System Fundamentals Past Paper

Topic 1—System Fundamentals (20 hours) 1.1 Systems in organizations (10 hours) Planning and system installation 1.1.1 Identify the context for which a new system is planned. (AO 2) The extent and limitations of a new system should be appreciated. Organizational issues related to the installation...

Topic 1—System Fundamentals (20 hours) 1.1 Systems in organizations (10 hours) Planning and system installation 1.1.1 Identify the context for which a new system is planned. (AO 2) The extent and limitations of a new system should be appreciated. Organizational issues related to the installation of new systems such as user roles, underlying technologies. When is there a need for change in the system? Inadequacies in the current system ○ Hardware e.g. the old hardware may not be compatible with the new software requirements. Or It is redundant. ○ Software: The company operations might like to migrate to the new system due to their enhanced requirements. E.g. migration to an ERP system for employees management from the existing system of the use of spreadsheets. ○ In the case of a business, a merger may require adaptation to a new system. What could be organizational issues related to the installation of the new system? The new proposed system may not be compatible with the existing system, e.g. the existing hardware may not support some of the new additions to the system. The data migration from the existing system to the new system may not be easy or in some cases, it might not even be possible. E.g. the old system may not have the option to download data in CSV or any other format which can be imported in the new proposed system. Financial issues: The company may not be in a position to spend towards the upgrade of the system due to financial constraints. Training: The company may have to train their existing employees or otherwise hire new employees which may be an added cost to the company. 1.1.2 Describe the need for change management. (AO 2) Students should understand there are a number of factors that need to be managed to ensure change is successful. S/E The way that change is managed can have significant effects on employers and employees. Comprehensive planning: A thorough understanding and analysis of the requirements from the new system should be discussed and documented. 1  Employee training should be planned so that they don’t find any difficulties getting acquainted with the new system. Risk management analysis: A proper analysis of benefits vs liabilities should be done before the new system is finalized. Employee interest: They may be required to undergo training that will take their time. In case they are not able to upgrade their skills then there will be chance of them losing the job. Employers: ○ They may have financial problems associated to bring the new system. ○ In case the new system doesn’t work according to their wish, it might be a show stopper for an ongoing business. ○ They may have to hire new employees which might be an additional cost. ○ Benefit: The efficiency of the company will increase with the new features in the proposed system. Other than data migration, describe two aspects of change management that may arise from this takeover. Workforce issues; Such as redundancy/retraining; The time frame involved; In merging the two systems; Testing; Of the combined systems/new data; Data entry; If migration not possible; Costs involved; In the aligning of the two systems; Changeover decisions; Such as parallel running; 1.1.3 Outline compatibility issues resulting from situations including legacy systems or business mergers. (AO 2) (Important) INT, S/E When organizations interact, particularly on an international basis, there may be issues of software compatibility and language differences. Compatibility issues associated with Legacy systems (outdated system that's in use): The migration of data from the legacy systems to the new system may not be easy. ○ Example: The old system only has one field with the first, middle, and last name together, but the new system is built to have 3 different fields for each part of the name. The legacy system used a text format for dates, whereas the new system uses a date format. 2  If the replacement in the organization is partial then there may be a compatibility issue between the old system and the new. E.g. old systems may be using old OS and old applications and the documents created on them might not be compatible on the new system. The existing servers may not be able to serve the new hardware due to compatibility issues. Compatibility issues associated with business mergers: The two business houses might be using two different ERP systems which might not be compatible. Merging of these business houses may lead to inconvenience in operations. The two companies may use totally different hardwares, which might make the merger difficult. In case of international mergers, there might be issues with language, e.g. if the merger is happening between a Japanese and Chinese company then the language might be a major hindrance. ○ In such a scenario, the data produced by these two companies may be in their own national languages and therefore bringing them together might be a great difficulty. Operational issue: There may be a timezone problem, e.g. if the two companies are in extremely different time zones, then it might be a problem for them to interact. 1.1.4 Compare the implementation of systems using a client’s hardware with hosting systems. (AO 3) (Important) The benefits and drawbacks of SaaS (Software-as-a-Service) should be considered. S/E, INT, AIM 8 The remote host may be in a different time zone and this can have significant effects on end-users. SaaS: Software-as-a-Service is an arrangement wherein the client need not procure the hardware and software infrastructure but can subscribe to an existing solution which generally works through the use of the internet. Software as a service (SaaS) is a software distribution model in which a third-party provider hosts applications and makes them available to customers over the Internet. Characteristics of SaaS Model: ○ The typical license is billed on a recurring basis ○ SaaS is available remotely online through a browser on demand ○ The software and the service are monitored by the vendor Continuously update errors to all users without any additional cost New features can either be free of charge or requires an additional cost 3  ○ Open source software used in a SaaS is called Open SaaS. Advantages More economical: SaaS removes the need for organizations to install and run applications on their own computers or in their own data centers. There will be no need to have IT support staff as the technical support will be provided by the SaaS company. ○ This eliminates the expense of hardware acquisition, provisioning. More secured: The SAAS service providers follow stringent security policies that secure the data more than what it is generally on campus. The data can be accessed remotely from any place, the employees may not necessarily be required to work from the office. Disadvantages The security of data may be a concern for the company especially when someone from within the cloud service providing the company leaks the information. SaaS works on the internet, so there might be connectivity issues impacting the workflow. Incompatible time zones of the company using SaaS and customer care. E.g. the customer services may not be readily available due to timezone differences leading to inconvenience. 