Robert W. RamirezBSA/375Service Request SR-rm-022Michael James March 7, 2015

SERVICE REQUEST SR-rm-022

Riordan Manufacturing is an international plastics manufacturer that at this time employs 550 individuals with anticipated yearly profits equaling roughly $46 million. The business is totally maintained by Riordan Industries which is a Fortune 1000 company with profits of up to $1 billion. The firms goods are made up of plastic drink bottles that are manufactured at its factory in Pontiac, Michigan; routine plastic pieces are mass-manufactured at its factory in Hangzhou, China; and plastic fan segments are made at its plants in Albany, Georgia ("Riordan Manufacturing", 2013).

Hugh McCauley, COO of Riordan Manufacturing, wants to combine the present variation of equipment in use into a particular incorporated function. I have received a request from Hugh McCauley to develop an approach to replace the present HRIS. The current practice was created in 1992 ("HRIS", 2013). With a new and improved system, Riordan will be able to become much more efficient, save time, and most importantly, save money.

An improved human resource organization practice can increase the business. Be in harmony with the Service Request SR-rm-022, Riordan ideas to put into position several of the current HR tools into one combined request so the business is able to profit from a more sophisticated material method within the Human Resource Department.

Main issues that will assist make sure that the material needed for this task is collected effectively will be identified in the following paper, and a detailed project plan will be created. This plan will offer a record off all jobs, sources, and a schedule and financial plan required to finish the plan.

Current Technique

The businesss HRIS practice was set up in 1992. The issue is a function of the business procedures bundle and retains trace of the charting workers data; individual data, pay rate, exemptions, hire date, seniority date, and vacation hours. Transformation to this data is presented in script (on unique outlines) by the workers boss and is recorded into the technique by the personnel accounts clerk. Teaching and education files are kept in a Microsoft Excel worksheet by the teaching and education expert. All recruiters support candidate data for exposed spots. Rsums are stored in a main storage area, and a Microsoft Excel worksheet is managed to follow the position of candidates. Employees benefits are controlled by a third-party supplier, which retains its personal files. The members of staff records are kept by personal bosses; there is no main staff record space. Bosses are also accountable for tracing FMLA time off and any wishes for modification adjustments comparable to the ADA. The benefit supervisor keeps a Microsoft Excel worksheet with the outcome of occupation studies, income reviews and personal reimbursement conclusions. Worker involvement experts trace material about grievances, injustices, harassment grievances, etc. in locked accounts in their workplace ("Hris", 2013).

Material-Collecting Procedures and Design Methods

Meetings will be the original method of material collecting that will be used. Meetings and analysis documents are a very helpful way to collect material. Among the consumers thoughts, individual familiarities, job linked thoughts, and how they currently use the system will provide great feedback for the future use of the system. A worksheet will be arranged previous to any meetings. It is valuable to arrange with a meeting leader so that examiner recognizes what method to ask questions, and the amount of time that should be spent on each area of the interview. This will also keep the interview on track and flowing well, and also make sure nothing important gets left out of the interview.

When developing a project of this nature it is important to gather information from various sources to ensure the project will reach its desired function. During the information gathering period, I will be meeting with key management personnel, IT staff, and users to get different inputs. Through these meetings, I will be allowed to ask and answer questions as well as invite comments and acknowledge concerns and ideas from every angle. By creating this open dialog, which will last through the duration of the project, I will be able to better understand what the company needs to improve the quality of its employees jobs.

The design method that would be used for Riordan Manufacturing would involve the use of Joint Application Development (JAD). Participants in this methodology would include users, managers, sponsors, programmers, and systems analysts. By involving everyone in the program, we can obtain the most vital information on what is needed to improve the current process for Riordan.

Business Requirements for an HR System

Riordan Manufacturing is a large company with facilities in several locations around the world. As a result of its size, Riordan must have a system that is able to keep track of important information such as employee names and other confidential data. This information should be able to be accessed from other locations as well as the home office. There are other functions that a new and improved HR system could benefit such as inventory tracking or the shipping or reception of products. These requirements legitimize the need and request for a new system implementation for Riordan Manufacturing. When dealing such a huge amount in sales, if a new system can become even 10% more efficient, the cost savings can be in the millions.

Scope and Feasibility

Project scope defines the goals of the project and the budget of both time and money that has been allocated to achieve the objectives. For the best results to be achieved, both the definition and the allocated budget must be precise and detailed. A good process scope document will define specifically the tasks to be completed. The project scope is important because it will define the specific date for which the deliverables will be due and list the allocated budget for them. The project scope will also list specific items not part of the project scope and are excluded from the work to be delivered.

Project feasibility is examined during the systems analysis and requirements definition phase of the SCLC. This phase involves the setting of specific project goals, which defines the functions and operations, to be included in the project to achieve completion of the project. The project goals should be based on the analysis of the stakeholders information needs ("System Development Life Cycle", 2012).

