This section has looked at an electronic respite booking system and enhancement of the Fraser Health website as two business requirements that are important for Fraser Health to consider. Initial use cases for each requirement have been outlined but as recommended by Atkins (2003) further work needs to be completed by involving relevant stakeholders to ensure a complete list is compiled and business processes mapped. Process improvements lead to cost savings thus justifying the time spent exploring business requirements.
This section will identify the hardware and software required for solution designs for the Residential Respite Booking Program and Website Enhancement. How use cases aid in the system analysis and design process will be explained along with how internal and external stakeholders will be affected by the solution. The business risks and security risks of the proposed solution will be evaluated and mitigation plans recommended. A financial plan will be developed and metrics to measure the performance of the technology project plan identified.The Residential Respite Booking Program and Website enhancement will both require hardware.
The hardware required for the solution designs would as Haag, Cummings, and McCubbrey (2005) state include input devices such as keyboards and mice to enter information and commands. Output devices such as a monitor and a storage device to store backup data are required. A central processing unit to interpret and execute software instructions and coordinate the operation of all other hardware is also required. Random access memory (RAM) which is the temporary holding area for the information being worked on as well as the system and application instruction that CPU currently needs is required.Telecommunication devices are other hardware requirements. The Residential Respite Booking Program will require the extranet and wide area network.
The Website enhancement will require the internet and wide area network (no author, 2007). The intended users of the Residential Respite Booking Program already have access to the above hardware and the extranet and therefore additional costs for hardware and training on use of the hardware and extranet will not be required. The Web Page will require end users to have access to a PC and Internet connection to view the information.System, utility and application software will be required (Haag et al.
, 2005). The Residential Respite Booking Program and the Website enhancement will both require systems software such as Microsoft Windows XP and Microsoft Windows NT. Antivirus software and screensaver software are a couple of the utility software that are required. Fraser Health has systems and utility software.
The Website enhancement requires Microsoft FrontPage to create and publish a Website. Fraser Health has this program and thus no added costs are attached. The Respite Booking Program will require a Structured Query Language (SQL) database, File Share and access runtime (Janvrin, 1994).Use Cases are the first step in system analysis and design as Use Cases focus on users and their goals rather than on the product features. Going directly to analysis and design may cause important information to be lost. Use Cases are a way that information can be captured in a non-technical way and thus allow all groups of end users to be involved in the process.
Use Cases improve the chances of developing a software package that meets the needs of the customer and end users (Wiegers, 2007). Use Cases assist in building requirements as they "capture the way in which the user uses a system" (Cockburn, 1997). Use cases can decrease the chance that errors in design will occur and thus prevent loss in time and cost involved in redesign.Internal and external stakeholder will be affected by both solutions. In the case of the Residential Respite Booking Program work is going from a manual process to an automated process.
As part of a change management plan, Case Managers, the primary users of the program, will be involved in all phases of the project. The Case Managers will provide input and will also be involved in the training. The information regarding respite facilities will be available to caregivers in a timely way. Caregivers will not need to wait for the information regarding the respite facility to come via mail but can log onto the internet and view the information on all respite facilities.
Stakeholders will be involved in the development of the content. The availability of this information will be communicated to caregivers via Case Managers.The website enhancement is low for business risk and security risk as the cost of the enhancement is low and the information to be accessed regarding the facilities is also of a low risk nature. The website can be updated only by Fraser Health communications thus all information is vetted for content to ensure accuracy and is also viewed from a potential liability point of view. The Residential Respite Booking Program has a higher cost risk and has a higher need for security management as confidential information regarding clients will be entered and managed. The business risk will be managed via a clear project charter that will outline expected goals, milestones, deliverables and a financial plan.
A contract will be signed with any outside contractor/vendor that clearly outlines requirements, expectations, and penalty clauses for going over budget and being late with deliverables. Security risk will be managed via having only authorized personal having access to the software. A user group will be maintained and authorization for use will be via the home health manager. A specific password will be required to enter the program. The primary projected costs are the cost of labor, the software, and training materials For the purposes of the project, the assumptions are the cost of the software is negotiated at a set price and clearly defined requirements will be set. Penalty clauses in the vendor contract will cover any problems with the software and delays in delivery time.
The labor portion of the budget estimates can be impacted by increases in wages and are calculated based on the assumption the project will be completed within one year during which time there will be no wage increases.