1.1.5 Evaluate alternative installation processes. (AO 3) Students should be aware of the methods of implementation/conversion. Parallel running, pilot running, direct changeover, and phase conversion. S/E Training issues may require organizations to restructure their workforce. 1. Parallel Running: Parallel Run is running both the old and new systems at the same time over an agreed period. Advantages Parallel running allows results to be compared to ensure that the new system is working without any errors. If errors are found, the user can refer to the old system to resolve the problem and make modifications to the new system thus operation can continue under the old system while the problems are sorted out 4  Lower risk It is helpful in scenarios where the data is sensitive and the business can’t afford to lose them in the process of transition. E.g. Bank. ○ This is since the legacy system is always available in the case that the newer system fails. Disadvantages Parallel running can be costly, as it runs both systems simultaneously. This is because more manpower would be required to run the two systems simultaneously. It may also be more time-consuming, e.g. a customer at the bank may have to wait until the data entry/transaction is entered in both the systems. Method is not efficient if the old and the new systems have completely different processing tasks, functions, input or outputs 2. Pilot Running: Pilot running is when the new system is installed for only a small number of users to test and evaluate the new system. The new system is implemented for all the users once it is considered that it has been fully tested and able to function correctly. E.g. if a system is to be developed for the food outlet McDonald’s, then the system will first be tried and tested thoroughly in one or a few branches before extending it worldwide. Pilot running is preferred for companies having multiple branches. Advantages - The implementation is on a smaller scale and is easier to manage than direct changeover. - Staff can be trained gradually from department/units to department/units. - The staff that was involved with the pilot scheme can also help train other staff. - Low risk due to the new system being introduced and extended through multiple sites over time - If the new system fails, only certain modules will be affected Disadvantages - There may be difficulty in the exchange of data between the department/center taking part in the pilot run and those which are not. - The department taking part in the pilot can lose data if the new system fails. - It may be more time consuming until the new system is deployed in all units of the company. 3. Direct Changeover: 5 This is a method of changeover wherein the old system is completely replaced by the new one in one go. This is the fastest way to roll over the new system. Advantages - Very cost-efficient and less effort required, as the new system is directly implemented and uses only one system currently running, so no additional manpower is required. - The new system can be used immediately after installation. - The interoperability of data between different departments/sections will be possible right from day one of the implementation. Disadvantages - Very risky changeover since the company plugs in the new system and unplugs the old one at the same time. If the new system fails, there is no backup system so data can be lost - The training will have to be provided to all staff at once which might be a little inconvenient for the company providing the training. 4. Phased Implementation This is the method of implementation where the new system is implemented in one part at a time, in phases. Once the current phase is fully deployed and tested, the next part or phase is taken up. For an organization, employing the new system for one department at a time. Advantages - If there are any issues with the software functionality in the current phase, the other parts of the organization may still be functionally minimizing the overall impact. - It’s easier to find flaws in the new system as we would only be dealing with one/a a few parts of the new system at a time. - The staff training can be planned in a more structured way as only the staff members of the current phase are required to be trained. - Focuses on one department at a time, creates a stronger system Disadvantages - There might be a problem with the exchange of data between the old system and the new system where the software deployment is completed. - It will be more time-consuming as the deployment is happening in a phased manner. - This is suitable for organizations where there is not much dependability between different units. 6 1.1.6 Discuss problems that may arise as a part of data migration. (AO 3) INT These include incompatible file formats, data structures, validation rules, incomplete data transfer, and international conventions on dates, currencies, and character sets. Data Migration: the process of moving data from one place to another or one application to another. This is generally used in scenarios where the old system is getting replaced with a new one. Issues in Data Migration: 1. Incompatible file formats: This issue may arise in an attempt to import data from the legacy system to the new one in cases when the legacy system is not able to provide the data in a format that the new system can import. E.g. the legacy system can produce the data in PDF format but the new system can only import in CSV or XLS formats. 