Technical Process Plans
To manage the potential of a fresh project and to identify the direction in which these can be understood, there are various elements that should be considered. For this study on implementation of intranet, the focus is on the framework for the new project development—that is, to establish a new design that could provide technical process plan for the implementation of great intranet. The comprehension of the relevance of management plans has been indicated, yet it should also be understood that the event in which the organization is operating in is one of the most critical elements that would affect its outcome. This is because organizational culture and the methodologies are utilized by the organization that would have an impact on the sales and the direction of the management. Also, there is the necessity to evaluate the business precedures and the probable impacts that these will have on the future of the new project. In making a new project to become stabilized, various departments have to be issued their ample jobs and also the limitations of the time in which they must be able to progress. In doing so, this paper also involves the concepts that have been established on the specific departments and their working titles. The particular endeavors have also been integrated in order to specifically prioritize on the direction that they are treading.
In order to comprehend the methodologies that will be utilized for the completion of the project, various elements have to be implemented aside from the ones that are stated above. These elements eventually generate an impact on the entire result of the project as well as the result of the organization after the project has stopped to be new. These include not only the particular money-generating perspectives, but also prioritize on the process plan and the management of the staff themselves. In this time, several methods can be utilized in order to gain an upper-hand on the needs of the project.
4.1 Business Process Maps
Figure 1. Business Process Maps
The above figure illustrates the concepts in business and information systems management that needs consideration in making a great internet applicable in enhancing business processes. The management of system request, customer inputs, business procedures, management developers, contractors, consultants, policies and procedures, development standards and templates are input factors that need consideration in information systems development methodology. In management area, tools and products variables should conform to each other in order to have effective output such as effective software systems, enhance business process, reusable objects, and documentation.
4.2 Process Model
As part of process model implementation, this study will apply the input-process-output (IPO) framework. Originating from the Industrial Revolution, the IPO model has been applied to various fields-from manufacturing, to communications, to psychology, to computer programming (1997). (1997) stated, “The IPO model is a design of how different input, intermediate, and output variables form causal relationships in a system” (). In the IPO model, “a process is viewed as a series of boxes (processing elements) connected by inputs and outputs. Information or material objects flow through a series of tasks or activities based on a set of rules or decision points” (1997). (1997) stated, “Flow charts and process diagrams are often used to represent the process” (). What goes in is the input; what causes the change is the process; what comes out is the output (2001). Figure 2 below illustrates the IPO model that the researcher will use. The IPO model will provide the general structure and guide for the direction of the study.
Figure 2: Input-process-output model
To understand a system, one must think of the system as a black box, where the input is sent into the black box, the black box is the process; this approach is called the black box approach. (2001) Utilizing the black box approach is one of the ways in understanding the IPO model. (2001).
The IPO model will provide the general structure and guide for the direction of the study. Substituting the variables of this study on the IPO model, the researcher came up with the following:
Figure 3: Process Framework
INPUT PROCESS OUTPUT
The process framework illustrates the procedures in making an effective Intranet. An intranet is a network inside an organization that uses Internet technologies (such as web browsers and servers, TCP/IP protocols, HTML hypermedia document publishing and databases, and so on) to provide an Internet-like environment within the enterprise for information sharing, communications, collaboration, and the support of business processes (2001). Basically, this is used by members of the organization and access is limited by the use of one or more security techniques. Passwords, encryption, and fire walls are used in this type of systems to ensure security and privacy of information. The creation, collection, dissemination, and processing of information can now be done with much greater ease and has brought about many changes in the way organizations do business. Information is the key element and who understands information better than a Library and Information Science specialist.
Formulate Goals
As part of input injection, formulation of goals needs consideration. What specifically does the organization want the intranet to accomplish? Existential expectations will focus on developing individuals and the organization. Technical expectations will focus on better, faster, cheaper with hardware implementation and application. Do you want the widest possible use of the intranet throughout the organization? The more people using the intranet the more empowered the users feel. These decisions are important and determine future decisions about the intranet and the organization.
This initial stage defines the goals and objectives for the Web site and begins to collect and analyze the information needed to justify the budget and resources required. This is also the time to define the scope of the site content, the interactive functionality and technology support required, and the depth and breadth of information resources to fill out the site and meet the reader’s expectations.
