AllSeasons - Systems Analysis and Modelling of Employment Agency - Case Study Example

Systems Analysis and Modelling Case Study Student’s Name Course Title Instructor’s Name Date of Submission Overview of the Case Study In this case, we take a critical analysis of AllSeasons, an employment agency that is involved in the supply of casual workers to the hospitality industry. In its operations, AllSeasons mainly deals with business establishments only within the procurement industry. The main client businesses that are targeted by the agency are pubs, restaurants, clubs, night clubs, fast food outlets such as cafes, hotels and motels, and many more. The operations begin with a client organization identifying the need to acquire an employee on a contract basis. There is a negotiation that is conducted between the agency and the client business in need of a casual worker so as to provide such client businesses with temporary staff. All the skills that are required are state by the client and the cost is agreed on depending on these skills. The purpose of this information system is to track down the flow of operations that are involved in the full operation of AllSeasons agency. The process begins with placement of a request by the organization in question on the need to have the employee. The system is designed in a manner that all the requests by the client organizations are collected and managed at a central repository. There is a validation process that is included which is used to determine the validity of a request placed by the clients. This is mainly important for the Contract Manager. At this point, there is a decision to be made in the system. In the event of an invalid contract, the system sends back the request to the client, providing the reasons for invalidity. In the event of a valid order request, the details relating to this request are forwarded to the Placement Officer. This makes the placement department one of the most important entities in the system. A comparison between the placement requirements and staff qualities is taken into account. This is to determine the best employees that are suitable to meet the requirements of the client. A memo development section is enabled in the event that the best employee for the job is not found. This is used to explain the inability to meet the client’s requests. However, if a matching employee is readily available for hire, marking is done with the word ‘reserved.’ The staffing requests are then forwarded to the Arrangements Officer. It is at this point that the casual worker appointed for the job is contracted to agree with the placement. Upon agreement, the casual worker is marked ‘placed.’ The next process involves sending an invoice and a copy of the staffing request is sent to the client. There is also a memo, and a copy of the invoice sent to the Contract Manager. In the event of successful filling of the staffing request the Contract Manager closes and opens the request. If the contrary happens, a notification is sent to the client. Major System Stakeholders Stakeholders Interest Level Contributions Benefits Expected Clients Pubs Clubs Restaurants Night Clubs High, Direct Order Placement Qualified Casual Workers AllSeasons High, Direct Provision of Casual Workers Fair terms of operation Contract Manager High, Direct Reception of Orders Co-operation of the clients Placement Manager High, Direct Matching requirements to staff Qualified Casual Staff Arrangements Manager High, Direct Seeking Available Workers Fair work conditions Casual Workers Moderate, Direct Offer Labour Services Fair remuneration There are several stakeholders that have a role to play in the case of AllSeasons information system. Each of these stakeholders has a role to play in the successful operation of the system (Alexander & Maiden, 2012, p. 59). In the information systems development and implementation, they are referred to as system entities. An entity, in a systems context, is an important element that plays a significant role in the operation of the system (Chapter 2, 2011, p. 01). i. Clients AllSeasons Information System is designed to monitor the flow of all operations that take place in the agency. These clients can be identified and described using various features. From a systems’ point of view, these features are referred to as attributes. One of the basic attributes that can be used to describe the clients is the client type. The most common types of clients that are served include pubs, restaurants, fast food outlets and clubs, among other points. The clients are the starting point of the operation of the system since the trigger off all the operations that ought to take place in the system. This is through identification of a vacancy and subsequent order placement to AllSeasons. ii. AllSeasons The other significant entity in the system is the agency. All the operations that take place with regard to order reception and processing take place in the agency. This agency may described by name, location, physical address or even the registration number that may be used as the primary key. A primary key is a unique identifier that is used in the location of important features in the tables used in the organizational description. All the operations that take place in the agency are monitored by the people in charge of various tasks in the organization. iii. The Contact Manager There are various functions that are performed by the Contract Manager in the system. It is this person that acts as a link between the agency and the clients. All the orders placed must first be validated and this is one of the main functions of the Contract Manager. The attributes that can be used to describe the manager include such features as names, employment number, age, contact information, physical address, sex and department of operation among other characteristics. The Contract manager receives the order placement from the clients and also delivers feedback