2. Data Structures: The data structure used in the old and new systems may be different which might cause issues importing the data. E.g. the old system may have the name as a single field whereas, in the new system, the name is recorded as first name, middle name, and last name. So importing the name in such a case may be an issue. 3. Validation Rules: The validation rules between the two systems may be different which might cause issues as the validation set in the old system may not be the same in the new which will have difficulty in data import. 4. Incomplete data transfer: There may be a part of data in the old system which may not be downloadable which will result in the incomplete transfer of data. 5. International conversions on dates: Some systems may follow DDMMYYYY and others may follow MMDDYYYY. So the data recorded in DDMMYYYY may be read as MMDDYYYY in the new system which may make it difficult for the system to import correctly. 6. Currency: There may be a possibility that the currency which is currently in use in the legacy system may not be available in the new system. E.g IDR may not be be present in the new system. 1.1.7 Suggest various types of testing. The crucial importance of testing at all stages of implementation should be emphasized, with the stages clearly defined. Types of testing can include user acceptance testing, debugging, beta testing. Students should be aware that there are programs that can test other programs, thereby automating parts of the testing process and reducing costs. S/E Inadequate testing can reduce employee productivity and lead to end-user dissatisfaction. Why is software testing needed? 7  To identify any bugs or errors in the program that may have been made during the development phase. This is done to ensure the effective performance of the software. To test whether the software is meeting all the requirements. To ensure that the client is satisfied and the trust is maintained between the developing company and the client. To ensure the quality of the product is as per the expectations. Types of testing: User Acceptance Testing (UAT) is a type of testing performed by the end-user or the client to verify/accept the software system before moving the software application to the production environment. UAT is done in the final phase of testing after functional, integration, and system testing is done Debugging: This is the process of identifying the bugs in the programs. This is done to ensure that the software doesn’t carry any bugs or errors after it has been moved to the production environment / live. A program having bugs may result in a crash impacting the work and causing frustration to the end-user. Alpha Testing: type of software testing performed to identify bugs before releasing the software product to the real users or public. typically performed by in-house software engineers or Q&A staff. It is the final testing stage before the software is released into the real world Internal testing Beta Testing: Beta testing is the final round of testing before a product is finally released to a wide audience. The objective is to uncover as many bugs or usability issues as possible in this controlled setting. External testing Two types of beta testers: ○ Client – Who tests the overall functionality of the software and reports bugs that come to their notice at the time of testing. ○ Technical Beta Testing – Is done by the select staff members of the company that has developed the software. Automated testing software: The role of these testing software is to act like a client and run the software to test bugs in it. 8  These software are intelligent enough to run each module of the new software and pass different kinds of values to see if the software is capable of rejecting incorrect inputs. Advantages: ○ They make the process faster. ○ more economical. Disadvantages: ○ might not be able to replicate a real life situation which might occur when the software is in live mode. User Acceptance Testing (UAT) the last phase of the software testing process. During UAT, actual software users test the software to make sure it can handle required tasks in real-world scenarios, according to specifications User Focus General: Role of Users in new system integration: Role of users is important because inadequate user involvement leads to project failure; All users must participate and explain how they use the system; All users must participate and explain what they think is wrong with the system; Users (managers, owners) are involved in approval of projects and budgets; All users are involved in testing of the system; All users are involved in training 1.1.8 Describe the importance of user documentation. (AO 2) S/E The quality of user documentation can affect the rate of implementation of the new system. User Documentation: Example These documents help to explain the functionality of the product to the users by providing them with necessary information about the product. These are also called end user manuals, end user guides, instruction manuals, etc.) It may contain the navigation layout plan, contact details of the developer/company. It may also contain FAQs. It may constrain troubleshooting methods. Technical Documentation: Example The presence of documentation helps keep track of all aspects of an application and it improves on the quality of a software product. 9  Its main focuses are development, maintenance and knowledge transfer to other developers. These documents are quite helpful when it comes to rectifying a bug or adding new features to the existing software. This may include flowcharts, pseudocode, the details of various modules, the data variables used, the login details, client information etc. 1.1.9 Evaluate different methods of providing user documentation. (AO 3) Examples should include methods such as: help files, online support and printed manuals. S/E The quality of user documentation can affect the rate of implementation of the new system. The user documentations may be in the form of user manual, instructional video, online help, User Manual: This may be a written document or an online manual containing details about the applications and how to use different features of the application. It may also contain the contact details of the company. Pros: ○ All information related to the product will be available in one place. ○ Ease of accessibility Cons: ○ Sometimes the issues may be unique in nature and may not be available in the book. The end user will not be able to get a solution in that case. ○ The user manual may be quite detailed and it might be difficult for the user to find appropriate