Category: Essays

The requirements analysis phase answers the question, “What does the user need and want from a new system?” The requirements analysis phase is critical to the success of any new information system! In this milestone we need to identify what information systems requirements need to be defined from the system users’ perspectives and draw graphical, logical models to document the data requirements for a new and improved system.

Data modeling is a technique for organizing and documenting a system’s data. Data modeling is sometimes called database modeling because a data model is usually implemented as a database. Data is viewed as a resource to be shared by as many processes as possible. As a result, data must be organized in a way that is flexible and adaptable to unanticipated business requirements – and that is the purpose of data modeling.

In this milestone, you will first discover those entities in the system that are or might be described by data. Then you will define each entity you identify in respect to the business in an Entity Definition Matrix. Then you will do the data model tutorial in doc sharing that will prepare you for doing the logical entity relational diagram (ERD).

Objectives

After completing this milestone, you should be able to:

• Understand and perform the techniques for entity discovery.

• Define each entity with respect to the business and complete an entity definition

matrix.

• Perform the necessary data modeling techniques to organize and document the

data requirements for the proposed system.

• Construct the Context data model (Logical ERD).

Prerequisites

Before starting this milestone, the following topics should be covered:

• Data modeling — Chapters 8 and 14.

• Milestone 1-3 Solutions (provided by your instructor)

Assignment

Now that we have studied the current system and analyzed some of its problems and opportunities, plus gained approval to proceed, we can now start to identify the business data requirements and graphically model them. In this assignment, we will use our results of the previous milestones, samples of forms we have collected, and a copy of a transcript of an interview with Dan Stantz’s staff. The results of this activity will identify the business data requirements for the proposed system.

Activities

1. Complete an Entity Definition Matrix. Analyze each of the forms referenced by the user interview and make assumptions where necessary. (Note: While it is appropriate to make assumptions, you should document those assumptions and include them in your submission to your instructor.) If you create the matrix in Excel, paste it into a Word document prior to submission.

2. Complete the Visio tutorial which walks you through how to create an Entity

Relationship Diagram (ERD), located in Doc Sharing.

When you have completed the tutorial, paste the diagram you have created to the end

of the Word document that already holds your Entity Definition Matrix.

3. Prepare a Context Data Model.

Deliverable format and software to be used are according to your instructor’s specifications. Deliverables should be neatly packaged in a binder, separated with a tab divider labeled “Milestone 4-Part I”.

References

• Milestone 1-3 Solutions – provided by your instructor

• Case Study Introduction

• Transcripts of Interviews with Equipment Depot staff o Exhibit 4.1

• Exhibit 4.2-4.4 (see below)

Deliverables:
Entity Definition Matrix: Due: __/__/__

Time:_______
Context Data Model: Due: __/__/__

Time:_______

ADVANCED OPTION
For the advanced option, assume that the proposed system must also handle the tracking accounts receivable and payments on customer statements. Your instructor will specify additional system requirements for this part of the system. Modify your initial Entity Definition Matrix to be able to handle this system requirement.
Entity Definition Matrix: Due: __/__/__

Time:_______

Milestone’s Point Value: _______

Exhibit 4.1

The following is a copy of the transcript of an interview between you and Oscar Barrett. The goal of this interview was to obtain sample forms used for processing check-ins and check-outs and to be able to ask questions about them in order to discover data entities of the business system.

Scene: You have arranged to drop by the Equipment Depot to pick up samples of forms used to process check-ins and check-outs. Oscar Barrett was willing to collect them and answer any questions that you might have.

Oscar: Hi. I assume you are here to pick up the forms.

You: Yes. Is this a good time?

Oscar: Sure. Here are the forms. Any questions?

You: Let’s see . . . I see check-outs on this form (see Exhibit 4.2) but no return. Does

that mean that equipment is still out?

Oscar: No. Each time an employee comes to the Equipment Depot counter to conduct

business with us, we pull one of these forms out and record all the check-in and/or

check-out activity they wish to perform during that visit. It is not intended to be

reused when they come back. I’m not sure why we couldn’t use it that way, we

just don’t.

You: I see. So the “date” refers to that day’s record of check-in and check-outs for the

employee?

