ICAD4217B Create technical documentation

There are many reasons for maintaining a complete and up-to-date library of systems and procedures for documentation. Without documentation that has meaning to the users, time may be wasted dealing with technical problems by duplicating answers to problems that have already been solved.

Other reasons for creating accurate, complete technical documentation include to:

• pass an audit, or quality certification
• create an accurate record of an organisation’s systems
• record maintenance
• identify the need to upgrade systems
• provide records for future decisions
• provide workers and stakeholders with a database for their jobs
• ensure work and service quality is consistent when staff changes occur
• add value to the organisation’s business and service.

Technical documentation provides a record of the functionality and processing of a system, program, network or application. The technical documentation should document how the system, program, network or application is structured, how it works and changes that have been made to it.

Task 1: Determine documentation standards

Activity 1: The uses of technical documentation

Q: Make a list of ten objects that you can see or feel from where you sit, that have technical documentation associated with them.

A: Answers for this question will vary, there are some example following:

1. When you switched on your computer, a technical document (a log in the computer’s memory) was created.
2. The software you are using was installed using technical documentation.
3. When you switch on your lights, a record is kept for billing purposes.
4. The chair you sit on was made from a plan.
5. The mobile phone on your desk has a help function.
6. When the chair was made, a quality check was recorded.
7. The air you breathe is monitored for pollution records.
8. The time on the clock is set to an agreed, international standard.
9. The clothes you wear were made to a pattern.
10. Your health is recorded in doctor’s files.

Activity 2: Identify documentation standards

Q: Identify at least two industry standards that relate to documentation. Use search terms such as: standards, documentation, technical, industry in your preferred search engine.

A: International Standards Organisation ISO 9000 Quality Standards (which is a family of different standards) that requires the processes involved in technical documentation to meet a certain level of quality, theses standards concern quality management systems. The Australian Standard AS ISO 10013-2003 relates to the documentation for the quality management system. ISO 14000 standards relate to environmental aspects of processes and can relate to such things as disposal and storage of documents and the media chosen for publishing documents. The ISO 9000 and ISO 14000 families of standards are those from which many organisation-based standards are derived.

There are many standards that can apply to software used by documentation and used in the delivery of documentation. Two groups of specific standards that relate to the design and production of technical documentation are the Australian Standards for Editing Practice produced by the Institute of Professional Editors (IPed), formerly the Council of Australian Societies of Editors (CASE), and the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) onscreen accessibility guidelines. You may have found others that relate more specifically to your own study or work area.

Task 2: Determine technical documentation requirements

Activity 1: Documentation for programs

Note the following scenario:

Your organisation’s software development team has been complying with all the documentation requirements for the development of new programs, except for one issue.

The comments in their code, telling others what they’re trying to do with their program are random, cryptic, and inconsistent.

You are asked to write specifications for comments in programs. The conventions should apply to any of the languages used by the programmers for the organisation. The constraints and rules imposed on programs should be as simple as possible.

Q: What are some specifications that could be used for commenting within a program? Interview someone working in software programming or search the web for some sample specifications.

A: The specifications for comments within the code could include that:

• an overall comment should be included at the start of the program to identify the framework of the program or changes to the program
• comments should be used to describe the code that is not apparent
• all comments should be preceded by a blank line
• arguments should be commented if they are not clear
• comments should be aligned with the code.

Activity 2: Documentation requirements

Q: Think about the last time you purchased something that required installation or that you had to put together yourself. Did it come with instructions? Were the instructions complete, comprehensive, useful, coherent, accurate, accessible and clear? Did they help you or did you not refer to them at all?

A: The answer is depending on the product that i have bougth, if that product was the thing i have been used before. I am ever read or look at the instructions. However, if the product is come with the new technology or i never been use it for long time or that product is quite expensive. I might read through very quick to get some useful information.

Activity 3: The pros and cons of paper

Q: There are probably times when you would use one medium in preference to another. What do you think are the advantages and disadvantages of paper-based documentation as a means of learning about a program or a system?

A: Some of the advantages of paper-based documentation include:

• most people feel comfortable with books—they can write notes in them and they can read them without a computer
• they have the benefit of using the actual software while following the manual
• paper as a physical medium is easily handled by the user
• novice users, or those who are not computer literate may not be able to use on-line help
• paper-based documentation allows the user to add in their notes and bookmarks
• manuals can be modular to target the needs of various user groups
• paper-based documentation is portable, and production costs are less when compared to some other forms of digital media (DVDs etc)
• paper can sometimes offer greater detail than other media.

Some of the disadvantages of paper-based documentation include:

• paper deteriorates physically over time with use
• a manual is more difficult to update and provide flexible access methods
• it can not include sound or animation
• the physical size of a manual can be intimidating, which can put people off
• paper documentation must be massive to be able to cater for all the user needs, but individual users will usually only use parts of it
• it may cause the user to shift concentration from what they are doing to the manual.

Activity 4: The pros and cons of digital media

Q: What do you think are the advantages and disadvantages of digital or computer-based documentation (other than video) as a means of learning about a program or a system?

A: The advantages of computer-based documentation include that:

• it can be flexible, provide vast amounts of information, and can integrate sound, text and animation
• it can be context-sensitive, providing help directly relevant to the function being used or to the task
• it is of great value in training and in advanced help features, like wizards and cue cards
• it is easy to update and revise, efficient to store, and cheap to distribute
• it can allow interaction
• no paper is needed
• it has cheaper packaging (CDs)
• immediate reference is possible (you don’t have to search for the manual).

The disadvantages of computer-based documentation include that:

• it requires computer literacy
• it often requires various plug ins to access files
• the computer screen places limitations on use
• it may require swapping from the task to the documentation, causing distraction from the task at hand
• as video it can take up large amounts of memory and be cumbersome to download.

Activity 5: The pros and cons of video

Q: Describe some and advantages and disadvantages of using video-based documentation to learn about a program or system?

A: The advantages of video-based documentation include that:

• it can provide a rehearsed and thorough demonstration or walk-through of a software application
• it best suited for presenting animation, sound, graphics and ‘real-life’ presentations
• it is good for training and promotion
• learner retention is generally higher than for printed media (it is generally more engaging)
• suitable for groups as well as individuals
• DVDs are inexpensive and easy to distribute (although development costs may be high)
• no paper is needed.

The disadvantages of video-based documentation include that:

• video requires specialist equipment and personnel to produce; the cost may be high for complex, multimedia material
• sequential access—while video is good for demonstrating sequential tasks, it is unsuitable for random access tasks as found for example in reference guides
• it is non-interactive and does not cater for different levels of users
• it can be easy to pirate
• it is expensive to update—a new video must be produced (rather than a new version of a paper of digital print resource)
• documentation is less detailed if reliant on video only.

Task 3: Design technical documentation

Activity 1: Types of documents

Q: Recall or identify different types of technical writing or documentation. Try to make a list of 15 different documents. Use an internet search engine to assist you in this activity, if you need to.

A: Table of technical writing or documentation examples—you may have listed other documents, which is fine.

Activity 2: Technical documents

Q: What technical documents have you seen or used? Note down as many as you can, the list may help you later. Alongside each document, note the good points, and any that you remember as not being helpful at all. Why were documents of a poor standard or with no standards less useful?

A: Documents at home might include:

• assembly instructions for do-it-yourself furniture
• the manual that came with your computer
• the blueprint for a house
• a text book for software development
• specifications sheet for your camera

Documents at work might include:

• system functional requirements with flow charts
• network diagrams
• computer programming language syntax manual
• functional requirements for a web site
• project work break down structure.
• Other comments you have made might vary even more greatly; yet you may have noted how documents of a high standard make it easier to understand, access and use technical information.