sections highlighting the issue(s) that they are facing. Customer Care: Either on their helpline number or their chat option on the website. It can even be using the email of the support team of the company. Pros: ○ More specific questions related to the end user’s problems can be asked directly, which will benefit the end user to get a more personalised response. Cons: ○ Timezone issue as the call center and the customer may be placed in two different time zones making it difficult to interact. Language issue, the call center executive may not be familiar with the language of the end user. ○ There may be a long queue of customers making the waiting time too long. 10  FAQs: These are generally beneficial as the list of commonly reported issues by the customers are compiled together to provide a solution to each one of them and the nature of problems for other customers may also be identical. Pros: ○ The problems generally faced by the users are identical and there are high chances that their query would already be available in the FAQs. Cons: ○ Sometimes the issues may be unique in nature and may not be available in the FAQs. ○ The users may need to search for the information as the list of FAQs may be very long. Help files: These files are embedded into the application and are readily available for the end users to get answers to their queries. These help files/docs generally provide the option to type the query and the search feature of the help file finds best answers to the typed questions. Pros: ○ The help database would generally be dynamic and the company would keep updating it with new features added and can be searched easily. Cons: ○ Sometimes the issues may be unique in nature and may not be available in the help section. Online training videos: This helps the end user to navigate through the product features in the video format making it look more user friendly. Pros: ○ It provides a working model of the explanation which may be more convenient for the users to follow as compared to text explanation. Cons: ○ Videos may be too long and most part of it may be irrelevant. Online forum: This is a dynamic platform which is generally community driven where users can discuss their problems and others can help them to solve it. Sometimes, the companies are also part of these online forums to provide a more authentic response. Pros: ○ It is community driven so vast amounts of help is provided by people from across the globe. Cons: ○ The information provided may not be helpful or authentic. The quality of user documentation can affect the rate of implementation of the new system. The quality of user documentation will certainly have a good impact on the rate of the implementation of the new system. Reasons as follows: 11  Instant reference to the information: One of the issues in the implementation of a new system would be user’s queries, having good user documentation will help the users to get answers to their queries which will help them to keep running the system instead of stopping to use it until their queries are answered. The good documentation will have access to contact details and the end users will know who to contact in case of a problem. If good documentation is not provided then it might make it difficult for the users to navigate through the product and the implementation may be negatively impacted. 1.1.10 Evaluate different methods of delivering user training. (AO 3) Examples should include self instruction, formal classes, remote/ online training. S/E The quality of the delivery of user training can affect the rate of implementation of the new system. Online training: The company would provide training to the end users through the online mode, they can use screen share, audio video to help the end users understand the product better. Pros: The online video recording would be available for a future reference. Users don’t need to be coming to the office to attend the meeting, they can do it from any place with an internet connection. The trainer may not require travelling to the client’s place. They can cover users at distributed geographical locations simultaneously. Cons: There will be dependency on the internet and poor internet connection or no internet connection would impact the training session for some end users. Time Zone differences: It may not be convenient for all end users to attend the training due to time zone differences. The language of the trainer and participants may not be the same, e.g. if the same training is being given to the users from Japan, China, Russia by an english speaker may not be helpful to some end users. Face to face training: In this mode of training, a trainer would physically visit the company and provide training to the end users. Pros: In face to face training, the trainer will have a better understanding with the participants as they can more effectively read the facial expressions and their activities as compared to online mode of training. All participants will be available at the same location at the same time so there won’t be a timezone difference. 12  The hands on training can be done more effectively when the trainer is physically present as compared to online training. Cons: It may be more expensive because there will be cost towards travel and stay of the trainer and also cost to book or rent a room or a hall. There may be cost towards refreshments. The trainer can’t provide training to multiple locations or else the employees from different locations may have to travel to a centralized location which will again be very expensive. This may even lead to scheduling problems and may also impact the ongoing work as the workers will have to travel and leave their work behind. The recording may not be available for someone to refer back to the instructions. The quality of the delivery of user training can affect the rate of implementation of the new system. Yes, it will have a direct impact on the rate of implementations. Below are the Reasons: Good training would enable the users to get a clarity on the ways the new system is to be used and the earlier they understand the functionality the faster will be the rate of usage and the success of the new system. A poor training or no training will keep the users confused with regard to the functionality details and that will negatively impact the success of the deployment. Advantages Deployment will be faster ○ The guidelines would be clear - employees can get their queries answered easily. ○ Lower dependency on the customer care - documentation will have answers to most of the queries Disadvantages if proper training is missing Slow deployment ○ No help is readily available, they will have to wait for the company to respond to even the smallest of their queries. ○ Employee frustration - as their work will suffer as and when they are stuck at any problem. 