Managing Information Services - Essay Example

Introduction Management Information System is used in an organization to effectively manage and control the information and the details regarding theorganization. A separate system is maintained to store the information regarding each and every department of the organization. This information is made accessible to the employees and the management. Any organization should assess the requirements of the user before designing and developing a system. This will ensure that the user's requirements are met and satisfied. To assess the needs and requirements of the user proper analysis must be made to know the needs of the user. In this stage the user's expectation regarding the system can be known. This will help in building a better system. The needs of the user may differ according to the system and the purpose of the system. The requirements depend on the user's knowledge and the end user's preferences. The user's expectations will vary depending on the environment on which the system is implemented. Organization Assessing the user needs is an important concept in developing a system. Though all types of organizations use the assessment framework, it is mandatory for the companies based on information technology. Since these companies deal with systems and they develop systems for each operation like report maintenance, decision making and evaluation, assessment framework is an important component. (Westbrook, 2001). While considering a library service, the needs of the user may differ. The needs of a user in a library change from time to time. Hence a framework has to be developed to analyze the requirements of the user. A framework is developed which can gather the user requirements and help the organization in developing and maintaining the library according to the needs of the user. People expect a library to have all the necessary equipments. They prefer an environment that can guide them in the process of selecting books. The requirements of the user are identified and the necessary modifications are made in the existing system to suit the user's needs. A framework is designed and it uses various strategies and methods pertaining to the division where the new system is implemented. If the library service is developed based on the user's needs, then there are more chances that the numbers of members increase. Hence a library service expects the user to express his opinion regarding the requirements. The framework includes the various methods using which the needs of the user can be determined. There are many ways to assess the user's needs. The organization may select the method according to their choice and the importance of the system. While developing a system, the designer and developer must make sure that the requirements are feasible. Hence a feasibility study is an important task in developing a system. The company has to decide the users and should conduct this assessment based on the user. The organization has the responsibility to decide about the system and its working and implementation procedures.(Nicholas, 1996). This is an important task since based on this only the company can conduct the user assessment. The requirements and expectations of the users differ from time to time and system to system. The company must select a method that suits the user and the one in which the user is comfortable in expressing his opinion. Though there are several methods, there are certain strategies followed by the companies. The companies select the required method based on these strategies. The strategies are formulated according to the company's situation and position in the market. User's Role In today's world user is the important person who decides the fate of a company. There are various options for the users and these options are increasing day by day. Since the user will make use of the developed system, user's involvement and opinion becomes the major criteria. (Hockings, et.al., 2000). To fulfill the user's expectations is not easy and the company has to strive hard to satisfy the requirements of the user. The assessment may be conducted for a group of users or individually. In some companies assessment is done in the form of surveys where the company will have an option of knowing the expectation of more number of people. Since survey is a method that covers more number of people at a particular time, it is considered to be one of the effective methods in assessing the needs of the user. The environment on which the survey is conducted is an important aspect as the result may differ based on the environment. The company must make sure the resources are used effectively to develop the system. In some situations the user's expectation may exceed the limit of company's affordability level. In such cases the company should decide on how to develop the proposed system. Before some years the methods used for assessing the user's needs were different. The people in the company will enquire the users about the things needed. This did not help the organization well, since the users may not express their ideas about the system.(Abbott, 2001). The organizations followed a procedure in which printed forms were given to the users and based on their feedback the system was designed and developed. Before conducting the assessment, the company must decide on the type of users. The system is developed based on the type of users. There are various types of users and the company must decide about the system and for which type of users the system is developed. The assessment is made according to the group of users. The needs and requirements of the users in each of the group will vary. To perform these assessments there are certain prebuilt frameworks. These frameworks are a set of procedures planned according to a strategy that will help the company in knowing the needs of the user. This framework includes a work plan which specifies the method of assessment. The framework is designed keeping in mind the priorities and the needs of the user. (Olekalns, 1999).The