Activity 3: Information online

Consider the following scenario and do some research.

You are going to place documentation on the organisation’s intranet web site. You have two types of information to go on the site, with different audiences for each one. One type is technical documentation for software development and the other type is a manual about the use of that software. Even the words they use in different systems are different. You research the internet to find information that helps you decide how each different type of information might be treated on the site.

Q: Give a general outline of how the two different types of technical documentation in the scenario might be placed within the information architecture of a web site.

A: The software manual is technical information for technicians but also for users, it could be organised as a series of pages from a contents list or index and it might also have a glossary, index and search features for the general user. Glossary items might also be given their own pop-ups so that users can check terms as they go. Procedural parts of the manual might also be structured as a series steps that the user progresses through after they have checked the ‘next’ button (like those used in installation procedures).

The software development material is for an audience of technical readers or specialists, most likely IT staff. It might be accessible from a general navigation bar as the same level as the manual and provided as a choice of HTML pages or PDF files to select and download from a menu. For maintenance, a technician needs to find a procedure quickly, without all the solutions to other problems. They need to access information selectively. Individual specification sheets that can be downloaded and printed, or network diagrams, might be part of the documentation, for instance. Links to the software development documentation might also be placed at different relevant places in web pages for the software manual, effectively then at a lower level, and being there when users or specialists need additional, more technical information.

Activity 4: Documentation case study—functional specifications

Q: Research the Internet and find some information that helps you with the design of the technical documentation required for ‘functional specifications’ for software development. What sort of documentation would be required?

A: A functional specification for software developers is a formal document used to describe in detail a program’s intended capabilities, appearance, and interactions with users.

The functional specification is a kind of guideline and continuing reference point as the developers write the programming code. Typically, the functional specification for an application program with a series of interactive windows and dialogs with a user would show the visual appearance of the user interface and describe each of the possible user input actions and the program response actions.

A functional specification may also contain formal descriptions of user tasks, dependencies on other products, and usability criteria. Many companies have a guide for developers that describes what topics any product’s functional specification should contain.

Task 4: Obtain client sign-off on technical documentation

Activity 1: Sign-off and quality management

Where do sign-off procedures fit in with your organisation’s quality management policies?
By this stage of your learning you will have discovered that some organisations use the ISO 9000 family of standards as a basis to certify the quality standards of their processes, other organisations prefer alternative measures, such as Six Sigma.

Q: Using a web search engine, research the fundamentals of ISO 9000, and find where sign-off procedures for documents fits into the system? Write a brief report on your findings (about 250 words).

A: If your organisation has quality certification, ISO 9000 sets out the requirements for your quality management system. ISO 9000 is not a standard for ensuring a product or service is of quality; rather, it verifies the quality of the process, and how it will be managed and reviewed. So ISO 900 doesn’t guarantee the quality of the technical documents, it lays out the rules for the process for sign-off

Hence, ISO 9000 is directly related to your organisation’s procedures for sign-off, and those procedures may vary from one organisation to another.

There are four types, or levels, of documentation you will need to manage to achieve ISO 9000 standards for sign-off. These four levels form a hierarchy. The more detailed the document, the further down it belongs in the documentation hierarchy

Table: The ISO 9000 documentation hierarchy

Fourth-level documentation includes all the records and forms which are generated by the working system.

ISO 9000 document generation and control

Under ISO 9000, every department issuing documents is free to designate its own procedures and channels for processing documents, including sign-off. This is a matter for your organisation to manage. Your management defines what your distribution network is, and who has authority for sign-off and release of procedures.

• Authority—Define who has the authority to sign off on documentation changes?
• Obsolete Documents—Describe what you do to these (shred, archive, etc).
• Distributions—Who gets the documents?
• Identification and revision—How do you identify documents? How do you track their revisions?
• Appendices and forms—Do you include appendices containing extra reference materials pertaining to each document for sign-off?

Key terms

Configuration management: Configuration management refers to the storage and security of documents.

Glossary: A glossary is a list of words used in a document and can include key terms, specialist terms or terms likely to be new to readers or users of the document; glossaries can also include a list that spells out acronyms used.

International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC): The International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) is concerned with standards and conformity assessment for government, business and society for all electrical, electronic and related technologies.

International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO): The ISO is a standard-setting body composed of representatives from national standards bodies.

Jargon: Language that is peculiar to a trade profession or other group, unexplained jargon or overuse of jargon is a common fault of poor technical writing.

Metadata: Metadata is data about data or planning information about a document. Metadata provides information about the content, quality, condition, and other characteristics of a document.

Requirements: Requirements in this instance are what an organisation needs to support its goals and operations in regard to technical documentation, and can range from the content and functionality of the documents themselves, to the system of document control and distribution.

Scope: Scope relates both to the level of functional detail and depth for individual documents (no matter what media), and to the extent of work required in the process of creating technical documentation.

Standard: A standard is a basis for comparison, a reference point against which other things can be evaluated.

Standards Australia: Standards Australia is an independent, non-government organization, which, through a memorandum of understanding, are recognised by the Commonwealth Government as the peak non-government standards body in Australia.

Substantive editing: Substantive (or structural) editing involves an overall assessment of wether a document’s content, structure, language and presentation need improvement to meet the publisher’s and reader’s purpose and expectations, and any work from this. It is the stage before copy editing and can be done alongside a technical review of the document by a subject expert.

Technical manual: A technical manual can include properties, methods, events and controls for products or systems. It can include specifications, definitions and acronyms. (Few technical manuals answer all the questions, for all users and need to be cross-referenced from one document to another).

Technical resources: Technical resources can range from single-sheet specifications, manuals, CDs, online data or a small library offering a wide scope of information and covering subject matter in detail.

Template: A template is a document, much like a stencil or a model, which can be used over and over again without changing the original. Templates are a special type of document that can hold text, styles, macros, keyboard shortcuts, custom toolbars and AutoText entries.

Typesetting: Once this term described the physical process of setting metal type and now describes the work in formatting documents in page layout programs such as Quark or In-Design.

Use case: A use case is a description of how end-users will use a technical document, such as a software code. A use case is a way of specifying the end-users’ expected use of the software.

Version control: Version control is part of the management of documents to ensure the latest version is used, to ensure the accuracy of documentation that has been subject to review or editing, and that the version being used is the most up-to-date.

ICAD4043A Develop and present a feasibility report

Assessment information

Welcome to the unit Develop and present a feasibility report (ICAD4043A). This unit is about researching and presenting a range of feasible scenarios or solutions for a client's business problem.

In this unit, you’ll do 5 tasks for a fictional manufacturer of small electrical appliances, NewElectrix. These tasks will allow you to demonstrate your skills and knowledge in Developing and presenting a feasibility report.

To do these tasks you’ll need to be able to:

• Analyse data and document client requirements
• Identify alternative solutions
• Examine alternative solutions against project constraints
• Develop and document a feasibility report
• Obtain client sign off on documentation

Task 1: Create a requirements document

Activity 1.1: Data flow diagram

Figure 1: Data flow diagram

Q: Which guidelines have not been followed in the above data flow diagram?

A: There are some example of unfollow guidelines of this diagram.

• Process description must have a verb – appointment diary does not explain what this process does.
• Data flow description must only use a noun – check appointment does not describe the data that is coming from the data store.
• The data store must have a name
• Appointment confirmation data cannot go from the data store directly to the patient, it must go through a process.
• No data goes into the data store – if nothing goes into it we cannot get anything out of it!
  