13 1.1.11 Identify a range of causes of data loss. (AO 2) System Backup The process of making multiple copies of the same data in case of loss data ○ Used to restore data Causes include malicious activities and natural disasters. S/E Malicious activity may be a result of activities by employees within the organization or intruders. Causes of data loss Description Solution Natural disasters there may be a fire in the Remote storage - in other building which may damage building, office, other city or the servers and all its data. online storage such as cloud, etc There may be flooding which may wipe away all the data. Malicious activity external intruders or internal External: employees. Firewall, Anti Virus Virus issues (install & update), Hacking of data VPN, Encrypt Internal: Restriction of access levels to different employees, block the usage of external storage e.g. pen drive, restrict external email services etc. System crash hardware or software failure 1.1.12 Outline the consequences of data loss in a specified situation. S/E Loss of medical records, cancellation of a hotel reservation without the knowledge of the traveler. Loss of medical records ○ The doctors may not be able to retrieve past medical history of the patients, which would make the treatment difficult and impact the well being of the patient. ○ It may also have financial loss to the hospitals as the treatment records of the patients for which they are to be billed would be lost. Cancellation of hotel reservation 14  ○ It will be inconvenient to the traveller as they wouldn’t be able to check-in due to data loss. ○ It will be a financial loss to the hotel as well and will give them a bad reputation. Bank data loss ○ Account Holder: All their savings and transaction history would be lost which will cause major inconvenience. ○ It will be a major loss to the bank as well as they will lose complete track of customer information and the transactions. School / University data ○ The loss of academic records may impact the students as they will not be able to get their transcripts in time which might impact their progress to the next level. ○ It might be a loss to the school as they may be held responsible for the loss of data. 1.1.13 Describe a range of methods that can be used to prevent data loss. (Important) These should include failover systems, redundancy, removable media, offsite/online storage. Failover Systems: These are the alternate arrangements that the company makes in order to switch to the alternate system in case of the failure of the running system. ○ Works in parallel to the main system ○ This helps the company to continue to operate smoothly. ○ Such systems are very essential where the continuity of work is utmost important e.g. a bank, an airline company, stock exchange, etc. Redundancy: This is a process of replicating an existing system in two or more alternate systems so that the backed up system/data can be retrieved in case of failure. ○ Periodic Backup → Done at a specific time. For example, banks usually set their backups during the night because less people are using the bank at this time. Disadvantage: If data is lost before the time of back up, data will be lost. ○ Live Backup → Automatically back up data. Disadvantage: More expensive, more time consuming. Removable media: These are the removable storage systems such as pen drive, external hard disk, magnetic tape, DVD disk, etc which are used to make multiple copies of the data for security purposes. 15  Using removable media, the data can be kept secured at a different location such that if there is any natural disaster or malfunction of the original system then the backup from removable disk can be used to restore the original system. Offsite/online storage: Taking the backup at a remote locality such as cloud where the backup and retrieval requires internet connectivity. Advantage: ○ online storage will be done at a remote location and it can be retrieved without any problems in case there is a data loss in the main system. Disadvantage: ○ It requires internet connectivity and may be more prone to hacking. Methods to restore data: Backup; Data files on a regular basis; Printed copies; Printouts can be kept of transactions; Transaction Log file; Written for each transaction can be used to restore; 1.1.14 Describe strategies for managing releases and updates. Software Deployment Releasing software to the public or implementing it in the system Students should be aware of a variety of ways in which updates and patches are made available and deployed. This includes automatic updates received on a regular basis online. S/E, INT Performance issues related to the inability to install updates may hinder end-users and reduce compatibility between systems in geographically diverse locations. Ways the software patches can be made available: Online: When the patch is released, you get an alert on your device and the patch can be downloaded and installed. It can be provided on an external storage device e.g. a CD Automatic updates: These are the updates which are released more frequently and are installed automatically without user’s intervention e.g. anti virus update. In what ways may the end user be impacted if the patches are not installed? The system may not function to the best of its ability, since the patches are released to solve a known bug and by not installing them, the bug will continue to remain in the system. This will make the end user either lose their data, or the system may crash frequently impacting their work flow. Updates: The anti virus software gets the updates almost everyday and not updating them would leave the system vulnerable to online or offline threats. 16 1.2 System Design Basics (10 Hours) Components of the computer system. 