As i studied systems analysis as a module in A level ICT, I felt i head an advantage over a lot of other students in the class. At A level I really enjoyed this module and by studying it now in greater depth my interest has grown.  This module has been very beneficial to me and it is an area which I will definitely consider in my future.

Do you think that all Computing and IT courses should have a module in Systems Analysis? Why?

100% yes, in my view without systems analysis a professional computer system would be virtually impossible to complete.  In this module students get a thorough step by step guide on how systems are built. Each step to the system life cycle is explained in-depth and I feel that the other modules are linked together by systems analysis. To conclude, I feel that without a systems analysis module a student would have a massive disadvantage against other students when considering employment.

Given that most managers use IT systems in their daily work and often are involved in requesting new IT systems. Do you think that it would be useful if courses in Business and Management included a module in Systems Analysis? Why?

Courses in Business and Management would benefit a lot in having a module in System Analysis. I believe that this is the case as I know a number of students studying in this area who have studied systems analysis slightly, but not in the depth I have in Computing Science.  Systems analysis will most certainly, especially in years to come, crop up at some time in most businesses, so for managers it is vital for them to know exactly what is going on and not depend totally on IT professionals.  Obviously systems analysts will be required but managers are a big part of the systems analysis process, which means knowledge in this area is essential.

What topics did you find least useful in the Systems Analysis module? Why?

I found that most useful topics  to me would include, Data Flow Diagrams (DFD’s) as I had not covered this topic in so much depth in my previous studies. Learning to draw a full DFD was very beneficial to me as I had never done this before.  The Scrum meetings topic was very beneficial as I had never heard about it before and it would be used a lot in the working World.

What topics did you find least useful in the Systems Analysis module? Why?

I didn’t find any topics within the module useless, and I benefited a lot from the module.

Are there any topics which were not covered which you think should have been?

No.  As I studied systems analysis at A-level, I had covered the majority of topics. In this module additional topics were introduced as well as the other topics been covered in greater depth.

The written word is not a great or good way for a system analyst to communicate with designers or end users. Diagrams are used instead to show their analysis and design to them.

Some examples of the problems caused by using written word to communicate with complex analysis and designs to designers and end users are below:

• Information can be easily misinterpreted when reading off a page. Facial expressions and tones of voice are not present.

• The words or terminology may be very complex to understand and cause confusion.
• Questions cannot be asked and feedback can’t be given.
• If the communication is improper then the business may continue a project to the initial plan and not know that it is completely wrong therefore costing the company money.

• If data was lost or damaged it could lead to important information being missed out of the task.
• If the end users and designers don’t understand the information on the written communication or think it means something else this will cause problems later in the project and the end result will not be what was intended.

All of these problems can result in errors in the project, which could result in costing alot of money, in some case millions.

task 2

Diagrams used by systems Analysts

There are a number of diagrams which have been used to communicate with end users and designers some examples include:

Flow Charts
A flow chart or flow diagram is a graphical representation of a process or system. It shows the necessary steps to generate the required output. Each flow diagram focuses on one particular process or system. Flowcharts use a set of symbols to represent various functions, arrows are used to connect functions. They can be used to show end users the flow of information through the system. Advantages include:

Advantages:

• Easy to see where the information is going.
• Processes are mapped out clearly.
• Clearly shows where the costs are involved.
• Pictures are present to help users understand.

My thoughts: flow charts are an effective way of showing how systems work. They clearly show the system from start to finish and outline how each of the different aspects of the system connect together.

UML (Unified Modelling Language)

This is the most commonly used diagram for showing basic relationships between various objects or components within a system. For this reason there are a number of UML diagrams which are used by individuals.

Advantages of UML diagrams:

• They are designed to convey a strong communication link, prevents misinterpretation of information along the communication line.
• Appropriate for individuals such as software engineers and designers.
• More precisely portrays the thoughts and ideas of the development team than other diagrams.
• Is more professional than most forms of communication through diagrams.

Decision tree

A decision tree is a diagram which is used by systems analysts to help them to make decisions it can help to work out chance outcomes and recource costs they are described as a decision support tool. Below i am going to outline some of the advantages and disadvantages of using decision trees.

Advantages

• Are easy to understand and are certainly easier to understand than large blocks of text as the decision trees show the information at different stages.
• Can be easily combined with other decision making techniques

My thoughts: I feel that decision trees are an effective way in which system analysts can make decisions as they can give a vital indication of the economic outcomes of the projects however they are not 100% accurate and can quickly become over complicated i feel that even though they are necessary they become more effective when used in conjunction with other diagrams.

