Integrated Library System for Top-Mark Library - Assignment Example

Integrated Project - Assessment One Name: Number: Course: Lecturer: Project Plan Part 1 – Description Project title: Integrated library system for top-mark library Background Top-mark library is located in the southern Australia and has been in existence for over thirty years. Its major concerns is offering library services such as lending books and other reading materials to students and the entire public. The library has thirty personal computers that are used by around in book lending. The staff that is there in the library is sixty five. This entails the ones using the computers and those arranging the books plus the management team. The person in charge of maintaining the system that is used in the top-mark library is the assistant library manager who has some knowledge in computers. For the past ten years, it has been using a card file system in data storage and it is due to this that they need a new system that is integrated (Dennis & Roth, 2008). The structure of the top-mark library entails four units; the delivery and lending unit which is responsible for lending service, learning and research unit that avails programs for information literacy, access and resource unit that deals with acquisition and facilitation of information infrastructure and scholarly articles and lastly corporate service unit that is in charge of administration , staff and finance. Project scope The Project will mainly aim at introducing an integrated library system that will simplify all the operation that is carried out in top-mark library. A system that will come along with a data capture system as a solution to minimize delays in supplying materials to customers. The system will be driven by a database, some application software and a wireless local area network. Project vision The aim of the project is to come up with a design and implementation of a pilot information system. The project plan will mainly consist of the objectives, standards, work breakdown structure, Gantt chart, project scope, project budget, project governance and accountabilities and finally the risk assessment. Objectives The major objectives of the project would be first to come up with a computer database system to replace the current card file system for better service delivery and efficient data storage the system should be able to allow access for students and customers to more information regarding the books held within the library. Especially on those books that are loaned out together with their expected date of return. Second is that since the information system will be at first intranet based, the intranet would contain web pages that give web based help with regard to the database operations to both staff and customers. Such information would factor in data relating to new users, basic functions instructions and problem troubleshooting help. Finally, the information system should contain a file server containing three distinct directories namely accounts, staff details and reports. The directories should only be accessible to staff due to the sensitive information they carry. Standards The project should at all times base on preset standards such as international standards organization. After full implementation of the library information system the library staff and customers should be able to witness a significant amount of benefits regarding the dispensation of its services and accuracy in its records. By the end of the project the business to be able to witness a massive improvement in production and service delivery to customers this is due to the project projected benefits such as staff collaboration for the collective benefit of the business, faster and easy access to information within the business premises together with the accurate record tracking. Work-breakdown structure Project phases tasks time Staff required Requirement phase Collecting the end the information from the end users, gathering the system requirement, requirement definition and updating of the project plan 3 weeks 6 Design phase Conducting the survey of the library buildings to get the network requirement, definition of the components of the system, choosing the software, hardware and network component from the vendors, locating the access point sites, design verification, design documentation, project plan updating, seeking design approval and lastly purchasing the system components. 6 weeks 15 Development phase Creating the library database, developing the related software that is linked to the database such as user interface, test the developed sub systems and lastly carrying out pilot testing. 7 weeks 15 Operational support preparation phase Preparation of staff training modules, definition of procedures that are used in staff administration, building help desk support that is online, definition of methods that are used to manage the network, putting in place a process for maintenance and definition of control procedures for configuration. 9 weeks 8 Installation phase Do the plan of installation, put in place the components of the system, component installation; acceptance test performance and lastly forwarding the network to the operational support. 6 weeks 10 Gantt chart Budget Project Item Labor period Labor Costs Equipment Cost Travel Expenses Other Expenses Total cost per item 1 Overall Project Design 24 $30.00 $20.00 $10.00 $5.00 $65.00 2 Developing Functional Specifications 24 $10.00 $0.00 $10.00 $0.00 $20.00 3 Project Development 120 $100.0 $230.0 $10.00 $15.0 $355.0 4 Training Customers and staff 48 $10.0 $10.0 $5.00 $0.00 $25.00 5 Perform Post Project Review 48 $15.00 $0.00 $5.00 $0.00 $20.00 6 Project Management 48 $50.00 $30.00 $0.00 $0.00 $80.00 7 Meetings of Customer Progress 24 $50.00 $20.00 $0.00 $0.00 $70.00 8 Internal Status and Meetings 24 $50.00 $20.00 $0.00 $0.00 $70.00 9 Quality Assurance 12 $10.