1.2.1 Define the terms: hardware, software, peripheral, network, human resources. (AO1) Hardware: Hardware is the physical component of the computer system which can be seen and touched. E.g. printer, keyboard, mouse, monitor etc. Software: Software is a computer program which is meant to perform certain predefined task(s) for the end user. E.g. Microsoft Word, Excel, a game, an audio player, a video player etc. They are of two types: 1. Application software (e.g. word, excel, paint), 2. System software (e.g. Operating System, anti virus, format, disk management). Peripheral Devices: These are the special hardware devices which are connected to the computer over and above essential components such as monitor, keyboard and mouse. The examples of peripheral devices are: Printer, Scanner, OHP Projector, Joystick, Speakers, Mic, Webcam etc. Network: It is the interconnection of two or more computers to exchange data, and resources. E.g. LAN, WAN etc. Human Resources: In the software field, the human resource person is the one who is technically trained to undertake system design and development tasks. E.g. Software Engineer (programmers), software designer, software analysis, software testers, software trainers, etc. 1.2.2 Describe the roles that a computer can take in a networked world. Roles include client, server, email server, DNS server, router and firewall. Client: Clients are the digital devices that are part of a digital network. These are also termed as nodes in a network. The client computers utilize the services of the network that are extended to them. The clients make a request to the server for sharing of resources. Server: Server is a main computer in any computer network. This extends services to the clients. 17  There are different types of servers, e.g. email server (to manage emails within an organization), Database server, Gaming server, Web Server, File Server, DHCP, print server, etc. DHCP: Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) is a network management protocol used to automate the process of configuring devices on IP networks, thus allowing them to use network services such as DNS, NTP, and any communication protocol based on UDP or TCP. DNS: Domain Name Server - A unique name given to a web server which can be accessed from any part of the word through the DNS. Router: Routers connect computers and other devices to the Internet. A router acts as a dispatcher, choosing the best route for your information to travel. It connects your business to the world, protects information from security threats, and can even decide which computers get priority over others. Firewall: A firewall system keeps track of incoming and outgoing traffic over a computer network. These may be in hardware or software forms. These devices or applications are used to protect a computer network from external entrutions. 1.2.3 Discuss the social and ethical issues associated with a networked world. (AO 3) Positive Implications 18  AIM 8, AIM 9 Develop an appreciation of the social and ethical issues associated with continued developments in computer systems. Access to information: Access to a wide range of information on any topic. Communication: It facilitates effective communication irrespective of geographical boundaries. Remote Sessions: One need not travel to a specific location to provide training, in fact, it can be done remotely, e.g. online classes during the Pandemic. It also facilitates work from home in many cases. Collaboration: E.g. working on the same project/document at the same time by multiple people Communication It has added new job and business opportunities, e.g. Grab food delivery, grab/uber GPS based car booking system, social media managers for digital marketing, etc. Negative Implications The credibility of the information: The information on the internet may be from unreliable sources and therefore it is the end-user who has to decide if the sources are credible or not. Access to inappropriate information: e.g. a student may tend to go on unauthorized websites e.g. copyright download of music/video, adult content, etc. Hacking: When the information is on the network, it is prone to unauthorized access. ○ Cyberbullying ○ The threat to privacy. ○ Plagiarism Loss of employment e.g. robots taking over the manufacturing industry. System Analysis and Design (SAAD) 19 1.2.4 Identify the relevant stakeholders when planning a new system. S/E The role of the end-user must be considered when planning a new system. Who is a relevant stakeholder? TOK Utilitarianism, the greatest good for the greatest number. The means justify the ends. Stakeholders: Client - An individual, the management, employees Any other people who are directly or indirectly associated with the project in the process e.g. the software developers who are developing the system. Why is it important to consider the requirements of the end-user while developing the system? The end users are currently using some system to deal with the operations related to their domain. They know the functional requirements of the system and can provide clear insights into these requirements. 1.2.5 Describe methods of obtaining requirements from stakeholders. Direct interaction with the client/employees (interview) ○ Advantage: During the direct interaction, the conversation can be more flexible, i.e. the questions can be twisted or extended further if the situation demands so. If the question is not clear to the client, they can get immediate clarification. ○ Disadvantage: The client will have to leave their work and attend an 20  interview which may impact their work. ○ The interview will be more time consuming as it will generally be one person at a time. ○ Not every employee is comfortable giving interviews especially if it is getting recorded. Direct observation ○ In this mode of data collection, the software developer/analyst minutely observes the system without disturbing the employees. This provides them a view of the actual work scenarios which may be beneficial in developing the solution. ○ Advantage: Observing in a real work environment would enable the developer to get an exact view of how the system is functioning. ○ There is no need for the disruption of the work as the employees are not getting disturbed by this observation. ○ Disadvantages: By just observing the system, the developer might not get a clear view of what's going inside, e.g. a person working on a desktop may not provide much information to the developer as to what the employee is doing. ○ Employees might not find it comfortable to be watched by someone from outside. Questionnaire / Survey ○ Advantages: Better time management - employees can fill the questionnaires during the leisure time. ○ The set of answers can be collected from multiple employees and the same can be used to analyze the common requirements. ○ Employees may not feel uncomfortable filling the questionnaire. ○ The company will have a written record of the requirements. ○ Disadvantages: The information provided may not be