Running head: RIORDAN SERVICE REPORT 1
Individual: Service Request SR-rm-022
Steven H Spates Jr
BSA/375
04/06/2015
University of Phoenix
2 RIORDAN SERVICE REQUEST
Riordan Service Request
According to the service request generated by the Human
Resource Department, they are looking for ways to interlink all
tools needed by the Human Resource Department. From this
assignment I will explain the steps needed to accomplish the task
which is in front of my team and me. From this assignment the
requester will be able to identify the steps needed to accomplish
the desired program needed to better meet the needs of their
organization. By the end of the assignment the requestor will
gain an understanding of what will be needed to make this
transition smooth as possible.
Scope
From the service request I have gained an understanding that
the business is looking for a way to link all Human Resource
Department tools together using a common method. In order to
accomplish this task the following must take place. 1) a meeting
with the requestor of the desired request and any other person
who will play a large role in the development of the new program,
2) clear time frame of when the project needs to be completed and
ready to launch, 3) availability of any personnel directly
3 RIORDAN SERVICE REQUESTinvolved with the program, 4) what kind of budget will be in
place for allowing the development of new software, and 5)
accessibility of information.
Once all of this has been accomplished I and my team will
be able to get a clearer view of what the company is looking for
from the new program. My goal is to have met with the requestor
by the end of the week. From the requestor I hope to be able to
gain a considerable understanding of what needs to be done to
make the program meet the needs of the company. I also plan to
speak with the line staff within a week to get their insight of
what they want from the system.
People of Interest
In order for me and my team members to gain an understanding
of what is desired, we will need to speak with some personnel
that will actually work with the product first hand. From looking
at the breakdown of the Human Resource Department chain of
command, we believe the first person to give input on the type of
program desired would be Hugh McCauley. Mr. McCauley is the
requestor of the desired request and he is also the Chief
4 RIORDAN SERVICE REQUESTOperation Officer of Riordan Manufacturing; we would also need to
speak with Mrs. Yvonne McMillan. Mrs. McMillan is the Director of
Human Resources and actually works side by side with her human
resource department. Once we have met with these two main
characters we would than begin speaking with the employees of the
human resource department.
Mr. McCauley plays the largest role in our process of
talking to individual about meeting the needs of the service
request. He is important because he is the generator of the
request, and he will also be able to give us the budget allowed
to work with. He will also be our main contact person. Mrs.
McMillan, will be our second contact person. She will play a
vital role in this process because we would need to speak with
her in regards to setting up appointment to conduct interviews
with her line staff, and if we are unable to reach Mr. McCauley
she would be our next person of contact.
Method Used to Gather Required Information
The first method that will be used to gather information
will be to conduct interviews. In order for the interviews to be
a success, according to Valacich, George, and Hoffer (2012), I
5 RIORDAN SERVICE REQUESTwill need to prep the interviewee by setting up an appointment,
and explaining to the interviewee what the interview is about
(Chapter Chapter 5, Determining System Requirements). I will also
be asking question, most of the questions asked will be open
ended. These types of questions will allow the interviewee to
expand more on what they are looking for from the new system. I
will also send out a questionnaire two to three days prior to the
interview. These questions will be more of a closed-ended
question. This questionnaire will allow me to have the
interviewee decided from a group of choices which is actually
more important to them.
Once completed with the interview process, I will proceed
with my team to conduct an on-site tour of the Human Resource
Department. With this method I hope to see if there are any
common trends being used by the employees using the system
already in place. From the on-site interview I may actually be
able to gather which tools are being used more than the other.
Also I will be able to gain a better understanding of how some of
the workers actually handle the already in place program. This is
important because, when designing the new system I do not want to
6 RIORDAN SERVICE REQUESTmake the new system more complex than the older one already in
place.
Once all information had be obtained and documented, my team
and I will go through all the notes and answers from the
interview and questionnaire to see if any answers or notes are
more common than the rest. Once that has been completed we will
proceed with the SDLC. From the information we will be able to
start the system planning and selection process, and determine
what would be feasible.
Feasible
At this phase in the SDLC we as a group will decide what is
actually feasible to meet the deadline that has been desired by
the requestor. There are six areas of feasibility, they’re as
follows: Economic, Operational, Technical, Schedule, Legal and
contractual, and Political (Valacich, George, & Hoffer, 2012,
Chapter Chapter 5, Determining System Requirements). There are
many factors which can play a role in a project’s feasibility.
One that must be considered in this request is the time
constraints of the project. According to the requestor this
project must be completed before the next quarter. According to
7 RIORDAN SERVICE REQUESTthe requestor the next quarter is in six months. As we know
Riordan Manufacturing has sister companies in various parts of
the country and world.
With that being said scheduling may be a problem with having
the project up and running by the next quarter. One of the
companies is located in Hangzhou, China; this may be an issue due
to different time zones, and even possibly language barriers.
