1. Basic Concepts The Work Centered Analysis Framework

2. Processing Résumés Using Resumix

3. Processing Résumés Using Resumix
CUSTOMER
Manager who needs to hire an employee
Applicant who receives responses about a job application
Government agency that receives reports about compliance to equal opportunity guidelines
PRODUCT
List of applicants who fit the criteria
Selected data items about each applicant
Automatically generated rejection letters

4. Processing Résumés Using Resumix
BUSINESS PROCESS
Major Steps:
Define the criteria for selecting applicants
Receive résumés
Scan résumés and extract data
Select applicants meeting criteria and forward their résumés to the hiring manager
Send out rejection letters
Track the hiring process
Store applicant data for future searches
Rationale:
Instead of finding appropriate candidates by searching through paper résumés, extract the information on the résumés and do the search automatically.

5. Processing Résumés Using Resumix
PARTICIPANTS
Human resources
employees
Manager doing the hiring
INFORMATION
Description of job opening
Scanned résumés converted into a database format
List of qualified applicants
TECHNOLOGY
Résumix software
Scanner
Unidentified computers

6. DEBATE TOPIC
The technology is Resumix is designed to convert a resume into a series of fields in a database regardless of what the initial resume looks like. Statements that don’t match these specific fields aren’t recognized. Does the use of this technology imply that a company does not care about the individuality of the applicants?

7. They both help us understand complexity
INTRODUCTION
Framework - brief set of ideas about organizing a thought process about a concept.It helps by identifying topics that should be considered and shows how they are related.
Models - useful representation of reality. The describe or mimic reality without dealing with the details
They both help us understand complexity

8. A Classification of Models
Iconic Models
Analog Models
Mathematical Models
Mental Models

9. Iconic and Analog Models
Iconic (scale) models - the least abstract model, is a physical replica of a system, usually based on a different scale from the original. Iconic models can scale in two or three dimensions.
Analog Models - Does not look like the real system, but behaves like it. Usually two-dimensional charts or diagrams. Examples: organizational charts depict structure, authority, and responsibility relationships; maps where different colors represent water or mountains; stock market charts; blueprints of a machine; speedometer; thermometer

10. Mathematical Models
Mathematical (quantitative) models - the complexity of relationships sometimes can not be represented iconically or analogically, or such representations may be cumbersome or time consuming.A more abstract model is built with mathematics.
Note: recent advances in computer graphics use iconic and analog models to complement mathematical modeling.
Visual simulation combines the three types of models.

11. Mental Models People often use a behavioral mental model.
A mental model is an unworded description of how people think about a situation.
The model can use the beliefs, assumptions, relationships, and flows of work as perceived by an individual.
Mental models are a conceptual, internal representation, used to generate descriptions of problem structure, and make future predications of future related variables.
Support for mental models are an important aspect of Executive Information Systems. We will discuss this in depth later.

12. Examples of Models

13. Viewing Businesses as Systems
A business is a system consisting of many subsystems, some of which are information systems.
Definition: A system is a set of interacting components that operate together to accomplish a purpose.
Key ideas: purpose, boundary, environment, inputs, outputs.
Businesses can be considered as systems consisting of business processes.
A process’s value added is the amount of value it creates for internal or external customers.

14. Viewing a firm as a System

15. The Value Chain
The set of processes a firm uses to create value for its customers is called its value chain.
The value chain contains both primary processes and support processes.
The value chain is important because the way business processes are organized in a firm should be related to the way the firm creates value for customers.
Understanding how the value chain is “supposed” to work is the first step in improving business processes.

16. Primary processes for a hypothetical restaurant

17. The Functional Areas of a Business
Large subsystems of a firm related to specific business disciplines are often called the functional areas of the business.
Examples: Production, Sales and Marketing, Finance.
Most Businesses are organized around these functional areas.
Sometimes there can be organizational inertia where organizational members focus on the functional areas instead of the customer.
Functional areas are important, but they should not be the basis for studying information systems

18. Business Processes and Functional Areas

19. Functional Areas in a Typical College or University
Admissions
Records and Registration
Financial Aid
Bursar
Human Resources
Accounts Payable
Budget, Finance, and Accounting
Academic Department
University Advancement
Student Services
Residence Life
Public Safety
Physical Plant
Student Career Development

20. The Context of Information Systems….

21. The System We Are Talking About….
A work system is a system in which human participants perform a business process using information, technology, and other resources to produce products for internal or external customers.
The core of a work system is a business process, a related group of steps or activities that uses people, information, and other resources to create value for internal or external customers.
Work is the application of human and physical resources to generate outputs used by internal and external customers.