Activity 1.2: Create a Diagram 0

Create a Diagram 0 for the following system.

In a payroll system the time cards are submitted by the employees, pay cheques are issued to the employees, and information on the employee is given to the Tax Department. Further investigation reveals the following major functions:

• Hours worked are verified against the time card file.
• Salary deductions are calculated using the tax table file.
• Pay cheques are prepared and sent to the employee.
• A tax report is prepared and sent to the tax department.

A: There is no one correct answer for a DFD but it should have the same external entities, data, data flows and processes.

Activity 1.3: Research CASE tools

There are many different CASE tools on the market which automate the business process and data modelling of the system, and provide tools for recording the information. Go to the Queens University School of Computing archives website: http://www.cs.queensu.ca/Software-Engineering/case.html and choose the Case tools by category search. You could also try itmWEB: http://www.itmweb.com/case.htm. Have a look at two or three different CASE tools and find one that covers the ‘upper’ CASE area that we would use in the information gathering phase of a project.

Q: Write a short report of its features and functions.

A: The following is a sample format for a report on a CASE tool, showing the main points that should be included.

A sample report should contain the following sections:

• Product name and vendor – cost of the tool, if available
• Parts of the SDLC that it can be used in
• Functions, e.g. 1) Requirements management, including operational, system, user, functional, and non-functional requirements. 2) Decomposition and merging of requirements. 3) Requirements evolution
• Features, e.g. 1) Requirements can be automatically captured from existing documents using Word / Excel plug-ins 2) Requirements can be organised and analysed using search, selection, decomposition and merge tools. 3) Changes can be managed by version control tools. 4.) Graphics and video can be integrated from other desktop tools. 5) Automatic logging of edits

Task 2: Identify alternative solutions

Activity 2.1: Preparing a business solution

Consider the following scenario and write a brief response to each of the four questions below. Think about what will you need to consider and document to prepare possible business solutions.

Scenario

Widgets-R-Us have had a good five years. Since their launch they have grown to become one of Australia's top 20 Widget manufacturers. They are looking to expand their head office - they currently lease half a floor in a city skyscraper and are planning to take over the lease of the whole floor in six months time.

Before they proceed with the expansion, they have asked your IT company to provide three options for installing an IT network in the new office area. There will be 30 new employees moving into the space.

They would like you prepare a feasibility report for the planned network installation.

Q1: What do you need to know before you can begin to look at alternatives for this network installation?

A1: The information given here is very general in nature. Your task will be made easier if you can identify specific restraints and client needs for the project.

Restraints and client needs you need to consider might include:

• Budget - how much do they want to spend?
• Time frame - when is the implementation needed and does installation need to occur at a time when business will not be effected?
• Scope of the project - are they looking for just the network infrastructure (just cabling and network hardware) or a complete solution (including supply of all new desktop computers and software)?
• Technical requirements - consider internet capacity, networking, data transfer speeds, storage and processor capacity, security etc.
• Hardware requirements - is a new server needed? What kind of computers are needed?
• Usage requirements - what will the new computers be used for (for example, graphic applications demand greater computing capacity than accounting programs)
• Existing systems - how will the new installation fit with the existing set-up?
• Ongoing support - are there existing service agreements for IT support?

This is not a comprehensive list - you may be able to come up with more ideas for this.

Q2: How could you find the information referred to in Question A above?

A2: Your client requirements and the request to carry out the work will come from management of the organisation. If there is an existing IT department you will talk to them about their projected needs and the existing systems that need to be considered.

You may also need to make your own enquires among staff about specific IT needs.

Seek out existing technical documentation for the organisation's IT infrastructure and IT usage policies.

Methods you use to gather information can include interviews, questionnaires, document research, etc.

Activity 2.2: Business requirements

Q: Consider following small case study for Companion Pensioners Insurance and answer the following question.

Case study: Companion Pensioners Insurance

Last year, the insurance companies Civic Care and Your Insurance merged to form the specialist pensioners insurance company, Companion Pensioners Insurance. The following is an extract from the CEO’s report to the section heads of Companion Pensioners Insurance:
Since the merging of our two companies we have experienced great difficulties in integrating business practices and procedures. This is especially true in more remote branch offices.
The incorrect processing of customer requests has caused a backlog of unprocessed paper work, creating increased customer dissatisfaction. It is taking well over three weeks for requests to return to our customers, when it should be less than two.

We are considering using the existing corporate IT infrastructure to implement a centralised database of policies and procedures, accessed from the corporate Intranet. The job of maintaining policies and procedures will be handed to our Human Resources department.
Some of the business requirements that were identified as relevant to the selection of new technology included:

• Compatibility with existing operating systems and networking software
• Interoperability with existing corporate intranet
• Maintainable by staff with basic computer literacy skills (HR staff and branches)
• Centralised database accessed from multiple sites.

A series of product criteria tests were devised. The following is a list of tests that failed in the inspection of the new corporate intranet system:

• After logging on, users could not access their details from the online personnel system displayed on the web page.
• Ferndale branch staff could not access the procedures menu, select the list facility, or display the list of procedures.
• Windows XP would not load the plug-in for intranet access.

A: The business requirements that were not met include:

• Interoperable with existing corporate intranet
• Centralised database accessed from multiple sites
• Compatible with existing operating systems and networking software

Activity 2.3: Sourcing alternative solutions

Accenture is a large multinational company that specialises in outsourcing projects for a wide variety of industries. Go to their website and have a look at some of their outsourcing services. Read the description of their outsourcing project for the Sarah Lee company. (Got to: http://www.accenture.com.au/, then select 'Services', then 'By subject', 'Outsourcing', 'Application outsourcing', then look for the Sara Lee project).

Q: What strategy did Sarah Lee use to decide on their final "e-procurement" supplier?

A: Sara-Lee ran a double trial of two potential systems before deciding on the system that most closely matched their needs and delivered extra benefits in getting cheaper access to suppliers.
One key point of this activity is that when preparing a feasibility study, it is often worth carrying out extensive research on each alternative before deciding on the best solution.

Task 3: Examine alternative solutions against constraints

Activity 3.1: Perform a cost/benefit analysis

Suppose we had a proposed project with a $7,000 development cost. The operating costs of the new system are $1500 per annum and the operating costs of the old system are $5000 per annum.

Using an Excel spreadsheet, calculate the payback period, the NPV and the ROI over a five year period, assuming an interest rate of 5%.

Q: Based on your results, is the proposed system economically feasible? Should the project go ahead?

A:

Investment = $7000
Net benefit p.a.: $5000 - $1500 = $3500

Table: Present and Cumulative values

Development cost = $7,000

Payback period = No of years for development cost = cumulative value of savings
2 years = $6,507.94
portion of 3rd year = (7000—6507.94)/3023.43 = 0.16
Payback period = 2.16 years

NPV = cumulative savings—development cost
NPV = $8,153.17

Return on investment = NPV/development cost
ROI = 116.47% over 5 years
ROI = 23.29% per annum

In this case the project will probably go ahead. Because, the payback period is just over 2 years, the NPV is $8153.17 and the ROI is 23.29% per annum.

Task 4: Produce a feasibility report

Activity 4.1: Develop a recommendation

Develop a recommendation for the following small case study:

An organisation is trying to decide whether they should use Windows 2000 Professional or Windows XP as a desktop operating system. The business currently uses Windows 95 running on two Pentium 3 machines. The applications used include Microsoft Office 95 and MYOB version 7. There are two staff members who use the machines on a regular basis. Neither is familiar with either of the two options.