User research and requirements specification
At the end of this stage, one or more documents should be produced that define issues such as:
- user profiles: who the key internal and external users of the site will be and what tasks will they be completing online
- project scope: exactly what is and isn’t included within the functionality of the current project and who is responsible for each component
- project plan: do you have enough information to realistically estimate resourcing, timelines and costs
- technical requirements: will the project require consultation between technical experts within your organization and the suppliers of your chosen technology
- business requirements: which aspects of your business process does the site need to support, and how the success of this will be measured
- preliminary design: determine the key features of the site layout and navigation
Determine Leadership
Decide who will be in charge and to whom they will report. Will the leadership be shared, but divided on content and technology lines? The LIS professional should move toward content management, if not being the overall leader.
Hardware Decisions
There is much information available on choosing equipment, and pricing is competitive. The intranet will require at least one client server (computer), router, and possibly one or more hubs and a multiplexer. The individual design will depend on the number of computers that will be connected and their distance from the intranet client server. A broadband/fast connection to the Internet is recommended. The client server will need a fast processor and a lot of RAM in order to manage content, graphics, and numbers of users.
No central server is required for relatively small LAN (local area network) systems operating on a peer-to-peer basis. Larger LANs and WANs (wide area networks) will require a central server.
Software Decisions
In creating an Intranet, a central server will need a network operating system (NOS) to coordinate the intranet. Microsoft, Novell, Sun Microsystems, and Apple all produce software capable of running an intranet. The choice of software at this level will depend largely on what systems are already present and how well the current systems can be integrated into a new intranet network. Operating systems for peer-to-peer networks include LANtastic, Windows for Workgroups, and Personal Netware.
Application software may also be needed on the remote desktops to make them equally operable on the intranet. Office suite software is available from several providers. The primary connection tool from one computer to another is the web browser and there are a number of browser applications that allow the relatively inexperienced to create documents that will be web accessible. HTML, XML, and Java are all being used for web applications. Web application software is under constant development and research should be done during planning in order to make the best choice. One choice available is to let people use whichever browser (Win. Explorer or Netscape) they prefer and put the responsibility on the document creator to make the document work on either browser.
Security software will also be needed for the network server, a firewall. A firewall should protect the server and the intranet from outside attack.
Participation Issues
The planning group should make decisions that encourage wide use and ease of access for all members of the organization. The group should establish some brief guidelines for quality and quantity, but otherwise set no barriers that serve to restrict interested users from publishing and communicating on the intranet.
Basic Rules
Rules about use should be kept to a minimum and designed to help everyone perform well and achieve appropriate goals. All corporate regulations about harassment, good taste, and confidentiality should apply. With that said the following rules ought to be required. First, every page should have the author’s name on it. Second, every page should have the date of last revision posted. Third, a means of contacting the author should be posted on every page. It is also a good idea to label each page with the level of confidentiality.
Documents that are officially produced by the organization should be clearly marked, identified, and have a confidentiality label. Those documents could also be identified with some unique formatting.
Adoption and Awareness
Issues related to adopting this communication standard should be discussed in seminars/training sessions and workshops. All employees should have access to e-mail and company communication through the intranet. Employees may need to be taught some computer skills in order to facilitate their access to organization communication, e-mail, and intranet resources.
Training workshops for document writers, editors, and publishers should be offered in the beginning and periodically. Organization members will have a wide variety of experience with computers, and some will need much more training and practice to increase their ability and confidence with using the intranet.
Design and development
In processing part, Intranet should consider the design and development. After the requirements have been researched and approved, the design stage involves comprehensive description and documentation of each feature and operation of the site. A prototype, or sample set of pages, can be a good indicator of how the project is shaping up, and helps in visualizing the end product. Alternatively, a web developer may specify each screen diagrammatically.
Implementation/Coding
In implementation/coding, the programmer’s code must be added in the system without disturbing the design. Unlike traditional design the developer must know the interface and the code should not disturb the look and feel of the site or application. So the developer should understand the design and navigation. If the site is dynamic then the code should utilize the template. The developer may need to interact with the designer, in order to understand the design. The designer may need to develop some graphic buttons whenever the developer is in need, especially while using some form buttons. If a team of developers is working they should use a CVS (Version Control System) to control their sources. Coding team should generate necessary testing plans as well as technical documentation. The end-user documentation can also be prepared by the coding team, which can be used by a technical writer who can understand them, writes helps and manuals later.
