Information System Analysis for ABC Timber

The report analyzes the current information system of ABC Timber and Hardware, identifying its strengths and weaknesses. It outlines the planning activities for a new system, including stakeholder details, training needs, and resource requirements. The report emphasizes the importance of security, accessibility, and integration in the new system, while also addressing legal and ethical considerations. Recommendations for project management methodologies and monitoring systems are provided to ensure successful implementation.

ABC Timber and Hardware
Information System Analysis
10/6/2017

ABC Timber and Hardware
Table of Contents
Introduction.................................................................................................................................................3
Current System Analysis.............................................................................................................................3
Strength...................................................................................................................................................3
Weaknesses.............................................................................................................................................3
Questions on the Current Information System’s Abilities & Functionalities...............................................4
Stakeholder Details......................................................................................................................................4
Planning Activities for New Information System........................................................................................5
Training Needs Analysis.............................................................................................................................5
Resource for New Information System........................................................................................................5
Human Resources....................................................................................................................................5
Financial Resources.................................................................................................................................6
Physical Resources..................................................................................................................................6
Promotional Activity...................................................................................................................................6
Monitoring Systems....................................................................................................................................6
System & Security Logs..........................................................................................................................6
Technical Monitoring: Traffic Analysis..................................................................................................7
Policies and Procedures for New Information System.................................................................................7
Legal Requirements & Ethical Issues..........................................................................................................7
Conclusion...................................................................................................................................................8
References...................................................................................................................................................9
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ABC Timber and Hardware
Introduction
ABC Timber and Hardware is a small-scale firm of hardware stores. Currently, the firm has 12
different branches and there is a sales representative deployed in each branch. The sales activities
and reporting are managed by the Sales Manager and the administrative department. The
performance of the company is also good; however, there are certain issues that have been
identified with the current system in terms of information management and retrieval. The report
analyzes the strengths and weaknesses of the current system and also provides suggestions on the
new system that will be developed.
Current System Analysis
Strength
 One of the biggest strengths of the current system is the security and privacy of the
information. It is because of the reason that the access to the office filing system is
available to the Sales Manager only which eliminates the probability of any access
related issues.
 The performance of the current system is also good as the set of sales activities and
reporting is streamlined with no lags (Antonov, 2013).
 The database capabilities of the current system are in accordance with the large data sets
that need to be stored and processed.
 The monitoring and control that is present in the current system is adequate as the Sales
Manager reviews the reports diligently.
Weaknesses
 Knowledge management is one of the major issues with the current system. The
knowledge remains confined to the sales representative and manager only and does not
get transferred to the other members of the organization (Gresty, 2013).
 Accessibility is also an issue as the reports become available to access after two to three
weeks which leads to loss of their significance and relevance.
 The use of latest technological tools, such as, data analysis, data mining and warehousing
and absent from the current system.
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ABC Timber and Hardware
 Integration of the system with other departments in the organization is also an issue
which may have an adverse impact on the business continuity.
Questions on the Current Information System’s Abilities & Functionalities
 What are the technical tools that are used or can be comprised in the current information
system in terms of Big Data and Business Intelligence tools along with cloud computing
services?
 Can the current system be accessed on the mobile platforms? (Jeansson, 2014)
 What is the database management system being used in the current system? Will it be
compatible with NoSQL and cloud databases?
 What are the cloud delivery and deployment models that are suitable and applicable for
the current system?
Stakeholder Details
Stakeholder Name Use in the Current System
CEO and Board of Directors of ABC Timber
& Hardware
Acquiring of the sales reports at monthly basis
Sales Manager Manual analysis of sales reports and addition
of the comments, generation of the reports
Administrative Department System monitoring and extraction of sales
report (Rajablu, 2015)
Accounts team Access to accounts database and execution of
accounting activities
Customers/End-Users Feedback and preferences
Suppliers and Vendors Supplying of the equipment required for the
functioning of the system with profits/revenues
in return
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ABC Timber and Hardware
Planning Activities for New Information System
There are many weaknesses present in the current system and it is necessary to overcome these
weaknesses by developing a new information system. There is a lot of planning that will be
required for this purpose and some of these essential activities have been listed below.
 The methodology and approach for project management and system development shall be
determined after analyzing the project specifications and requirements along with the
other project factors.
 The project estimates must be planned and determined covering the project budget,