complete/insufficient/incorrect. ○ The employees, if they have any queries, can’t reach out to someone to help them as early as how it would be in an interview. Referring to the existing documents ○ Advantages: By looking at the existing documents, the developer will get exact format requirements, which might include, paper size, the fields that are used, width etc. ○ Disadvantages: The existing document may not include all new requirements and it will have to be further supported with other modes of data collection such as interview, etc. 1.2.6 Describe appropriate techniques for gathering the information needed to arrive at a workable solution. (AO 2) 21 Examining current systems, competing products, organizational capabilities, literature searches.S/E Intellectual property. Examining current system: Examining the current system will enable the developer to understand what different options the company is using to deal with the requirement. What are the enhancements in the existing system that the company wishes to incorporate. They will be able to make a better decision about the hardware/software required to meet company requirements. Competing Products It is important to know what the competitors are doing. The aim is not to copy them, but to get an idea of what is possible/being done at the moment. Organizational capabilities: A big consideration before creating a new system is determining what the organisation would be capable of. ○ Can they afford a new system/new equipment? ○ Can the staff use the new system? Training needed? ○ Can they have any ‘downtime’ to upgrade? Literature Search Finally, have you consulted literature to see what else might be out there? In IB terms, the term “literature” refers to books, magazines, websites, journals, videos, academic papers… Intellectual property. Intellectual property is something unique that you physically create. An idea alone is not intellectual property. For example, an idea for an app doesn’t count, but the lines of code you’ve written do. You own intellectual property if you: – created it (and it meets the requirements for copyright, a patent or a design) – bought intellectual property rights from the creator or a previous owner – have a brand that could be a trade mark, e.g. a well-known product name Don’t accidentally break the law! 1.2.7 AO 3 Construct suitable representations to illustrate system requirements. Examples include: system flow charts, data flow diagrams, structure charts. UML is not required. LINK Flowchart symbols, flowcharts and pseudocode Link 22 1.2.8 Describe the purpose of prototypes to demonstrate the proposed system to the client. AIM 5 The need to effectively collaborate to gather appropriate information to resolve complex problems. AIM 6 To develop logical and critical thinking to develop proposed systems. Prototype: It is a non functional true replica or representation of the final product or the product in making. The purpose of prototyping is to provide the client a model of the final product so the client can suggest changes at the design stage itself. It will lower the cost as the changes in the model can be suggested during the design phase itself. It also provides a clear view of the product to the customer who gets a clear idea of what the product will look like after it is developed. 1.2.9 Discuss the importance of iteration during the design process (AO 3) 23  To follow a structured process for smooth development of the IT system. By following the design cycle, the developer will be able to analyze the requirements, design the solution, develop it, integrate it and finally evaluate it. This will help both developers and clients to meet the requirements. The following of design cycle can be bi-directional, ie. one can either go forward or backward during the development process. And this gives the developer flexibility to make changes as required during the process of software development. The alteration in the design iteration may give the developer an opportunity to jump to any phase of the development cycle at any point of time for the betterment of the product. 1.2.10 Explain the possible consequences of failing to involve the end-user in the design Process. (AO 3) S/E The failure to involve the end user may lead to software that is not suitable for its intended use, which may have adverse effects on user productivity. AIM 5 The need for effective collaboration and communication between the client, developer and end-user. Consequences of failing to involve the end-user in the design Process. 24  It might result in lack of understanding for the developer about the system in use and the further enhancements required. End users may not feel involved and may not take interest in testing the application or providing the feedback. Lack of cooperation. The end users may not be satisfied with the functionality of the new system as it might not meet all of their requirements. The final product may not be optimum for the company and the end users might be reporting about the flaws once the product has gone live. It might impact the productivity of the company as the end users are not able to inform the specific issues and requirements to the developer. 1.2.11 Discuss the social and ethical issues associated with the introduction of new IT systems. AIM 8, AIM 9 Develop an appreciation of the social and ethical issues associated with continued developments in specified computer systems. Positive implications The productivity will increase as the new system will be able to cater to the needs of company employees in a better way. New system may be more secure as compared to the earlier one. Management may get better reports from the application which may help them in better decision making. Negative implication It might add more financial burden to the company as the development of the new system might require funds. The end users might not be acquainted with the new system which would mean that they will have to be provided with training. This may cost the company more money and also additional time for the employees. Some end users especially those not too well versed with the use of technology may lose their jobs. Unemployment may rise due to the rising prevalence of mechanized jobs Companies may have to pay more to the experts who can manage to use the new system. There may be data loss in the process of migration. There may be downtime of the system which might cause losses and inconvenience to the company operations. Ethical implications may include loss of job due to automation. 