Assessment of an Enterprise-Level Business System
Assessment of an Enterprise-Level Business System
Leon Kilpatrick
Assessment of an Enterprise-Level Business System
This paper addresses relevant considerations for the assessment of an enterprise-level business system and starts with a discussion of which information-gathering methods can be used in analyzing the requirements for such a system. This is followed by a synopsis of business process mapping methods that should be used in analysis activities along with a discussion of which business process mapping tools should be used in documenting the analysis.
Next, the paper tackles the problem of how the analyst can determine if these methods and tools were effective in understanding the requirements and end with an explanation of how prototyping tools could be used to confirm these requirements.
INFORMATION-GATHERING METHODS
Relevant data must be obtained that can assist in helping assess the need, potential and effectiveness of an Enterprise-Level Business System. One of the most tested ways of gathering information for analysis is in the form of data obtained through survey. Such data can be collected by e-mail, telephone or online. Web surveys offer some real advantages over the more conventional approaches with the most obvious advantages being speed and low cost.
However there are some drawbacks to the survey approach. For one you must be extremely careful about what questions you ask and how you ask them. In order to alleviate biases you may want to ask close ended questions that require a yes/no type of response. In those instances where you want to obtain objective opinions, an open-ended format may be better suited. It is important that the questions be devised to be as impartial as possible in order to prevent stake owner bias or having the results come to a preconceived conclusion.
Another survey drawback consideration concerns the amount of respondents that will actually respond to the survey. It will go a long ways towards getting a
Leon Kilpatrick
Assessment of an Enterprise-Level Business System
This paper addresses relevant considerations for the assessment of an enterprise-level business system and starts with a discussion of which information-gathering methods can be used in analyzing the requirements for such a system. This is followed by a synopsis of business process mapping methods that should be used in analysis activities along with a discussion of which business process mapping tools should be used in documenting the analysis.
Next, the paper tackles the problem of how the analyst can determine if these methods and tools were effective in understanding the requirements and end with an explanation of how prototyping tools could be used to confirm these requirements.
INFORMATION-GATHERING METHODS
Relevant data must be obtained that can assist in helping assess the need, potential and effectiveness of an Enterprise-Level Business System. One of the most tested ways of gathering information for analysis is in the form of data obtained through survey. Such data can be collected by e-mail, telephone or online. Web surveys offer some real advantages over the more conventional approaches with the most obvious advantages being speed and low cost.
However there are some drawbacks to the survey approach. For one you must be extremely careful about what questions you ask and how you ask them. In order to alleviate biases you may want to ask close ended questions that require a yes/no type of response. In those instances where you want to obtain objective opinions, an open-ended format may be better suited. It is important that the questions be devised to be as impartial as possible in order to prevent stake owner bias or having the results come to a preconceived conclusion.
Another survey drawback consideration concerns the amount of respondents that will actually respond to the survey. It will go a long ways towards getting a
References: Cline, A. (2000). Joint Application Development (JAD) for Requirements Collection and Management. Retrieved June 14, 2010 from http://www.carolla.com/wp-jad.htm. Deming, W.E. (1982), Out of the Crisis, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge Jacka, J.M. (2002). The Four Steps of Business Process Mapping. SmartPros. Retrieved from http://www.pro2net.com/x33396.xml Microsoft. (2010). Microsoft Project 2010. Retrieved from http://www.microsoft.com/project/en/us/product-information.aspx Microsoft. (2010). Microsoft Visio 2010. Retrieved from http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/visio/ Lynch, W. (1999-2011). What is Desk Checking. eHow. Retrieved from http://www.ehow.com/facts_5941523_desk-checking_.html