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $10.00 Project Plan Part 2 – Project Communications/Quality Stakeholders and Communications The principal stakeholders for associated benefits company are first of all the general public from where customers emanate from, ABC staff, professionals in the health sector, the general pharmaceutical industry, the government together with hospitals (Anantatmula, 2005). All the above stakeholders are crucial to the project hence their views are critical towards the success of the project hence all of them will be considered to play equal roles in the project. Stakeholder Contact details Top-mark staff Associated Benefits staff through the top-mark branches General public The general Australian population no specific contacts students All the students that are able to access the top-mark library resources Provision of adequate information regarding a project is crucial to its success. This will enable the project team be updated on the overall project progress so that they can be motivated hence work harder on the project (Roth, 2008).. The communication plan is mainly intended for the following target audience first the project sponsor, the project steering group/committee, the project managers, the experts on subject matters and finally the project team participants. The plan will use two approaches so as to achieve effective communication. First is the top down communication approach which would require that the project steering committee together with the project managers speak with similar voice regarding the project and all the details associated to it. Hence they should speak directly to all other project stakeholders and are also required to listen directly from the stakeholders. The other approach is bottom up communication mode this would require that information flow comes from the low level project participants to the top management. The major proceedings of communication activities are as follows: Monthly Status Reports The Project Management will disseminate monthly written reports on the status of the project to the project steering team which will cover on activities that have been completed in the preceding month, summary of activities set for completion in the following month and lastly a summary of activity resolutions and status (Kerzner, 2009). Monthly Steering Committee Meeting These meetings will be conducted on monthly basis and would be chaired by the project managers. All members of the project steering committee must take part. All members of the project steering committee will be briefed by the project managers with regard to the project status before the meeting. Bi-Monthly Project Team Status Meeting These meetings will also be conducted on monthly basis. All project team members shall be briefed on the project status before each meeting. It is also during these meetings that the project milestones will be discussed and dates reviewed Project Governance and Accountabilities Role tasks Project Team Project Sponsors Final decision-maker and also a tie-breaker, in charge of providing guidance and advice together with reviewing and approving project elements ABC top management Steering Committee In charge of resource allocation, major funding approval together with budget changes, solves conflicting issues within the project, it will also be in charge of advising the project management group plus doing reviews on the project deliverables. David, Thomas, Andrew, Janet and Terry Overall Project Manager In charge of overseeing the project such it conforms to what was stipulated in the project plan, give general project directions, custodian of the project budget and finally receiving certain guidance from the project steering group. Jerry Wilson Project Team Group Gain sufficient knowledge about the business requirements and the general business processes, ensure that customer requirements of the project are met, assist in identifying project limitations and barriers, give recommendations to the steering committee on certain areas, coordinate tasks participations and finally ensure that the project meets the expected quality. Arrangements will be later made by the project steering committee to select possible candidates Experts in subject matters Assist in giving sufficient guidance and expertise as required To be selected by the steering committee later Quality Management Plan Quality objectives for the database system The database system should be scalable and easy to use. The database system respond time should be minimum The database system should ensure at most data and information security Quality objectives for the online help system The system should gives the most appropriate response to the questions asked by the users The online system should search engine should be optimized in such a way that the frequently asked questions come first. the online system should have high flexibility such that users with diverse computer knowledge can use Quality Standards for both systems: The primary quality standard that the two systems should provide is maximum data and information security (Roth, 2008). This is in terms of data confidentiality, integrity, authenticity and availability. In addition, provision of best usability features is also paramount. This is to ensure that all the users that interact with the system should have at least difficulties. Project Risk identification and assessment Risk Item Risk Level Occurrence probability Mitigation Measure Person Time periods High over 10,000 Certainty Allocated a project manager and comprehensive consultance Projected Project Schedule High more than 6 months Certainty Created comprehensive project timeline with frequent baseline reviews Project team Size at Optimum High over 20 members Certainty Detailed plan of communications plan plus frequent meetings and extensive project oversight management oversight Project Definition     Users little knowledge Average Have knowledge on few areas only Likely Project manager to study implications Sufficient documentation Average Likely Sufficient information to be gathered by the project team Scope Creep Low Defined scope subject to revisions Unlikely The project plan defined scope is bound to be revised on mothly basis to avoid undetected creeps Unclear project deliverables Low adequately defined Unlikely Factored in the project plan but subject to revisions  Unrealistic budget Low well predicted by experienced experts Unlikely Factored in the project plan but subject to further revisions Schedule periods unrealistic Average Schedule makes no assumptions A bit likely Schedule subject to revisions as the project progresses In experienced staff Low The project staff have sufficient knowledge in the area Unlikely Identified knowledge deficiencies will be subject to further training Project Control     Formation of the steering committee Low Well identified and chosen Unlikely Frequent communication to ensure support Poor commitment Low They all know their role importance Unlikely  Seek consultance for support frequently Poor user commitment Low all understand their role importance Unlikely  Seek consultance for support frequently Weak commitment by project steering committee members Low many members do understand and support the project Not unlikely Seek consultance for support frequently Project Staffing     Project Team Availability Average location of team members hindrance to their availability Somewhat likely Consistent project momentum by all stakeholders Distant members hinderance to effective management Average adequate dispatch of the project team members Likely Detailed plan of Communications Dis agreements with regard to project experience Average a few members have worked earlier together Somewhat likely Detailed plan of