Use Case Modelling

A use case model gives a graphical overview of the requirements of the system by looking at the interaction (lines) between end users (the stick men) and the system (everything in the model). The circles are the use cases.

Advantages:

• The focus of the diagram is on users rather than the system itself therefore the real system requirements are identified early on in the data gathering and design stages.
• It focuses on one specific usage aspect at a time helping manage the complexity of the systems needs and requirements.
• Using use case is relatively cheap.
• Allows you to check how complete your document is.
• It consists of mainly narrative text and therefore is easily understood by all stakeholders.
• Including end users and managers during planning promotes a sense of buy – in from them helping the project team build a system suiting their needs and eliminating surprises.

Mt thoughts: case modelling is very useful however there are limitations e.g. it’s time consuming and may not identify the systems non-interaction based requirements. However it overall saves time by identifying requirements early in the project and it should be used alongside other tools to identify systems requirements.

Entity-Relationship Modelling

An entity relationship model is a graphical representation of the relationship between entities (a specific object of interest to the business) that need to be stored in a database. It can be used to communicate the degree of the relationship, the cardinality ratio and the participation constraints to the programmer and shown to the end user to verify the information is correct.

Advantages:

• it’s a visual representation of the data rather than written therefore a smaller chance of confusion or misunderstanding
• It’s easy to understand using businesses users’ language.
• In a well designed model all database elements are clearly laid out.Therefore prior to building the database end users can suggest amendments to better suit their business needs reducing modifications during the implementation and maintenance processes.
• It aids database design leading to faster development and increased productivity, overall reducing the chance of project failure.

My thoughts: the E-R diagram is a very efficient way of showing complex information in an easy to read way.  The fact that they are industry standard diagrams is also good, due to the fact different diagrams do not need to be drawn for different stages of the development cycle.

Task 1

Although people think otherwise, Programmers and Systems analysts actually spend a lot of their time in meetings and interacting with others, I will now estimate the percentage of time spent by each of these professionals:

Programmers

Having completed research on ‘typical days of a programmer’ I  found the results needed. I researched many websites to view how many hours programmers spend in meetings per day (these findings were then recorded and used as samples). Based on a 6 hour day,  programmers usually participate in the following:

• Face to face meetings (interacting)

• Phone calls (interacting)

• E-mail (interacting)

• Code reviews (interacting)

• Work-related blogs, websites etc (interacting)

• Researching technologies or libraries (part-interacting)

• Devising designs

• Proposing and discussing design details (part-interacting)

• Implementing code

• Testing and debugging code

• Implementing tests and documentation

From the list of activities above it is clear that part of a typical day for a programmer is centered around interacting with others in some form.  Given the list above and research I have done, programmers spend approximately 20% of their time interacting (or in meetings). I worked this out by adding the samples (number of hours per day in meetings in a 6 hour day) together, dividing by the number of samples and multiplying by 100.

Systems analysts

Having completed research on ‘typical days of a systems analyst’ I found the results needed. I researched many websites to view how many hours systems analysts spend in meetings per day (these findings were then recorded and used as samples). Based on a 6 hour day,  systems analysts usually participate in the following:

• Face to face meetings (interacting)

• Phone calls (interacting)

• E-mail (interacting)

• Code reviews (interacting)

• Work-related blogs, websites etc (interacting)

• Creating plans, recommendations and determining the current and future IT requirements of clients.

• Researching clients companies and current systems

• Proposing and discussing design details (part-interacting)

From the list of activities above it is clear that a lot of a typical day for a systems analyst is centered around interacting with others in some form.  Given the list above and research i have done, systems analysts spend approximately 50% of their time interacting (or in meetings). Like with the programmers, I worked this out by adding the samples (number of hours per day in meetings in a 6 hour day) together, dividing by the number of samples and multiplying by 100.

