Title: IT Business Applications
1IT Business Applications
2Session Objectives
- The purpose of this session is to
- Ensure that you understand what is required
- Discuss the project timescale, and indicate some
of the milestones - Offer some examples of what might be the
end-product - Explore some of the methods by which you might
investigate the context.
3The Project Brief
- Within a realistic context of application,
identify a range of sources and targets of data
both external and internal to the context, which
are generated or supplied as part of the normal
business working - Formulate a range of spreadsheet models and
applications which can be used to work with the
data. - Evaluate the usefulness of these models and
applications.
4Breakdown of the task
- The task has five parts
- Forming a Team
- Developing a Proposal
- Presentation of proposals
- Development Work
- Creation and Submission of a report
5The Timescale
- Week 10
- Form Teams find context, collect data, create
draft systems analysis - Week 11
- Attend Formative Tutorial and discuss context
- Week 12
- Create present project outline proposals
- Weeks13
- Develop Applications Package
- Week 14
- Conduct a Walkthrough of the Applications Package
- Week 15
- Submit a Written Report on the Application
6Team Working Project
- This document is available in this weeks
resources on the website, and is the second
instalment. This part takes you through
step-by-step until the end of this semester. - You should download this follow this carefully,
in a week-by week fashion.
Please Note This document is extremely lengthy
(well over 100 pages), but provides very detailed
instructions on every part of the project.
7The Formative Tutorial T0
- In Week 11 you will attend a team formative
tutorial. - Before this you will have submitted an Tutorial
Briefing Paper with details of your context and
what you have been doing
- Attendance at the tutorial is compulsory but
carries no marks
8The Formative Tutorial T0
- The purpose of the tutorial is to ensure that you
are going along the right lines, - and that
- you have found a suitable context
- your data is suitable
- your analysis is effective
- you have good ideas
9The Presentation T1
- In week 12 your team will make a presentation.
- In this presentation you will describe the
context and outline your proposals. - You will be marked on the quality of the
proposals, the level detail of the analysis,the
quality of the presentation and the teamwork.
- The Presentation should be designed to last about
10 minutes, use PowerPoint and is worth 10
10The Presentation T1
- The purpose of the presentation is to cause you
to focus and summarise your ideas. - Within the presentation you should present
spreadsheet models, produce story boards and
mock-ups. - In doing this, you will receive suggestions as to
how you might improve, or what else you could do.
11Development Work
- This is the hard graft of the project.
- You will need to work as a team to split the
project between you. Different people should work
on different aspects of the project. - One person for example, might work on a website
another might produce a set of accounting
templates, while another might produce an
interface.
12The Walkthrough T2
- In week 14 you will undertake a walkthrough of
the applications package that you have created. - This means that you will demonstrate it,
outlining all the features in a well-thought
through, structured manner.
- The Walkthrough should last about 15 minutes and
will be worth 20
13The Final Report T3
- The report consists of a number of sections, and
will include full descriptions of the proposed
applications - The report will be highly structured, and will
include analysis and justification, together with
sources, Bibliography etc. - There will be appendices consisting of user
guides, technical specifications etc.
14In this session
- We now consider the project brief, and some of
the issues which you should be addressing over
the next few weeks.
15Finding and Investigating a Context
16What do we mean by a context of application ?
- Any organisation or situation which deals with
money or information.
17Some Possible Contexts
- The context would normally be a small business
enterprise, or a similar set-up which involves
data and/or financial matters. - One of the criteria here is that you should be
thoroughly familiar with the context by the time
you come to create the applications.
18Possibilities
- A small retail outlet
- a newsagents
- a greengrocer
- a charity shop
- or possibly
- a single small outlet of a large retail chain
19Possibilities
- A small organisation offering a service
- a doctors or dentists surgery
- a travel or estate agent
- a branch of a building society or bank
- a hairdresser
- A Citizens Advice Bureau
20Possibilities
- Trades people
- a window cleaning firm
- a small builder
- a decorating firm
- an electrical contractor
21Possibilities
- Other organisations
- A Club
- A school
- A Charity
- A local action group
22Criteria for selecting the context
- You will be assessed on the quality of your
applications and on the relevance and fit of
the product to the context. - This means that you must have a thorough insight
into the context, for example if you have worked
there, or you have a friend or relative who has
worked there. - In addition, the context must provide a variety
of different types of problem, and you need to
have insights into the way things are currently
done.
23Sharing Ideas
- We will spend a few minutes in buzz groups,
thinking aloud - Each person will describe a context they think
they may be able to use.
24Your Own Ideas
- Spend 2 minutes now, jotting down your ideas of
some of the contexts you might use. - Then spend 5 minutes discussing this with your
team later.
