Maple Ridge Engineering - Case Study Example

? Maple Ridge Engineering Table of Contents Executive Summary 2. Objectives 3. of Project 3 Scope 3.2. System Components 3.2.1. System Needs 3.2.2. Resource tracking and Management 3.2.3. An interface 3.2.4. Work Reporting 3.2.5. Sub – Systems 3.2.5.1. Work Order Tendering 3.2.5.2. Project planning 3.2.5.3. Construction Management 3.2.5.4. Resource Management 3.2.6. GEMS System Conceptual Design 3.3. Fundamental Relationships and Business Rules 3.3.1. Entity Relationship Diagram 3.3.1.1. Issues 3.3.2. Use Case Diagram 3.3.3. Activity diagram 3.3.4. Data Flow Diagram 3.3.5. Rich Picture Diagram 1. Executive Summary This project involves an assessment of the technical aspects of the business, in relation to its GEMS system. The system is still under development and is focused on the business support functions within Maple Ridge. From the website, there are sufficient information posted by the users and are instrumental in restructuring the system for optimization purposes. At present, Maple Ridge is in dire need of the system to provide information on business solutions. The aim is to ensure that the users are comfortable, not just the developing team. The problem at Maple Ridge is that Staff cannot easily move from one project to another. At the same time and for the same reason, staff cannot easily monitor the resources. The company seeks to implement a system that can move staff between different projects and monitor the positions of the shared resources. The important feedback in this project is the performance of MRE, compared to the experience and the expectations for future. The project is essential for maple Ridge because the benefits are long lasting and sustainable. It will act like an automated framework on which Daniel and Snowden will be able to co-ordinate future projects. The costs are minor, being a once-off payment. After the design of the MRE, the only cost is that of maintenance. The option that can make the project more efficient is to compare it to the already existing successful projects of similar nature, notice how resources are shared, how staff members monitor projects and the methods of delivering feedback. This in fact is the objective. Maple Ridge Engineering has various entities and systems working differently from each other. The desire of Snowden is to integrate the systems to GEMS. 2. Objectives The project has three main objectives within Maple Ridge: To develop a sustainable relationship between staff members and the projects within the organization To provide the management of with transparency about the on going projects, the resource utilization framework and information sharing. To provide necessary support to the staff by encouraging maximum use of the online resources and optimization of the system The principal goal of the desired MRE system is to perform the task of project tracking as well as management. This second goal is to improve the efficiency and output of the new integrated GEMS system to create more accurate estimate for the project resource requirement across all departments in the industry. With a proper integration of the system, the GEMS system is expected to support the movement of the organization staff members from one department of MRE to another and also across the different units. While managing the movement, it will also be facilitating resource utilization and sharing. This is where the time recording functionality comes to play a vital role. All the expectations in the previously proposed system raise issues that require a lot of improvement in the organisational structure and the flow of data and processes. As is evident on the “Hypercase” website, the main agenda is Maple Ridge. The information and instructions on the website is straight forward providing massive support information about Maple Ridge on the website. Theoretically, the different entities of the MRE function well through the integration. They desired state is that they should be able to share resources equally. A detailed investigation reveals that the present interrelationship between the system and the subsystems do not offer adequate support to one another. This prompts the desire to have a higher value system of GEMS, for efficient means of interlinking the subsystems. This guarantees an efficiency and quality after noting the problems in the previous version branded as the new GEMS system. 3. Description of Project 3.1. Scope The system intends to do integration between projects and to enable the staff members to monitor the stages of projects. This will enable the management to decide on the usage of resources. It is a set of instructions to guide the project timelines, resource sharing and systematic feedback reporting framework. The objective is to enable Snowden Evans to have their GEMS system ready to use by its Systems and Training Group. This proposed system will be developed upon the realization of the issues discovered in the previous and the current GEMS system. The factors that were considered to determine the scope of the new GEMS system project were processes, systems, subsystems and the entities of the entire organization. The system is supposed to implement the processes in an optimized manner in order to add value by introducing modules for time records and balance of timing between subsequent projects. It was also made in the view of different organizational entities or sectors of engineering, for example, Systems Training and management, Medical Engineering Department, Web Design Group and Education Engineering Department. The other divisions are external entities, the Federal Division, the environmental safety division and the quality assurance Department. 