records
- Continuity of access to patient records
- Accuracy of internal information
- Accessibility of internal information to authorised persons
- Ability to communicate efficiently within the organisation
- Ability to operate within regulatory requirements
- Ability to communicate efficiently with other departments in the hospital
- Ability to search and access information from external information sources
- Providing a healthy image to the public and promoting services positively
Organisational departments include:
- Center Management
- Patient Admissions
- Outpatients
- Billing
- Clinical Services
- Facilities Management
- Human Resource Management
- Pay and Purchasing
A day in the life of a Facility Manager
- View personal timetable
- View incident reports from night shift clinical staff
- View operational staff reports
- View facility requests from external clinicians
- View daily personnel roster to gauge staffing requirement
- View doctors' roster and patient list
- View room bookings made for the day's procedures
- View doctor's notes for each patient
- View costing notes for patient treatments
- View patient account records for billing
- View drug usage for 24hr and weekly periods
- View online prescriptions from clinicians
- Create notes for action at meetings
- Create order for drugs from pharmacy
- Enter notes for doctors' attention
- Enter notes to adjust each doctor's patient visit order based upon room/facility
booking
- Update staff roster
- Update facility bookings
- Create weekly management report
- Create task list for administration and reception staff
- Create a billing request for each discharged outpatient
- Create facility bookings
- Communicate with administration staff, hospital
management and clinical staff
Advertising/Marketing Company: "Segment Marketing" is a quickly growing organisation that has moved from Asia to take up offices locally. The organisation specialises in marketing high rise apartments and exclusive property developments to retirees, investors, tourists, businesses and other organisations. You are engaged to design an information system that meets the needs of a range of different users and automates a number of organisational processes.
Users of the system include but are not limited to:
- Business directors
- Line managers
- Reception staff
- Administration staff
- Marketing consultants
- Advertising consultants
- Business analysts
- Media advisors
- Multimedia developers
- Graphical designers and artists
- Human Resource Managers
- Accountants
- Clients
- Sales staff
- External service providers
Organisational processes include but are not limited to:
- Multimedia production
- Graphical design and development
- Engagement/management of service providers (film crews, photographers, couriers, printers, etc.)
- Project management
- Market research
- Human resource management (in-house and contracted staff)
- Office management
- Financial controlling
- Creation/maintenance of client account data
- Staff appointments and meetings
- Communication with clients
Key requirements of the organisation are:
- Security of client data
- Security of development data
- Ability to move quickly to take advantage of market opportunities
- Access to the latest marketing and advertising data world wide
- Availability of organisation's information
- Rapid design and prototype development
- High end graphics capabitities
- High end movie editing capabilities
- Access to latest Web development tools
- Inhouse Web publishing for client review
- Positive, successful, vibrant and creative public image with professional and technological know-how
Organisational departments include:
- Project Management
- Multimedia Development
- Web Development
- Marketing
- Advertising
- Sales
- Human Resource Management
- Accounting (Billing)
- Pay and Purchasing
A day in the life of a Multimedia Developer
- View current project timeline
- View personal diary
- View image portfolios
- View design documents
- View marketing research documents
- View client request documents
- View movie clips from related media productions
- View colour swatches (images)
- Create a project development plan
- Create a progress report
- Create a request for a client meeting
- Create a "flash" animation for Web presentation
- Create a web site
- Record sound bites
- Create a video clip
- Edit a movie sequence
- Create a colour swatch
- Edit an image
- Burn an interactive DVD
- Test DVD
- Create notes at peer walkthrough of a multimedia production
- Communicate with project management, advertising staff, marketing staff,
clients
Robotics Development Company: "Ozbo" creates a range of robotic devices used in applications from the military and police to aiding the profoundly disabled interact with the world. Recent success of one of its intelligent toys and subsequently gaining a number of large contracts with manufacturing and film development companies has allowed them to move to new premises on the Gold Coast. You are engaged to design an information system that meets the needs of a range of different users and automates a number of organisational processes.
Users of the system include but are not limited to:
- Business directors
- Departmental managers
- Design engineers
- Structural designers
- Computer programmers
- Graphical designers
- AI researchers
- Workshop machinists and mechanics
- Multimedia/Web developers
- Clients
- Receptionists
- Office managers
- Accountants
Organisational processes include but are not limited to:
- Multimedia production
- Materials modeling
- Structural design and modeling of robot parts
- Prototype robot design, production and analysis
- Software development and management
- Account and financial management
- Project management of each development task
- Human resource management
- Interdepartmental communication
- Robotics research
- Resource ordering (parts, motors, software, etc)
- User interface design
- Usability testing
Key requirements of the organisation are:
- Security of client data
- Safe and effective robotic systems
- Security of organisational data
- Security of research data
- Availability of organisation's information
- Information redundancy
- Accurate information management
- Open communications infrastructure within the organisation
- Fun, creative and technically savvy public image
Organisational departments include:
- Design Engineering
- Construction
- Programming
- IT management
- Sales
- Purchasing and Pay
A day in the life of a Design Engineer
- View design documents
- View research papers (doc, pdf, etc)
- View design images
- View web interface for robot-human interaction
- View testing documents
- Create a testing report
- Create a design document
- Create an animation (flash) of robot function
- Create a component design using a CAD application
- Create a request for a peer evaluation of design
- Create a request for a usability study
- Create notes at a peer evaluation of design
- Create a usability test design document
- Create test report on heuristic evaluation of user interface
- Record sound bites from user interviews during usability testing
- Create design ammendment notes
- Create a functional prototype of web interface for robot control
- Create notes at meetings
- Communicate with mechanics, machinists, purchasing, graphical designers,
management
Waterfront restaurant: "Just Fillet" is a new seafood restaurant opening up on the waterfront with views over the harbour and marina. Access is by boat or car and is in an extremely popular tourist and weekend destination. The restaurant caters for those wanting a full meal and drinks or just seeking coffees and cake. You are engaged to design an information system that meets the needs of a range of different users and automates a number of organisational processes.
Users of the system include but are not limited to:
- Business directors
- Managers
- Kitchen staff
- Waiting staff
- Accountant
Organisational processes include but are not limited to:
- Receiving diners
- Taking payment
- Recording orders (waiter)
- Delivering food
- Receiving orders (kitchen)
- Cooking food
- Announcing orders
- Ordering foodstuffs from suppliers
- Ordering consumables (stationery, crockery, cutlery, etc)
- Managing suppliers
- Managing services (cleaning, laundry, machinery servicing, etc)
- Human resource management
- Catering externally
- Configuring tables and seating
Key requirements of the organisation are:
- Efficient food and drink service
- Just in time ordering
- Adequate staffing
- Customer focussed management
- Minimal waste
- Public image that portrays dining elegance, enticing atmosphere, popularity, haute cuisine
Organisational departments include:
- Administration (business office)
- Accounting
- Pay and Purchasing
- Front of house (reception & bookings)
- Kitchen
- Back of house (meal orders & delivery)
A day in the life of a Restaurant Manager
- Create a kitchen staff roster
- Create a wait staff roster
- Create table management plan (graphical interactive)
- Create table assignments for wait staff
- Create weekly management report
- Create task lists for staff
- View daily incident and waste reports
- View staff communications
- View kitchen orders for food and equipment
- View bar orders for alcohol, glassware, softdrink
- View staff rosters
- View suggestions for menu changes
- Organise staff training session
- Organise staff meeting
- Create notes from meetings with function manager, staff, clients
- Record deliveries from suppliers
- Create orders for suppliers
- Create HRM requests for induction of new staff members
- Create staff interview notes