Task 2

The purpose of a Post Implementation Review meeting

A Post Implementation Review is conducted after the project has finished and usually after the project team has been disbanded. It is usually conducted several weeks after the implementation process. The intent is to identify how the system can be improved in the future, focusing on what worked well, what didn’t, steps to avoid repeating problems in the future and identification of steps to continue to help ensure success. The Post Implementation Review will typically consider:

• how good was the original business case
• are running costs as predicted
• do the users like the system

What happens before, during and after a Structured Walkthrough

Before the walkthrough, the Presenter gets listings, specs, docs, diagrams, etc and notifies the Coordinator. The Coordinator schedules the meeting and makes sure everyone participating has all materials and actually shows up . The rest commit the time required, which is generally about an hour to prepare for a 1/2 hour review. He suggests that each participant bring one positive and one negative comment, to make sure they actually read the material.

During the walkthrough, two rules are paramount:

• Follow the procedures agreed on
• Review the product and not the producer!

The length of the presentation varies: if this is the 2nd walkthrough, it should go over the old comments first. The purpose of the walkthough is error detection, not error correction. The producer must try not to argue or defend against or challenge comments–it wastes time and gets egos flaring. The reviewers pass out lists of errors that don’t need explanation (spelling errors in the documentation, etc), to save time. After everyone has said his piece, the participants vote to `accept it’ or `accept it but go fix these things’ or `go fix these things and come back for another walkthrough’.

Walkthroughs are kept short due to it being hard work. More than 2 consecutive walkthroughs are never scheduled as people will become bored an switch off.

After the walkthrough the coordinator generates a management summary (without details about bugs), and detailed comments from the secretary’s notes, and notifies the appropriate parties. The Producer must understand the comments; fix what’s reasonable and be prepared to explain why he didn’t `fix’ the other things.

The roles of ‘Chicken’ and ‘Pig’ in a Scrum meeting

Daily Scrum

Each day during the sprint, a project status meeting occurs. This is called a “daily scrum”. This meeting has specific guidelines:

 

• The meeting starts precisely on time. Often there are team-decided punishments for tardiness
• All are welcome, but only “pigs” may speak
• The meeting is time-boxed to 15 minutes
• The meeting should happen at the same location and same time every day

During the meeting, each team member answers three questions:

 

• What have you done since yesterday?
• What are you planning to do today?
• Do you have any problems preventing you from accomplishing your goal?

“Pig” roles

The Pigs are the ones committed to the project in the Scrum process—they are the ones with “their bacon on the line.”

Product Owner

The Product Owner represents the voice of the customer. He/she ensures that the Scrum Team works with the “right things” from a business perspective. The Product Owner writes customer-centric items, prioritizes them and then places them in the product backlog.

ScrumMaster (or Facilitator)

Scrum is facilitated by a ScrumMaster, whose primary job is to remove impediments to the ability of the team to deliver the sprint goal. The ScrumMaster is not the leader of the team (as the team is self-organizing) but acts as a buffer between the team and any distracting influences. The ScrumMaster ensures that the Scrum process is used as intended. The ScrumMaster is the enforcer of rules. A key part of the ScrumMaster’s role is to protect the team and keep them focused on the tasks in hand. The ScrumMaster is NOT responsible for the transition from traditional methods of working to Scrum or the implementation of Scrum.

Team

The team has the responsibility to deliver the product. A team is typically made up of 5–9 people with cross-functional skills who do the actual work (design, develop, test, technical communication, etc.).

“Chicken” roles

Chicken roles are not part of the actual Scrum process, but must be taken into account. They are people for whom the software is being built.

Stakeholders (customers, vendors)

These are the people who enable the project and for whom the project will produce the agreed-upon benefits, which justify its production. They are only directly involved in the process during the sprint reviews.

Managers

People who will set up the environment for the product development organizations.

I am a Business Analyst employed by O’Kane Consulting and I have been allocated Emma as a new client who is interested in opening a vegetarian café in Jordanstown University. I have constructed two questionnaires for a method of fact-finding. Survey 1a will help me find out if people will be prepared Emma’s business in sufficient numbers for it to succeed. Survey 1b will focus on people’s eating habits and how they might behave in the future if Emma opens her business.

To view Survey 1a click the following link:

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=zZuDZto6XQmF9KUY4u3WWw_3d_3d

To view Survey 1b click the following link:

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=Je7Y9BKzmNYOb9EfbI363Q_3d_3d

Survey 1a:

The questions from this survey will help determine the following:

• The number of vegetarians there are in the University.
• The number of customers who may be eating in Emma’s cafe.
• The main competitors and if they fulfil the needs of customers. This may also help us see how we could make Emma’s Cafe better.
• Being able to see ncustomers’ views on the possible success of a vegetarian cafe.
• Clearly see customer’s view points, with comment boxes which will allow the respondent to explain in-depth.
• The number of customers who will eat in Emma’s cafe, and how often.