Conclusion

Before the plan can be put implemented, it must receive formal approval by Hugh McCauley of Riordan Manufacturing. The plan that I have described will allow the company to integrate all of its facilities into one single application and also improve the overall efficiency of its human resources department. This completion date is well below the six month deadline given by Mr. McCauley.Architecture Application and Design Process

The architecture application shows the arrangement of the application implementation, which commonly includes partitioned application logic and deployment to server engines (Gartner, 2013). The application architecture can be tailored to any business. Riordan Manufacturing must describe the objectives before choosing and designing their system.

When the goals have been identified then the design development can start. With the equipment needs, implementation requirements, and workflow clearly understood these are described in more detail in order to design the appropriate system. The designing itself is accomplished after many interviews in order to capture the real needs, by using flowcharts, scale displays, and even some practice simulation software (Dennis, Wixom, & Ruth, 2012).

A client server architecture services would be beneficial for Riordan being that this nonfunctional option could have more profits when using a client and user based server. There are four main advantages for a user based server; scalableness, adaptability, reliable linking of computers and parting of reason:

a) Scalableness regulates storing and managing inside the server.

b) Adaptability is the capability to reinforce altered user based client servers. The server can additionally part logics with no altering of any other data.

c) Reliable networking permits the server to uphold the system in case of any oversights or function failures.

d) Parting of logic allows reasoning.

Security controls

Security in a companys information system is in todays market the number one priority. In order to save Riordan Manufacturing from external malicious and strange activities the system requires security procedures and controls put into place. The job is given to the process group, they are full of people that are skilled in the computer technology and IT field.

The information and records belonging to Riordan Manufacturing is confidential, these include to name a few but are not limited to:

1) Employee information

2) Customer information

3) Company financials

4) Government information

5) And other vital information

It is important for Riordan Manufacturing to have all of its data encrypted and stored with the highest level of security. This information contains copyrighted material that it is exclusive to Riordan Manufacturing and if it falls in the wrong hands can result in litigations, law suits by its customers and even heavy penalties by the government. One small incident can result in the company losing money because of negligence, these are all reasons for security controls.

Outsourcing to third-party vendors as discussed earlier can save Riordan Manufacturing money, time and labor, by using application processes already created and just by tailoring them to the companys operation. The vendors are liable for any security breach so this makes the process safe and should help protect Riordan in case of any wrong doing (Valacich, George, & Hoffer, 2012).

The system security include a feature that enables the right users with the right credentials to access information that is associated with the user job description or pay grade. If an individual tries to access unauthorized information for any reason, a security alert is sent to the IT security department for further investigation. This section will prevent any type of security threat whether it be internal or external trying to gain entry for malicious purposes.

Another way to protect Riordan Manufacturing is securing its network with the use of a (VLAN) Virtual Local Area Network. The network is maintained by the system administrator and this is the only one person allowed to change anything on the network or its hardware. User will only be able to run their tasks that are associated with their clearance. In order to obtain access they must enter the credentials for validation keeping the system secure.

Interface design

Users have become familiar with interface elements behaving a certain way, being consistent will help task completion efficiency and familiarity. Understanding Riordan Manufacturings needs like their skills set and preferences are a huge help in the interface design. Keeping in mind:

a) Simplicity

b) Consistency and common elements

c) Creating clarity and hierarchy

d) The communication between the system and the user

e) The layout, color and textureImplementation

The new information technology system has been through the analysis and design phase, it is time to move into the implementation final phase of the SDLC process. The implementation portion of this project is where the system is put into a working environment. During implementation and operation, physical design specifications must be turned into working computer code (Joseph, 2012, P. 319). This includes pulling all of the moving parts together in order to get the system into a run state. The new information technology system will be rolled out slowly in order to demonstrate to Riordans Human Resources Department how it works. The main focus here is to not interrupt the business during the rollout of the new product. We will be conscious of this concern and will devise a plan in order to attain that goal. In this section of the presentation, I will outline in detail all aspects of the implementation phase including coding, testing, installation, documentation, training, and support.

Coding

Coding is the section of the implementation portion of the project where developers create the programs that make up the system. These programs will address all of the business issues identified by the stakeholders during the analysis phase of the SDLC process. The developers will produce programs to make the Human Resources employees jobs easier on a day to day basis, including accessing employee information, where and how to store that information and where is the information going to be stored. The scope of this project, identified the areas that needed to be addressed, and these programs will solve those issues in the most efficient way possible.

Testing

Even though testing takes place throughout the SDLC process, now is the most critical time for testing just before go live. According to"The Benefits Of Testing Software By Project Phase"(2014), Generally software testing is relegated to one phase of the software development life cycle (Para. 2). The developers and quality assurance areas of the IT team will test every program for errors and functionality. Users of the Human Resources area will test for scenarios with live data.