Q: What issues will you need to consider?

A: This type of recommendation should cover issues such as:

• hardware resources required and available
• current environment
• compatibility with current applications
• new features that may be useful
• costs of upgrading
• training requirements
• future directions
• any benefits from upgrading.

Task 5: Present a feasibility report for sign-off

Activity 5.1: Sign-off and quality management

Where do sign-off procedures fit in with your organisation’s quality management policies?
By this stage of your learning you will have discovered that some organisations use the ISO 9000 family of standards as a basis to certify the quality standards of their processes, other organisations prefer alternative measures, such as Six Sigma.

Q: Using a web search engine, research the fundamentals of ISO 9000, and find where sign-off procedures for documents fits into the system? Write a brief report on your findings (about 250 words).

A: The answers are vary. Information on ISO 9000 can be found at many sites Information may include the following points:

If your organisation has quality certification, ISO 9000 sets out the requirements for your quality management system. ISO 9000 is not a standard for ensuring a product or service is of quality; rather, it verifies the quality of the process, and how it will be managed and reviewed. So ISO 900 doesn’t guarantee the quality of the technical documents, it lays out the rules for the process for sign-off

Hence, ISO 9000 is directly related to your organisation’s procedures for sign-off, and those procedures may vary from one organisation to another.

There are four types, or levels, of documentation you will need to manage to achieve ISO 9000 standards for sign-off. These four levels form a hierarchy. The more detailed the document, the further down it belongs in the documentation hierarchy:

Table: The ISO 9000 documentation hierarchy

Fourth-level documentation includes all the records and forms which are generated by the working system.

ISO 9000 document generation and control

Under ISO 9000, every department issuing documents is free to designate its own procedures and channels for processing documents, including sign-off. This is a matter for your organisation to manage. Your management defines what your distribution network is, and who has authority for sign-off and release of procedures.

• Authority—Define who has the authority to sign off on documentation changes?
• Obsolete Documents—Describe what you do to these (shred, archive, etc).
• Distributions—Who gets the documents?
• Identification and revision—How do you identify documents? How do you track their revisions?
• Appendices and forms—Do you include appendices containing extra reference materials pertaining to each document for sign-off?
  

Key terms

Capacity: Ability of equipment or work groups to handle the volume of work.

CASE tool: CASE (Computer Aided Software Engineering) tools are software packages that help to automate software development.

Constraint: A factor, such as cost, that restricts the range of solutions.

Cost/Benefit Analysis: A systematic quantitative and qualitative comparison of the relative advantages and disadvantages of alternatives.

Data dictionary: A data dictionary is a centralised system for defining and storing information about the data and the processes that transform the data in some way.

Levelling: Breaking down a process in a data flow diagram into lower level processes, each with their own data flow diagram

Platform: The type of computer hardware and / or operating system. For example, Wintel; a platform combining Intel x86 compatible hardware and Windows operating system, Lintel; a platform combining Intel x86 compatible hardware and Linux operating system.

Response time: The amount of time taken to get a response from the computer to a request from the user. For example, how long it takes for the results of a query to appear on the screen after you have clicked the run option.

Standard operating environment (SOE): The standard equipment, both hardware and software, that a business uses. This may be a decision to use a specific combination of products, or all products from one supplier or vendor.

SWOT analysis: Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats Analysis – this is the process of determining where an organisation is currently positioned.

Volumes of data: The amount of data being processed by a system. For example, the number of transactions processed in a day, week etc.

Version Control: Process for organising and documenting successive changes to a document or system.

Evaluation matrix: Table created to compare several options with regards to specific functions.

Network: Equipment and software needed to link computers in order to share data.

Server: Computer that is dedicated to handling communication and/or storage needs of the other equipment in the network.

Stakeholder: A person or organisation that has a legitimate interest in a project or entity.

Feasibility Study: The process of examining a number of solutions to a business problem, and reporting on which solution, if any, is worthwhile.

Net Present Value (NPV): Using a given discount rate, the cost of the initial investment is subtracted from the present value of expected future cash flows to give the net present value.

Payback period: The period of time it takes before the cost of your investment is recouped.

Return on Investment (ROI): The return for an investment expressed as a percentage.

Risk Analysis: A process assessing the risks associated with development of a system

ICAB4225A Automate Processes

Welcome to the Automate Processes (ICAB4225A) blog. This blog will help you understand about programming.

Assessment information

To successfully complete this unit, Automate processes (ICAB4225A) this blog will be shown about automate solutions by using basic scripting processes and application-specific scripting options.

Automating processes is an integral part of contemporary computing; using inbuilt scripting languages is a key part of that. Applications or systems administration personnel need to continually examine options to automate processes, to that way enhance performance.

To successfully complete this unit, this blog will shown how to design and develop algorithms.
Also need to be able to develop an algorithmic statement of a solution for a set process.

Assessment tasks will require you to show you are able to:

• Develop algorithms to represent solution to a given problem
• Describe structures of algorithms
• Design and write script
• Verify and review script
• Document script.

Task 1: Identify algorithm structures

Activity 1.1: Investigate flowchart symbols

Using a web browser, go to the Q-Skills website at: http://www.q-skills.com/flowchrt.html. Look at ISO9004.4. Section A.6.2 which describes four basic symbols to be used in flow charts.

Q: What are the four basic flowchart symbols and what do they represent?

A: Following table is shown the basic flow chart symbols and they represent.

Activity 1.2: Write an algorithm demonstrating sequence

Q: Write an algorithm that will accept two numbers, add them together, multiply by 27 to the total and then display the total.

A: This figure is an algorithm that accept and add two number together, then multiply by 27 to the totlal and display the total.

Activity 1.3: Write an algorithm demonstrating selection

Write an algorithm that will accept a test mark between 0 and 100. Display the grade that the student receives based on the table below:

A: The below ficgure shows an algorithm to accept a test mark between 0 and 100 and also display the grade that the student will receives.

Task 2: Apply algorithm structure to give a solution

Activity 2.1: Create an abstract design

Q: Write an algorithm to process the pay information for employees according to the following:

• To process each pay, the operator will input the hours worked and the pay rate.
• Tax of 30% is to be deducted from the gross pay.
• The information to be displayed is the gross pay, tax deducted and the net pay (gross pay minus tax).
• After processing each pay, the operator will be prompted to process another pay. If the operator types in the character ‘y’ (uppercase or lowercase), another pay is to be processed. Any other response to this prompt will end the program.

A: This is one of the possible solution.

Activity 2.2: Review abstract design

Design a set of inputs that could be used to conduct desk-checking of the algorithm below. The test data should test program flow control, correctness of calculations and assignments to variables. The algorithm should meet the program specifications presented in Activity 1.

Q: Perform a desk-check on the algorithm using your test inputs. Does the algorithm meet the program specifications? If not, what errors did you identify?

A: According to the algorithm in 2.1 answer, This algorithm does not meet program specifications because of two problems:

• Problem 1 — The gross pay is displayed twice and the net pay is not displayed.
• Problem 2 — If the operator responded with uppercase Y when prompted to process another pay, the algorithm stops.

The IF and the ELSEIF both test for the lowercase ‘y’. One of them should test for uppercase ‘Y’.

Task 3: Develop and verify script language for an algorithm

Activity 3.1: Translate an algorithm to script code

Translate the following algorithm into script code using Python. Execute your script with the numbers 3 and 5.
Q: What is the result displayed by the script? Describe what the code is doing using one sentence.

A: The value displayed for result should be 12.