Click the following link to open the survey:

Survey 1b:

The questions from this survey will help determine the following:

• Different genders and ages who may be prepared to eat in Emma’s cafe.
• Individual customers eating habits.
• The money which people will be prepared to spend in the Cafe.
• Different minorities, who can then be catered for individually.

Layout

Lots of White Space- I feel this is one of the most important parts of the questionnaire, the respondent needs to see enough white space to be drawn into the form. The white space refers to blank space surrounding text on the page. A questionnaire which is squeezed together with lots of text on 1 page is unlikely to be completed or even considered in the first place.

Adequate Space for Responses- If a long answer is expected, leaving enough (maybe too much) space for them to answer is essential, which was considered when designing the survey.

Consistent- The questionnaire was organized consistently throughout. Instructions were placed in the same position in all questions to save confusion. The same type of questions were also used throughout the survey. The colours have also been kept to a consistent standard throughout, using a bright green which is relevant for this type of survey.

Sequence

Questions of importance first- The first few questions to my survey I placed at the beginning due to them being most important. The most important fact which needs to be found is the number of people who would be prepared to eat in Emma’s cafe, which is answered in a number of questions. This technique also gets respondents involved quickly, they should feel that by answering each question and completing the form, they can cause a change or have some impact.

Position similar content together- Questions relating to one another have been placed together to make them easier to answer as the respondent can easily refer back. Questions referring to whether people will be prepared to consume from Emma’s cafe were placed in survey 1a and questions referring to people’s eating habits placed in survey 1b.

Relevant Questions- Only relevant questions have been asked. Each question has to have relevance for the answers to be analyzed which can then have an impact on the feasibility of the business.

Other Features

A fundamental question which the survey is required to answer, is how many potential customers there are each day within the student population. This calculation will involve:
• The total student population of the  Jordanstown University
• The number of vegetarians (or number of students prepared to eat vegetarian food)
• Those that do not use the  Jordanstown food outlets

The questionnaire remains anonymous to improve the reliability of the answers.

I feel it would be of great interest to launch a pilot run of the questionnaire to colleagues to see to the outcome of feedback being gained and if  the questionnaire is working. Possible changes can then be made.

Part 2

Observation:

I will now complete an additional fact-finding technique, this time using the Observation method. The aim of this exercise will be to establish what people within the university buy and eat. The questionnaire may not give 100% reliable results, so by completing this task i can see for myself. I will get permission from the correct authorities before I start the observation exercise.

Timing and duration:

To carry out the observation I will determine time intervals throughout the week to observe peoples current eating habits. I will observe peoples habits during the busier times of the day, so the time intervals will be between 12 noon and 2pm on every day of the week. A different 20 minute slot will be used between this range on every day of the week. I will repeat this process for three weeks to determine patterns. A different cafe will be used for my observation each week, thus allowing a full week for each.

Method:

When looking for observational data there are two possible methods that I will consider:

• Direct observation approach- This involves me  to be as unobtrusive as possible. I would be watching and recording people’s habits rather than taking part.
• Indirect observation approach- where I can rely on the reported observations of others. This may be achieved by interviewing people or looking at documents provided for me from the cafes within the university.

For this observation exercise I will use the direct approach as this approach is more focused on peoples eating habits, due to the fact that I will be watching and recording people’s tendencies for myself, and not relying on secondary information.

Possible problems:

• The fact that the university has a half day on a Wednesday. Due to this I will not undergo the observation on a Wednesday as there will be a considerable decrease of people.
• People may feel uncomfortable if they see me watching their eating habits and may be put off. This will interrupt my findings because people will be changing their trends, which will not give me accurate results
• The restaurants/cafes may object to me completing my observation.

Throughout by observation my major aim is to try and stay as ‘hidden’ as possible. This means that I will not openly tell people that I am observing them unless asked.

Memo

To:        Seamus O’Kane

From:    Scott McGarry [Business Analyst]

Date:    15/10/2009

Re:        Economic Feasibility

THE ECONOMIC FEASIBILITY

To complete a full economic feasibility for the proposed system I have constructed this memo to show how this will be done. It is clear that Management, Production and Distribution are all areas which are currently contributing to the decline of the businesses’ success.