Testing
Unlike software, web based applications need intensive testing, as the applications will always function as a multi-user system with bandwidth limitations. Some of the testing which should be done are, Integration testing, Stress testing, Scalability testing, load testing, resolution testing and cross-browser compatibility testing. Both automated testing and manual testing should be done without fail. For example it’s needed to test fast loading graphics and to calculate their loading time, as they are very important for any web site. There are certain testing tools as well as some online testing tools which can help the testers to test their applications. For example ASP developers can use Microsoft’s Web Application Test Tool to test the ASP applications, which is a free tool available from the Microsoft site to download.
Deployment
After successful testing of the pilot website, the remainder of any outstanding content is added to the site. The site is given any final quality assurance checks and then made available to the intended users.
Promotion
The process of handling all the public-relations issues of a web. These include making the existence of a web known to on-line communities through publicity, as well as forming business or other information relationships with other webs. Promotion might involve using specific marketing strategies or creating business models.
Promotion needs preparation of meta tags, constant analysis and submitting the URL to the search engines and directories. The site promotion is normally an ongoing process as the strategies of search engine may change quite often. Submitting a site URLs once in 2 months can be an ideal submission policy. If the customer is willing, then paid click and paid submissions can also be done with additional cost.
Innovation
Web sites will need quite frequent updates to keep them very fresh. In that case we need to do analysis again, and all the other life cycle steps will repeat. Bug fixes can be done during the time of maintenance. Once the site is operational, ongoing promotion, technical maintenance, content management & updating, site visit activity reports, staff training and mentoring is needed on a regular basis depend on the complexity of web site and the needs within organization.
The lifecycle of a website extends well beyond its launch, and shifts in your business focus will prompt changes and additions to your site. Improvements in technological systems within your business may trigger an upgrade to the way your website operates.
4.2.1 Information System Development Methods (ISDM)
Basically building network systems is similar to other engineering tasks and information development should be viewed as engineering like activity. The fact that in Intranet, the systems and programs still contain bugs, are delivered late, and are over budgeted should tell that many of the basic scientific principles of programming remain undiscovered. Yet the goal remains that information system development aimed to produce of quality system, system that is delivered on time, within budget, and that satisfies its requirements. As a result, most network specialists interpret technology assessment as the set of procedures that are used to determine how well the software meets its initial specifications.
On the other hand, most system users maintain that technology assessment should be a measure of how well the system meets the user’s needs. In order to meet each of these goals, the scope of system development has become extremely broad, encompassing every phase of the system life cycle, from requirements to decommissioning. It also includes different aspects of human knowledge such as economics, social science, and psychology. To this end, a variety of techniques have been developed for performing and evaluating various system production tasks, from requirements and specifications to maintenance. In addition to measuring the quality of system, there are numerous studies that compare different techniques and methodologies used to write, comprehend, and debug system. As a result, the relatively new challenge for system specialist is to develop assessment techniques that work and possibly reflect the more human aspects of system development, those that acknowledge the importance of both the programmer and the user. As this process becomes complicated, the programmer and the user went to different methods that could help. But the real question is “what is the role of methodology in system development?”
Most researchers defined methodology as, “a theory of how research should be undertaken, including the theory and philosophical assumptions upon which research is based and the implications of these for the method or methods adopted” ( 1998). With this viewpoint, a methodology describes the “5-W’s”. These 5-W’s are WHO, WHAT, WHEN, WHERE, and WHY (1987). Actually, these are normally engineering/manufacturing process. In business or any manufacturing industry, the information resources can be designed and developed in the same manner as any other product. In system development, methodology is actually the division of labor and organization of work effort. With this idea, the development endeavor is divided into smaller and more convenient portion just as in an assembly line process. On the other hand, method is defined as the tools and techniques used to obtain and analyze research data. Basically, techniques represent ways for performing specific tasks (“how to”). In system development, a variety of techniques may be used on the process. Perceptibly, it would be not useful to use a technique at the wrong time on the process. This means the effective use of techniques is dependent upon a defined process. Apparently, tools implement techniques. It offers mechanical control for performing a specific task. In this idea, it is an annex of a technique, and like the technique, tools must be deployed at the proper locations along the process. In this connection, many engineering projects failed not because of their tools and techniques but simply because of their methodology. Without a defined methodology, Project Management will be ineffective, and design techniques and software development tools will be misapplied. Productivity will be low.