Activity 3.2: Identify and correct a logic error

Q: Find and correct the logic error(s) in the script.

A: There are 3 logic error followed:

Logic error 1: In the while loop, the else should not change the loop control variable (gotConvertTo) to 1. This allows any character to be entered from the keyboard and the script continues. This line should be deleted.

Logic error 2: This is more like a ‘copy and paste’ error. The code executes as it should, but the output would be misleading. The print statement in the section where the original temperature is converted to Celsius (the last if), should read Fahrenheit where it reads Celsius. It should be:

if convertTo == 'c':
newTemp = temp—32 * 5/9
print 'Original temperature entered was',temp,'Fahrenheit'

Logic error 3: The mathematical formula to convert to Celsius requires that 32 be subtracted from the temperature BEFORE the multiply and divide. The code should enforce a change in the order in which the calculations would be performed to allow the addition to occur first. The addition part should be in parentheses to force the addition to occur fist as shown:

newTemp = (temp—32) * 5/9

Key terms

Algorithm: A procedure or set of steps to accomplish a specific task

Computer program: The embodiment of an algorithm in a computer language, so that it can be executed on a computer

Sequence: The simplest type of flow in algorithm design, where actions are carried out in the stated order; see also ‘selection’ and ‘iteration’

Selection: A flow-pattern in algorithm design, where a choice is made about which action to perform, depending upon a logical condition; the most common selection structure is IF/ELSE; see also ‘sequence’ and ‘iteration’

Iteration: a flow-pattern in algorithm design, also known as looping or repetition; actions are performed over and over again; a loop condition determines when the loop will finish; see also ‘sequence’ and ‘selection’

Pseudocode: A language-neutral representation used to show the logic, structure, and calculations of algorithms

Variable: A container with a name, to hold values during program execution; when a variable is declared in a program, some memory is set aside to hold its value

Software development life cycle (SDLC): A procedural framework for developing computer software and information systems

Top-down design: The development of a program by dividing the original complex task into smaller, less complex tasks, and then applying the same process to each smaller task, until the tasks translate easily into code statements

Desk-check: A code testing process where the code is manually executed

Walk-through: A review of requirements, designs and or code by a group; its purpose is to analyse the programmer’s logic and assumptions

Function:A named section of code that performs a particular task

Array: A collection of data items that can be accessed using a common name and an index

ICAA4041A Determine and confirm client business expectations and needs

Assessment Information To successfully complete this unit, Determine and confirm client business expectations and needs (ICAA4041A), you will need to be able to demonstrate the skills and knowledge required to determine client business requirements and verify the accuracy of the information gathered

To do this you will need to confirm that you have sufficient knowledge of investigation, interview and documentation techniques, and the ability to produce a clear statement of business expectations and needs, including critical business requirements.
Your assessment tasks will require you to show you are able to:

• Determine context of business needs and problem
• Gather information
• Confirm system specifications
  

1: Define and document business problems practice

In order to find a solution for a client’s business problem, it is necessary to fully define the problem in terms of its system boundaries and scope. Objectives and expected outcomes of a proposed solution must be identified and documented, along with the development methodology which is to be used. This documentation must then be submitted to the appropriate person to ensure that its contents are accurate. The skills and knowledge covered in this learning pack are:

• Identify outcomes
• Develop objectives
• Documentation according to organisational guidelines.

Activity 1: Context diagram

An external consultant has recommended the implementation of enhancements to the university’s student management system. The project brief is:

‘to add functionality to the StudentPlus management system to allow student enrolments, student attendance and student marks via the intranet’

The project brief also contains a broad list of the functions the system should support. They are:

• Student self enrolment for classes via internet
• Enrolled classes statement
• List of classes for each teacher
• Entry of student marks
• Entry of student attendance
• Results statement for each student

A: This below diagram is shown the context of student and management system to allow student enrolments, student attendance and student marks via the intranet.

Figure 1: Context diagram for student plus management system

2: Identify information gathering techniques

One of the key skills in determining solutions to business problems is making sure that you first know what the problem is.

While this seems an obvious statement, many clients are too close to a problem to be able to give you the information that may be essential to your role in a project. You need to be able to find the information that you require.

This blog will show different techniques that can be used to gather information for a project and will help develop your skills in interviewing and active listening.


Activity 2.1: Identify listening techniques

Scenario A

Customer: I would like to say that the computer I bought from your store keeps breaking down.
Vendor: Well, there must be something you’re doing that is not right. You’ve never used a computer before, have you? Don’t worry, you’re not the only one. I’ll see what’s wrong. I find that my customers who don’t have technical backgrounds always have trouble with their computers

Feedback A: The vendor is attacking the customer as a way of avoiding the issue and shirking his responsibilities. He could, instead, ask the customer to explain what goes wrong with the computer.

Scenario B

Client: The machine we hired from your company has been continually breaking down over the past two weeks.

Manager: What do you mean by ’continually’? Or do you mean ’continuously’? There’s a big difference between the two words. One means non-stop and the other means every now and again. Or do you mean ’constantly’?

Feedback B: The manager is avoiding the issue by ’nit-picking’. He did this to try to embarrass and belittle the customer. He was able to tell from the context exactly what the customer was saying but chose not to listen or respond. He could say: ’Tell me about the last time it broke down. How were you using the machine?’

Activity 2.2: Question types

Q: Name as many different types of questions as you can.
A: Following are a range of question types:

• reflective questions
• strategic questions
• open ended and closed questions
• organising questions
• what-if questions
• probing questions
• sorting and sifting questions
• divergent questions
• clarification questions
• devil’s advocate questions
• planning questions

3: Analyse data and document client requirements

This blog will provide you with the skills and knowledge you need to analyse and document the information that you have gathered about the problem, to identify the requirements of the new system, and to check that this meets the client’s needs.

The blog also includes information on how to analyse and document those requirements to determine the scope and problem or opportunity faced by the business.
Analyse gathered information to identify new system requirements and establish problem specifications.

• Document system requirements and problems.
• Check documentation to ensure it meets client business needs.
• Analyse client requirements to determine project scope, and the problem context or opportunity faced by the business.
• Document the client requirements, project scope, related problems and sources of information.

Activity 3.1: Data flow diagram

Figure 1: Data flow diagram

Q: Which guidelines have not been followed in the above data flow diagram?

A: There are including of:

• Process description must have a verb – appointment diary does not explain what this process does.
• Data flow description must only use a noun – check appointment does not describe the
  data that is coming from the data store.
• The data store must have a name
• Appointment confirmation data cannot go from the data store directly to the patient, it must go through a process.
• No data goes into the data store – if nothing goes into it we cannot get anything out of it!
  

Activity 3.2: Determine client requirements


Q: A spare parts business has identified the ability of customers to order parts online as an added–value requirement. What sort of added value will this provide to the business?

A: There will be many possibilities that you might identify, including:

• Improved customer satisfaction due to the ability to order from home or their business
• Increased productivity due to faster turn around time for the customer and less time required by the spare parts staff to answer phone queries and fill in order forms
• Financial benefits for the business associated with a possible reduction in the number of order entry staff needed
  

Key terms

System boundaries: Limits of the functionality of a system, showing interaction with other systems.

Development methodology: Standardised method of developing a system.

External Entity: Any system (manual or computerised), or person who interacts with the system being investigated.

Hawthorne Effect: The tendency to improve performance when under observation

Interviewee: The person who is being interviewed

Interviewer: The person who is conducting the interview (ie asking the questions)

JAD: Joint Application Design – a formal structured technique used to gather information in a group.