3.2 System Components The subsystems of the system are described in the system components such as: The DFD Use - Case Diagram Activity Diagram Entity Relationship Diagram The system components are designed in different ways to represent the various options for implementing the system. Eventually, the development team should adopt one of the system components as the preferred option. In the exploration of the conceptual design for the system, there is need to view the objectives, the data flow and process flow. It also requires a proper description of the newly proposed GEMS system considering the role of each independent subsystem. 3.2.1. System Needs From the previous statements, the main target of the MRE project was to create accurate estimates of attributes of a system for more efficient projects in the industry. After a detailed review of the factors facilitating the efficiency, there was the realization of the areas, which the new proposed GEMS system will have to address in order to succeed in meeting the conceptual expectation. The needs are shown in the list below: 3.2.2. Resource tracking and Management This requires the management of resources across all the divisions and departments in MRE. It also expects to manage the resource sharing among the staff more effectively and the movement of resources between all the division and other entities of the organization. 3.2.3. An interface The proposed system requires an interface to link all the subsystems in the departments and division in MRE. This is to provide the system with consistent time reporting across the entire MRE. The interface is expected to provide the ability to link existing sub - systems from the various divisions. 3.2.4. Work Reporting This is the role of the time recording and reporting module for reporting the details about work done across all the departments of MRE as accurately as possible. This also assures the management of accurate and consistent allowing for better estimates. The functionalities, if well implemented will assist the MRE to progress as a competitive organisation. 3.2.5. Sub - Systems The newly proposed GEMS system is supposed to manage various aspects of the projects, which move in four stages. The reworked GEMS system has to have the ability to manage four key aspects of undertaken projects. This system supports four subsystems such as Work Order Tender, Project Planning, Construction management and Resource Management. The relationship between the subsystems is shown below: Figure 1: MRE Company Subsystems Relationship 3.2.5.1. Work Order Tendering In the work order tendering sub system, GEMS System is intended to assist MRE in making orders for work tenders. After a tender has been ordered for, the subsystem is expected to give a confirmation in order to close further request for a similar tender. The subsystem also has to assist the organization in receiving contracts from external entities such as the Federal Program Departments. The possible tender requests of this nature include work tenders for Web Design and the educational resource program. 3.2.5.2. Project planning This subsystem generates a detailed program having obtained approval from the project acquisition subdivision. The approved plan is then forwarded to the work order tendering subsystem to be passed and its budget estimates be set. The project plan is then presented before the client o approve after accepting the terms of offer in the project plan. This is one of the stages where absolute accuracy is required in the in order to give the best offer to the client. The newly proposed GEMS system is therefore expected to be more accurate and instrumental in the tender ordering. 3.2.5.3. Construction Management Upon the receipt of approval of the tender for the development of the project, the project team begins the actual construction work. The management and administration of the construction work is the function of the project co-ordinator or the project team leader, using the GEMS system as the store full of the project management information. The construction management subsystem is also responsible for generation of the time utilization and the generation of time estimates and costing records. It compares the present and the past projects for improving the management of the project that are on going. Members of various divisions and departments are expected update the work schedules linking the tasks and the time spent between the projects in GEMS. This is to assist the construction team leader to estimate the resource requirement and manage the processes. 3.2.5.4. Resource Management From the initial stages of the project, this subsystem takes note of the resource utilization and time factor. The notifications are sent as reports to all processes associated to the resources and all the team leaders managing the processes and resources. At the same time, the members and the team leaders will have to make request to the resource management module. A summary of the resource utilization will then be released periodically during the review of project progress. One very important issue in this subsystem is the ability to adjust the estimates during resource planning. The subsystem contains the completed information and data from the entire ongoing and the completed projects. The data in this context include attributes like time spent in working, the costs of project and the status of the project, whether completed, declined, not started, paused, rejected and approved. The new proposed system will have the capacity to monitor and update the GEMS system database. The resource management module will also be instrumental for use in future development projects planning and resource allocation. 