Oscar: Well, it is simply the date they are checking in or out the equipment. I know it is a

little confusing. Let me give you an example. We would use one of these forms to

record all the check-ins and check-outs an employee did in the morning. If that employee returned in the afternoon to return equipment, we would use a new form.

You: Just curious. Why wouldn’t you just pull the form when they come back in and

update it?

Oscar: Time! It takes time to look up the form. We do file these, but sometimes they

don’t get filed right away. We want to get the employees taken care of as quickly

as possible. So it is easier to simply fill out a new one for each visit.

You: But if the new system made it easier to find those records and update them?

Oscar: Yeah, that might make the whole system work better.

You: OK. What is this “employee ID”? Does the Maintenance Department assign that?

Oscar: That is the GB Manufacturing employee ID. All maintenance employees wear an

employee ID badge that has their ID and photo. We started that two years ago. It

makes things go more quickly. We don’t have to wait for them to pull out their

wallets and look up their ID. We can just read it.

You: Do you have to record both the “equip ID” and the “description”?

Oscar: If it is tracked equipment we record the serial number. Those are the equipment

we want to specifically track and know who has it.

You: I remember. You have tracked and untracked equipment. Some pieces are too

small for an equipment ID and some are too inexpensive to be worth tracking.

Oscar: Exactly. Let’s say we have a particular air compressor and its serial number,

123456789, is stamped on the side. That is an expensive item. We want to track it.

We want to know that John Doe has checked out that particular air compressor.

We want to know where that particular air compressor is at all times.

You: OK. And you call that tracked equipment?

Oscar: Right. That nailer on the second line is tracked.

You: So what is the “equip id” on the router and bits?

Oscar: We still give everything a numeric ID. It helps us identify them when we are

sorting through all these forms. But if we have 10 router and bits sets, they all

have the same ID. 1425 means a router and bit set.

You: But if that number isn’t stamped on the equipment as a serial number is, how do

you know its number for the form?

Oscar: Oh, we just know most of them. You’d be surprised what sticks in your head over

time. But those numbers are also printed on each bin.

You: Bin?

Oscar: Storage bin. All the untracked equipment is organized and stored in numbered

storage bins. Bin A48, I think, holds all the router and bit sets, and right on the

front of the bin is a card that says Equip ID 1425.

You: Is the tracked equipment also stored in bins?

Oscar: No. Most of them are too large to fit in bins. They are stored in a particular aisle.

You: And you keep all this storage information in your head?

Oscar: We know where all the most popular equipment is stored. But for uncommon requests we refer to this storage list. (see Exhibit 4.3) It shows the aisle or bin location of each kind of equipment. This is just part of it. You can have that.

You: Does some information system generate this list?

Oscar: Just a word processor.

You: What is this “type” column?

Oscar: We categorize the equipment –carpentry, welding, plumbing, machine tools, etc. We have so machine pieces of equipment that those type codes really help us when we’re searching for a particular piece.

You: OK. One more time, let me make sure I understand tracked versus untracked. On this check-out form you know that this employee checked out a router and bit set. But you don’t know which router and bit set.

Oscar: Right. We know which nailer but not which router. Here’s another example and this might clear things up for you. Let’s say that an employee wants checks out a wrench. A wrench is relatively inexpensive. Also, it is virtually impossible to track. A particular wrench does not have a serial number on it! But since it is relatively inexpensive and virtually impossible to track, we don’t even attempt to do so. We simply want to keep track of the fact that the employee checked out a wrench. We don’t care which wrench. We only care that we get the wrench back.

You: OK. Two kinds of equipment and slightly different information kept for each.

But everything has an Equip ID.

Oscar: Right. For tracked equipment we only have one piece with that Equip ID. With

untracked we could have several.

You: Do you need the system to track the quantity you have of each kind of equipment?

Oscar: Good question. We haven’t until now. If someone calls us up see if we have

something in stock we just put him or her on hold and go look. But it would be

nice if the computer had a total and could subtract the outstanding loans.

Sometimes I’ve suspected people of sneaking in here and raiding our inventory.

And maybe your system could even allow people in another plant to check our

inventory online before they trudge over here.

You: We’re still working out the system requirements. I’ll write that down. Let’s finish

the check-out form. I assume “qty in” and “qty out” for large equipment is always

one?