ABC Bakeries must be able to clearly see the value of the investment it is pondering before committing to an entire systems study. Short-term costs must overshadowed by long-term gains or produce  immediate reduction in operating costs. I will now clearly state what areas I wish to investigate and the information which I will be looking for.

Benefit Estimates

Tangible Benefits:

Tangible benefits are advantages measurable in pounds that accrue to the organisation through the use of the information system. Examples of tangible benefits are:

• An increase in the speed of processing
• Less wages (due to computer system reducing job load)
• Access to otherwise inaccessible information and access to information on a more timely basis than was possible before
• The advantage of the computer’s superior calculating power and decreases in the amount of employee time needed to complete specific tasks.

Although measurement is difficult, tangible benefits can actually be measured in terms of price, resources or time saved.

Intangible Benefits:

These benefits that accrue to the organisation from the use of the information system are difficult to measure but are important nonetheless.

Intangible benefits include:

• Improving the decision-making process
• Enhancing accuracy and becoming more competitive in customer service
• Maintaining a good business image and increasing job satisfaction for employees by eliminating tedious tasks.

As you can judge from the list given, intangible benefits are extremely important and can have far-reaching implications for the business as it relates to people both outside and within the organisation.

Cost Estimates

Tangible Costs:

The concepts of tangible and intangible costs present a conceptual parallel to the tangible  and intangible benefits discussed already. Tangible costs are those that can be accurately projected.

Included in tangible costs are the cost of equipment such as computers and terminals, the costs of resources and the cost of employees’  salaries. These costs can be well established or can be discovered quite easily and are the costs that will require a cash outlay of the business. Some of these costs will include the following for the proposed system:

• A website developer will need to be employed. A thorough schedule will then have to be constructed which will help calculate how long a web developer will have to be hired for.

• An internet host will have to be used for ABC Bakeries.  This will mean paying them a yearly or monthly fee to keep the website online.

• ABC Bakeries will need to employ someone specifically to maintain the running of the website on a daily basis, again wages must be considered.

• From a technical point of view, is there hardware and software available to create the website? If not, software for developing websites must be bought, along with the computer and internet hardware.

• How much will it cost for the proposed internet based business to go online? Fast internet connection will be needed. ISPs and broadband connections must be considered.

• Tangible costs also include looking at the testing of the system. Someone from outside the company may be brought in once the online business is complete and test it to make sure the new system is user friendly and to demolish any bugs before the system goes ‘live’.

• Advertising the new system will be a big part of its success, the most cost efficient ways of doing this must be considered.

• Current staff will need to be trained to use the new system. This would involve employing someone to come in and train current staff. It will be important for them to know how to log onto the system, check orders and promptly reply to customers orders.

Intangible Costs:

These costs are difficult to estimate and may not be known. They include:

• Losing a competitive edge or losing reputation
• Declining company image due to increased customer dissatisfaction
• Ineffective decision making due to untimely or inaccessible information.

As you can imagine, it is next to impossible to project a figure for intangible costs accurately. To aid decision makers who want to weigh the proposed system and all its implications,  intangible costs must be included even though they are not quantifiable.

THE PROJECT TEAM

Task 2

Before the feasibility can commence a project team must be decided. The main team members will be:

• Project manager – The main role of the project manager will be to ensure everything is running smoothly. They will ensure all targets are met and all stages of the project are organised and carried out on time.
• Systems Analysts – The role of a system analyst is to; carry out a feasibility study, review and analyse the current system and asses how the computer based system would be beneficial to ABC bakeries. Due to there being a large work load and a large amount of responsibility there may need to be two systems analysts.
• Web designer – To design the web page layouts and to make the website user friendly so that people can navigate themselves through the online store easily.
• Software engineer – To maintain the software on the website, to make sure everything is functioning as it should and to fix any problems which may arise.  If the analyst discovers that software cannot be purchased off-the-shelf and must be tailor made, the software engineer may have to develop new software (possibly requiring additional employees).
• System testers- The system will have to be fully tested before it goes ‘live’ to make sure it is working as it should be. This is a fairly long and time consuming process, two testers should be considered.
• Financial Advisor – To calculate all the financial information given, such as; how many products are getting sold, how much profit they are/are not making, how much wages cost and overall net profits. The Financial advisor will be involved a lot in the analysis stage where a lot of estimations will have to be completed.

