Tutorial Notes - Taught by Andrew Eberhard PDF

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Taught by Andrew Eberhard...

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Identifying Problems & Recommendations Problem Identifying a problem  Remember theme of assignment  Make sure you have sufficient evidence/research  Make sure problem is not too huge  Make a list of all possible problems- must be existing, not possible/imagined/future The difference between symptoms, a core problem and causes  Symptoms - indicators of the problem  Core problem - the problem  Causes - why is this happening? Drawing a problem tree A problem tree provides an overview of all the known causes and effects/symptoms to an identified problem 1. Group all the problems into categories 2. For one category, identify a core problem (may involve trial & error) 3. Determine which problems are "Causes" and which are "Effects/Symptoms" 4. Arrange in hierarchy both Causes and Effects

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Roots = root cause of all problems Trunk = core problem Leaves = symptoms are what you see on surface

Assessing and justifying a problem (width and depth)  Is there ENOUGH INFORMATION on this problem? Credible sources - news articles, government reports, statistical reports  How IMPORTANT is the problem? o Width - How many people it affects o Depth - How severe is the problem if left unaddressed  Problem needs to affect a large amount of people and be severe enough to need to be fixed Must fit one category

Conclusion  Summarise core problem identified (provide references)  Draw a problem tree showing all related causes & symptoms of problem

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Discuss the width & depth of problem (provide references) Outline a category of UN's Global Goals for Sustainable Development

Recommendations Brainstorming and assessing potential solutions for a problem  List down solutions for core problem identified - solution should use some form of data capture and process that data to provide information  Think about which of the causes identified it addresses, a good solution addresses the key causes to that problem  List down existing solutions to the problem identified  Think about improvements to these existing solutions- adding the IS/IT component or possibly combining some of the existing solutions  List pros & cons for shortlisted solutions, deciding BEST solution

Realising the Solution: Vision to Strategy Vision Statement        

Think about what you would like to achieve E.g. Apple: "To organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful" One sentence, very descriptive, sometimes does not need a time frame It will inspire employees, customers, suppliers & society Clear, visible, passionate Compelling, high level, concise, measurable (KPI) Where is the organisation headed? Future casting

Industry Analysis          

Helps organisation understand where/how they fit in the market What sort of business are out there that are already similar & how are they going to thrive? Porter's five forces Industry - important to get industry name correct- not too broad, specific and easy for someone to understand Suppliers - suppliers for entire industry, how much bargaining power do suppliers have? Buyers - different buyers in the industry, how much bargaining power do buyers have? Many substitutes? Threat of new entrants - how easy is it to set up a new business in the industry & compete against everyone else? Set up costs, buying supplies, skill etc. Threat of substitutes - options outside the industry Rivalry among existing competitors - who are you competing against that already exists? Dynamics, competition & products that are supplied inside the industry To understand how to thrive in an industry, you must do an overall analysis of all the five forces and come up with a strategy based on that

Customer Needs 

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Who are your customers? o Whoever pays for your product o Age, gender, income level etc. o End users are not customers, they are the users of the products/services but do not pay for it What are the customers' needs? o Characteristics/features/functions of the product that the customer would look for o E.g. cheap, quality, reliable etc.

Products & Services 

What products/services does your business offer to fulfil these needs? o Specific functions/features/nature of product & how they cater to/align with the identified needs of customers

Suppliers & Partners 

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Suppliers o Provide raw materials or services that go towards the creation of your final product/service o A business pays suppliers for raw materials/services Partners o Have a mutually beneficial relationship with an organisation o E.g. endorsements from other organisations o Sometimes, suppliers are also partners o A guarantee/promise that the business will not partner with another business

Strategy

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A strategy for your business- How will your business operate? How will it compete/thrive in this market? Up-down: competitive scope- product caters to a narrow or broad market? Left-right: competitive advantage- low cost relative to other products or differentiated qualityv product for a premium price?

Realising the Solution: Processes

Identifying Key Value Chain Activities Porter's Value Chain Model

The value chain model illustrates a series of activities and processes, each of which adds value to the product/service  Activities = adds value to your g/s  Look at the vision & determine the strategy  From this, find which activity the business should put most of its efforts into in order to add the most value to their g/s

From Value Chain to Business Processes  

Once an organisation has identified it's key value chain activity, they need to establish what the specific processes are within that key value chain activity What processes to focus on & understand to add the most value to the business?

Business Process  

A business process is a collection of interrelated tasks, initiated in response to an event, that achieves a specific result for the customer of the process So, within each specific business process, there is a number of steps involved in making the process work

Business Process Modelling A business process model is a graphic representation of the steps in a process, showing the sequence of process tasks Basic Model  START/DONE (rounded rectangle) = terminator, at the start & end of every process, possible for multiple endings  STEPS (in rectangle)  DECISION? (diamond) = a scenario in the business process with a yes/no decision or options to be made

Realising the Solution: Systems System Functionality    

Anything a system can do i.e. what activities does it support? What you do with a feature is a functionality Starts with a verb The key to identifying & understanding systems

Processes to Systems  

Identify the functionalities a system needs to carry out in order to support a specific process Functionalities are extracted from the steps in a process which lead to the systems needed to support the process

Broad Information Systems

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Lef: Executive Information, Decision Support, Transaction Processing, Collaboration Across: Supply Chain Management, Enterprise Resource Planning, Customer Relationships Management (Enterprise wide systems) When identifying broad systems:  TPS, DSS, CRM and Collaboration can be used in any organisation (large or small)  ERP and SCM are more typical of a large organisation as they are expensive All systems overlap & interrelate with one another

Naming Specific Information Systems  

Name of systems are generally determined by their functionality (what the system does) and the processes they support A payment processing system supports a payment process o Take the noun relating to the system o Think of what the system will do e.g. processing, analysis, management, planning o Based on this description, you create the system: noun, verb system o E.g. marketing analysis system, inventory management system, order processing system...