In software development, there are several processes to consider in attaining success of the project. The following approaches should be considered (Davis 1998):
1. System elements analysis
2. Specification
3. System architecture
4. Implementation/Coding
5. Testing
6. Documentation
7. System Training and Support
8. Maintenance
4.3 Methods, Tools and Techniques
Basically, system development is almost similar to software development in which we can use in Intranet development procedures. The most widely cited early attempt to produce a structured software development method is now usually referred to as the classic waterfall model. This model, describes the major stages of software development using labels such as requirements, design, coding, testing, and delivery. The waterfall aspect is the strict sequencing of these main stages (see Figure 4). Although it is always possible to return to an earlier stage to make changes, the development must again cascade through all the stages below that one. It is generally accepted, after much practical software engineering experience, that the earlier in the waterfall any changes are made, the greater is the additional cost to a project. Often the costs of change are suggested to be an order of magnitude greater for each stage further back in the sequence.
The waterfall model is not now used in most software engineering projects, primarily because it fails to describe how software engineers actually work, but it continues to provide a convenient vocabulary to describe the software life cycle (2004). The waterfall model was followed by many structured software development methods, such as Jackson Systems Design and subsequently, the overly complicated Structured Systems Analysis and Design Method. A method of this type defines one or more notations and provides relatively simple descriptions of how to use these. One general problem is that methods are difficult to describe. Methods involve processes but most natural languages are declarative, that is, they are much better at describing things than how things are transformed (2004).
On the other hand, spiral model combines the elements of both design and prototyping-in-stages, in an effort to combine advantages of top-down and bottom-up concepts ( 2004). This approach is based on the principle of the improvement process which s evolutionary in nature (which, in fact, it is). The idea of this process is to initially create and design a program followed by adding continues phases that allows the practitioner revise the program to enhance its features (see figure 5). From a Project Management perspective, the problem with this approach is that the project never ends.
When we speak of software development methods, actually we are referring to development languages, styles, or what the industry actually calls methodology — Waterfall, Incremental, Spiral, Prototyping, etc. Thus, methodology has weaknesses which are often related to the type of development effort and the developer/project team choosing the wrong methodology for their effort. For example:
Waterfall’s weaknesses are as follows (2004):
· Lack of flexibility
· Requires a complete set of requirements at project start
· Design flaws not discovered until the Testing phase
Incremental weaknesses amount to (2004):
· Lack of finalized requirements when work begins
· Interfaces defined earlier rather than later
· Tendency to push difficult problems to ensure positive project view early on
Spiral weaknesses are (2004):
· Difficulty coordinating larger teams
· Tendency to not document iterative phased work fully
· Can result in a never-ending project if poorly managed
Lastly, prototyping has the following weaknesses (2004):
· More applicable to new, original development efforts versus modifications to existing applications
· Often results in poor documentation (project and application)
· Tendency to push difficult problems to ensure positive project view early on (as with Incremental)
In line with this, complex business system applications present different challenges to the product design and development teams. System development companies are often faced with difficult choices in meeting delivery deadlines. If the product is designed in isolation, there is a risk of misrepresenting business processes, making incorrect assumptions about the users, or simply overlooking specific user requirements. System development teams should reach out to subject matter experts and end users to understand how the product supports the business process and meets user requirements. System development teams are always at risk for making inaccurate assumptions about the user community for which they build applications. The pressure these teams are under to meet executive demands, revenue targets, and market expectations increases this risk the likelihood of affecting specific user groups is high.