priority of the user's may differ and the framework must have an option to change the format of assessment according to the user's priorities. Personal interaction is an easier and effective method of knowing the user's requirements. Many users may not be comfortable with the methods like surveys and form filling activities. In these situations personal interaction will act as a boon to the company. Group Process There are certain frameworks which work well for group of users. In case of large organizations, group process is the effective method, as it does not waste time and money. In this group process each and every group is given individual attention and due focus. Then a discussion is made with each group to know their requirements and ideas. Each user group will have their own needs and opinions. The requirements of all these groups are combined and the final result is known. There is another method in which all the group of users are put together and the discussion is conducted. In this method the process of combining the reports becomes easier since all the groups are combined and their opinions are known at a single phase itself. (Irene, 1993).There is a disadvantage in this method. The users will express their opinion irrespective of their knowledge. Some of the users may not possess a complete knowledge about the system that is to be designed. Evaluation is an important task in the framework that assesses the needs of the user. The user's requirements are analyzed and the evaluation process is done. This evaluation checks whether the requirements specified by the user are really necessary and worth implementing in the system. Each and every requirement is analyzed and the major step of studying the feasibility is performed. Feasibility study is the important task since without knowing whether the requirements are feasible, they cannot be implemented in the system. Hence evaluation is the task which is given higher priority. Company's Framework The company can design its own framework or implement a predefined framework. Generally the companies design their own framework to suit the company's requirements. But some companies make use of prebuilt frameworks. There frameworks are designed and developed by other companies. There are individual frameworks for each type of company. (Harker, 1985).The management can select the framework according to the company's situation. These frameworks designed in such a way that the company can yield a better result by implementing them. Predefined frameworks are reliable when compared to the normal methods used in the companies. Frameworks help in getting the accurate and desired results and there are various options. The company can select the available options and use them to assess the needs of the user. STES Framework STES framework is a predefined framework that can be used to assess the user's needs. This framework is designed with an aim of reducing the time used for assessing the user needs. Thus it is a timeline based framework. The main aim of this framework is to reduce the cost involved in building a framework and to assess the user needs. The framework works based on the available time but lends an accurate result irrespective of the company in which it is implemented. The accuracy depends on the user and the user's requirements. The survey method can also be combined with this framework. This can be done by using the survey process only for knowing the major requirements of the user. These important requirements are also known as key requirements. Working of STES Framework STES framework includes a documentation that explains the methods and process involved in this framework. This is considered to be one of the best frameworks that reduce the cost as well as time. The major advantage of this framework is it has high accuracy when compared to the other frameworks. This follows a structured pattern in which each operation is carried out for a specific duration. By following this standard procedure the needs of the user can be assessed within a short period of time. The assessment is done based on the company's requirements. The company must specify the details regarding the system and the information they need from the user. Then the methods in the framework are used according to the company's specification. By conducting a research on the company's expectation, the process of assessing the user needs become easier. The procedure then begins after a hiatus research and analysis. The required frame is selected and the corresponding data is included. This frame selection is done by making use of the administrative information. Then the questionnaire is designed based on the information given by the company. The questionnaire is designed in a flexible format and the questions can be modified as and when needed. The items used in the questionnaire must be minimal and this will fetch more effective and accurate results. Before implementing the original process, a sample questionnaire is designed by selecting the common questions. Even the sample designs are developed using effective methods so that efficient processing is carried out. (Altschuld, 2000).The company must specify the due date and the time period with in which the assessment should be completed. The next step in the framework is data collection. This data collection is done using various data collection techniques and methods. Once the data is collected, data validation is performed using the data validation methods. These data validation methods are often automated to reduce the burden of the developers. The people involved in the process must possess complete knowledge regarding the system and the framework. (Hiller, 2001).They must maintain a relationship with the end users so that any modification can be done in the future. Once these steps are completed, estimation of data is carried out. These estimates are done with the sample questionnaire and these estimates are known as preliminary estimates. The next step is estimation where the user requirements are assessed. An analysis