This can also cause an issue with funding; depending on how we
must communicate can put a strain on finance; which may result in
delays of the program.
From our meeting last week my team and I have discussed many
items needed to take place before taking action on developing the
new program for the Human Resource Department. In our meeting we
discussed certain security measures that should be met in order
to ensure a success of the new system, and we also decided to
view how data could flow to interact with all other department
that will be using the new Human Resource tool program. With the
changes coming up in the next few weeks, it will allow for better
8 RIORDAN SERVICE REQUESTcommunication between different Human Resource departments and
possibly save on time.
Security Controls
No matter what type of system is in place, the only way a
system can actually be at its best is by the security being
offered. Security is everyone’s responsibility. What is
security? “Security is the ability to protect the information
system from disruption and data loss, whether caused by an
intentional act or just a random event”(Dennis, Roth, & Wixom,
2012). According to Dennis, Roth, and Wixom (2012), security is
the responsibility of the operations group (Chapter 8,
Architecture Design). This group consists of the personnel
responsible for installing and operating security controls. These
controls can be from firewalls to recovery operations, and
anything else that can be in between these. When deciding on the
different types of security requirements it is important that my
team and I know the security procedures that are imperative to
this company.
Data
9 RIORDAN SERVICE REQUEST
What needs to be protected? Many will think that it is the
system which needs protection. However, when a hacker attacks the
system, it isn’t to damage the hardware. In fact, they’re looking
to attack or even gain access to what information is being
obtained on the equipment. This is important because Riordan is a
multibillion dollar company, and if it were hacked by an outside
source the cost to recover would be detrimental. Therefore, when
dealing with information or data it must be kept not only
confidential, but in a safe and secure manner. How can this be
accomplished? My team and I want to say “easy”, but in fact it
isn’t. The best way to keep data or information secured or out of
the wrong hands, depends not on the security, but the person(s)
handling the data.
The data being handled in the Human Resource Department is
very important. This data is not just that of the company’s, but
of its employees’ and soon to be employees. When dealing with
data or information no matter what kind, it must be kept to a
minimal use of involvement. Meaning only those certain people
should be involved with such information. Therefore, all data
must be kept secure and confidential. Any company or employee
10 RIORDAN SERVICE REQUESTdata should be kept allowed access only once certain procedures
are met. Therefore, we are proposing the use of data encryption
and a use a unique password system. This will help minimize
information getting into the wrong hands.
Data encryption is one of the best methods to use when
trying to prevent unauthorized access to important and critical
information. Data encryption is a means of disguising information
by the use of mathematical algorithms (Dennis, Roth, & Wixom,
2012, Chapter Chapter 8, Architecture Design). When using
encryption it can be used not only on data stored in databases,
but data being transferred over a huge network.
Another method that we would like to introduce to the system
is something called security testing. According to George,
Hoffer, and Valaclch (2012), security testing is used to see that
the protection mechanisms which are built into the system can
handle improper penetration (Chapter 5, System Implementation and
Operation). This testing is conducted on a random basis and done
during the time where the system is considered too be most
vulnerable.
Processes
11 RIORDAN SERVICE REQUEST
Riordan Human Resource department will handle many types of
processes. These can stem from allowing employees to fill out
applications to updating personnel information. Most of these
processes will be handled in house; however, some may be handled
at home. A process is an activity that is performed for a
specific business reason; also these can either be manual or
computerized (Dennis, Roth, & Wixom, 2012).
When working with processes it might be beneficial to uses a
third party vendor or a COTS. This type of service already has
built-in security measures. With this already in place it will
cut down on the time it would take to implement the new system.
And when using a COTS it will be made possible to train on
already in place security procedures.
Interfaces
The interface structure design is the basic components of
the interface and how they work together to provide functionality
to the end-user (Dennis, Roth, & Wixom, 2012, Chapter 9, User
Interface Design). These interfaces are able to have the
capability of exchanging information with other systems and may
require some sort of higher level security. Security requirements
12 RIORDAN SERVICE REQUESTcan be met by putting in place passwords which would be required
to obtain information. The users with the correct password will
be able to have access to confidential and private data. This
type of data will include employees’ social security, birth
dates, and other types of data consider confidential. With this
type of measure it would help prevent inside threats as well as
outside threats.
Network
A recommendation that we would like to put in place is an
intranet. An intranet is a private network that is contained
within an enterprise (Rouse, 2006). This type of system will help
keep any unauthorized person from gaining access to private
information. We would also recommend once again the use of a
password system.
Data Flow Diagram
The data flow diagram shows how each component plays or
works together. This is typically done during the design phase.