4.3.1 Project Management Tools and Techniques
Project Initiation Templates
- Project Initiation Checklist
- Risk Assessment Tool
- Project Template
- Issue Log
- Project Initiation Kick Off Report
- Project Initiation Report
- Stage End Report
- Stage Initiation Report
- Costing Spreadsheet
Project Control Templates
- Change request form
- Change control log
- Flash status report
- Project status report
- Issue log template
- Project board agendas
- Quality review agenda
- Quality review exception item list
- Exception Situation report
Others
- Meeting Agenda Template
- Project Status Report Template
- Project Scope Template
- Project Initiation Worksheet
- Technology Test Plan Checklist
- Project Acceptance Criteria Worksheet
- WBS (Work Breakdown Structure) Worksheet
- SLA (Service Level Agreement) Requirements Worksheet
- IT Best Practices Evaluator
- Systems Change Control Template
4.3.3 Standard Software Analysis & Design Tools and Techniques
Object Oriented Hypermedia Design Model (OOHDM). It was one of the first methods to postulate the separation of concerns that defines its various models – requirements, conceptual, navigation, abstract interface and implementation. OOHDM, and its successor, SHDM (Semantic Hypermedia Design Method, which uses Semantic Web models) are supported by an open source, freely available environment, HyperDE.
4.3.4 Standard Database
- MS Access or Microsoft SQL-Server for ASP or .NET development.
Access can use data stored in Access/Jet, Microsoft SQL Server, Oracle, or any ODBC-compliant data container. Skilled software developers and data architects use it to develop application software. Relatively unskilled programmers and non-programmer “power users” can use it to build simple applications. It supports some object-oriented techniques but falls short of being a fully object-oriented development tool.
- MySql for PHP development.
MySql is popular for web applications and acts as the database component of the LAMP, MAMP, and WAMP platforms (Linux/Mac/Windows-Apache-MySQL-PHP/Perl/Python), and for open-source bug tracking tools like Bugzilla. Its popularity as a web application is closely tied to the popularity of PHP, which is often combined with MySQL. PHP and Mysql are essential components for running the popular WordPress blogging platform.
4.3.5 Standard Development and Programming Tools
Development shall be done in Windows platform regardless of the target web server.
User interface or the front end shall be designed using industry standard tools. Photoshop for photo editing and Fireworks for layout design. Whenever applicable, Flash shall be utilized for motion graphics.
IIS Web Server
- Multinational companies run heavily on Microsoft technology. Clients under Windows platform shall be dealt with accordingly using supported technologies like ASP scripting or NET. ASP pages will be developed using Dreamweaver while .NET shall be built on Visual Studio.
Apache Web Server (on Windows or Linux)
- Dreamweaver shall be used to write PHP pages. Dreamweaver not only produces clean codes, it is also an exceptional WYSIWYG tool in laying out HTML pages. MySQL-Front shall be our front-end interface for the popular MySQL database. It allows us to manage and administer databases from an easy to use Windows interface, rather than via the command line.
4.4 Infrastructure
Client based developers shall be provided an adequate space to render working hours. Ideally, a six (6) square meter furnished with office necessities shall be given to each developer. These developers shall have access to telephone, printer, fax, and the internet. An uninterruptible power supply is desired but not required.
A laptop preinstalled with Windows OS and development tools (Photoshop, Fireworks, Dreamweaver, etc.) shall be given to each developer. A web server is also provided as test server.
Email is a must have communication tool. Team members are assigned a unique email address to communicate with the Project Manager and other members of the team.
Messenger tools are discouraged. A team site shall be in place prior to the start of project to serve as collaboration and tracking tool where team members can discuss issues. Daily operating reports should also be posted online to enable the project manager aware of what’s going on in a team project.
4.5 Product Acceptance
Every milestone of the project will be accepted formally by the client by signing appropriate acceptance documentation. At the end of every phase the client will install the product and perform an acceptance test. This may result in additional requests for change and improvements.
To be considered complete, the project and related subprojects will require a project close out process for finalization. This close out process provides a checklist of final deliverables, user approvals, project final financial report and review of project quality measurements. It includes the transfer of responsibility for the system implemented from the project to production and on-going maintenance in the IT organization.
These materials are stored in the PCB for auditing and retrieval requirements and as the final project documentation completing the overall project work plan.
Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com
0 comments:
Post a Comment