Just as important as testing, yielding the results of testing is just as important. It is important for developers to work behind the scenes to find and correct any errors identified with testing. It is also crucial for the systems analyst to work closely with the users and be the middle person between the user community and the developers. This will ensure that all areas of concern are addressed in the most efficient way possible. No software package is perfect, and this one is no exception. Testing if done properly will make the transition to the new system as flawless as possible

The developers will load the new system onto a few select computers during testing to check for functionality and performance. This will gauge the time required to install the system on all computers in the Human Resources are identified for the upgrade and the network performance. Network performance is a critical part of this process. Even though, the network has nothing to do with the programs functionality, if it does not perform well, it can derail the project and frustrate users and the business. Testing is also work in progress, knowing that when problems arise, they can be fixed in a minimum amount of time.

User testing will be performed as well as a beta test. The beta test will be performed with live data, further enhancing the testing process to identify errors. Finally, an acceptance test is performed, and this is where developers and stakeholders sign off on their testing with an approval to proceed to installation.

Installation

Now that testing is complete, the next step in the SDLC process is the Installation of the new system. During this stage of the project, the new software will be installed onto every computer in Riordans Human Resource Department. This installation will take place after hours per managements request not to interrupt or impact the business.

Installation of the software is the actual go live of the new system. It will now be part of the daily routines performed by the human resource employees. Even though, the system has been tested thoroughly, errors can still be uncovered. It is crucial during this process for the systems analyst to work closely with the users and the developers to put out any fires as quickly as possible. All applications should be checked for accuracy and functionality. The system should have a positive impact with the users on performance alone. That said, it will take a period of three to six months to tune the system for final approval

The employees will be trained to use the new system properly during installation and the application software that has been installed. Testing and installation is where users and developers can get a first look at all of the work that has gone into this project. The new systems identity is established during installation, and now it is a part of the daily routine of the human resource department.

Documentation

Although the process of documentation proceeds throughout this project, it receives special attention now. Documentation includes a formal written document including all of the pieces of information that users will need to know. This includes key elements of the software, as well as functionality and how to use the software. Troubleshooting will be outlined in the documentation and any other piece of information deemed necessary for the end user to do their job.

Training

In this instance, each user of the system will be properly trained by the programmers on how to use the new system, how to use the application software, and they will be trained on how to apply the system to their daily workload. Proper training will ensure the users can get off the ground running on day one using the new system. This will also help the Human Resources Department to get better use of the system and how to enhance the system going forward.

Support

Support is ongoing and will be provided by the developers along with the systems analyst should a problem arise with the application software or the new system itself. Support includes over the phone and face to face if need be on should a problem be identified on the system. Initially, support will require a significant amount of time, over time, however, that time will diminish greatly as users become more familiar with the new system. The developers will also provide services such as updates, diagnostics and correct any errors that may occur.

Benefits

The benefits of using these defined and repeatable processes to accomplish the implementation stage are the company will get the best use of the new software. They will learn how to use the system in order to perform the functions of their jobs as well as how the system can better certain aspects of their duties. According to "Implementation Phase"(n.d.), During the implementation phase, the automated system/application or other IT solution is moved from development status to production status (Implementation Phase). The system should perform up to and exceed expectations of Riordans Human Resource Department. The overall performance of the system will enhance their ability to perform more efficient than in the past. The steps outlined in the implementation process provides a blueprint to follow in keeping the project on time and budget.

Riordan Manufacturings Human Resource Department will benefit greatly from the new software by speeding up processes, make their jobs easier, saving time and money, yielding better results, and taking advantage of a state of the art more sophisticated information technology system.

References:

HRIS. (2013). Retrieved from https://ecampus.phoenix.edu/secure/aapd/cist/vop/Business/Riordan/HR/HRIS.asp

Riordan Manufacturing. (2013). Retrieved from https://ecampus.phoenix.edu/secure/aapd/cist/vop/Business/Riordan/index.aspDennis, A., Wixom, B. H., & Ruth, R. M. (2012). Systems Analysis and Design (5th ed.)

Gartner. (2013). Retrieved from gartner.com: http://www.gartner.com/it-glossary/application-architecture-aa

Valacich, J. S., George, J. F., & Hoffer, J. A. (2012). Essentials of Systems analysis and design

(5th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson EducationJoseph, S. Valacich. (2012). Essentials of Systems Analysis and Design. Retrieved from The University of Phoenix eBook Collection database.

The benefits of testing software by project phase. (2014). Retrieved from http://searchsoftwarequality.techtarget.com/tip/The-benefits-of-testing-software-by-project-phase

Implementation Phase. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www2.cdc.gov/cdcup/library/pmg/implementation/