The Companies Requires Information Management Systems - Essay Example

? System Analysis and Design 251 Report Preliminary Findings Report Introduction Background of the project leading to this report This project has an obligation to prepare analysis and report that recommends information system with features that are beneficial for SC. From the study of the information management needs of SC, it clearly requires a complete set of information management systems, which can fully support its daily management and operations. The administration of SC has received ideas that information management systems are very essential for making modern business institutions successful1. The company requires information management systems, which can flexibly undergo dynamic development to add competitive advantages to businesses. This report project is based on the hypothesis that information technology has the capacity to improve the level of productivity and profits of business enterprises2. The proposed system is expected to conduct comprehensive data processing including order processing, billing, purchases, insurance payments, customer support tasks and processing of payments. The justification of the need for this system is that SC is an extremely busy pharmacy and has many customers, whom it cannot serve adequately without the use of an integrated Information Management System. Purpose of the report The main purpose of this report is to verify the preliminary findings of the manager, and to present the expected resultant benefits that the information management system should bring to SC. It has to present a reliable framework explaining mechanisms through which the integrated information management system will assist the process of preparation of prescriptions for various medicines3. Part of its fundamental details will be on how to receive orders from pharmacies and care providers or nursing homes in more advanced methods. The report provides details of operation of automated inventory management modules for medicine stock management4. The report must convince the administration of SC that the system is simpler to use than Excel spreadsheets and MS Access. Finally, the report has details explaining business continuity plan based on how the system will always change to meet its contemporary needs. Structure of the report The report has a major title ‘Integrated Inventory Information Management System’. Under this topic, there are various subtopics addressing the areas of need for this system. The subtopics are as follows: Order Processing Purchase Billing and payment processing Customer service and support The next part of the report is about the benefits of the system to the operations of businesses in SC. The benefits are presented in summary form as follows: Quick and reliable order processing More reliable billing processes Quick data access and real time processing Advanced System Integration The final section of the report contains the recommendations for further improvements of the system for better functionality in the future. This is one of the most essential needs, which SC administration expects as an outcome of the integrated system. 2. Preliminary findings The report presents the preliminary findings in the following event table: Event Trigger Source Use-Case Response Destination Maintains the records of who pays for the drugs Changes to Data information in regards Care provider Maintain Data information of who pays - - Immediately records information that comes in Newly received orders Client Records the new information - - Organization needs to capture and maintain prescription data New orders coming in Client Records information for prescription - - Produce Case manifests Start of the day - Produce case manifest Case manifest Pharmacist assistant Monthly order reports Monthly Pharmacist Produce order report Report produced Management nursing Home Maintain Drug Information Changes to drug Information Supplier Maintain Drug information - - Points Label for each residents Requests to point labels Pharmacist assistant Print labels Labels Pharmacist assistant Once everything is complete, the Pharmacist assistant signs off Order Completion Pharmacist Record order Completion - - Maintain resident details Changes to resident Information Residents Maintains residents Information - - Maintains information about Suppliers Changes to Information about suppliers Suppliers Maintains Suppliers Information Raise purchase order when quantity is low Low Inventory Pharmacist Raise purchase order Purchase order Suppliers Maintain delivery location and general report for management Monthly Pharmacist Produce Report For management Report produced Management SAD – 1, OM – 1, PP – 1 and Capstone – 3 3. Plan for gathering further information For this project, we intend to gather information from the institutions that have successfully used advanced information management system. Our method of data collection will be in form of written questionnaires5. This is because this study will use qualitative data that requires a lot of explanations and interpretation. It will use a series of questions aiming at gathering information about the impact of the existing information technology on the management of inventory. Report 2: Functional Requirements Report 1. Executive summary Explanation of report contents This report presents a Functional Requirements specification to provide a platform for the development of a system for Customer Support and Purchasing6. It contains functionalities for Billing, processing of payments and payment for insurance. It contains the information, which John needs to present to the CEO of SC. Problem definition The problem, which this project intends to solve, includes lacks of a standard data capture system and a reporting tool for data for every order from every nursing home as they come. Pharmacy Assistants require a system that will gather order information and prepare orders from the nursing homes7. The details for the reports are the order date, order number and the description and number of prescription. The project also seeks to transform the services offered by SC to the nursing homes through the automation of vital processes. The management of SC requires the reports for decision-making purposes. Statement of proposed solution The proposed solution should be able to gather information about the orders and prescriptions from the nursing homes for quick processing and response, as well as reporting of the order. The system must be able to sort data and information according to the requirement of each department. The speed of data capture upon the receipt of orders is expected to increase by a considerably large margin. Expected business benefits from new system SC expects large number of orders and at an increased frequency from the previous volume. It thus implies the level of business performance ought to go up. The efficiency of Pharmacy assistant work ought to increase since majority of their tasks are simplified through automation8. This new system adds value to the business by presenting more accurate reports and real time response to client requests. This includes simplification and quickening of Medicare reimbursement processes, which is essential for customer retention. Recommendation The system has one major area of improvement, which this report recommends. This is concerning system integration with other existing systems. Of course, there exists custom-delivered billing software in the company. It is necessary to move data from this system to the new one, while at the same time linking the new one to external systems belonging to clients such as the insurance companies and caregivers. 