SAD 1 - Assignment 12

Organizations using ERP

ERP

Enterprise resource planning (ERP) is an integrated computer-based system used to manage internal and external resources including tangible assets, financial resources, materials, and human resources. It is a software architecture whose purpose is to facilitate the flow of information between all business functions inside the boundaries of the organization and manage the connections to outside stakeholders. Built on a centralized database and normally utilizing a common computing platform, ERP systems consolidate all business operations into a uniform and enterprise wide system environment.

Commercial Applications
-Manufacturing
Engineering, bills of material, scheduling, capacity, workflow management, quality control, cost management, manufacturing process, manufacturing projects, manufacturing flow
-Supply chain management
Order to cash, inventory, order entry, purchasing, product configurator, supply chain planning, supplier scheduling, inspection of goods, claim processing, commission calculation
-Financials
General ledger, cash management, accounts payable, accounts receivable, fixed assets
-Project management
Costing, billing, time and expense, performance units, activity management
-Human resources
Human resources, payroll, training, time and attendance, rostering, benefits
-Customer relationship management
Sales and marketing, commissions, service, customer contact and call center support
-Data services
Various "self-service" interfaces for customers, suppliers, and/or employees
-Access control
Management of user privileges for various processes

One organization which uses or installs an ERP package is the ESKER.

ESKER Company


Esker helps organizations eliminate paper and improve business processes by integrating on-premise and on-demand document automation with applications -- for higher efficiency in sales order processing, accounts receivable, accounts payable and purchasing to shorten order-to-cash and procure-to-pay cycles. Built on patented technology, Esker solutions address the challenges of manual document processing that limit an organization's ability to increase speed and accuracy, raise productivity, reduce complexity, control costs and improve customer satisfaction. Over the past two decades Esker has become a worldwide leader in document process automation with offices in North America, Europe, Australia and Asia, and partners in more than 80 countries.

The following is an article from the web that promotes the use ERP for the company Esker.
E-Purchasing for ERP
Streamline inventory management, reduce carrying costs and increase profit with automated e-purchasing
The purchasing department generates added value and profitability for the entire organization by communicating with suppliers to procure high-quality goods and services at the lowest cost and at the right time.
This value is restricted by archaic and inefficient processes involving paper documents and time-consuming tasks.

How the E-Purchasing solution works

The E-Purchasing Solution automatically sends purchase orders, purchase requisition forms, etc… from your ERP system ensuring completion and timely approval of documents that are sent to your suppliers. You can easily track documents to verify they have effectively been sent ensuring that no order has been lost or misplaced.

Key features of the E-Purchasing solution
• Web-based purchase order approval workflow
• Automatic routing of copies to additional recipients
• Secure email sending using standard electronic signature
• Electronic archiving using Esker or your own archive system
• Flexible delivery method depending on the supplier

Benefits of E-Purchasing with Esker DeliveryWare
By removing manual handling steps in the process and allowing tracking of all purchase orders deliveries, Esker E-Purchasing solution provides immediate return on investment. ERP users benefit from a fully integrated and fully optimized process for better supply management.
• Reduce purchase order processing costs by 60%
• Eliminate data entry reducing order processing time by 80%
• Dramatically improve procurement efficiency while saving costs
• Shift employees focus from paperwork to productivity
• Realize your goal of a completely paperless purchasing environment
• Use information more efficiently by integrating enhanced transaction data with your existing systems
• Mitigate risk by setting detailed purchasing parameters for individual buyers
• Maximize vendor contracts and gain from economies of scale
• Achieve faster cycle times throughout the organization
• Eliminate order processing errors and incorrect shipments
• Improve customer service with full order confirmation and processing notifications

References:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enterprise_resource_planning
http://searchsap.bitpipe.com/detail/ORG/974238574_986.html
http://www.esker.com/solutions/dpa-e-purchasing_erp.asp

SAD 1 - Assignment 11

Choosing a Deployment Environment

You were tasked by the IC-dean to evaluate the enrollment system of the university, list and briefly describe the characteristics that an anlayst(you) examines when choosing or defining deployment environment.

For this assignment, our task is to identify characteristics to examine when choosing or defining deployment environment for a system to be developed. A system of course could not just be deployed anywhere we want or which is just available, there are a lot of things to be considered. So when choosing where one wants to deploy a system different factors should be considered so that one will have the perfect deployment environment suited for their system.