CASE tool: CASE (Computer Aided Software Engineering) tools are software packages that help to automate software development.

Data dictionary: A data dictionary is a centralised system for defining and storing information about the data and the processes that transform the data in some way.

Levelling: Breaking down a process in a data flow diagram into lower level processes, each with their own data flow diagram

Platform: The type of computer hardware and / or operating system. For example, Wintel; a platform combining Intel x86 compatible hardware and Windows operating system, Lintel; a platform combining Intel x86 compatible hardware and Linux operating system.

ICAA4233A Determine and apply appropriate development methodologies

Unit contents

For most tasks in this unit might undertake more than one way of carrying them out. The method I choose will depend on a variety of factors, but the most important considerations will often be which method will get the job done as quickly and efficiently as possible while ensuring that the result is the best I can achieve. Once I have identified the most appropriate method for the task, I must then make sure that I follow the method to achieve the required outcome. This involves a high level of planning to ensure that all areas have been addressed and close monitoring of the progress of the project so that it will be completed as planned.

This unit (ICAA4233A) will give you the knowledge and skills to determine and apply appropriate development methodologies for an information technology project. You will learn how to do the following:

• Determine and select appropriate methodology for a given activity


• Apply the selected development methodology
  

1: Determine and select appropriate methodology for a given activity

This blog will help you to determine and select an appropriate development methodology for a specific activity within an information technology environment.

In this topic you will learn how to:

• Determine and define subject activity
• Define the criteria for selection of development methodology
• Review and evaluate a range of traditional and non-traditional system development methodologies
• Select appropriate system methodology to suit the activity.

Determine and select appropriate methodology for a given activities

Activity 1: Knowledge of the client business domain

Visit the Coca-Cola website (http://www2.coca-cola.com/ourcompany/index.html) and read the company’s welcome statement. Does it give you a clear idea of the company’s core business? Which of the business documents mentioned in the reading notes for this section can you find on the site?

A: This welcome statement clearly indicates the goal of manufacturing, marketing and distributing non-alcoholic beverages. There are links to sections such as ‘Our Beliefs’, ‘Our Diversity’, ‘Leadership’ and so on, which would come under the heading of mission statements and strategic goals.


Activity 2—Obtain knowledge of the client business domain

Use the Internet to answer the following questions about the Environment Protection Authority Victoria as an example of a potential client.
Go to the website at http://www.epa.vic.gov.au/, then select About EPA and EPA Organisation chart.

Q 2.1: In which directorate would you find the Community Relations department?

A 2.1: Sustainable development

Q 2.2: Under which department does Regional Support Systems come?

A 2.2: Regional services

Q 2.3: If you wanted to apply for a job with the EPA, to which department would you address your application?

A 2.3: Human Resources

Q 2.4: If you had a complaint about excessive noise at a neighbouring business premises, to which department would you complain?

A 2.4: Atmosphere and Noise

Activity 3—Identify stakeholders

Read the scenario below:

Southern Dental Services is a small dental practice in a regional town. There are two dentists: Pamela Jones and Brian Huang. The practice has four support staff to manage the day-to-day running of the practice: Jane Emerson, who looks after the appointments; Brenda Gale, who handles the accounts; Keith Dickson, who manages the patient details; and Pauline Santoro, who organises the ordering of supplies, etc. Pauline obtains most of the supplies for the clinic from David Andrews, who runs a business selling medical and dental supplies. She orders all the other office-related products from Peter Smith’s business, OfficeStuff. The clinic has five hundred patients on its books, some of whom, like Mrs Mary O’Halloran, have been coming to the clinic since it opened ten years ago.

Q: For each of the people listed here (Peter Smith, Keith Dickson, Mary O’Halloran, Brian Huang, David Andrews, Pauline Santoro), identify which type of stakeholder they represent from the following three choices: supplier, staff or client. Complete the table and check your answers in the Feedback.

A: Following table is shown the identifying stakeholders.

Determine and select methodology quiz

1. Answer TRUE or FALSE:

Q 1.1: An organisational chart gives an overview of staff and the functions of a business.

A 1.1: True

Q 1.2: An incremental methodology is best used for a system that has a clear, fixed set of objectives.

A 1.2: False

Q 2: A mission statement states the main purpose of the organisation and usually incorporates which of the following goals?

A 2: financial, social and/or environmental goals

Q 3: What is a traditional system development methodology?

A 3: Waterfall model

Q 4: Which methodology requires a high level of user involvement throughout the project?

A 4: Rapid application development (RAD)

2: Apply the selected development methodology

Refering to the previous section, you should already know about determining and selecting appropriate methodology for a given activity. This blog will help you to apply the appropriate systems development methodology to an activity.

In this section you will learn how to:

• Create a project plan
• Clearly describe project tasks
• Define suitable project controls
• Estimate task duration and cost
• Sequence tasks
• Estimate resource requirements
• Monitor project flow
• Review and document the project.
  

Apply the selected development methodology activities

Activity 1: Work breakdown structure

Try the top down method and break down the following goal into several tasks and subtasks and develop a simple work breakdown structure (WBS).

Q: Develop a work breakdown structure for the LAN for Urban Wear’s new retail outlet.

A: This table is a possible WBS. Remember that every project manager may approach the tasks differently and this is just a sample for you to try out your WBS skills.

Activity 2: Factors that impact on time estimates

Q: What factors could impact on your time estimate for the installation and configuring of the workstations for the LAN from Activity 1?

A: There are many factors that may impact the installation and configuration of the workstations including delayed delivery of hardware, slippage of task dependencies (for example, if the network has not been configured before installation of workstation stats, it will not be possible to use the disk cloning tool to install the standard operating environment); workers skill level; availability of tools.

Activity 3: Determining the positions required

Your company, Herriard, which has a staff of 600 full time and 200 part time employees, has decided to introduce sales training techniques on their Intranet site. The training course needs a Learning Management System (LMS) which allocates units of work to the staff. Once in the system, the staff can receive automated feedback and trainers can view staff progress through the system. Herriard has decided to get an off-the-shelf product and adapt it to the company’s needs. You have been given the job of managing the project.

Q: List the job roles or positions that you would include in your team.

A: The team could be comprised of the following:

• an instructional designer to design the structure of the site and to train staff
• course writers
• a graphic designer to create a shell to reflect corporate identity
• a development team of 1–2 programmers to adapt the off-the-shelf Learner Management System to company needs
• a part-time network engineer
• a part-time server support

Activity 4: Gantt chart
In your notebook, draw a Gantt chart corresponding to the specifications in the table below

Table: Gantt chart specifications

Figure : Gantt chart

Apply the selected development methodology quiz

Q 1: Which three processes are involved in the development of a project?

A 1: planning, assessing and monitoring

Q 2: Project controls are usually designed to focus on which three major aspects of project measurements?

A 2: monitoring and tracking progress, determining variation from plan, taking corrective action

Q 3: In which phase of a project would you estimate activity duration and resources?

A 3: Planning phase

Q 4: What is the primary goal of a project review?

A 4: to answer questions about the conduct of the project for the benefit of future projects

ICAW4027B Relate to clients on a business level

Develops skills and knowledge in the following areas:

• Understanding the business culture and standards of your service provider organisation
• Building and maintaining business relationships with customers
• Identifying client support needs
• Planning support roles and requirements
• Identifying the cost of providing client support services
• Negotiating support service costs
• Obtaining client feedback to monitor and adjust client support services

Topic 1 - Building Business Networks and Relationships

Q:List at least five ways in which you can create, foster or maintain professional relationships with software or hardware supplier companies and individual developers, consultants and other staff who work for them.