2. Introduction Background of the project leading to this report This report derives its functional procedures from other drug stores, which supplies medicines to health service providers such as insurance companies, nursing homes and dispensaries9. It follows the concept of core systems in inventory management that keeps track of the medicine stock levels from the purchase to their exit. The system analyses the inward flow of inventory and advises the management if the stock level goes down. Purpose of the report This report serves the purpose of explaining the mechanisms through which the new system is going to function. It enables the administration of SC to understand the flow of data and processes involved in data processing using the new system. It also shows how SC relates to external entities such as suppliers and customers in drug distribution. Structure of the report The report uses two fundamental elements in its construction. One part consists of systematic procedure of the functionality for the new system. The second part consists of graphical features to maintain the structure of the system. For example, the structure consists of Context data flow diagram, activity diagram and use-case diagrams. Scope of new system The new system links SC to its management (Administration), the direct contact points such as the clients and suppliers and its financial service providers such as the bank. The diagram below shows the context data flow diagram explaining the relationships. Context Data Flow Diagram In the Diagram, the processes are shown in letters A to K with explanations as shown below: Process Label Process Represented A Receiving Payment for drugs B Sends Reimbursement Claims C Requesting for and accessing financial services D Processing order and Releasing drugs E Receiving new orders for drugs F Issuing Reports G Receiving Policies and organization directives H Receiving New Stick consignment I Making Request for drug Supply J Processing order and Releasing drugs K Receiving orders for drugs Use Case This study shows a representation of the same relationship in its use case. Use Case Diagram In the use Case Diagram, the Actors are: The New System Nursing Home Care Provider Insurance Company Bank Administration Pharmacy assistant Supplier Description of Data Requirements of the new system Below is an Entity Relationship Diagram for the data processing of the new system. The data types for the attributes are listed below: Attribute Data Type Client_Name Text Client_ID Alphanumeric Address Alphanumeric Order Number Number OrderDate Date OrderLocation Text Quantity Number OrderDate Date Order Number Number Claim_Number Number Bill_Amount Number OrderDate Date 3. Specification of the two output reports required One of the output reports required is that of registered clients who have been registered for example, we have the report as: Client_Name Client_ID Address Jack London AB3467 5457 South Street London, UK Rooney Sympson XT7749 7446 Belfast 4 N Ireland Apart from this report, we also expect the report of orders, which have been made by the clients. Order Number Client_Number OrderDate OrderLocation Quantity 10 XT7749 2/5/2014 Belfast 500 11 AB3467 4/5/2013 London 1450 The system will have customized query designs, which allow the users to use any of the fields to perform quick data search. 4. Conclusion and Recommendations Once the report is complete, it is hopefully able to take care of the information management needs of SC, and even improve more on the areas that will be identified with time. The documentation and the source code of this system will be used to make necessary adjustment whenever need arises10. This report recommends that SC adopts the newly proposed system and prepare for future transformation in the area of system integration to link more with its partners and service providers. Summary of problems and opportunities Despite the benefits that this system can generate to SC, certain problem may arise in the use of this system is user knowledge level concerning Information Technology. It is possible that the Pharmacy Assistant is not conversant with the system and hence; requires training that is more intensive. Of course, this is an added cost. However, it is an advantage considering that both the costs of training and procurement are incurred only once. Expected business benefits from new system The system is beneficial to SC operations since it will reduce the duration of processing orders. It means that client retention level will definitely rise, due to satisfaction from customer service. Ultimately, SC will improve in its efficiency and service delivery, which eventually reflects in its profits. Recommendation This is a reasonable system, of which SC is in dire need. The earlier the administration adopts this system in their daily routine, the better, and the more productive it is bound to become. Indeed, customized systems, which have taken into consideration the relationship between data attributes, offer adequate support to organizations. Part 3 Problem definition This project is expected to solve the problem of data access, data integrity, data security and service quality delivery at the service points. The administration requires a standard method for data capture a customized list of queries for data search in the system. Additionally, the board requires a provision for integrated reporting tool for data from the various nursing homes. Pharmacy Assistants are in a position where they need to sample order information for making orders arriving from the nursing homes. For the data integrity and consistency, the system is expected to implement the entity relationship by reflecting the connection between the various entities in the organization. For the data security, the system administrator has to create system access levels, where each user is able to access a specific set of information relevant and limited to his or her department. The project will thus be able to improve service quality by to the clients through the combination of the system to perform the functions. Proposed Solution The clients will be able to collect information from various systems through integrated channels. What the clients are interested in is the results reflecting in customer services. From the study of the internal structure of the entity relationship and the use case design of the system, SC requires the system to provide solution that gathers information of the orders and medicine prescriptions from the nursing homes. This will enable the nursing assistants to provide quick processing and feedback. Apart from that, the order details will be available for other functions including billing of the order. The system will improve the flow of information across the departments and will be able to sort data according to the specified requirement of every department. Business benefits from new system One of the benefits that SC expects from the new system is an increased speed of processing the orders, quick and accurate reporting of data and security to protect information. SC receives and processes large numbers of orders at increased frequencies, compared to the previous version of the system. In the expectation of the administration, the implementation of the new system implies that the reports presented to the boards will be accurate to guarantee consistent declaration of the results of business performance. The result on the part of the Pharmacy assistant is an improved efficiency at work, which the administration expects to increase, considering that most of their works will be automated through the various system modules11. Bibliography Awad, Elias. Systems Analysis and Design. London: Irwin, 1985. Davis, William. Systems analysis and design: a structured approach. London: Addison-Wesley, 1983. Hawryszkiewycz, Igor. Introduction to Systems Analysis and Design. Washington DC: Prentice Hall, 2001. Kendall, Kenneth, & Kendall Julie. Systems analysis and design. Washington: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2011. Patel, Nandish. Critical Systems Analysis and Design: A Personal Framework Approach. London: Routledge, 2005. Silver, Gerald, & Silver Myrna. Systems analysis and design. 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