Communications Weak teamconcentration on the project Low some users are not full time members of the project team Not likely Part time members cordinated by a project manager Project Management     Procurement Methodology Used foreign to team Low the methods used known to members of the team Not likely N/A  Change Management Procedures undefined Low acceptable since they are well defined Not likely N/A  Quality assuarance Management protocolnot clear Low acceptable since they are well defined Not likely N/A  Project Plan Part 3 – Systems Test Report Integrated library system test report Contents Project scope 1 Objectives 2 Standards 2 Work-breakdown structure 3 Gantt chart 5 Budget 6 Stakeholders and Communications 7 Monthly Status Reports 8 The Project Management will disseminate monthly written reports on the status of the project to the project steering team which will cover on activities that have been completed in the preceding month, summary of activities set for completion in the following month and lastly a summary of activity resolutions and status (Kerzner, 2009). 8 Monthly Steering Committee Meeting 8 These meetings will be conducted on monthly basis and would be chaired by the project managers. All members of the project steering committee must take part. All members of the project steering committee will be briefed by the project managers with regard to the project status before the meeting. 8 Bi-Monthly Project Team Status Meeting 8 These meetings will also be conducted on monthly basis. All project team members shall be briefed on the project status before each meeting. It is also during these meetings that the project milestones will be discussed and dates reviewed 8 Project Risk identification and assessment 11 Contents 15 Introduction 16 Purpose 16 Summary of the test 16 Delivery and lending package test 16 Learning and research package 16 Corporate service package test 17 Online support package 17 Network system 17 Test Assessment 18 Test Results 18 Unit/Module/System Testing 18 Reference 21 Introduction Purpose The integrated library system test report gives a summary of the findings of the tests that were performed as shown in this part. Summary of the test The different modules that were tested in the database system include the delivery and lending package, learning and research package, access and resource package, corporate service package, the online support package and the network system (Roth, 2008).. Project Name: pilot system System Name: integrated library system Delivery and lending package test Both functional and non functional requirement of the subsystem were tested Test Owner: Johan Test Date: 16th April Test Results: pass Learning and research package Both functional and non functional requirement of the units that makes up this package were tested Test Owner: Trevor Test Date: 17th April Test Results: pass : Corporate service package test Both functional and non functional requirement of the subsystem were tested Test Owner: Trevor Test Date: 19th April Test Results: pass Online support package The response time of the package as functional requirement of the subsystem were tested Test Owner: Trevor Test Date: 20th April Test Results: pass Network system Functioning of all the network component including the network software Test Owner: Greco Test Date: 21st April Test Results: pass Test Assessment The tests that were carried in different packages were effective and thorough since the methodology and tools that were used ensured that the different units of the system followed the requirement list that was specified. Test Results The system can serve the intended purpose effectively. In regards to the requirement specification, the team did not deviate and that is why test was successful. In addition, test for bugs was conducted and no bug was realized. Unit/Module/System Testing The performance of Unit, module, and system integration testing activities were carried out during the development of the system build Project Plan Part 4 – Security Policy Document To ensure there is maximum data and information security, all the users that are provided with user name and password that expires after two weeks. There are three different levels of access. This is facilitated using Microsoft group policy. To ensure adequate physical security, the network devices are protected from any physical damage by ensuring that the access to the library premise is restricted. To curb the threats that can hit the system via internet, there is installation DMZ and enterprise firewalls. All the computers must have the latest versions of antivirus. There is also software that tracks breach of system and network security and notifies the administrator. Project Plan Part 5 – PIR Report Introduction Identification of the project The pilot library system project is meant to ease the operation of the library by simplifying the lending process and record keeping. System history The system that has been used for quite some times in the library was the file system and this system had a lot of weaknesses in terms of efficiency and accuracy. This brought the need of the new system. Evaluation summary After thorough testing and training of the staff by the developing and implementation team, the system proved to qualify since the library operation was simplified. General system satisfaction The users were satisfied with the both functional and usability features of the system. So far the users have not encountered any problem since the system has an online support. The development team ensured that there is no redundant functional feature of the system. This ensured that the response time of the system is short and hence the efficiency is increased. The improvement that the library management should put in place is to integrate online lending system (Roth, 2008). Cost benefit The library management has realized that the resources that have been saved due since the implementation of the system supersedes by far the cost project implementation. Benefits Owner Target Group Mode of measurement Person in charge of measurement Measurement timing Result Real time access to information Associated benefits company Top-mark library Staff Employee comments Top-mark management staff Three months Employees experience minimal difficulties with regard to access to information Faster information dispatch Associated benefits company The library owner Top-mark staff overall output Top-mark library staff Three months The information department witness significant benefits with regards to information relay processes Reduce lending delays Associated benefits company Student and the public Top-mark staff overall output Top-mark lending section Two months Reduce periods on supplies to customers Reference Dennis, A., & Roth, R. (2008). System Analysis and Design. ohn Wiley & Sons. Read More