The physical data flow shows execution of details. This is to
include “data stores that refer to files and database, programs,
human actions which perform processes, and the physical transfer
13 RIORDAN SERVICE REQUESTmedia for the data flows” (Dennis, Roth, & Wixom, 2012). Please
see attached document to see how the network will be connected to
allow all offices to use the Human Resource Tools.
14 RIORDAN SERVICE REQUEST
The next phase of the project will be the implementation
stage. This is a very important part of the project. During this
phase the new program goes into a rigors testing mode before
being launched. According to Valachich, George, and Hoffer
(2012), this stage of the SDLC is the most expensive and yet
time-consuming phase of all the phases (Chapter 10, System
Implementation and Operation).
Implementation Phase
What is the implementation stage? This is the part of the
SDLC where all the information is actually put together to make a
working code for the new program. During this phase there are
many people involved to make this process go as quickly as
possible. When working in the implementation phase the new code
is tested by all members involved until there are little to no
errors in the new program. During this last phase of the SDLC
there are seven major areas that are of concern to the computer
analyst; these areas are: coding, testing, installation,
documentation, training, support, and finally maintenance of the
program (Valacich, George, & Hoffer, 2012, Chapter 10, System
15 RIORDAN SERVICE REQUESTImplementation and Operation). These areas will be explained
further in the next couple of minutes.
Coding
The main goal of this phase is to translate the design of
the system into a given programming language. Coding process is
the part of the phase where the physical designs are put into
work. In this process all ideas are being coded and are now being
placed into the program as software. Depending on the amount of
coding can determine how long the process will take before the
system is up and running for testing. During the coding state
each code is being done by a vast team of computer programmers.
While working with the coding it will also play a large part of
how testing and maintenance will be performed.
Testing of Software
With any other type of program or product testing must
occur, before launching of a product. The software application
test phase includes a detailed plan about what each group will be
testing during this period. Once testing has been completed a
detail report is made, this report is a collection of all the
16 RIORDAN SERVICE REQUESTtesting done to the software (Valacich, George, & Hoffer, 2012,
Chapter 10, System Implementation and Operation).
During the testing phase it is important to take a detailed
look at the new system software and hardware before the system is
actually installed. During this time all must be checked to
ensure no types of errors are going to occur, which might hinder
the system once installed. When testing according to Valachich,
George, and Hoffer (2012), there are seven different types of
test that should be performed when working with the software of
the program. These are as follows: an inspection test, desk
checking test, unit test, integration test, system test , stub
test, and lastly the harness testing (Chapter 10, System
Implementation and Operation); each test will be discussed next.
A. Inspection Test
This testing technique involves having each group
inspect the coding of the program and find any
potential error which may cause the program to
operate incorrectly. During this test phase the
programming team is looking for syntax, grammar, and
17 RIORDAN SERVICE REQUEST
other issues which may keep the program from
functioning in the matter it is supposed to.
B. Desk checking Test
This testing is done manually by a programmer who
understands the logic of the program. During this
test the programmer is actually acting like the
computer and doing a mental check to ensure each
step is producing the correct output that is desired
(Valacich, George, & Hoffer, 2012, Chapter 10,
System Implementation and Operation).
C. Unit Testing
This type of testing deals with testing the coding
only one section at a time to ensure the desired
operation is taken place.
D. Integration Testing
This testing involves bringing together all
components of the software to see how they operate
together.
E. System Testing
18 RIORDAN SERVICE REQUEST
This is the processes of bringing all programs
together that are within the system.
F. Stub Testing
This a testing technique used to test module. This
method is mostly used in a top-down fashion of
software testing. This test involves the use of a
temporary coding, which will step in for the
actually software coding.
G. Harness Testing
This is an automated testing environment, when used
it will review the code for errors, standards
violations, and other design flaws.
Acceptance Testing
When all the software testing has been completed, there is
yet another one that has to be done. This testing is that of the
users. During this testing phase the program is going to actually
be tested in the intended environment of use. During the
acceptance this is where a pass or failing grade will be given by
the end user. The main purpose of this particular test is for the
19 RIORDAN SERVICE REQUESTuser to determine the program is going to meet the needs of the
end-user (Valacich, George, & Hoffer, 2012, Chapter 10, System
Implementation and Operation). There are two types of test
conducted during this acceptance test; these tests are the alpha
test and the beta test.
A. Alpha test
This is a dry test run which will use only simulated
data. During this test there are additional test
conducted. The additional test are:
1. Recovery test- this type of testing will cause the
system software to fail, and then recover.
2. Security test- this test will verify that the
current security settings are being used on in the
system to protect itself from either inside or
outside penetration.
3. Stress test- During this test, the system is
tested to see what would have if incorrect or
incomplete data was processed. This test will try
and see how the system will react to a breakdown.