To aid the analysis, design and implementation I feel the list of team members above should be appropriate. Nevertheless were more funds available or for future reference, additional jobs maybe considered such as representatives, public relations reps, graphics designers (for logo design) and technicians.

Stage 1: Initial introduction- I was given a form with my individual details on it. I then had to confirm these details before signing and dating it at the end as well as getting Nicola Ayre (course director) to countersign this.

Stage 2: Confirming Details- The second stage was then waiting for me outside the door (of stage 1), I queued  to meet one of two secretaries who checked my GCSE maths and english (they already had confirmation of A levels). The same secretary also asked me for photographic ID as well as a passport photo for their records. The form, from stage 1 was then stamped, and the bottom part was torn off for my use (log in details), with the secretary keeping the important part (confirmation of details).

Stage 3: Photograph- I then had to walk less than 15 metres to the third stage. I told the photographer my name who then took my photograph and then refered me to the online enrolment stage.

Stage 4: Online Enrolment- I then walked back through the university until I reached the library where I had to find a free computer. I then used the bottom part of the slip which had my student number and password. I entered these details where necessary before an interface was then presented. A number of different stages  needed to be completed, such as address and name confirmation as well as module confirmation. When completed the computer displayed and confirmed this.

Stage 5: Finance- I then walked down to the assembly hall. I had to first register my finance, which was a relatively fast process. I simply gave my name and the secretary was able to see that the university fees had been paid for, as it was stored on the system.

Stage 6: Registry- Down from the finance department was the registry department, where I gave my name. The secretary then looked on screen to confirm that all of the previous stages had been completed and gave me the go ahead to receive my student ID card.

Stage 7: Student ID Card- I again gave my details to the secretary who then took my photograph and printed off my Student ID card, this completed my enrolment.

How well or badly did the system work?

The system worked relatively well. Each stage of the process flowed well in to each other. The system was explained at stage 1 to help it be completed easily as well as a secretary being present at other stages to guide me through the process.  There was no stage that did not work or had errors which could have complicated matters. One downfall of the system was that there were to many stages. Some stages could have been merged into 2 or maybe 3, which would have made it much faster and easier to complete.

How easy was it for you to go through?

The system was relatively easy to go through from my point of view. Each stage (apart from online enrolment) was also greeted by a secretary who obviously knew what the procedure was, so all I had to do was follow the instructions from each secretary. Even the online enrolment stage had students at hand for anyone having any difficulty. I  feel that the only difficult part of the process may have been finding my way round the University. Stages 1-3 were together, with stage 4 in the Library and stages 5-7 were in the assembly hall, for someone who hadn’t been to the University before may have found it difficult to find the different locations. At times i tended to follow the crowd to the next stage, as a lot of the secretaries etc expected you to know where everything was.

Would it have been harder for someone coming from a non IT back ground? If you entered the course from a non IT background, do you think that made the system harder to use?

I don’t think this would have made any difference what so ever, coming from an IT background gave me no advantage in this system. The online enrolment stage was the only stage which required me to use a computer. Most if not all students at university have basic IT skills, if they dont they know how to use ATMs etc. All the user had to do was enter their Student ID and password which was on the sheet of paper given to them and then simply tick boxes throughout the system. There was nothing complicated that i can thing of that any user with no IT skills would have difficulty with.

How well or badly did the manual and the computer based parts of the system fit together?

I feel they fitted very well, in that the paper based materials which i had to sign etc were simply handed to the secretary who then entered them on screen and saved them to the database, this data was then ready for the next stage. Most of the system was computer based even though i only had to use a computer in one stage, the secretaries at the other stages all used a computer of some sort.

Was the user interface well designed?

Clear, consistent, simple, direct, feedback and appealing are all aspects of a user interface which need to be strongly considered when designing. I think the user interface was easy to use, even for the non-IT students, in that it was clear, consistent and direct, these aspects prevented errors and helped the user find it easy to complete. It was also user-controlled, as the user and not the computer, initiates and controls all actions. Important information was made obvious by the interface as well as the aesthetics being consistent and appealing.

Did each stage of the system link well to the next stage?

Yes the stages linked very well. Stages 1-3 as well as Stages 5 – 7 were all located closely to each other so each secretary could simply point us to the next stage. I feel that these stages could have been merged, (1-3, and 5-7) so that there were only 3 stages to the system, this may have speeded the process up as well as making it easier to follow.