A: The following are ways in which you can create, foster or maintain professional relationships with suppliers and developers:

• Call the technical or business assistance contacts of your product supplier to find out about their services. Most suppliers now provide such contact information in their brochures and websites. If you ask them, they will probably be happy to discuss in detail the kinds of services they offer. They may be able to discuss the expected responses to the kinds of client and product issues that you may be likely to raise with them in future. You may be able to ask them about how they go about maintaining relationships with other organisations to which they supply products.
  
• Attend IT industry conferences to find out about current and future issues and new product developments. Use these conferences as opportunities to meet people from product supplier companies, to identify the role of yourself and your support organisation and to explain to these suppliers any user issues of which you are aware. Also develop personal contacts and working relationships with these people. Note: Even if it eventuates that the knowledge and contacts which you gain at these conferences is never needed in your particular support work, such professional relationships may become an avenue for future employment, career development or commercial business opportunities.
  
• Network with the wider industry in which your clients conduct business. If you support a particular kind of application, you might attend conferences, educational programs and other functions in that particular industry. Someone who supports financial accounting software may attend accounting conferences to meet with both accounting people and IT people operating in that industry. Many people who provide IT services in the financial markets industry, eg stock-broking, financial futures trading, insurance, superannuation and treasury operations, take part in finance industry education programs to learn about the legal compliance requirements applying to their IT systems and to make contact with industry regulators.
  
• Take part in product reviews, technical updates and training programs offered by particular product suppliers. Many product suppliers seek to promote their products and network with industry practitioners through such offerings. Examples are SAP accounting software, who offers a regular national conference on its products and consulting services, the Microsoft technical certification program for developers and support staff and many other large and small suppliers.
  
• Maintain contact with other students at your IT education institution or college after your graduation. Regularly exchange information regarding technical developments, user issues and service industry ideas with them (within the limits of business confidentiality) and between the product development organisations and support service organisations, in which you may each be employed.
  
• Look for ' partners' grouped around the products and applications with which you are involved. Many organisations operate as partners or intermediaries between major application developers and their clients. The partner's role being to maintain close service relationships with the clients so that they continue to be interested in the developer's range of products. For example, most branded software firms, eg major web browsers and major accounting software, maintain a network of re-sellers who are committed to retailing that particular brand of software, providing pre-sale IT consulting and post-sale support, plus other types of IT and non-IT services. They also promote an ongoing relationship with that brand. Small IT firms may also band together into formal or informal partnerships to offer clients a range of related specialty services, such as IT needs analysis, hardware networks, customised application development, project management, design of web page content and strategic business planning. This integration of related products and services from separate providers is called channeling. Useful relationships and sources of expertise can be cultivated by associating with organisations through such partnerships. For examples of corporations offering 'partnerships', look at these sites: Microsoft (http://www.microsoft.com), IBM business applications (http://www.ibm.com) and SAP business applications (http://wwwSAP.com).

Topic 2 - Planning to Meet Client Requirements

Q1:Make a list of five questions which you would ask a client in order to understand their general business activities and identify their IT needs. Include support needs.

A: There are some example of question following:

• What does the client organisation do? What are its general business circumstances?
• Who are their customers? How do they communicate with them? What exactly are they expected to deliver to their customers? What are not to deliver?
• In what specific types of activities are they involved? How much? How often? Which staff are involved?
• How critical in terms of timing are these activities?
• What processes lead into other processes? What are the dependencies?
• What happens if they do not coordinate?
• What back-up practices and quality assurance practices are employed in their business activities?
• What computer systems do they need to perform their job?
• Is there an IT strategic business plan, resourcing plan or other relevant corporate planning that defines / directs / constrains the current state and the future directions of the organisation's IT systems and activities?
• What hardware? What applications? What are the inputs and outputs of this IT system?
• How long can they continue doing business if their systems are not working?
• Who is responsible for the IT system? Should a system administrator with views on what type of support be delivered by you? Are they part of the client organisation's strategic business planning and budgeting team?
• How much money will they lose if their systems are not working?
• How many support requests does the client make now, per day and per month?
• What times during the day do they make the calls? For example, do they make the majority of calls between 9am and 5pm?
• What matters are raised in these calls? For example, hardware configuration, software configuration, training needs, network breakdowns, data losses or higher level needs like detailed technical advice and consulting services?
• How urgent are these support requests? How do the responses to these requests impact the client's business? (Helpful or not helpful? Short term solutions or long term solutions to the client's issues?)
• Are the support and other IT issues interrupting the client's normal business operations? Is e-mail not working or is the network down. Or do users have critical gaps in their training? How much is the client organisation spending / willing to spend on support services per month?

Q2: Make a list of five questions which you would ask yourself, as client support officer, in order to double check that you have done a sufficiently thorough analysis of the client's needs.

A: There are some example of question following:

• What happens if the information about products or services which your client requests is not available either before or after installation? Have you specified and documented these information gaps and how they will affect the client?
• Is the list of client requirements complete, in the sense that if your recommended or specified product / service satisfies every documented user requirement, it will be acceptable to the user? What undocumented requirements could be potentially identified later? And, what would be the impact on the client if these unexpected requirements are not satisfied?
• Are the client requirements written in user friendly language? Do the users think so?
• Does each client requirement for products and support services avoid conflicts with other client requirements? If not, is this conflict specified / quantified?
• Are the client requirements for products and support services at a fairly consistent level of detail? Should any requirement be specified in more detail? Should any requirement be specified in less detail?
• Are the client requirements clear enough to be turned over to and understood by an independent group for installation of a product or provision of a support service?
• Is each documented item relevant to a client's issue / problem and its associated solution? Can each documented item be traced to its origin in the client issue / problem environment?

Q3: Make a list of five questions which you would ask the client in order to double check that they are satisfied with the way that you have conducted your analysis of their needs.

A: There are some example of question following:

• Did the client support staff accurately determine your requirements? Let the client see your written analysis.
• Did the analyst or client support staff listen to and accurately reflect your explanation of how your job operates, what the tasks and deliverables of your job are, how they relate to the key business outcomes of your organisation and how you interact with other people and tasks in your organisation?
• Did the client support staff listen to and repeat your client requirements for IT products and support services to ensure that they understood them and your organisational situation?
• Did the client support staff adequately explain how and when your IT products and support services would be delivered?
• Was the analyst or client support officer, with whom you dealt, knowledgeable about your IT systems and any other relevant aspects of your work?
• Are products and support services being delivered in the time-frame and scope as specified by your contract or service level agreement?
• Did you receive all of the user documentation that was agreed?
• Was the documentation legible and easy to apply in operational situations?
• Where you offered any manual or on-line documentation? If so, was it useful?
• Where you offered any training? If so, was it useful? What further training to you think is needed?
• Did you attend the training that was offered to you? If not, please indicate why not?
• Did the documentation address all of your needs? Does it cover all the areas of your work?

Topic 3 - Negotiating Client Support Service Costs

Q: Negotiations skills are involved in the arranging for the provision of regular support services from an organisation's internal IT services unit and for the obtaining of support for specific user problems when they arise each day.

Five general or specific IT support needs which a client would want fulfilled by the support provider include:

• response to a problem within a set time
• provision of support at a reasonable cost
• provision of adequate resources for support services to function adequately
• professional manners, technical knowledge and service skills
• services which are appropriate to the functionalities of the applications being operated by the user.

