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Advanced System Development Rich pictures at HELP company are used to illustrate the system of interest with diagrams or "rich pictures" (a diagram "without rules"). Rich pictures show the people involved in the processes. the purposes they state. their desires and fears (use think balloons).
symbols to express environmental detail (activities, similar and contentious processes, relationships (push-pull) and transactions across organisational boundaries). how and where interests agree or conflict. I must personally add here that rich pictures are cartoons - funny, sad, political, ... and all at once. The pictures of course are generated by the analysts and hence are selective, representative of their perceptions, questions and existing areas of uncertainty.
We have to remember that according to the case study The management of HELP has been conscious for some time of the slowness of satisfying orders and its inability to give an accurate stock situation over the phone. These orders are taking an increasing time to process. This has been further exacerbated by the rapid expansion of HELP over the last 3 years. Thus the rich picture should look like the following.
I should note here that HELP when using CATWOE in analysis discussions and drawing a rich picture encourages a process approach to the given problem of physical inability to properly process orders. Participants can test assertions, assumptions, positions and the integrity of data / information . We need not forget that SSM targets existing systems. The focus of SSM is on investigation and definition of the existing features of the organizational and how these interact externally and internally with the system as a whole (hence "holism") and sub-processes. We have to consider too the situational and organizational "climate" which at HELP company is very skeptical and conservative, thus opposing any system implementation. I have to add here that after problem examination and definition, SSM participants at HELP company "should" be able to "see" the organization differently and more fully, i.
e. being able to have more control over each of the departments. differentiate levels and sub-problems of the whole, i. e. to be able to find the weaknesses of control and order processes and thus take proper action.
They will have researched different "facts", positions and viewpoints at varying levels of detail. They will be able to see many problems. At HELP, root definition for which there is a consensus - at a point in time - is an important outcome of the SSM process. The analyst-researchers now need to define the arena of concern more precisely i. e to synthesis the "root definition." They move towards a well- defined statement about the area of concern (at HELP orders are not processed as desired), its activities (HELP expanded too fast for the employees to be able to adapt to such growth and expansion) and components (all activities involved in business).
This may represent a minimum that can be agreed in terms of the real activity domain. People should be able to see what they are agreeing to and what has been left out. It is for internal, creative use not public dissemination. A root definition defines both what is agreed and what is still unresolved plus associated things. At HELP, everyone agrees on the fact that HELP should be more efficient despite the recent expansion and thus should do something not to forego existing opportunities. Conceptual Modeling at HELP.
I have to note here that with a root definition and a CATWOE rich picture we can look at imaginary or "ideal" system. We have to do the following: Defining the musts and the desirable's. HELP must process all orders in a competitive prompt manner if it is to survive in the long run and it is desirable that HELP achieves all that cheaply, i. e. without hiring another few hundreds employees etc. Evaluating and choosing.
Computer order processing system and inventory control system appear to provide long-term savings and efficiency boost for HELP Agreeing criteria for choosing & deciding. The best solution thus appears to be the proper software that would be extremely user-friendly and thus would be accepted by the somewhat conservative and resistant to change HELP management. Five Es for Decision Criteria Efficacy (will it work at all? ) Yes, there are many companies that do business that accepts thousands of orders a day and that use proper computer system that works perfectly for them. HELP should follow the lead and benefit from such system, too.
Efficiency (will it work with minimum resources? ) Yes, the system, supposedly should not create any new jobs at HELP (except for system analyst to take care of the system), while allowing the existing workers to work more efficiently. Effectiveness (does it contribute to the enterprise? ) Yes the new system will allow HELP to have a quick access to the existing, pending and completed orders as well as potential synchronization with the warehouse, accounting and other departments that need the order data. Ethics (is it sound morally? ) Yes, it sounds rather morally to have efficient and effective system that allows the company HELP to conserve the resources and thus to remain environmentally friendly. Elegance (is it beautiful? ) yes, having computers at each desk, connected with a cable (or wireless internet) and with people peacefully working in front of computers is much more elegant than having people running from office to office or calling to each other in their attempt to track, and process orders as well as make proper accounting record of them. I will add here that initially SSM was presented as a logical routine model, yet at present there are many attempts to reduce steps and to create loose process of engagement model.
