Business Analysis Techniques: SmartCarShare - Case Study Example

Table of Contents Introduction 2 Data Gathering Techniques 3 Interviews 3 Questionnaire 3 Brainstorming Sessions 3 Stakeholder Analysis 4 Client Interview 6 CEO – Mr. Ian Wilson 6 Networking Team 6 End User 7 Use case diagram 8 Book car 8 Pick-up car 9 Return car 10 Membership 11 Validation of High Level Requirements 12 Sign Offs 12 References 13 Introduction SmartCarShare is a cooperative and has a lot many members associated with it. There is a need of an integrated system to make sure that the functional and non-functional aspects are covered and offered to the customers. In order to build the system as per the expectations of the customers, it is necessary to accomplish the initial phases of the project with utmost perfection. It would be necessary to have correct information to ensure that all the specifications are covered. The document covers the data gathering techniques for the project along with the analysis of the stakeholders. Interview questions from various entities and their responses have also been covered in the document to understand the system in a better way. Use case diagram and validation of high level requirements are also present in the document. Data Gathering Techniques The project would require a lot of relevant data and information to adequately define the requirements and scope. The techniques that have been listed below will be apt for the project. Interviews SmartCarShare business is run as a cooperative, and there are some members that are associated with the project. The primary resources that will be involved with the project will include the CEO, Mr. Ian Wilson, senior management, middle-level management, operational staff, end users and much more. Carrying out of the interviews with the resources would bring out the expectations of various resources from the system along with the required system qualities. Questionnaire A questionnaire covering the essential areas of the system regarding user expectations, functional and non-functional requirements could be designed and circulated among the members and stakeholders to understand the viewpoint of each party. It would be easier to record and evaluate the response with the aid of questionnaire to extract relevant information from the technique (Gallagher). Brainstorming Sessions It would be a group activity in which the system behavior and requirements would be discussed and explored in a group. This particular technique would lead to the explorations of new ideas and concepts which could later be incorporated into the system. It would allow the system experts to have an in-depth view of the system (Cadle). Stakeholder Analysis Project Owner – CEO Mr Ian Wilson Project Manager System Design Team System Development Team Networking & Security Team Implementation & Support Team End Users Roles and Objectives The stakeholder would be responsible for providing the system details along with the business expectations. The funds for the project will also be provided by the Project Owner The stakeholder would be responsible for planning and analysis activities along with communication activities and allocation of roles to the project team The information system for SmartCarShare will be designed by this group of stakeholders. The prime responsibilities will include blueprint and wireframes of the system along with the design diagrams The stakeholder group would be responsible for delivering the source code and unit test results for the project The stakeholder group would be responsible for integrating the system with other components of the SmartCarShare and making the same available to the end users. Testing and implementation of security infrastructure will also be the responsibility of this group (Schmeer) The stakeholder group would be responsible for implementing the system along with managing the changes and measuring the performance The stakeholder group will be responsible for making use of the developed system and providing the feedback Internal/External External Internal Internal Internal External Internal External Importance High – The stakeholder will contribute project funds and expectations to the project High – The stakeholder will deliver project plan, review reports, communication guidelines and closure report Medium – The stakeholder group will deliver system design document High – The stakeholder group will deliver source code and unit test results (Allen and Kilvington) Medium – The stakeholder group will deliver networking plan and security plan for the project High – The stakeholder group will provide implementation plan for the project High – The stakeholder group will provide valuable feedback for the project highlighting the areas of improvement for the project Client Interview CEO – Mr. Ian Wilson Question Answer What are the current processes that are followed in the functioning of the SmartCarShare? There are manual processes followed in the registration, vehicle maintenance, and customer relationship areas What are the problems that have emerged with the current system? There are a lot of problems such as slower processing, data replication and human errors that have been observed How are these problems affecting the business? These problems have resulted in the deterioration of