22. Information System vs. Work Systems
Bar code scanners and computers identify the items sold and calculate the bill
Work system supported by the information system: Performing customer checkout
Aspects of the work system not included in the information system: Establishing personal contact with customers, putting the groceries in bags
University registration system permits students to sign up for specific class sections
Work system supported by the information system: Registering for classes
Aspects of the work system not included in the information system: Deciding which classes to take and which sections to sign up for in order to have a good weekly schedule
Word Processing system used for typing and revising chapters
Work system supported by the information system: Writing a book
Aspects of the work system not included in the information system: Deciding what to say in the book and how to say it

23. Information System vs. Work Systems
Interactive system top managers use to monitor their organization’s performance
Work system supported by the information system: Keeping track of organizational performance
Aspects of the work system not included in the information system: Talking to people to understand their views about what is happening
System that identifies people by scanning and analyzing voice prints
Work system supported by the information system: Preventing unauthorized access to restricted areas
Aspects of the work system not included in the information system: Human guards, cameras, and other security measures

24. WCA framework for thinking about any system in business

25. Example: Who is a toy factory’s customer?

26. Relationship between data, information, and knowledge

27. WCA framework for thinking about any system in business

28. Five Perspectives for Understanding a Work System
ARCHITECTURE
What are the components of the system that performs the work and who uses the work product?
How are the components linked?
How do the components operate together?
PERFORMANCE
How well do the components operate individually?
How well does the system operate? (How well is the work performed?)
How well should the system operate?
INFRASTRUCTURE
What technical and human infrastructure does the work rely on?
In what ways does infrastructure present opportunities or obstacles?
CONTEXT
What are the impacts of the organizational and technical context?
In what ways does the context present opportunities or obstacles?
RISKS
What foreseeable things can prevent the work from happening,
can make the work inefficient, or can cause defects in the work product?
What are the likely responses to these problems?

29. Important Point
Improvements in a work system are usually related to the links between the architecture and the performance perspectives.
Customer satisfaction is largely determined by product performance.
Product performance is determined by a combination of product architecture and the internal work system performance.
Note: efficiency vs. effectiveness

30. From work system architecture to customer satisfaction

31. Detailed Discussion of the Five Perspectives:
Architecture
Performance
Infrastructure
Context
Risks

32. Architecture, Perspective #1
Architecture is a summary of how a work system operates. It focuses on the components of the system and how those components are linked, and how they operate together to produce outputs.
It is not merely a technical issue; IT and business professional involved with a system need to understand how it operates.
It is impossible to build an information system without detailed documentation of information and technology components of the architecture.
We use successive decomposition for documenting and summarizing architecture.
Process operation and process characteristics

33. Architecture, Perspective #1

34. Architecture, Perspective #1
CUSTOMER
Customer’s entire cycle of involvement with the product
Requirements
Acquisition
Use
Maintenance
Retirement
PRODUCT
Components
Information content
Physical Content
Service content
(more in Chapter 6)

35. Architecture, Perspective #1
BUSINESS PROCESS
Process operation:
Processes providing inputs
Sequence and scheduling of major steps
Processes receiving the outputs
Process characteristics:
Degree of structure
Range of involvement
Level of integration
Complexity
Degree of reliance on machines
Linkage of planning, execution, and control
Attention to exceptions, errors, and malfunctions
More to be covered in Chapter 3….

36. Architecture, Perspective #1
PARTICIPANTS
Formal and informal organization:
Job responsibility
Organization chart
INFORMATION
Major data files in the database:
Data organization and access
TECHNOLOGY
Major components:
Hardware
Software

37. Performance, Perspective #2
Performance - How well the system operates.
A complete analysis involves qualitative and quantitative measurements.
Consider some performance variables….

