The HR database contains an enormous amount of information in all of the employees’ files and data regarding their respective careers at Riordan. The database should operate at peak performance at all times. The functionality of the current system is limited due to a quickly becoming outdated system compared to other systems that are currently available.The Information Technology (IT) department had been asked to analyze the current system and issue an analysis of the scope and feasibility of the project. Scope The HR system is in danger of becoming unstable due to increased data storage and data processing.
Riordan Manufacturing has grown over the years as did their employee pool. With this growth came more data gathered as well as more data analysis and processing. The current system is strained to its limits and cannot handle the load efficiently as it once did. HR employees can only process the data as quickly as the system allows.To resolve the processing slow down, servers will be added to handle the increased load.
Additional software will be designed to add to the existing system and add features such as requesting Family Medical Leave and tracking payroll records. The system will have a feature that managers will be able to submit annual evaluations resulting in timely reviews and payroll will not need adjustments such as retro pay for late reviews. Current payroll processing is repetitious in areas and therefore inefficient. By allowing new systems to replicate data to one another, the data entry occurs once.Repeated data entries resulted in data errors and this will be rectified also. To resolve the slow down of processing, additional servers need to be added to handle the increased load.
Designing additional applications to add to the system stabilizes the system and adds features like tracking payroll time records and professional development hours. This provides increased functionality to the HR department. Information Gathering Techniques To begin the project, the stakeholders must be identified. There are four groups of users.The first group is the executive users, who need to evaluate reports generated by the system to make business decisions.
The second group is the HR employees who are responsible for using the system to manage the data collected and perform the processes needed including payroll and time period records as well as other functions. The third group is the middle managers who use the system to record data regarding the employees in their respective departments. The final group is the employees who use the system to submit time records as well as access their personnel information and company policies and other information.In order to evaluate the system effectively; adequate representation of each group in the process is imperative.
The next step is to determine the functionality of the existing system in order to ensure a seamless integration with the proposed application. Gathering system requirements must encompass the existent requirements to build upon. Learning the daily functions will enable the team to further determine strategic planning in systems requirements. Analysts will shadow HR personnel and observe day-to-day operations of the current system.
Interviews with the personnel can supply the current processes as well as improvements they would make. Once this step is completed, formation of a committee for a joint application design (JAD) sessions or workshops are decided. The committee is composed of eight people. The first participant is Hugh McCauley, COO, who requested this service. The project manager is included to answer questions regarding the project.
The following participants are representative of each group of users: a HR manager, a security analyst, a department head, and an employee to represent an external end user.In addition to the committee, a facilitator is present to lead the proceedings, and a secretary to take the minutes is present. Also included is the IT department that is involved in the project; as observers. The committee will meet to develop a logical model that depicts the requirements that meets the needs of the system. Due to geographical limitations, it is not possible for all participants to attend locally, so sessions will be virtual (Yatco, 1999).
Key Factors The secretary to ensure data retention is complete creates a document storage system (Document Advantage Corporation, n. . ).Each committee member is required to attend each session and closely follow the agenda determined for that meeting.
sessions will not be held unless all decision makers are present. The sessions begin and end on time with all points addressed adequately. The facilitator should review objectives frequently to keep the team focused. Committee members contribute actively to the idea exchanging portions of the sessions (Rottmann, n. d. ).
The foremost milestone of the committee is to develop a logical model that encompassess all available insight.To this end, end users answer a survey detailing requirements they would like to see implemented. The committee discusses and prioritizes the evaluated results accordingly. Examining the data that the existing processes develops further requirements. Discussion of a detailed listing of the processes the system performs yields insight into requirements and possible improvements. Definition of the functional and nonfunctional systems requirements is completed.
Feasibility Study The scope of the project is well defined. Increased stability equates to increased security.A HR system contains sensitive data that demands increased protection. State of the art features increase the usability of the system and reduce the work force hours which in turn increases employee productivity. Additional features such as tracking employee’s professional development hours aid department management in their supervisory roles. Performing payroll processing becomes effortless and efficiently accomplished.
Retention of time records does not require archiving. Employees can access payroll information from the HR site.The increased functionality in direct deposits of payroll results in a saving of time and money with fewer checks to issue. Replication of data from one application to another eliminates the possibility of human error.
Increased processing speed creates reports in seconds allowing executive management to access information instantaneously. Allowing managers to complete evaluations through the system enhance tracking employee productivity. Implementing additional applications allow the centralized database to receive data from each plant simultaneously.This further increases the ease of running reports. The recommendation is to design a system to accommodate the system requirements that may increase the stability, functionality and the usability of the existing system.
Once completed, development of a prototype will commence. Release of the prototype to the end users for testing and feedback will ensure seamless integration to the existing system by finding any errors. Once the prototype is perfected, the integration of the systems will result in a productive and profitable system.