Oscar: That’s correct . . . in fact sometimes we don’t even enter a quantity, since it can’t

possibly be more than one.

You: Is “damage” recorded for check-ins or for check-outs or for both?

Oscar: Just for check-ins. If something is damaged enough to not work properly we fix it

before it goes out again. Minor damage we just ignore. We don’t care what it

looks like as long as it works.

You: OK. Now this employee registration…(see Exhibit 4.4) looks pretty

understandable. I see you track supervisor.

Oscar: Right. If someone isn’t returning something we go to the supervisor.

You: Are supervisors also employees?

Oscar: Yes. All the maintenance supervisors have to work with their hands, too. So they

often check-out equipment. They each have supervisors, but that is one of the

maintenance managers.

You: And the supervisor of the maintenance managers is Mr. Venkman.

Oscar: Right.

You: And the classification?

Oscar: That is the employee’s skill classification. Right now we just eyeball that and

make sure the equipment being checked out is appropriate for that skill

classification.

You: But Mr. Stantz said he wants the new system to track a skill class for each type of

equipment and restrict check-outs to employees having that class.

Oscar: Sounds good. But remember that many pieces of equipment could be safely used

by employees with any of several skill classifications.

You: That would be a really important point. OK, one last thing. We don’t have a form

for the purchases, do we?

Oscar: No. Thankfully, that is all paperless. The only problem with is that the Item IDs

used by equipmentdeals.com are not the same as our Equip IDs. That makes

tracking orders a pain.

You: I have some good news on that. Equipmentdeals.com has a way to build us a

custom web store with our equipment IDs. Plus they can put our order status info

into XML that we can use to update our own internal database.

Oscar: I didn’t understand all that. But if you’re saying this solves my order tracking

problem, I’m all for it.

You: I think it will solve your problem. You’ll be able to view outstanding orders right

within our system.

Oscar: Great!

You: Well, believe it or not, that’s all my questions for now. Thanks for your time.

Oscar: Anytime. I’m excited about this new system

Unit VII PowerPoint Presenation

Use the CSU Online Library to research a hazardous waste incident such as the Love Canal or Minimata Bay incident.

Create a 7- to 10-slide PowerPoint presentation on the incident you choose. You should thoroughly describe the details of

the incident and analyze the causes and effects. Your presentation should address the following:

· Provide a brief history of RCRA and what aspects of waste it regulates.

· What was the cause of the incident? What types of waste were involved?

· What were the environmental and human health consequences?

· What regulations were in place at the time of the incident? Were they followed?

· What do you think could have been done to prevent the incident?

· Could this incident happen today with the regulations we have in place? Why, or why not?

Instead of using speaker’s notes, you will write a script and create a voice-over for your presentation. All sources used, including the textbook, must be cited and referenced according to APA style. Be sure to include in-text citations on your slides, and provide a reference slide that lists all of your sources. JUST GIVE SPEAKER NOTES I WILL DO VOICE OVER.

Please follow the Unit I Success Center Power Point Presentation Guide for developing your PowerPoint as it contains the best practices and strategies for creating your slides. Click here to access the Success Center Guide, Creating a Scholarly PowerPoint: Best Practices and Citation Information

Professor Recommendation for correcting my project.

You addressed the required questions. Theory of Constraints: Your discussion of the theory of constraints is on the right path. The theory of constraints will help Nissan determine any bottlenecks. I recommend that you review page 6 of the case study. Total Quality Management: I encourage you to expand the paragraph on TQM. How might Nissan rely on Six Sigma, employee empowerment, benchmarking and tools, such as diagrams, to improve the quality of their products? Deming’s points are the core of TQM. I recommend discussing his points, too. Cause and Effect Diagram: You have a good start on the cause and effect diagram. The cause and effect diagram should be specific to supply partners failing to implement new materials for Nissan. This is a what-if scenario and you can brainstorm different reasons why a supply partner may fail to implement new materials. The diagram needs to include issues with the manpower, method, inventory, and equipment. You will also need to write a paragraph summarizing your cause and effect diagram. Page 219 of the textbook provides an excellent example of a cause and effect diagram. Process Map: The process map is missing the date and the process should be more detailed. The process map will look similar to the one in the textbook on page 280. However, you can add additional processes and wait times that you see fit. Here are some examples of creating a process map. These are a lot more complex then the one that you need to create; however they are good examples. Your process map can be as simple as the example in the textbook. 1. http://www.isixsigma.com/tools-templates/process-mapping/practical-guide-creating-better-looking-process-maps/ and 2. http://www.isixsigma.com/tools-templates/process-mapping/building-valuable-process-maps-takes-skill-and-time/ . You can use the drawing tools in MS Word to create the map. You will also need to write a paragraph describing the process map and how an operations manager uses it. Data Analysis: Good work at performing the location analysis. An operations manager would use one of the four major methods to evaluate a location. The data provided in the rubric can be easily used with the factor-rating method. Once the weighted scores are calculated, then you will find that your result will be different. The table of the weighted scores needs to be included. The best location would be the one with the highest score. Please refer to page 333 – 334 in the textbook. Articulation of Response: Good work at inserting the references. The citations are missing. Refer to the following website on the APA format: https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/. There are some grammar and punctuation errors. I recommend proofreading your work. Overall, your spelling is good. Please let me know if you have any questions.