20 RIORDAN SERVICE REQUEST
4. Performance test- Determines how the system
performs on the range of possible environments in
which it may be used (e.g., different hardware
configurations, networks, operating systems);
often the goal is to have the system perform with
similar response time and other performance
measures in each environment (Valacich, George, &
Hoffer, 2012, Chapter 10, System Implementation
and Operation).
Once the Alpha testing has been completed the testing will
than move to the Beta testing phase. During this test the
software is actually being tested against real data that will be
used in the environment of the new software. The main intent of
this test phase is to ensure that the software, documentation,
technical support, and training activities are going to work as
needed. At this point there should now be no more errors, and the
system is ready for launch or installation.
Installation, Training, and Support
There are four different types of installs that can occur
with the new system; these four installs are: direct, parallel,
21 RIORDAN SERVICE REQUESTsingle location, and phased installation. However, during this
phase there is less man power required, and the system already in
place will be transferring into the new system. When preparing to
do an install it is important that the correct one be used. Each
type of install has its pro and cons, but it will be up to the
team and the company to decide which would be better for the
cause.
The method of installation we would recommend is the
parallel installation. This type of installation will allow the
old system to run with the newer system. This method will allow
the end users the ability to see how the new system differs from
the current one in place. Also with this install the end user may
point out something that needs to be changed in the newer system.
Once that has been completed it will be up to the managing staff
to decide when to turn off the old system, and go strictly with
the new system.
Once the new system is in place training can start to take
place. During this phase of the project training will be our most
important tool to get all end users familiar and to feel
comfortable with the new system. Below you will be able to see
22 RIORDAN SERVICE REQUESThow we plan to do the training with the new system. We are hoping
that training will consist of no more than three weeks. The
details of the training are discussed in detail on a weekly
phase.
Week1- This will consist of sending out schedules to
users who will be affected by the new system.
Week2- Classes will be held for two days to address
any concerns and to show how the new system is to be
used.
Week3- Follow up phone calls to the end user to see
if any questions or concerns have risen after use of
the new system.
When all answers and concerns have been answered, there will
be tech support setup for any other issues that may occur during
the time the new system is in place. We are planning to have on-
site tech support as well as over the phone support. Over the
phone support will be available 24/7. On-site tech support will
be available during normal business hours. If after hours a
message can be left on the voice mail system for the following
day.
23 RIORDAN SERVICE REQUEST
System Documentation
How will the system be documented? “System documentation are
records which contain detailed information about the systems
design makeup or specifications. The documentation consists of
the systems internal works and how it functions”. When discussing
documentation of the system is can be broken down into three
separate areas:
1. Internal documentation
2. External documentation
3. User documentation
(Valachich, George, Hoffer, 2012, p. 333).
Internal Documentation
This type of documentation is part of the program source
code or is generated at compile time (Valachich, George, Hoffer,
2012. p. 333). A complier is a special program that processes
statements written in a particular programming language and turns
them into machine language. This language is then used by the
computer for processing. Once the files are created it than
contains what is known as the source statement.
24 RIORDAN SERVICE REQUESTExternal Documentation
This type of documentation contains all the structured
diagramming techniques. This documentation may consist of a data-
flow chart. This type of documentation can be very useful to the
main users of the program (Valachich, George, Hoffer, 2012, p.
333).
User Documentation
This type of documentation can either be written or in a
visual form, which contains information about how an application
works and how to properly use it. Most of the user documentation
will be issued online in a hypertext format (Valachich, George,
Hoffer, 2012, p. 335). One of the greatest factors that come with
user documentation is its ability to reduce the cost of training
and consultation cost (Valachich, George, Hoffer, 2012, p. 335).
Conclusion
Yes, the process may seem long and endless; however, the
better understanding of what is needed will help me and team get
the system which is being requested. From our weekly discussions
25 RIORDAN SERVICE REQUESTyou are able to see that this is a timely and very large process,
but it is worth it. There were many areas touched on, and there
may be question that will come up. However, with all the
information given you and your company can expect the best to
come out of the new program which is being requested at this
current time.
Riordan new human resource program will be a program that
will be useable in all local and sister companies. With the new
program in place it will allow easy access to everyone that is in
the human resource department. All important tool will be
centralized so that everyone person can locate the information.
The new system will now have enhanced security measures; this
will help to prevent any unauthorized usages from any staff that
is not granted access by the department. The new system will also
reflect on the input that was gathered from the key individuals
which helped come up with the new program.
26 RIORDAN SERVICE REQUEST
References
Dennis, A., Roth, R. M., & Wixom, B. (2012). System Analysis and
Design. Retrieved from The University of Phoenix Collection
database.
George, J. F., Hoffer, J. A., & Valaclch, J. S. (2012). Essentials
of System Analysis and Design (5th ed.). Retrieved from The
University of Phoenix eBook Collection database.
Rouse, M. (2006). Intranet. Retrieved from
http://searchwindevelopment.techtarget.com/definition/intran
et
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