The idealized solution shown above is a thing that indeed can be easily achieved at HELP if we are to overcome the managements resistance to change. Speaking about the conceptual model, I would like to note that the current system should not be harshly criticized but rather revised for improvement. We need not forget that with the current system we have already achieved the expansion that HELP currently enjoys and now it is the time for HELP to do something differently. We need to consider the following questions: Why aren't we doing it the "ideal" way? Because, the management of HELP saw other companies go bankrupt because of deficient computer system aimed at the improvement of corporate practices. What reasons explain our current practice and behavior?
Computers are considered as something too complicated. HELP did well without computers now the management wonders why HELP should need computers. How do we, at present, measure up to the ideal given the criteria of efficiency, effectiveness, ethics and elegance and group / political opinion? No, HELP currently lags behind the ideal criteria of HELP system shown above and thus needs to do something to improve. Here we have to be aware that if the current system at HELP is imperfect (which is the apparent fact) - then we have to agree on desirable changes, i. e.
the implementation of a computer system for the organization. These presumably may move us towards the ideal. Speaking about the action and implementation, I have to note here that the outcome indeed may be unpredictable. Implementation of the new computer system at HELP which was never present there is a new human activity. And thus, means new compromises. Does an SSM project ever finish...
it doesn't need to as it embodies learning - the human learning and adaptation philosophy. There may be convergence. Issues debated early on may dissipate. Implementation discussions may focus more on participant confidence, ability and understanding of the enterprise.
When analyzing the case study, one has to remember that the CATWOE Criteria are the basis of a root definition. Both techniques, at the same time rely on each other to describe the desired system needed for the HELP company. However, the very outcome of using CATWOE is a root definition of our system. CATWOE as applied to HELP is a mnemonic acronym whereby problem owners are facilitated to consider the following of a desired system: C - Customer or the victims/ beneficiaries of the purposeful action.
In our case the HELP Company as a whole is the beneficiary of the given system an action. They are also the potential victims should the system fails to work as expected. A - Actors - who would do the activities? The system should certainly be developed by a software development company, for the fact that the Chester-Barnes family, the owners, lack the needed experience. T - Transformation Process - What is the purposeful activity? Expressed at HELP as: Input (new orders, materials) = > Throughput/Transformation (production of orders and proper order recording) = > Output (orders are fulfilled and recorded, money is received the goods / services are rendered).
One has to remember that actions do not get transformed. Actions may lead to other actions, conclusions, or consequences at HELP. However, "lead to" is not the same as "transformed into." It is not causal; therefore it is rather an observation of states of being or an expression of observations about states of entities. W Worldview at HELP - What view of the world makes the definition meaningful? The view that HELP is able to expand even more and thus will face even more similar problems of unfulfilled orders in the future. As a result, one needs to fight the problem now.
O - Owner - Who could stop this activity/ make or break the system? The owners, management, system creators. E - Environmental Factors - What factors affect the environment? External competition makes it hard for HELP to work inefficiently and remain profitable. I have to add here that once the CATWOE criteria are identified for HELP Company, they are transformed into a root definition.
A root definition, on the other hand, can also be evaluated as to whether it contains all of the elements of the CATWOE criteria. Speaking about the System Development Life Cycle Model (SDLC) for our HELP company, I would like to note that there are many of them nowadays, yet for this particular case I believe that the classic life cycle model is the optimal solution. We are going to apply the SDLC model in the following manner. 1. HELP System/Information Engineering and Modeling. During this stage we are to contact the HELP company management and to assess the processes that cause the bottleneck in the order processing and thus need to be modified. 2. Software Requirements Analysis is the step, when well use reason to apply our future system to the given processes. 3.
Systems Analysis and Design. During this stage we are to cooperate with the corporate management in order to assure that our system is very user friendly and thus is acceptable by the conservative management. 4. Code Generation-programmers work. 5. Testing-routine step to assure that the system is crash-proof. 6. Maintenance is the step that lasts as long as the system exists. Thus, on a periodic basis we will have to come to HELP company and fine-tune the system.
In conclusion I would like to note that HELP is a successful company that at present faces challenges because of its rapid expansion and thus physical inability to manually process the existing orders. The following essay spoke about the system approach to the problem solving at HELP and of several solutions that might appear to be profitable for HELP. Bibliography: Cast study. Kendall, Kenneth, Systems Analysis and Design (5 th Edition), McGraw Hill, 2002.
Shelly, Gary, Systems Analysis and Design, Prentice Hall, 2001. Dennis, Alan, Systems Analysis Design, Penguin books, 2002
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Research essay sample on Rapid Expansion Systems Analysis