1.2.12 Define the term usability. (AO1) S/E This includes ergonomics and accessibility. Usability: It is the ability to understand the technicalities and usage details 25  of the product or IT system. The better is the design, the easier will be usability and vice versa. Ergonomics: Ergonomics is a field of study that attempts to reduce strain, fatigue, and injuries by improving product design and workspace arrangement. The goal is a comfortable, relaxed posture. Accessibility: Refers to the design of products, devices, services, or environments for people with disabilities or specific needs. It includes specialist peripherals/software like: Braille keyboards Eye-typers Useful for someone who can’t use a hand or foot mouse and conventional keyboard A camera is fitted onto the computer and is focused on the user’s eye The camera monitors movement in the user’s eye and can pick up where they are looking Mouse clicks are done with a slow eye blink Accessible controllers Screen readers Voice synthesizers 1.2.13 Identify a range of usability problems with commonly used digital devices. S/E Students should be aware of usability issues in a range of devices including PCs, digital cameras, cell phones, games consoles, MP3 players and other commonly used digital devices. General Usability Issues Problems could include… Difficult to handle/fiddly hardware 26  Difficult to understand software Complex user interface Need to have lots of prior knowledge Specialist support needed to use device Each device is different to other similar devices (no standards) Cell Phones: Has a small (touch-sensitive) screen; Uses batteries for power; No hard disk drive / small memory; Reliability / Network coverage issues; Gets heated in warm weather; Too many steps to access a particular feature; Pc Usability Issues If you are blind, you cannot see the screen If you have no hands, you cannot use the keyboard or mouse If you have only one hand, you can only use either the mouse or keyboard. If you do not have the technical knowledge, device connection may be difficult. It may be bulky to carry them around. Digital Camera Blindness or partial sightedness can mean using digital cameras is very difficult as the user can’t or will struggle to see what is on the screen as well as connecting them to a computer to transfer files. People with physically debilitating conditions may not be able to hold a camera or push the shutter button. Users with conditions such as Parkinson’s Disease may be unable to hold a digital camera steady. MP3 Player usability Some MP3 players have relatively small screens. People with limited eyesight may have difficulty in accessing it. Buttons and controls may be too small and users with less mobility on their hands may find it challenging and difficult. 1.2.14 Identify methods that can be used to improve the accessibility of systems. (AO 2) S/E Examples include touch screen, voice recognition, text-to-speech, Braille keyboard. 27  1. Touch Screen: It is convenient to control the device using touch screen as compared to using a mouse and a keyboard. E.g a touch screen mobile phone. 2. Voice recognition: A voice recognition system may help the end users get the text typed just by speaking instead of typing using the keyboard. This may even be handy for the disabled people such as those who have low eyesight or weak palm/fingers. 3. Text to speech: The application can read the text and play that through the computer's speaker. This is beneficial for everyone as they don't have to look at the screen for a long time as they can listen to the text spoken by text to speech application. 4. Braille Keyboard: These are specially designed keyboards that have embossed text characters and are helpful to the blind people. 1.2.15 Identify a range of usability problems that can occur in a system. (AO2) S/E These should be related to the systems. Systems include ticketing, online payroll, scheduling, voice recognition, systems that provide feedback. Possible issues… What would happen if someone can’t access the system e.g.? Loss of network connectivity The server may not be available. What would happen if they can only access certain parts? E.g. one block of LAN is dis functional which will create issues for the other parts of the LAN, they can’t get information, can’t communicate etc. The website may load but the database connectivity may not be functional. What happens if they misunderstand what the system required as input? E.g. the password complexity not met, but the system is not prompting what exactly should be the characters or digits and length to meet complexity. What would happen if they can’t access the output? E.g. the printer may not be configured to take a print from a report. E.g. the layout of the report may not fit on one screen. 1.2.16 Discuss the moral, ethical, social, economic and environmental implications of the interaction between humans and machines. (AO 3) AIM 8 Raise awareness of the moral, ethical, social, economic and environmental implications of using science and technology. (Add points from the MS) 28 May 2015 Q1. Outline one problem of maintaining legacy systems. Definition: Legacy system is the use of old hardware or software whose support may currently not be available. 1. It may not be able to suit the requirements of the company as on date impacting the performance. 2. There might not be technical support available to solve issues associated with the legacy system. 3. It will be difficult to get the resources (people/staff) who would be familiar with the legacy system. 4. If two businesses have to merge, this may not be quite convenient. From the MS: Maintaining previous/outdated computer system, which uses old technology and old application programs ; That are hard to understand/expensive to change/evolve because programs might be disorganized/ documentation might be missing/incomplete/unreliable; Compatibility issues (typically refer to old programming languages/old database technology); Maintaining but not updating the old system can lead to compatibility / security issues; It may be difficult to recruit staff/programmers familiar with old languages/operating systems; Database contains inconsistencies/redundancies (eg information systems and no DBMS); Usually pre-internet, needs interfaces; Typically large and complex systems/mainframes; Q2: Outline the use of a failover system. A failover system is a standby/redundant system; Which is used to eliminate/reduce the impact on users/owners; By automatically taking over if the primary system suddenly becomes unavailable; 29