project schedule, project scope, project risks and resources (Kanwar, 2013).
 The communication plan shall be in place with the set of communication guidelines along
with the allocation of roles and responsibilities to the resources.
Training Needs Analysis
It would be necessary to provide trainings on the new information system to the end-users. The
analysis of the training needs will be essential part of the set of project activities.
 Training needs shall be identified to understand the training requirement and the type of
training that shall be provided to the end users in terms of the training schedule, web
based/classroom training and likewise.
 The employees of ABC Timber and Hardware will be the prime users of the system and
the training schedule shall be designed in such a way that the professional commitments
and responsibilities of the employees do not get impacted.
 It would also be required to identify and deploy a trainer from within or outside of the
organization well before the execution and conduction of the training sessions.
Resource for New Information System
Human Resources
There will be human resources required for the implementation and use of the new information
system in the organization. It will comprise of an Implementation Engineer, Trainer, Technical
Associate and Support Staff Member. These resources will make sure that the implementation of
the system is successful in the company and the queries are also resolved in a timely manner.
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ABC Timber and Hardware
Financial Resources
There will be funds necessary for the completion of the project tasks and activities.
Implementation of the system will require certain tools and equipment and there will be funds
necessary for the same. There will be infrastructural, operational, training and resource costs that
will also be involved.
Physical Resources
Computer systems, mobile devices and networking tools and equipment will be some of the
physical resources that will be required for the new information system to be implemented and
used with ease.
Promotional Activity
Brainstorming and discussion sessions shall be organized by the senior management of the
company along with a technical assistant to explain the employees about the changes and
improvements in the information system that will be done. This will create interest and
awareness among the employees and will encourage them to use the new information system.
Social media platforms and internal communication channels must also be used to inform the
end-users about the new information system and its features. This will be an easy medium to
reach out to more number of users.
Monitoring Systems
System & Security Logs
It would be possible to monitor the system behavior and performance by making use of
automated tools for capturing the system and security logs associated with the new information
system. The system logs in terms of the activities that will be performed by the system will be
maintained and will be available for review. Similarly, the security logs will be maintained and
provided to the management. In this manner, the system behavior and the security status will be
known at all times (Marthandan and Tang, 2010).
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ABC Timber and Hardware
Technical Monitoring: Traffic Analysis
The number of users that access the system at the same time or in a particular timeframe will be
available by using the user data analysis and traffic analytics tools. There are technical tools that
have been developed for this purpose which can be easily installed to get these details.
Policies and Procedures for New Information System
The new information system shall be developed by using the development methodology as agile
SCRUM framework. This methodology and its set of procedures will make sure that the
information system that will be developed for ABC Timber and Hardware is scalable and
flexible. The maintenance will be easy and the changes will also be easily made in future without
having any impact on the current system and its behavior (Baghdadi, 2014).
The project management methodology that shall be used for the new information system shall be
Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK). This methodology will describe the
procedures that will allow easier management of the project resources, project requirements and
risk areas. The guidelines will be available and present for the management to take the necessary
steps of action as and when required. Change management would also be easy with this
methodology (Sippings, 2012).
Legal Requirements & Ethical Issues
There will be certain legal and regulatory requirements that will be necessary to be adhered to in
this case. The adherence to the Intellectual Property and Privacy laws shall also be maintained.
Also, the professional codes of conduct must be followed and the compliance to the internal
organizational policies must also be maintained (Bratcher, 2015).
There may be certain ethical issues that may come up in the form of misuse of the sales data and
information available to be accessed in the system. Insider threats and attacks may also take
place as a result impacting information security and privacy. Such ethical issues shall be avoided
by providing ethical trainings to the users along with explanation of the legal obligations that
may result.
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ABC Timber and Hardware
Conclusion
The new information system that would be developed for ABC Timer and Hardware must cover
the functional aspects and shall also focus upon the system qualities like reliability, availability,
adaptability, supportability and performance. Security of the system and information must also
be maintained at all times so that the occurrence of the security risks and attacks are avoided.
There must be adequate planning and estimations that must be done so that the project goals and
objectives are met.
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ABC Timber and Hardware
References
Antonov, A. (2013). New business-oriented global/regional information network. International
Journal of Business Information Systems, 12(3), p.321.
Baghdadi, Y. (2014). Modelling business process with services: towards agile enterprises.
International Journal of Business Information Systems, 15(4), p.410.
Bratcher, R. (2015). Ethical and Legal Issues. [online] Available at:
http://samples.jbpub.com/9781449634476/80593_ch25_5806.pdf [Accessed 6 Oct. 2017].
Gresty, M. (2013). What role do information systems play in the knowledge management
activities of SMEs?. Business Information Review, 30(3), pp.144-151.
Jeansson, J. (2014). Information systems valuescape. International Journal of Business
Information Systems, 17(1), p.49.
Kanwar, A. (2013). An Overview of Project Planning. [online] Available at:
http://www.ijecs.in/issue/v2-i10/17%20ijecs.pdf [Accessed 6 Oct. 2017].
Marthandan, G. and Tang, C. (2010). Information systems evaluation: an ongoing measure.
International Journal of Business Information Systems, 6(3), p.336.
Rajablu, M. (2015). Managing for Stakeholders: The Role of Stakeholder-Based Management in
Project Success. [online] Available at:
http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download;jsessionid=A7A5F8A099C22A63CCA8494C8B2
4036C?doi=10.1.1.665.5661&rep=rep1&type=pdf [Accessed 6 Oct. 2017].
Sippings, G. (2012). Managing changes to information services in large and complex
organizations. Business Information Review, 29(1), pp.34-38.
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