25Using Spreadsheets
- It is crucial that you develop spreadsheet
solutions as the major element in your project. - This means carefully selecting those elements
from the context where spreadsheet solutions are
relevant and applicable. - You do not have to cover everything!
26Investigating the Business Context
- The project models a scenario in which you are a
consultant brought in to suggest improvements
27The Scenario
- Ideally this should
- improve service to customers
- improve the flow of data
- improve the presentation of data
- improve ways of using the data
- improve ways of managing data
- You are an employee of CSTSB Computer Solutions
for Todays Small Business - Your brief is to provide the manager of your
context with computer solutions to their problems
28Sharing Ideas
- We will spend a few minutes in buzz groups,
thinking aloud - Each person will describe a context they think
they may be able to use.
29Your Own Ideas
- Spend 2 minutes now, jotting down your ideas of
some of the contexts you might use. - You will be able to discuss these with your team
later.
30What sort of things am I looking to do in the
project?
- These might cover a whole range of activities but
which offer potential for using a spreadsheet.
31Be Selective
- The scenario is deliberately open.
- This means you are able to choose any aspect
which has potential for improvement .
32Using Spreadsheets
- It is crucial that you develop spreadsheet
solutions as the major element in your project. - This means carefully selecting those elements
from the context where spreadsheet solutions are
relevant and applicable. - You do not have to cover everything!
33Ideas and Examples
34Keeping Accounts
- An accounting system for a charity
- Subscriptions
- Expenses
- Purchases
- Cash Ledger
- Bank Account
- Transactions
35Annual Budget for a Small Business
- This might consist of
- Opening Balance Sheet
- Profit Loss Account
- Cash Flow Statement
- Closing Balance Sheet
36Annual Budget for a Small Business
Opening Balance Sheet (last year)
Profit Loss Account (current year)
Summary List of transactions for current year
Cash Flow Statement (current year)
Closing Balance Sheet (current year)
Predicted List of transactions for next year
Profit Loss Account (next year)
Cash Flow Statement (next year)
Closing Balance Sheet (current year)
37Expenses Claims and Records
- Travel Claims System to include
- Journey details
- Tables to summarise data
- Claims tracking
- Summaries, e.g. claims per employee, totals,
averages - Charts and comparisons
38Expenses Claims and Records
Data entry form employee travel details
Employee Summary Reports
Database of Journey details
Analysis and Journey reports
Monthly Totals for salary amendments
39Making Predictions
- Looking at Sales Figures and/or profitability of
investments - Measures of profitability
- Forecasting using a range of statistical and
graphical techniques
40Making Predictions
Invoices
Receipts
Requisitions
Goods In
Purchases Log
Sales Record
Time Series Charts
Profitability Ratio Analysis
Break Even Analysis
What If Analysis
Automated Reports
41Automating Tasks
- A range of tasks, including
- Standard Invoices and Receipts at billing and
payment - Month-end summaries
- Customer information updates
- Automated reports
42Automating Tasks
- Macros in Office Software can allow tasks to be
carried out automatically - For instance
- saving a copy of an invoice will allow a database
entry to be updated. - Data entered into spreadsheets can automatically
create summaries, charts and other reporting
tools - Searches can be carried out which will allow
batch processing of items such as reminder
letters.
43Marketing Sales
- Customer database for use as a marketing tool
- Customer data
- Questionnaires
- Communications to customers
44In-store Customer Survey
Web Page (Context)
System Interface (Questionnaire)
Responses Database
Daily statistics on customer responses
Printed Customer Summaries discount vouchers
45Providing a Quotation or an Estimate
- Production of a quotation using standard forms
- Job details sheet
- Calculation of costings
- Printed quotation
46Quotation and Billing System
Web-Pages for advertising Marketing
Initial Query Form
Customer Database
Quotation Brief
Completed Quotation
Schedule of Jobs Costings
Bill for work carried out
Payment Records
Receipts
47Stock Control
- Stock Management System, including
- Records of stock purchased sold
- Summary sales current stock figures
- Stock turnover summaries
- Automatic re-ordering, including lists
48The Scope of the Project
- As you can see, some of these are major
undertakings, taking many hours and you will
probably only be able to develop one or possibly
two of these - Some are one off sheets which could take you a
few minutes to do.
49Your Suggestions
- As you can see each one has several different
components which interlink in various ways. - You must create something which has this level of
complexity, but is relevant to your chosen
context - You must incorporate two things- a spreadsheet
and some automation.
50What should you do now?
- Spend some time now thinking about what you might
do.
- For each of the possible contexts you identified
earlier, note down - A short list of potential data sources there
- Financial data
- Other data
- You should complete this after the session, and
discuss this with the your team during this week.