the customer engagement and have brought down the number of sales as well What measures have been taken so far to overcome the problems that are associated with the current system? We have tried to keep up to date with the technological advancements and are now ready to adapt and integrated information system What are your expectations from the proposed system regarding qualities and behaviour? The system must fulfil the functional aspects and should reflect utmost levels of scalability, adaptability, and performance Who would all be the target customers for this system? The target customers will be the individual and business users What is the timeframe that would be provided for the completion of the project? We would expect the project to be completed in a maximum of 180 business days (Pomranky) Networking Team Question Answer What are the networking devices and hardware that would be required for the system? The project would require the use of gateways, bridges, switches, hubs and routers What shall be the network security protocols that shall be used? Server Socket Layer (SSL), Transport Layer Security (TLS) Protocols and secure E-mail protocols such as MIME What are the existing mechanisms used for the prevention of network security attacks? There is the use of network monitoring and audit activities that are carried out along with frequent reviews What would be the prime category of information that would be exchanged over the system? The information would primarily be private and confidential in nature (Trommer) End User Question Answer What do you primarily use to access the Internet and associated applications – Personal Computer, Laptops, Tablets or Smartphones? Smartphones What are the mandatory qualities that you feel shall be present in Smart Car Application? It should be easy to use, understand and navigate Do you give priority to the technical features or visual appeal? Both What is the Operating System installed on your Smartphone? Android How often do you book a cab? Very often. Four to five times a week What is the set of features that you expect from a Smart Car Application or System? Booking of Car Cancellation of Booking Easy Returning Easy payment options Search abilities Information on rentals Use case diagram Book car This use case diagram has two actors: customer and staff. Customer performs use cases: login, registration, search car, select car and reserve car. Staff performs use case: Generate bill. Pick-up car This use case diagram has three actors: employee, insurance company and customer. Employee performs use cases: check car availability, generate outpass. Employee and insurance company together performs use case: bill payment Employee and customer together performs use case: validate customer Return car This use case diagram has “Generate fine” use case which is an extension to “Validate car” use case. “Calculate total bill” includes “Generate fine” use case. “Late return fine” and “Early return fine” extends “Calculate total bill” because when bill is calculated it may include fine pertaining to early or late return vehicle. Membership This use case diagram has three actors: customer, bank and employee. Customer performs “Request information”, “Fill application form” and “Choose payment option” use cases. Bank has the responsibility of performing “Payment validation” use case to validate payment. Employee performs “Generate membership card” use case. Validation of High Level Requirements The high-level requirements of the system have been presented that include functional as well as the non-functional and user requirements. The system qualities that will be fulfilled by the system include usability, reliability, performance and supportability. Functionality of the system has been designed and included to make sure all of these system qualities are fulfilled in the system. The user expectations have also been considered while finalizing the requirements and these include look & feel of the system along with the consistency, layout and navigational requirements. Sign Offs High level Requirements of the SmartCarShare Sign Off by the Client Date Usability Requirements Approved 16th March 2017 Reliability Requirements Approved 16th March 2017 Performance Requirements Approved 16th March 2017 Supportability Requirements Approved 16th March 2017 Look & Feel Requirements Approved 16th March 2017 Layout & Navigational Requirements Approved 16th March 2017 Consistency Requirements Approved 16th March 2017 System Documentation Sign Off by the Client Date User Manual Approved 16th March 2017 Licensing and Warranty Requirements Approved 16th March 2017 Help & Assistance Requirements Approved 16th March 2017 Closure Report Approved 16th March 2017 References Allen, Will and Margaret Kilvington. "Stakeholder Analysis". N.p., 2010. Web. 9 Mar. 2017. Cadle, James. "Business Analysis Techniques". N.p., 2010. Web. 9 Mar. 2017. Gallagher, Shaun. "Brainstorming: Views And Interviews On The Mind". Ro.uow.edu.au. N.p., 2008. Web. 9 Mar. 2017. Pomranky, Regina A. "Violations Of Expectations: A Study Of Automation Use". N.p., 2017. Web. 9 Mar. 2017. Schmeer, Kammi. "Stakeholder Analysis Guidelines". N.p., 2017. Web. 9 Mar. 2017. Trommer, Stefan. "Exploring User Expectations On Autonomous Driving". N.p., 2016. Web. 9 Mar. 2017. Read More