is conducted on the requirements specified by the user. Then the quality assessment is carried out and it specifies the timeline within which the assessment was conducted. Evaluation is accomplished using the various methods and benchmarking techniques. The final step in this framework is the overview. The assessment is completely performed and the results are validated. This overview helps in concluding that the user requirements have been gathered and assessed. (Cronin, 1981).Then the user's requirements are known and the system can be developed according to the user's specifications and requirements. Use of Frameworks These frameworks are designed to reduce the burden of the organization in preparing separate methods to assess the user needs. It is not compulsory that organizations must use these prebuilt frameworks. The company can design their own frameworks which can work more efficiently. These frameworks are known as custom made frameworks. Each company can design their own frameworks based on their requirements. Designing a framework is not easy and the designers and developers must make sure they conduct a complete study on the organization's current position. These custom made frameworks can be used by the company to assess the user's requirement for any new system that is to be developed in the company. Since the framework is designed to suit the company's environment, it will work efficiently for assessing the user needs. (Hasdosan, 1996). Custom Made Frameworks The first step in the custom made framework is to analyze the company's precious systems and the way they are built. This will help in designing a better framework and conducting a better assessment. The framework will contain a predefined set of procedures that is used to conduct the analysis. The framework consists of various modules and they must be followed in the same order to achieve the desired results. After analyzing the company's requirements the questionnaire is prepared. It is not necessary that a questionnaire must be used in conducting the assessment. Survey is another option by which the general user's needs are assessed. There are various other options in knowing the user's requirements. One among them is conducting one to one discussions. (Cummins, 1998).Though it may seem to be an effective method, it is a tedious process since the discussion cannot be conducted with each and every user. This method will consume more time when compared to the other methods. Hence the company must select the method according to its time constraint. Time and cost are the important criteria and depending on these criteria only the company can decide the assessment methodology. The company must clearly state the time duration and the cost that it can afford for the assessment of user needs. Then based on these specifications the developers can develop a framework. (Moore, 1979). A company does not design and develop system immediately after assessing the user's needs and requirements. Instead a prototype is designed based on the user specification. Prototype is a working model of the proposed system. Then the prototype is checked for its efficiency and effectiveness. The prototype is tested to make sure it does not lead to any problem in the future. Once the prototype satisfies all these criteria, a complete system is developed. Any framework must be designed according to the users. The users must not find any difficulty in using the framework. Thus the developers must make sure it is easy for the users to proceed with the framework. Types of Users There are several types of user and all of them must be involved in the assessment process. This will ensure that the system will satisfy the requirements of all types of users. Users may or may not possess a complete knowledge regarding the system. These users will have an idea of working on the system but the knowledge regarding the system's operation and modification may not be known. The assessment must include potential users. Potential users are people who have the knowledge about the complete working of the system. Since they have the idea and knowledge about the system, assessing their requirements will be an easy task. (Nelson, 1995).This will make the process easier and time can be saved. New users can also be included in the assessment process. Even primary requirements will be specified by the new users and this will be helpful in including the minor issues in the system. There are certain assessment methods which does not need the involvement of the user. The staffs and the professionals employed in the company are considered to be the best analysts and they can give the company a better outlook on the system. These assessment methods are a part of the framework and this will work well only for the companies that develop systems that are used only by the employees. (Davis, 2000).Other companies that develop systems which are aimed at user's satisfaction must concentrate more on user's needs and they must use an appropriate framework for assessing the user needs. Conclusion Framework for assessing the user needs is an important component as it is used to analyze the requirements of the user. This also helps in knowing the user's expectations and the system can be developed according to the user's specification. An effective framework will ensure that all the requirements of the user are satisfied. Reference Westbrook, L., 2001. Identifying and Analyzing User Needs. U.S.A: Neal- Schuman Publishers. Nicholas, D., 1996. Assessing Information Needs: Tools and Techniques. U.S.A: Aslib Publishing. Hockings, M. Stolton, S. & Dudley,M., 2000. Evaluating Effectiveness: A Framework for Assessing User Needs. U.S.A: University of Michigan. Abbott, P., 2001. User Needs Assessment: Action Research Process. U.S.A: University of Florida. Olekalns, J., 1999. User Needs Analysis. Australia: Pearson Education. Irene, P., 1993. User Needs Analysis. Australia: Pearson Education. Harker, S., 1985.Tack Analysis and Definition of User Needs. 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