51What will I do in the context?
- You should observe, interview and interact with
the people, systems and documents
52Observing
- Watch what happens
- See what people do
- See how people react
53Participating
- It is not strictly necessary that you involve
yourself in the day-to-day organisation - However, this may help to give you insights, and
to find out how systems work
54Interviewing
- Find out about systems, policies , procedures
- Find out what is important
- Find out what people would like
- Use multiple perspectives
55Looking at Documents
- It will be very helpful to obtain access to
current files, in both paper-based and electronic
forms. - If you are not allowed to do this, perhaps you
could get them described to you.
56Resources
- In Appendix C of Team Working Project you will
find a document called Investigating Your
Context. - This document offers detailed suggestions as to
how to carry out investigations.
57What sort of data is required?
- Any kind of data (financial or other) which is
collected, used, transmitted or stored by the
organisation.
58The Data
- The data you use in your application does not
have to be real, but it does have to be
realistic. - One consequence of this is that you should know
how the data is produced, who it is for, what
happens to it, and how it is used within the
system. - The formats of the data that you use for your
project should have all the features of the real
thing.
59The Flow of Data
- It is important that you model the whole flow of
data, and include processes as well as produce
products. - You need to consider all the aspects of the Input
Process- Output chain - Also, consider whether there is any feedback from
the output back to input which helps to modify
the process
60Data Sources
- Who or what generates the data?
- How is it generated?
- What form does it take?
- How often?
61Processes
- What happens to the data along the way?
- Is it summarised, averaged, filtered or
consolidated? - Is it used in scenarios, what if situations or
other forecasting tools?
62Data Destinations
- Who is the data for?
- What form does the final data take?
- What use will it be put to?
63The Feedback Loop
- Does the person or organisation receiving the
data inform the person producing it or modifying
it whether the data is of sufficient quality or
value?
64Data Flow Diagrams
- As part of the project, you will need to
construct diagrams which describe the current
data flow, and your proposed amendments to it. - These diagrams should give an overview of the
sources and destinations of data.
65Data Flow Diagrams
Sales Representative
Data Flow Diagrams will be crucial in helping you
understand and explain the systems
You will need to use these diagrams to explain
both the current systems and your proposals
Invoice Clerk
Customer
This is a figurative example of a data flow we
have already discussed standard methods for
constructing Data Flow Diagrams
66What sort of things should we be looking to
create for the project?
- These might cover a whole range of activities but
which offer potential for using a spreadsheet.
67What sorts of applications are we expected to
produce?
- The main criterion is that the applications you
produce are of good quality, fit for purpose,
and relevant to the context. - For the moment, the type of application, and what
the end-product will look like are far less
important that the requirements of the business
context.
68Warning
- Do not start off with a solution in mind.
- The ideas for application should emerge evolve
during your discussions, as you find out more and
more, and encounter different aspects of the
work. - This is an iterative process, and you should
expect what you finally produce to be very
different from your initial ideas.
69Using Spreadsheets
- It is crucial that you develop spreadsheet
solutions as the major element in your project. - This means carefully selecting those elements
from the context where spreadsheet solutions are
relevant and applicable. - You do not have to cover everything!
70More Ideas and Examples
71Gweli A Brecwast
- Task A at the end of the first block (week 10)
asks you to create office stationery which
automatically writes to a database, and create a
spreadsheet which analyses costs prices - The project asks you to do the same sorts of
things, but for a real company. - Here are some other examples
72An ExampleLolo Trading Company
- A good example of what can be produces is a
spreadsheet produced for Lolo Trading Company, a
wholesalers supplying small retail traders. - You can find this in this weeks materials on the
website. - This was produced by a student on a previous
version of this module
73The Scope of the Project
- As you can see, the projects are major
undertakings, taking many hours and you cannot
possibly do this individually. - The whole point is that each person will need to
work on an individual element, but the whole
package will need to work in unison, and will
need to have the same look and feel
74Be Selective
- The scenario is deliberately open.
- This means you are able to choose any aspect
which has potential for improvement .
75What should you do now?
- During this week, you will be asked to form
teams, and then decide on the context to use for
the project
- Time is very short by the end of this week
- you will need to have sorted out
- A set of possible contexts
- Some idea of the potential data sources there
- Financial data
- Other data
- You should discuss ideas with the tutor before
the end of the seminar session, to ensure that
you have got sufficient breadth and depth.
76Then What?
You will undertake a Project Tutorial You will
need to complete a Tutorial Briefing Paper. This
defines what project you will be undertaking and
your context. Following on from this, you will
begin working towards the next milestone, The
Project Proposal T1 in Week 13.