Business Information Systems Research Project in Information Systems (IS4401) 2008 / 2009

Outline objectives of this module Introduce supervisors Answer your questions This week

Course objective Undertake a research or development project on a topic in information systems or to get involved in a substantial development project in a commercial environment

2 types of project 1.Full System Implementation 2.Prototype / Proof of Concept

Full System Implementation Installed in the organisation with a full set of working data Students must also address implementation issues occurring in the first month of operation

Prototype / Proof of Concept This is an experimental project that aims to demonstrate a novel approach to applying technology

Weekly project group meetings Supervisor will be allocated to you Time / venue of weekly meeting to be decided with supervisor Dual purpose of meetings –Project management (progress with deliverables) –Communication (problems, issues, questions) –Group is your “sounding board” Meetings are mandatory

DeliverableMarkDate Preliminary Proposal 16th October 2008 Project Plan10% 30th October 2008 Interim Report & Prototype 10% 11th December 2008 Final Report 20% 2nd March 2009 Communication Diary & Poster10% 2nd March 2009 System 40% 2nd March 2009 System demonstration4 th / 5 th March 2009 Innovative Systems Exhibition10% 12th March 2009

Public e-services FYP 2004 segmentation Consumer e-services Lotto Voting Community e-services Clubs Fitness programme Company e-services SMe -Commerce Training / KM IS tools Project Mgt Documentation Test scripts Pricing Sales / Finance reporting Community interest Audit Process mapping Document mgt Mortgages Licence mgtCall logging Code review CRM Stock mgt Transport services DVD / Books Invoicing Games site Web tools T&E Holidays Hotel / restaurants HR Schools Government County Council Garda

e-Lifestyle services FYP 2005 segmentation Consumer e-services Virtual Change Sports e-Community services Clubs Company e-services SMe -Commerce Training / KM Productivity tools Project Mgt Reporting Pricing XBRL reporting Healthcare Audit Task Scheduling Garage Skills inventory Call logging RFID Inventory Tracking Transport information Books Invoicing Accommodation Schools Music County Council Nutrition LeisureFlight tracking

Lifestyle Health FYP 2006 segmentation Consumer Virtual Cash Support groups Education Registration & Payment Business management IS productivity tools Software depot Web banners School web-site Contracts register On-line banking USB encryption Project Mgt On-line shopping Gift Card School Mgt Patient monitoring Classrooms on-linePharmacy on-line Helpline support Family Mgt Stock control Sales Order Procurement Roster & Timesheet Accounts Property Mgt Clubs Festivals Sports Music Betting Accommodation

FYP 2007 segmentation

FYP 2008 segmentation

What are we aiming at? “Underlying the expectation of performance increases is the belief that information can be captured and disseminated throughout the organisation more quickly to help individuals do their jobs better by making better decisions” Arnold, V. (2006), Behavioural research opportunities: Understanding the impact of enterprise systems, International Journal of Accounting Information Systems, draft accepted Feb 2006

Where information volume is an issue Where speed of transacting / communicating is an issue Where automation of a process is an issue Where information security is an issue Where duplication of information is an issue Ideas from where?

Delivery technologies (broadband, GSM, …) Content technologies (XBRL, GIS, …) Applications (mobility, productivity, …) Listening to people in business –Customers –Products –Suppliers –Inventory –Production capacity –… Ideas from where?

Ideas from placement? Something you’re interested in … Real business requirements Think of benefits What is the Unique Selling Point (USP)? Can it be done in the timescale? Tips on project ideas

Ideas from where?

Thursday 2 nd Ocotober (Don O’Leary, Google) –Importance of customer requirements –System specification –Innovation Thursday 9 th October –Picking a database –Development environments Thursday 16 th October –Web-site hosting and implementation –Other technologies Coaching sessions

Meet here again same time Have draft proposal ready Allocation of supervisors to students Establish schedule for weekly project group meetings Initial feedback from supervisors Next week

Objective : aim of the project Project client, name of company if relevant Requirements : describe problem domain / business need Scope of project proposed : what it does / doesn’t cover Benefits for users : speed, efficiency, control, quality,... Technical specification: –Data requirements (eg. Customers, products,...) –Interface requirements (does system need to talk to other systems) –Technologies used (hardware, software) Proposed timeframe Proposal guideline

Scope of project proposed : eg. inventory control for car repairs business Objective : eg. automate sales order processing and purchase orders so that spare parts inventory is always up to date Project client or sponsor (eg. Dunmanway Motors Ltd.) Requirements : eg. ability to record and transmit sales and purchase orders accurately and with minimal errors, real-time view of inventory levels Benefits for users : eg. single source of data entry, better control of spare parts in stock, reports (for sales, purchasing and inventory) Technical specification: –Data requirements (eg. customers, products,...) –Interface requirements (does system need to talk to other systems) –Technologies used (eg. ASP.net for development, MySQL for database) Proposed timeframe (Analysis & Design, Development, Test, Implementation) FYP proposal guideline

Are there more marks for an innovative project? How do I get the best marks? Can the project be for a placement company? Does project have to be for a real-life company? Can I use non-standard technologies? Can the project be done as part of a larger system? Frequently asked questions

Make sure the requirements are clear Set-up a reliable communication channel Client feedback on system is vital Ensure that the final handover is clean You must be able to demo the system here! When doing a project for a company

Web Site Development Context Database Server Web Server Web site user/client Internet Web site developer Create Web Pages Create Database Web page request/response Data access/ update

Web Site Development BIS Context orabis Oracle 10g corvus IIS ASP.NET PHP indus SQL2000 Web site user/client IE/FireFox/Opera Internet Web site developer C#, Java, VS2005,Dreamweaver, SQL Query analyser, etc. Create Web Pages Web page request/response Data access/ update Create Database Server software Web page rendering/display technologies Development tools & languages BIS

Web Site Implementation Hosting Example (Dbserver) MySQl 5.0 Webosts.ie IIS ASP.NET Web site user/client IE/FireFox/Opera Internet Web site developer C#, VS2005,Dreamweaver, MySQL client, etc. Create Web Pages Web page request/response Data access/ update Create Database Server software Web page rendering/display technologies Development tools & languages Hosting Service Web pages and databases published over internet. Web site updates

Technologies : non-standard s/w Requirement should first be cleared with supervisor (use standard s/w or laptop) Software must be licensed: written approval from technical staff first! Any machine “compromise” is resolved by cloning! Machines in Lab 1.12 are shared, therefore installing specific software doesn’t make it your machine