Designing a System to Support the Collection of Environmental Data - Essay Example

Designing a System To Support The Collection Of Environmental Data In The Country Of Wonderland (Imaginary) Table of Contents Executive Summary 3 BUSINESS ANALYSIS REPORT 5 1.INTRODUCTION 5 1.1.Problem 5 1.2.Motivation 6 1.3.Scope 6 1.4.Assumptions 6 2.BUSINESS DOMAIN ANALYSIS 6 2.1ORGANISATIONAL ANALYSIS 6 2.2STRATEGY ANALYSIS 7 2.3STAKEHOLDER ANALYSIS 8 3.BUSINESS REQUIREMENTS ANALYSIS 10 4.MANAGING CHANGES 12 4.1.Changes during Development 12 4.2.Post-development Changes 12 5.CONCLUSION, CRITICAL EVALUATION AND FUTURE IMPROVEMENTS 13 Limitations of Design 13 Suitability of Assumptions 13 Bibliography 15 Executive Summary Background Environmental conservation has become a very important process in the recent past. This has been necessitated by effects of climate change including temperature changes, rising sea levels, receding ice in mountains and the south and north poles, and inconsistent rainfall levels. These, amongst many other reasons, have made environmental management one of the most pertinent issues in modern history (Lechter, 2009, p. 374). Problem to be addressed In order to manage environmental issues effectively, a lot of data has to be collected, analyzed, processed, and stored (Filho, 2012, p. 66). However, many countries do not have certified records that they can rely on; Wonderland is no exception. The country needs to establish a centralized system that can be used by all its divisions. Wonderland already has three departments that collect environmental data actively; the Ministry of Defense (MoD), Ministry of the Environment (MoE), and the Ministry of Land (MoL). These ministries collect similar data independently, and have their own systems of managing them. It would make more sense for the government to consolidate the data into one system so that it can be shared not only between them, but also with other departments; both public and private. Options Available The government of Wonderland has the option of upgrading one of the existing systems to accommodate new requirements, or developing a new system. To do this, the government could choose to use its resources to develop the system, outsource the developers, or go for an off-the shelf system. Whichever path the government chooses to follow, care must be taken to ensure that the resultant system meets all, or most, of the requirements laid down. Cost/Benefit Analysis The costs incurred in the development of the system will depend on the requirements and the mode of acquisition the government chooses to use. The cheapest development method would involve the use of government resources to develop a new system from scratch. This would cut down the cost of production by eliminating expenses such as those that would be incurred in hiring development experts. It is, however, crucial to note that the government could still have to outsource some experts if it does not have experts who can handle all sections of the project. Outsourcing development firms to deliver the project is another option for Wonderland. While this could be more expensive than using local resources, it guarantees delivery of an efficient, quality system that meets most, if not all requirements. This is because software development firms have all the resources required to develop systems; human, technical, and material. Whereas this could be expensive, it stands the best chance to provide low maintenance costs, in the long run. Finally, if Wonderland chooses to upgrade one of the existing systems run by its departments, less cost would be incurred in the short run. However, the maintenance and expansion costs would be extremely expensive in the future; it would be hard to adapt the system to changing needs as it they were not factored in during the initial development of the system. In the best case scenario, the system would require frequent repairs to fix errors and errors. Risks Just like any other project, this one would also encounter various risks: 1. Shortage of resources required during development 2. How to authenticate data entered by the public Recommendations 1. The government should outsource the project to a software development firm that has experience in handling similar projects. 2. Public awareness should be created on the importance of the system BUSINESS ANALYSIS REPORT 1. INTRODUCTION 1.1. Problem The state of the environment determines how people carry out their activities. This is because environmental elements such as temperature, rainfall, wind, pressure, and humidity affect most human activities; these range from agriculture to travel, production, technology, and even security operations. Whereas it was easy to determine weather patterns in the past, it is becoming increasingly difficult to predict weather patterns these days (Team, 2001, p. 101). This is because of climate change, which has affected all regions of the world over the past decade. 