to these clients, which makes him a central player in the information system. iv. The Placement Officer This is the next person in the chain of operations from the Contract Manager. Upon declaration of validation of the order placement, the Placement Officer will be in sent to the details pertaining to this request. This officer is also an important entity in the system since he is in charge of carrying out the human resource management function of matching job requirements with the available skills. He is responsible for the determination of the possibility of the requirements of the client being successfully negotiated and satisfied. v. Arrangements Officer He is the head of the arrangements department. The main operations that take place in the Arrangements Department include communication with the selected employee or casual worker and communication to the client about the same. This department also communicates directly to the Contract Manager to deliver a copy of the invoice and the “unable to fill” memo. This officer is in charge of all the other functions that take place at the final levels of the order placement. vi. Casual Worker It is the casual worker that is mainly of interest both to the agency and to the client businesses. The core business operation of the agency is to find and successfully allocate a casual worker to satisfy the needs of the clients in accordance to the order placement. The business transaction involves exchange of value for commercial benefits. The casual workers can be explained as the main ‘items of trade’ for the agency and the client businesses their customers. The System Modelling Process The system modelling process will follow the traditional Life Cycle Development Process. The main steps that are involved in the SLDC are: a. Problem Identification At this stage, the main point of consideration is the problem that exists, for which a system is to be designed. The problem at AllSeasons agency is the management of the flow of information for the operations that take place between the clients and the agency. Problem identification is a task that is mainly carried out by a systems’ analyst and is critical to any organization. A specific problem will call for a relevant information system to deal with the situation at hand (FCA, 2007: p. 03). b. Information Search Upon the identification of the problem that affects the organization, there has to be sufficient research to determine some of the possible alternatives. The alternatives are developed based on the problem described (Avison, 2009, p. 42). Thorough research involves a critical review into the existing system to determine the points of weakness. In the case of AllSeasons, the current system that is used to track down all the transactions that take place from order placement to allocation of casual workers has to be taken into consideration. Further research on the performance of the system and weaknesses need to be carried out. This should be supported by relevant literature and practical aspects of the system. c. Feasibility Study Feasibility analysis is mainly targeted towards coming up with an appropriate judgemental decision on the possibility of developing the system. In most instances, the forms of feasibility studies carried out include operational feasibility, economic feasibility and environmental feasibility. Operational feasibility is mainly intended to determine the relevance of the proposed system to the problem at hand. At the agency, operational feasibility must include issues such as the ability to meet all the user requirements. In addition, the system has to be capable of handling multiple orders at the same time due to the varied nature of the clients that are served. Economic feasibility dwells more on the financial implications of constructing the system. All the cost constraints are taken into account in this case. The cost-benefit analysis of the system is necessary in selecting the most profitable option for the agency. The financial position of the agency has to be compared to the cost implications of developing and putting into operation the system. d. System Design Having approved all the requirements and feasibility tests for the system construction, the design process begins. System design takes place to depict all the requirements of the organization. It is at this level that major system constructs such as tables and forms are structured with regard to the operations at the business entity. For the case of AllSeasons agency, all the entities have to be represented in the form of tables with each containing attributes describing the entities. Each table must contain a primary key with which it can be identified. Relationships between these tables may be created to enable smooth flow of information in between. There is also the need to carry out normalization at this stage. Through normalization, ambiguity and redundancy is reduced in the system. This approach to the design of the system is the relational method. The benefits that are associated with it are the simplicity of development and operation. Systems that are developed from the relational approach of database modelling are easy to operate and correct in the event of any bugs. e. System Testing and Debugging A prototype of the developed system should be put into operation by the organization to determine whether it fully serves the purpose for which it is meant. In the process of testing, any errors that may be encountered are noted down and proper adjustments made to rectify them. Debugging is mainly carried out by the system designer or programmer. There are different types of errors that may be realized in the process of running the system for the first time. Errors of omission, syntax or run-time errors are just a few among the sample errors that may be realized in the system. f. Implementation There are specific implementation options that can be adopted by AllSeasons agency in putting into operation