Information Systems Description - Furniture Company Information Systems - Case Study Example

Information Systems Description – Furniture Company Information Systems (FCIS) Case Study A furniture company is an enterprise that deals with cash purchase as well as installment buying of common household goods including sofa sets, wardrobes, wall units, kitchen appliances, as well as electronic goods. Furniture companies normally uses sophisticated software applications, however, these companies still employ qualified members of staff to assist the organization interact directly with some of its clients while also employing paper based documentations, and this particular documentation may include; clients past credit history, copies of identification documents, PIN number, and pay slips among others which are also very important for clients buying through hire purchase methods. Introduction This particular documentation is attempting to provide a comprehensive description of what an information system entails. Amongst issues to be covered include 1. Some general description of the information systems in question (Furniture company systems), its overall function, the users of the systems, and what they are attempting to achieve with the deployed application 2. We will also dwell on the external view of the information systems and this shall include inputs, outputs, boundary, and information processing and storage of the system 3. Internal dissection of the information system and this may entail information processors, information stores, and any other networks within the information system Table of Contents Case Study 1 Introduction 1 General Description of the Information Systems 3 Furniture Company Information Systems (FCIS) 3 Users of Information Systems and Functions 3 External Description of the Information System 3 Inputs 3 Outputs 4 Information Processing 4 Information Stored 5 System Boundary 5 External View of the Information System 6 Internal Description of information systems 7 Information Stores 7 Networks 9 Internal View of Information Systems 9 Additional notes 10 References 10 General Description of the Information Systems In this particular section we are going to provide some general description of information systems and this shall cover title, overall function, users of a specific information system, and what they aim to achieve while they operate on that particular system. Furniture Company Information Systems (FCIS) General description Furniture Company Information Systems (FCIS) is designed and developed to enter, process, store, and output different types of information from the furniture company and this may include issuing entering customer specific records, retrieving customer specific records such as amount paid & outstanding balances, product purchased, automated invoice sending capabilities, payment due notifications, and also sending overdue notices among others. Users of Information Systems and Functions Client: Joining installment buying schemes, search product availability and also know when new products are likely to arrive. Their specific information are also keyed inside the system, and this may include; bank details or credit/debit card numbers, identification documents, and employer details among others. Head office Information System: This particular module is designed to collect sales information from different satellite offices, provides details pertaining to orders received, invoice issued, outstanding balances, and new stock that have arrived. External Description of the Information System In this particular section we shall unveil details pertaining to the inputs and outputs of the information system, the kind of information processing performed by the individual, information being stored within the systems, and also the system boundary. Inputs Here the client provides various inputs to the FCIS, and this may include; Customer specific details such as identification, address, contact, employer, occupation, credit history, and income Product details which include; item description, cash value, warranty period Payment details such as amount paid, outstanding balances, monthly or weekly repayment amounts, payment methods such as cash, cheque, Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT), or credit/debit card deductions. The head office information systems will also provide various inputs to the FCIS in different times, and this may entail New item details (these are new stock that have been acquired the company and have already been shipped to the warehouse) Cleared payments and items that are already out of stock Outputs Courtesy of FCIS the client may receive various outputs anytime and this may include; Product purchase details such as item description, warranty period remaining, product recall status Product search results, if the product still exists or they have been exhausted since a client may want to recommend a similar product to a friend, or work colleague, or may just want to buy an extra item Cost of purchase and this includes amount of deposit, amount paid, and any other balance The head office on the other hand receives various outputs from the FCIS during different times, and some of the information received may include Sales details from a particular store such as deposits made, cleared balances, and outstanding balances Information Processing FCIS is designed to request various information from the client and this may include options of cash purchases, installments buying, and as a result, this information is seamlessly transmitted tot eh head office to inform them on what is taking place at the ground. Register s new client inside the systems database Buy or through cash or hire purchase Determine overdue if products have been sold through credit and send notice to the clients either via text messages, e-mail, fax, or via post office Search for existing items within the store Send sales related information to the head office and other company executives Receive new product information Information Stored FCIS will store safely in the repository various information such as client sign up form, product specific details, products that are available in the store, products that have previously been sold in the store together with the corresponding client details in order to mitigate against employee theft, and outstanding balances. Customer Name Contact details Identification details Employer details Utility statements Payment methods e.g. credit/debit card, EFT, cash, or cheque. Product Product specific details such as make, model, color Warranty information Product value Payments made together with outstanding balances System Boundary In order to provide a general description of some of the boundaries of the information system, we are going to provide a basic list of some of the components that can be found inside the system (information processors & stores) and list of outside components (e.g users which could be other information systems) but mainly interact with the deployed system. FCIS is mandated to provide information processing and storage requirements for the furniture company External (outside) components Client Head office Information System Internal (Inside) Components Company employees Furniture company software applications Furniture company underlying database system (e.g. Oracle, Access, Sybase, or Microsoft SQL server) Furniture company fireproof filing cabinet External View of the Information System Figure 1.0 External view of the information system Internal Description of information systems In this particular section we are going to provide an internal description of the company’s information system and this may include networks used, information stores, and information processors. In this section we are going to focus on information Technologies that are used to deploy information processing, storage, and communication required for the information system to function effectively. Information Processors The furniture company employees processes various requests such as Joining hire purchase schemes Searching for available products Credit appraisal Filing paper records on filing cabinets The furniture company Information System handles the following Searching for available products from different stores Hire purchase management Payment reminders Online Payment processing, however, this is semi-automated because it has to be approved by human intervention Automated invoices Outstanding balance processing Information Stores The companies repository is designed to contain various customer specific information, product specific information, and purchasing method whether cash or through installment buying. Customer Specific information Name Identification Number Contact information Employer information Income Guarantor Product Information Product Name Make Model Warranty information Price Payment Information Customer name Buying method, cash or cheque Price of the item Amount paid and outstanding balance The filing cabinet on the other hand is going to contain hard-copy of completed customer sign up forms Sign up form Client name Address Contact details Employer details Income statement Signature Networks Internal network This avails seamless connectivity between the store employees and Furniture Company Information Systems External (Input & Output ) Networks There is always verbal exchange of words between the store employees and the clients Information is normally transmitted wirelessly over the internet or through dedicated leased lines to the head office information systems, this information is also synchronized with databases form satellite offices Overdue notices and payment requests are automated and can be sent as e-mail or SMS messages, or they can also be sent through courier services Internal View of Information Systems internet internet Direct verbal communication direct verbal communication Customer Customer Figure 2.0 Internal view of Furniture Company’s information system with external networks) Additional notes Most real world furniture company/store information systems are 100% automated and thus there is no need of human intervention. Through technology such as online signatures, with the ability to capture unique information from the clients such as fingerprints, manual systems have been completely eliminated and today, these systems are so advanced to the sense that application can be made anywhere across the globe provided that you meet certain criteria. References Aboyade, B. O. (1984). Communications potential for non-literates: An experiment in providing information in a rural setting. Libri, 34(3), 243-262. Durrani, S. (1987). Agricultural information services in Kenya and third world needs. Journal of Librarianship, 19(2), 108-121. Nyerere, J. M. (175). Education for self-reliance. in "education in the least-developed countries". Prospects Quarterly Review of Education, 5(1), 12. Retrieved from http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0001/000137/013787eo.pdf. Read More