3.2.6. GEMS System Conceptual Design The description of the conceptual design for the current version of GEMS system was first made with the Data Flow Diagram (DFD). The newly proposed version of the system however seeks to describe the processes in the GEMS system using not only the DFD but also other design tools such as Entity Relationship Diagram, Rich Pictures, Use Case Diagram and the activity diagram. The use of the first level Data Flow Diagram will consider the final design of the GEMS system in Maple Ridge Engineering Company. In that view, the Level 1 DFD will explore the depth of all the processes and relationships within the new version of the GEMS system. 3.3 Fundamental Relationships and Business Rules 3.3.1. Entity Relationship Diagram Entity Relationship Diagram literally shows the relationship between the entities of the organization and in relation to the system. Each of the entities has a unique name and has a set of entity attributes specific to it. The diagram below shows the entity relationship for Maple Ridge Engineering Company. Figure 2: Entity Relationship Diagram The summary of the Entity Relationship Diagram is shown below. Entity 1 Entity 2 Relationship Project Project One to One Project Staff One - to- many System Project One- to - Many Clients Project Many - To - One Resources System Many – To - One Resources Staff Many – To – Many System Resources One – To - Many Table 1: Entity Relationship 3.3.1.1. Issues The MRE is operating within certain operational Risks, which tends to hinder it from achieving its purposes defined in the project. The issues are classified in the table below: Issue Plan to mitigate The Issue Inconsistent System availability System optimization Plans System errors Business Continuity Plans Security and Information Confidentiality Information Security Policy Feedback Failure Troubleshooting of the system Feedback architecture Process Confusion Detailed Process map Table 2: Issues 3.3.2. Use Case Diagram The major stakeholders and participants in the Maple Ridge case study are the clients, the staff and the management. The staff members are represented in the use case diagram as the main users of the system. Even so, the information sharing system has two classes of users, the staff members of MRE and the clients. In some instances, they are consolidated into one main class as system users. Since Snowden Evans and the Group are time – conscious, the MRE System records the time spent between two successive projects using the time management module. It thus serves their interest by ensuring system effectiveness (Baligh, 2011). This is because it easily integrates into GEMS system and sets the ground for optimization. The use case diagram however does not show the time recording function between the projects. The dire need of a more efficient system is because of the predicted growth in capacity of project management. The expansion in the number of projects, which the MRE system manages, is, to compute the income earned from in-house clients. The summarized details for the use case are as presented in the table below showing the actors and their functions in the use case structure. The full details of the Use case Diagram are shown in the Appendix. Actors Role Staff Receives client, Provides resources and information Client Receives information, Receives resources, Generates Feedback Management Monitors Progress in Projects Table 3: Use Case Diagram 3.3.3. Activity diagram Activity diagram shows a sequence of technical steps that are followed in the use of a certain system. It explains the order of all activities from the start to the end and conditions under which they take place. The activity diagram in this study uses a scenario of a GEMS project monitoring System. The beginning of this sequence is where the staff member (system user) enters his or her identification details into the system. The system reads the details and enables the staff to provide the secret key. This is the first point of selecting decisions is where the machine allows the user to select the resources required from the entire menu. The system then confirms the availability of resources and information as the second decision-making point. If the resources and information are available, the user prompts the system proceeds to present them for use to support the process of monitoring projects. The user then gives feedback on the project progress and his or her opinion concerning the system services. Figure 3: Activity Diagram 3.3.4. Level 1 Data Flow Diagram The Level 1 Data Flow Diagram helps exploring the processes, data, process sequence and the resources in connection with the GEMS system as the central component linking all of them. The DFD considers the four processes of Maple Ridge Engineering Company mentioned earlier in the work tendering section. Figure 4: First Level Data Flow Diagram Activity Number Process 1 Exchanging Information 2 Querying Resource Availability 3 Making Request For Resources 4 Information Influencing Project Planning 5 Planning Projects Using Financial Information 6 Requesting For Resources 7 Allocating Resources To Projects 8 Making Project Budget 9 Providing Resources 10 Client Financing Budget 11 Approving Tender 12 Client Receiving Tender 13 Implementing Regulations for construction management 14 Regulating Resource Utilization 15 Preparing Budget 16 Receiving Staff Information 17 Implementing Regulations for resource management 18 Information Influencing Tender Processing Table 4: Data Flow Diagram 3.3.5. Rich Picture Diagram Rich Picture diagram shows the relationship between the departments and divisions of Maple Ridge Engineering Company. It also shows the description of the link between MRE Company and the external entities such as the Government and the Federal program. Figure 5: Rich Picture Model Reference Baligh, H. H. (2011). Organization Structures: Theory and Design, Analysis and Prescription. London: Springer. Appendix Use case diagram Read More