Five general or specific needs which the IT support provider would want users to fulfil include:

• patience during times of heavy demand for support services
• acceptance that the delivery of services will be completed within a pre-agreed timeframe and cost
• clear communication of the user's needs to the support staff
• clear communication to the support staff as to what the user thinks of the quality and effectiveness of the support services
• attendance in training which offers users knowledge and skills on ways to minimise their dependence on the support staff.

Can you list additional needs for both the support provider and users?

A: Possible general or specific IT support needs which a client would wish to have fulfilled by the support provider:

• respond to a problem within a set time
• provide support at a reasonable cost
• provide adequate resources for support services to function adequately
  be professional in manner, technical knowledge and service skills
• provide services which are appropriate to the functionalities of the applications being operated by the user.

Possible general or specific needs which the IT support provider would wish the users to fulfil:

• be patient during times of heavy demand for support services
• accept the delivery of services within a pre-agreed timeframe and cost
• communicate clearly to the support staff what the user's needs are
• communicate clearly to the support staff what the user thinks of the quality and effectiveness of the support services
• attend the training which is offered to users to minimise their dependence on the support staff.

Topic 4 - Maintaining a Focus on Clients

Q: Assume that in response to an analysis of a client's needs, you have installed a new software package at the workstations of the end users and you have provided training, user manuals and help desk services in relation to the new software.

Your task is compile a questionnaire listing at least ten questions, which you could put to an end user to assess whether the installation has been successful. In this, assess whether the new software is being used effectively in the client's business activities and the client is satisfied with your support services.

A: There are some example of question following:

1. Did you attend the training sessions which were offered prior to your new application being installed? If not, why not?.
2. Did you feel you benefited from the training? If not, why not?
3. What was the best aspect of the training you received?
4. What was the worst aspect of the training you received?
5. Did you read the user manual provided during the training? If not, why not?
6. Do you still have your user manual ready to refer to when using your new software?
7. How long after the installation occurred did you start using the new software?
8. Approximately how many times have you used the new software since installation occurred?
9. Do you currently use the new software? If not, why not?
10. Have you needed to contact the IT support unit to query any aspect of the new software or seek assistance with using it? Please briefly state the nature of this call.
11. Were your calls to the IT support unit regarding any queries or problems with the new software dealt with to your satisfaction?
12. Were you dissatisfied with the assistance provided by the IT support unit for any problems or queries with the new software? Please briefly state the nature of your query and in what way it was not dealt with to your satisfaction.
13. Have you needed to contact the IT support unit for assistance with the new software on more than one occasion? Please briefly state the nature of these problems or queries.
14. How long did it take for the IT support unit to respond to any problems or queries you have had with the new software?
15. Do you currently have any problems or queries with the new software which have not been dealt with by the IT support unit or other parts of the organisation?
16. Do you find the new software useful in your work? Please briefly state for what organisational purposes and business activities you used the software.
17. Would you prefer to have a different type of software, ie different functionalities, to use in your work? Please state briefly why / why not.
18. Would you prefer a different version or brand of this software application in your work? Please state any you prefer.
19. Are there any features of this new software which you do not understand? Please indicate which ones.
20. Are there any IT features or functionalities which you would find useful in your work but which are not present in your new software? Please state what kinds of features or functions you would like to have.

Thank you for competing this questionnaire. The IT support unit will provide you with a similar questionnaire to this one in six months from now so that we can optimise our services to you. You may also be contacted in person before that time by a support officer to discuss your individual needs.

In addition, please free to contact us at any time to discuss any needs or queries you may have. Jane, Andrew and Mary are available 8am to 6pm on XXXX XXXX - We are here to help support you.

Glossory

Active Listening: The process of responding in physical and verbal ways to what you hear in order to indicate that you are listening carefully and understanding what the other person is saying. This term therefore covers not only the act of hearing but also the use of positive gestures/facial expressions and the asking of questions, which reflect what the other person has said to you. For example, you might ask a client "How quickly do you think you need support to be provided when a problem occurs?" It could be followed by: "So what you are saying is that you need support services to be provided within one hour of a support call or your business will suffer. Is that correct?"

Body language: The use of facial expressions, hand gestures and orientation of the body to communicate your attitude (often unintentionally).

Budget: The ordered and predictable allocation of the organisation's available funds, in the present and in the future, to purchase any necessary goods and services for its operations, to pay the salaries of staff, and to invest in the development of the organisation's structure, activities and its personnel.

Business culture: The general set of qualities embodied by the working practices of an organisation. This includes attitudes, values, ethics (principles of behaviour), actual standards of behaviour, standards of quality in service and manufacturing, the formal organisational structure and management hierarchy, performance management, reward practices and the particular style of conducting relationships between employees, management, business partners, clients and other stakeholders with why.

Client/Customer: Someone who comes to you for your professional services.

Customer satisfaction survey: A survey of customers (management and end users) who ask specific and non-specific questions about how well the customer's needs have been met by a product or service, how well their business outcomes have been facilitated, the customer's view about how well the provider has managed the specific relationship with them, and the customer's attitude to how the relationship should develop in future. Surveys may take the form of questionnaires, interviews, focus groups, physical and electronic monitoring of a user's business activities. They seek to understand how well the organisation is facilitated by the IT products and services. They assess the quality and effectiveness of support call conversations.

Contract: A legally binding agreement made between two parties, to define the obligations and rights on each party. Contracts are usually created in written form, but may also exist as verbal agreements. Or, they may be implicit in the behaviour of two parties without any specific agreement having been spoken or written (eg when you are buying a bus ticket you are contracting with the bus service to be safely transported as far as your desired bus stop). In this module, contractual arrangements refer particularly to the legally binding rights and obligations which exist between a service provider and its client.

Customer Relationship Management (CRM): The process of integrating all of the provider organisation's operational processes and procedures, human culture, strategic planning, policy development and technological facilities to maximise the outcomes for the provider's primary stakeholders (ie its clients), and to establish itself as a successful and reputable provider of products and services.

Escalation: The procedures for making appropriate decisions about when to seek more experienced, knowledgeable or extensive help to deal with an IT problem or issue, which is beyond the skills or resources of an IT support officer or their unit. This is the process of bringing in the necessary additional people and resources to support those circumstances.

Ethics: The behaviours, attitudes, duties and actions which an individual is expected to engage in whilst operating in a professional relationship environment or in any circumstance of trust. Typical ethical attributes which a professional is expected to adhere to are honesty, trustworthiness, diligence in the completion of skilled or knowledgeable work, diligence in serving a client according to the best interests of that client (rather than the provider's interest), and maintaining a professional standard of competence in technical knowledge, organisational procedures and legal obligations.

Functionalities: The features of a hardware or software application and the specific tasks which they are able to perform for a user. For example, in a word processing application, the general functionalities would include text editing, formatting, graphic insertions, creation of macros, spelling and grammar checks.

Infrastructure: The tangible IT hardware, office equipment, accommodation, communications, networks and the manufacturing, distribution and sales-related equipment which an organisation requires in order to carryout its operations. It can also be argued that infrastructure includes non-tangible assets like software

Stakeholder: A person or group of people or organisation who have a concern or an interest in a particular issue or outcome (often referred to as one of the "players" in the issue or set off issues being handled). The key to good policy development is to manage and fulfil as far as possible the needs, expectations and outcomes of all the stakeholders who have an interest in the issue.

Strategic planning: The process of identifying the broad business direction and goals which an organisation will follow, the main business issues which it expects that it will encounter in the near future and in the longer term, and the general approaches which it will implement in order to deal with those issues. It also includes its predictions for how successful it is likely to be in the ongoing achievement of its business goals.