I had listed below the possible characteristics to look at when choosing a deployment environment of a system
 
1. Location type or area type of probable deployment environment
The type of location should certainly be examined. A system could not just be deployed on any type of environment it should be an area wherein you can place computer units and possibly have network connections and is well-ventilated as well.
 
2. Identify available resources
Precedent resources could still be utilized for the system. Available resources should be considered for a deployment environment to be utilized upon deployment.
 
3. Site possible threat
Risks could never be avoided upon deployment of the system so an analyst should consider identifying possible risk to take place in the future just like bugs of power failure that could affect the performance of the system.
 
4. Existing systems
External or other existing systems in the deployment environment should be examined so the new system could conform to the external one for better performance.
 
5. Compatibility with system requirements and among hardware and system software
System requirement, computer hardware and system software configuration should also be considered so that the system could properly function as well as network link and development tools.
 
6. Cost and schedule
Cost of course is a should be examined. Ana analyst should know if the deployment environment has adequate or just about the right price which will conform to the allocated budget. The deployment environment should have a proper schedule for usage which will not affect the performance of the system to be deployed.
 
7. Security
Security of the environment should also be examined to avoid unwanted external entities that could build up problems in the system.

References:
people.stfx.ca/rpalanis/415/lecture/
http://publib.boulder.ibm.com/infocenter/dmndhelp/v7r0mx/index.jsp?topic=/com.ibm.websphere.wps.doc/doc/tpln_implementnd.html

SAD 1 - Assignment 10

Evaluating a DFD

On the previous assignments we have created different types of diagrams to conceptualize the pre-enrollment system of the university. These diagrams could help us understand the floe of data, how it is used, and who administers it. On this assignment we are tasked to analyze what characteristics should be considered upon evaluating a data flow diagram.

According to Wikipedia data flow diagram (DFD) is defined as a graphical representation of the flow of data through an information system. DFDs can also be used for the visualization of data processing (structured design).On a DFD, data items flow from an external data source or an internal data store to an internal data store or an external data sink, via an internal process. Data flow diagrams (DFDs) offer a graphical technique for summarizing the movement of data between the processing steps that occur within a business process. They isolate the collections of data, or data stores, which accumulate during a process, and identify the sources of data that arise outside process boundaries.

Upon constructing a DFD, there are a lot of things to be considered by the analyst. Analyst should take into consideration the type of system they are creating and other factors as well. This is the job of a system analyst. A systems analyst researches problems, plans solutions, recommends software and systems, and coordinates development to meet business or other requirements. They will be familiar with multiple approaches to problem-solving. Analysts are often familiar with a variety of programming languages, operating systems, and computer hardware platforms. Because they often write user requests into technical specifications, the systems analysts are the liaisons between vendors and IT professionals. They may be responsible for developing cost analysis, design considerations, and implementation time-lines.

In creating a dataflow diagram here are some characteristics that might be taken into consideration by the analyst.

* Two-dimensional summary
DFD should offer a way to summarize the data flow characteristics of a process on a single page. As such they can provide a useful and concise summary of system-related process attributes.
 

* Completeness
DFDs offer a way to check the completeness of your process model, particularly as regards your understanding of the data that would be required by an information system. It should be clear that the needed data are clearly projected on the DFD and if their processing step procedure could be used by subsequent steps and if all the data present in the DFD are usable by an information system. DFDs can provide a fast way to generate further questions that need to be asked about the process.

* Processing, not processes
DFDs refer to "process" steps. It might be more useful to think of DFD "processes" as processing steps rather than process activities. In essence, DFDs ask one to refer to the information systems implications of any processing work that occurs during the tasks that comprise a business process. DFD terminology tends to confuse the term "process" in its connotation with business process with the term "process" that refers to a computational process executing within software. Whether this represents the presumption among information engineers that everything is just a version of a computational process is a subject for further discussion at a later time (and the winner of the debate receives the Golden Nerd Award); the point here is that it is safer to think of DFD "processes" as processing steps.
 

* Patterns
 DFDs can provide a shorthand for understanding patterns that exist within the data flows supporting business processes. They can show, for example, where large amounts of data are collected, stored, transferred, generated, used, and delivered. They can highlight areas of potentially extraneous activity, and can suggest process components that do not receive the information support that they deserve (or need).
 

* Comprehensive

When creating a DFD, the analyst should consider if the whole DFD may be easily understood by the audience specially the intended readers.  

References:
http://faculty.babson.edu/dewire/Readings/dfddiag.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Data_flow_diagram
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Systems_analyst