38. Performance, Perspective #2

39. Performance, Perspective #2
CUSTOMER
Customer Satisfaction
PRODUCT
Cost
Quality
Responsiveness
Reliability
Conformance to standards and regulations

40. Performance, Perspective #2
BUSINESS PROCESS
Rate of output
Consistency
Productivity
Cycle time
Flexibility
Security

41. Performance, Perspective #2
PARTICIPANTS
Skills
Involvement
Commitment
Job satisfaction
INFORMATION
Quality
Accessibility
Presentation
Prevention of unauthorized access
TECHNOLOGY
Functional capabilities
Ease of use
Compatibility
Maintainability

42. Comparing Vague Descriptions, Measurements, and Interpretations
ACCURACY OF INFORMATION
Vague description: The information doesn’t seem very accurate.
Measurement: 97.5% of the readings are correct within 5%.
Interpretation:This is (or is not) accurate enough, given the way the information will be used.
SKILLS OF PARTICIPATION
Vague description: The sales people are very experienced.
Measurement: Every salesperson has 5 or more years of experience; 60% have more than 10 years.
Interpretation:This system is (or is not) appropriate for such experienced people.
CYCLE TIME OF BUSINESS PROCESS
Vague description: This business process seems to take a long time.
Measurement: The three major steps take an average of 1.3 days each, but the waiting time between the steps is around 5 days.
Interpretation:This is (or is not) better than the average for this industry, but we can (or cannot) improve by eliminating some of the waiting time.
QUALITY OF THE WORK SYSTEM OUPUT
Vague description: We produce top quality frozen food, but our customer’s aren’t enthusiastic.
Measurement:65% of our customers rate it average or good even though our factory defect rate is only.003%
Interpretation: Our manufacturing process does (or doesn’t) seem O.K., but we do (or don’t) need to improve customer satisfaction.

43. Infrastructure, Perspective #3
Infrastructure: Essential Resources shared with other systems.
Infrastructure failures may partially be beyond the control of people who rely on it (e.g. power outages).
Evaluation is difficult because the same infrastructure may support some applications excessively and others insufficiently.
Critical mass, having enough users to attain desired benefits, may be a key infrastructure issue.
Distinguish between infrastructure and the supporting technology (laptops used in the sales process vs. used for company ).

44. Infrastructure, Perspective #3
Technology can be infrastructure if it is outside the work system, shared between work systems, owned and managed by a central authority, or when details are largely hidden from users.
Business professionals are often surprised at the amount of effort and expense absorbed by human infrastructure.

45. Infrastructure, Perspective #3

46. Infrastructure, Perspective #3
CUSTOMER
Technical and human infrastructure the customer must have to use the product
PRODUCT
Infrastructure related to information content
Infrastructure related to physical content
Infrastructure related to service content

47. Infrastructure, Perspective #3
BUSINESS PROCESS
Infrastructure related to internal operation of the process
Infrastructure related to inputs from other processes
Infrastructure related to transferring the product to other processes

48. Infrastructure, Perspective #3
PARTICIPANTS
Shared
human infrastructure
INFORMATION
Shared
information infrastructure
TECHNOLOGY
Shared
technology infrastructure

49. Context, Perspective #4.
The organizational, competitive, and regulatory environment surrounding the system.
The environment around the system may create incentives and even urgency for change.
The personal, organizational, and economic parts of the context have direct impact through resource availability.
Even with enough monetary resources, context factors ranging from historical precedents and budget cycles to internal politics can be stumbling blocks.
Incentives
Organizational Culture
Stakeholders

50. Context, Perspective #4

51. Context, Perspective #4 CUSTOMER PRODUCT
Issues in the customer’s environment that may affect satisfaction or use
Business and competitive climate
PRODUCT
Substitute products
Ways the customer might bypass this type of product altogether

52. Context, Perspective #4 BUSINESS PROCESS Organizational culture
Concerns of stakeholders
Organizational policies and initiatives
Government regulations and industry standards

53. Context, Perspective #4 PARTICIPANTS INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY Incentives
Other responsibilities and job pressures
INFORMATION
Policies and practices regarding information sharing, privacy, etc.
TECHNOLOGY
Technology policies and practices
Technology that may become available soon

54. Risk, Perspective #5
Risks: Foreseeable Things that can go wrong in terms of:
accidents and malfunctions
computer crime
project failure
(To be considered again in Chapter 13….)

