1. Observing the Current System Benefits Can see how the system actually works in practice Can ask people to explain what they are doing – to gain a clear understanding of the system. Drawbacks It is a very time consuming process as many people may have to be observed to gain a full picture of how a system works When observed people often behave / work differently than the norm – to try to impress the observed or because they feel pressured and want to make sure they are doing everything exactly right. Interviewing Staff Benefits Able to get peoples points of view as well as the factual information. Staff often have very good ideas. Can ask follow up questions – if someone says something unexpected it is possible to investigate this with them there and then Drawbacks It is a very time consuming process as many people may have to be interviewed to gain a full picture of how a system works. Also the interview notes need to be compiled into a document that gives the system overview. Interviews are not anonymous and people may give the answers they think the interviewer wants rather than the truth. One reason they may feel pressured about their job with a new system looming and want to protect themselves Questionnaires Benefits Very useful to get factual / quantitive data. This data is easy to analyse with graphs and statistics e.g. 77% of all employees thought that the ordering process was too slow Anonymous – People can give the truth (what they really think) as there will be no comeback to them. Easy and quick to administer – can be done in own time and analysed automatically - OMR Drawbacks The data gained is very factual and may not give the whole picture. If 77% of people think it is too slow We need to know why As it is anonymous it is not possible to know which areas / departments of the staff have generated the responses

2. Questionnaires - Benefits Very useful to get factual / quantitive data. This data is easy to analyse with graphs and statistics e.g. 77% of all employees thought that the ordering process was too slow Anonymous – People can give the truth (what they really think) as there will be no comeback to them. Easy and quick to administer – can be done in own time and analysed automatically - OMR Drawbacks The data gained is very factual and may not give the whole picture. If 77% of people think it is too slow We need to know why As it is anonymous it is not possible to know which areas / departments of the staff have generated the responses

3. Direct Changeover Benefits Very simple - one system finishes the other starts No resource waste – duplicating work Drawbacks Risky – if there are bugs/errors hidden in the new system there is no system to fall back to. Training issues – all staff must be absolutely 100% sure of how to use the new system from day 1 Old System New System

4. Phased Changeover Benefits Support – can be focused on just one small part of the system Bugs/ Errors - will be easier to find as only a small part of the system is introduced at a time Training – staff have less to learn in one go Drawbacks Using 2 systems – Par of the system will be new part will still be old Old System New System

5. Pilot Run Changeover ` Benefits Whole System– can be tested in just a few places. Not catastrophic if bugs/error found as original system still running in other locations Training / Support - can be focussed on smaller amount of staff Training – staff in the next phase can see the system in action in the first phased Drawbacks Overload – The system may be fine with just a few places using it but when further phases come on line it may not run so efficiently Old System New System

6. Parallel Changeover ` Benefits Backup –if bugs/errors are found and the new system fails there is the old system to fall back to Drawbacks Resource use – Everything is done twice so it takes twice the resources (staff, time ) Old System New System

7. 3) User Documentation Good user documentation covers: Installation Loading / running the program Using the program Using advanced features General tasks - printing, saving etc. Error situations with useful help. Maintenance Documentation Good Maintenance Documentation should have: Details of algorithms – Annotated listings off the program - Data Dictionaries -

8. 4) Perfective Maintenance This means that the system developed does actually run satisfactorily, however there may be still room for improvement. Possible Reasons Some of the system may run slowly. There may be a report that needs to be redesigned as it causing user confusion. The system developed will be ‘perfected’ to meet requirements. Adaptive Maintenance All systems will need to adapt to meet changing needs. Possible Reasons New hardware may become available and software will have to be changed to adapt to this. New requirements by the management or even government requirements may mean that the existing system will need to be updated. Even competition (especially on internet type systems) may require the system change to keep ahead of competitors. Corrective Maintenance However well a system is tested, some errors usually occur after the system has been in use a short time. Possible Reasons Hidden Software Bugs – these cause system failure in certain situations An incorrect calculation that gives a wrong total that is missed in testing The system will need to be corrected. This is often a hard task at this stage and will involved new code being written and this code needs to be integrated with the program.

9. 5) Any proposals for a new system MUST be Able to be delivered to an agreed time-scale Able to be delivered within an agreed budget. Cost-effective Costs fall into two categories: Development cost Running Costs Benefits also fall into two categories: Direct benefits such as cuts in costs Less obvious benefits such as better customer service and better management information

10. 6.a) This is the form of communication with the user, usually through a screen. 6. b) The user interface must be easy to use and also efficient. It must also be remembered that the system will have a variety of users and the style may need to change according to the type and experience of the user also the system may be used in different environments and each environment may need a different type of user interface. 6.c) The output from each process must be specified and the form that it needs to take. These must be easy to understand for the end user

11. 7. Customer Make a deposit Bank File Cheque Deposit details

12. 8. (i)Diagrams like these are often used in discussion with users. Give one reason why this is the case. [1][1]  users will get a clearer understanding of the flow of data from a diagram than from plain text. (ii) What type of object does the following shape represent? [1][1]  external entity (iii) Draw the shape used in the diagram to represent a process. [1][1] (iv) Give a suitable name for the object shown as a in the diagram. [1][1]  customer enquiry (v) Give a suitable name for the object shown as b in the diagram. [1][1]  customer order database (vi) Give a suitable name for the object shown as c in the diagram. [1][1]  log a comment (vii) Give a suitable name for the object shown as d in the diagram. [1][1]  customer's comment (i)Diagrams like these are often used in discussion with users. Give one reason why this is the case. [1][1]  users will get a clearer understanding of the flow of data from a diagram than from plain text. (ii) What type of object does the following shape represent? [1][1]  external entity (iii) Draw the shape used in the diagram to represent a process. [1][1] (iv) Give a suitable name for the object shown as a in the diagram. [1][1]  customer enquiry (v) Give a suitable name for the object shown as b in the diagram. [1][1]  customer order database (vi) Give a suitable name for the object shown as c in the diagram. [1][1]  log a comment (vii) Give a suitable name for the object shown as d in the diagram. [1][1]  customer's comment