the new system. These are also referred to as change-over strategies. The most common strategies at this stage include parallel approach, direct or big bang change over and phased change over strategy. In the case of parallel change over option, the new system is run alongside the existing one to enable any additions that may be made on the new system. This approach also enables the users to get enough time to adapt to the new system. In the case of phased change over strategy, the system is implemented in bits. For example, the implementation may begin with the placement department after which it is put into use by all the other departments in AllSeasons Agency. The last and least recommended implementation strategy to be used by the agency in implementing the new system is the direct change over strategy. In this case, the existing system is abandoned completely and replaced by the newly developed system. There are several transitional challenges that come along with this approach (Blender RBT Inc., 2010, p. 7). For example, the new system may run into a sudden halt. In addition, the system operators may not be conversant with all the components of the newly modelled system. g. System review and Maintenance In the course of operating the system, it is important to take into account the quality of the products realized out of it. Maintenance also requires regular troubleshooting to detect any problems that may arise in the course of operating the system. Constant review into the performance is necessary to decide on whether to make any further developments in the system to cater for all the user needs. Graphical Representation In the course of developing systems, it is important to design a pictorial representation of the entire system. The main importance of this approach towards system modelling is that it provides a simplified view towards system analysis (Lang, 2010, p. 76). One can use the rich diagram to understand all the components of the system just at a glance. This representation should be designed in the simplest way possible to make it easy to interpret for the users (Flood & Carson, 2009, p. 63). In the case of AllSeasons Agency, the representation has to be made to capture all the data flows from the time of order placement by the client to the time of employee assignment. The entities or stakeholders are the main elements in the information system diagrammatic representation. In the case of rich diagram representation, there are flow lines that are used to depict the flow of information across the system. There are very slight differences between this approach and the case of Data Flow Diagrams (DFDs). Data flow diagrams are mostly objects that are used to depict specific components for example entities, processes, decision points among other elements of a system. Below is a rich diagram of the proposed system at AllSeasons Agency. Flow of Events There are several events that can be derived from the case of AllSeasons Agency. Each of these events is triggered by certain conditions and the response given by the organization depends on the nature of the event. The list of events can be represented in various ways. In some case, flow charts are used to design the activities that take place in a system. The use of tables is also important in the representation of all the events that are involved in the system. In the tabular representation, the three main elements that are represented include the events, the response and the response by the system. The table below represents the flow of events for AllSeasons proposed system. EVENT SOURCE TRIGGER ACTIVITY RESPONSE DESTINATION Client places an order Client New order Received Present the Order Details to the Contract Manager Receive the Order AllSeasons Agency Check Order Validity Contract Manager Order Validity Processing Inform the Client and or the Placement Manager of the Feedback Valid Client or Placement Officer Compare requirement with Available Skills Placement Officer Find Matching Skills Communicate to the Client or Contract Manager on the Findings Matches Found Contract Manager Inform the respective casual worker Arrangements Officer Contract the relevant Casual Worker Assign the Casual Worker and Mark Casual Worker Available Casual Worker, Client and Contract Manager The representation above is a tabular representation of the flow of operations or major events in the system. Assumptions The major assumptions that cut across the study include factors such as: System Development Approach- this assumption was based on the fact that the general approach that would be applied in coming up with the research is of the traditional System Development Life Cycle Efficient Flow of Instruction- there is an assumed top-down communication for the organization, in this case AllSeasons. All the casual workers have specific skills that make them fit to selected clients in line with these clients’ requirements. This is taken into consideration in modelling the system. Bibliography Top of Form Bottom of Form Top of Form Bottom of Form Top of Form Bottom of Form Top of Form Alexander, I., & Maiden, N 2012, ‘Scenarios & use cases stories through the system life-cycle’. Hoboken, NJ, John Wiley. http://public.eblib.com/choice/publicfullrecord.aspx?p=228314. Avison, D. E 2009, ‘the information systems development life cycle: a first course in information systems’. London, McGraw-Hill Companies. Blender RBT Inc, 2010 ‘Systems Development Life Cycle’ TBT Publication, New York, viewed 05 September 2014, Chapter 2, 2011, ‘Entity Relationship Diagram’ viewed 05 September 2014, FCA 2007, ‘System Development’ FCA Publication, United States, viewed 05 September 2014, Flood, R. L., & Carson, E. R 2009, ‘Dealing with complexity: an introduction to the theory and application of systems science’. New York, Plenum Press. Lang, M 2010, ‘The inter-networked world: ISD - theory, practice, and education’, New York, Springer. Bottom of Form Read More