55. Risk, Perspective #5

56. CUSTOMER PRODUCT Risk, Perspective #5 Customer dissatisfaction
Interference by other stakeholders
PRODUCT
Inadequate or unreliable products
Fraudulent products

57. Risk, Perspective #5 BUSINESS PROCESS Operator error Sloppy procedures
Inadequate backup and recovery
Mismatch between process requirements and participant’s abilities
Unauthorized access to computers, programs, data

58. Risk, Perspective #5 PARTICIPANTS INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
Crime by insiders or
outsiders
Inattention by participants
Failure to follow procedures
Inadequate training
INFORMATION
Data errors
Fraudulent data
Data theft
TECHNOLOGY
Equipment failure
Software bugs
Inadequate performance
Inability to build common sense into information systems

59. Technical vs. non-technical.
Systems Analysis
Systems Analysis is different for the business professional than from the system builder.
Technical vs. non-technical.
Think of what will happen in the future when systems building tools become more effective for non-programmers.

60. Steps in systems analysis for business professionals

61. Identify the purpose of the analysis and scope of the work system.
Defining the Problem
Identify the purpose of the analysis and scope of the work system.
Tradeoffs - broad vs. narrow.
Constraints
priorities
system snapshots

62. Using the WCA for a “System Snapshot”

63. Definitions of Topics in a System Snapshot
CUSTOMER
Product used by: Internal or external customers who use or receive direct benefit from the product
Other stakeholders: People who have a significant stake in the work system or its product even though they do not use the product directly and do not participate directly in the work system
Infrastructure requirements: Infrastructure the customer should have to use the product effectively

64. Definitions of Topics in a System Snapshot
PRODUCT
Information content: The aspects of the product that consist of information
Physical content: The aspects of the product that consist of physical things
Service content: The aspects of the product that consist of services performed for specific customers

65. Definitions of Topics in a System Snapshot
BUSINESS PROCESS
Major steps: Listing the major steps in this business process
Rationale: The overriding idea or approach that determined the process would be performed using the current approach rather than another
Processes providing inputs: External processes outside the work system that produce inputs of information, physical things, or services needed in order for this business process to operate
Processes receiving the product: The customer’s processes that receive and use the product of this work system

66. Definitions of Topics in a System Snapshot
PARTICIPANTS
People who perform the work
Shared human infrastructure
INFORMATION
Created or modified within this system
Received from other work system
TECHNOLOGY
Technology within the system
Shared technology infrastructure

67. The 10 Issues in the Work-Centered Analysis Method
Systems analysis step
1. Define the problem
2. Describe the current work system in enough depth
and
3. Design potential improvements
4.Decide what to do
Corresponding issues for thinking about a system
Issue 1: Problem Definition
Issue 2: Improvements from product changes
Issue 3: Improvements from process changes
Issue 4: Improvements related to work system participants
Issue 5: Improvements from better information
Issue 6: Improvements from better technology
Issue 7: Improvements from shared infrastructure
Issue 8: Improvements related to the business context
Issue 9: Improvements from risk reduction
Issue 10: Recommendation

68. Common Systems Analysis Pitfalls Related to Elements of the WCA Framework

69. Common Pitfalls - WCA Elements
Customer
ignore customer and the fact that the customer should evaluate the product.
Treating managers as customers even though they don’t use the product directly.
Product
forget that the purpose is to produce a product or service for a customer.
Forget that the product of a work system is often not the product of the organization.

70. Common Pitfalls - WCA Elements
Business Process
Define process so narrowly that improvement is of little consequence.
Define process to widely that it is too complex.
Confuse business process measures(consistency and productivity) with product measures (cost to the customer and quality perceived by customer).
Think of business process as theory and ignore its support by participants, information, and technology
Participants
ignore incentives and other pressures
focus on users rather than participants.

71. Common Pitfalls - WCA Elements
Information
assume better information generates better results.
Ignoring the importance of “soft” information not captured by formal systems.
Technology
assume better technology generates better results.
Focus on the technology without thinking about whether it makes a difference in the work system.

72. Common Pitfalls - Five Perspectives
Architecture
over emphasis on architectural details
confusion related to people’s roles
Performance
Tendency to ignore performance
tendency to exaggerate the scope of work system performance.
Infrastructure
Tendency to ignore infrastructure issues

73. Common Pitfalls - Five Perspectives
Context
tendency to ignore incentives, organizational culture, and non-participant stakeholders when designing systems.
Risks
tendency to assume system will operate as planned.