Resource: Appendix A (attached)

Identify three behaviors inherent in e-tailing. Note the communications medium in which each behavior occurs.

Explain how each medium enables e-commerce.

Analyze each behavior using the communication process. The analysis should include descriptions of the purpose, sender, receiver, message, environment, technology, noise, and feedback.

Develop a sample persuasive message aimed at a virtual audience.

Compose a 1,050- to 1,400-word paper that includes your sample persuasive message and demonstrates how the reviewed messages enable e-commerce

Answer the following set of questions in 1-2 pages, Word Document format (12 font; double-spaced). When you have completed the exercise, please submit the document to the ‘Critical Engagement Exercise 2’ dropbox (under the ‘Assessment’ tab on the dashboard above) no later than 8AM on Monday, February 1.

Explain the political, economic, and cultural exchange between Africa, the Americas, and Western European countries during the ‘Age of Exploration’.

BUT NOW: this time….I want you to attempt to answer this without referring to “I”, “me”, “my”, “you”, “we”, or “u

Writing with an Informative Aim” (Lesson 9)

In an essay of at least 300 words, analyze the value of taking a course such as this one. There must surely be drawbacks as well as advantages to this method of learning and working towards a college degree. Tell what those are, and assess them.

Your personal experience may provide much of your evidence as you analyze this issue.

REMEMBER: In analytical writing, the information you provide your reader must be sufficient, plausible, and pertinent.

References:

A Writer’s Repertoire, with 1999 MLA guidelines, by Gwendolyn Gong and Sam Dragga (New York: Longman, 1995)

Submit a paper that addresses systems descriptions. The paper must be at least three pages in length (excluding the title and reference pages or flow chart) and include at least three scholarly sources (in addition to the text). You must include the following:

Describe the logistics and supply chain management system of your firm or a firm you have researched.
Analyze the inputs of materials or resources used in the business.
Describe the internal tasks and the output.
Create a process flow chart in the paper, Excel, or other tools that may work to display the steps graphically. If you decide to create the flow chart in Excel, be sure to submit the document separately

Please analyze Southwest Airlines, identify the reasons why the company has been successful in the unattractive industry, and predict its future. Your response should include the following segments:

1. Operational overview of Southwest Airlines. Why is the company so successful?

2. Current economic condition of the airline industry. How would this affect southwest airlines?

3. Current operational issues or challenges within southwest airlines. How can Southwest Airlines take on the issues or challenges?

4. Trends for the future within the operational segment. How can Southwest Airlines remain competitive in the future?

5. Deductive reasoning starts with a general principle and deduces that it applies to a specific c

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The Java main method should call a void method. The name of the void method should be your last name.

Their main method should print your first name and last name and number of characters. Below is the pseudo code for this progra

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Write a four- to five-page paper (excluding title and reference pages) assessing the components of conflict. The following need to be addressed within your paper:

Describe a conflict within an organization or team with which you are familiar.
Identify and describe the source(s) and level of the conflict and support with evidence.
Describe the steps taken to resolve the conflict or, if it is an ongoing conflict, propose steps to resolve the conflict.
Describe a minimum of three conflict outcomes that could reasonably occur as a result of the conflict resolution. Support your reasoning for each possible outcome.