1.2. Motivation In order to manage the environment effectively, Wonderland needs to collect, process, and utilize information. This information is, however, not readily available because of data shortage; data is processed to yield information. Thus, it is necessary for the country to establish a centralized data center to manage all its weather related information. 1.3. Scope The project will cover a system that will be responsible for environmental data collection and synthesis. It shall allow users to enter data and view weather interpretations for various locations on a location based map. 1.4. Assumptions a. Data to be used by the system will be readily available b. Wonderland has enough experts to handle the development of the system as well as manage the data. c. The government of Wonderland is willing to own and fund the project 2. BUSINESS DOMAIN ANALYSIS 2.1 ORGANISATIONAL ANALYSIS Wonderland is a modern state; not only is it democratic, but also has high levels of education and technologically advanced. The country has well-established communication structures. It also has good policies that govern its communication industry, guaranteeing the freedom of speech and interaction. In addition, the country boasts of modern telecommunication infrastructure. It has high levels of internet penetration, and an equally high usage of mobile phones. These will provide platforms through which the public will be able to access the system. The country has ministries that are tasked with the responsibility of running various departments of government. Among them is the Ministry of Information (MoI) that is tasked with providing all information on public institutions, including the other ministries. This new system would best be managed by MoE in conjunction with other relevant government departments such as MoI. 2.2 STRATEGY ANALYSIS The development, deployment, and use of this system will involve many stakeholders, making it necessary to have a well-defined implementation strategy. A management committee comprising all relevant stakeholders will be constituted to ensure tasks involving more than one category of stakeholders. SWOT ANALYSIS This analysis outlines the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats that the system will face; hence, be able to determine the feasibility of the project. Strengths Some of the strengths of the proposed system are as follows: a. The government is ready to commit its resources in the development of the system b. Wonderland has all the experts required to make the project a success c. Stakeholders are willing to work together Weaknesses a. The authenticity of data entered by the public cannot be ascertained b. No interdepartmental software project of this nature has been carried out before Opportunities a. There are three existing systems already b. Opportunity to have a centralized data system for environmental analysis Threats a. Security of the system from unauthorized access to its vital sections 2.3 STAKEHOLDER ANALYSIS The project includes many stakeholders coming from different sectors of Wonderland’s economy. These include government agencies, private organizations, developers, business analysts, legal officers, accountants, and the public. This section of this report identifies the project’s stakeholders, together with their roles. Stakeholder Responsibility Government Provide resources and goodwill for the project The MoE will be the overseer of the system, tasked with the responsibility of managing it. Other government departments that have a direct influence on the project will also provide technical and logistical support. Project Manager Coordinates all relationships among all stakeholders of the project Lead Programmer Translation of project designs to actual applications; in charge of all programmers Database Engineer Database design, implementation, and maintenance Testing Manager Handles all testing activities of the project Business Analyst Ensures the project is aligned to business goals Finance Officer Handles financial obligations to ensure the project meets its financial obligations Legal officer Provide legal counsel to stakeholders Public Providing data to the system 2.3.1. Project Ownership The Government of Wonderland (GoW) is the custodian of the project; hence, GoW has the overall responsibility over the project. Through the MoE, the government will appoint the management team that will work, with the project manager, to implement the project. The managers will be in charge of all activities that take place under their watch, but be answerable to the project manager, who will report to the cabinet secretary in charge of MoE. All government departments involved in the project will second agents to the MoE to represent their interests in the project. Non-governmental organizations and institutions will also be invited to participate in the project; they will also have one representative in the panel chaired by the secretary of MoE. 2.3.2. Rasci Chart 3. BUSINESS REQUIREMENTS ANALYSIS The purpose for development of any system is to meet certain requirements. The system has to deliver according to expectations if it is to be given a clean bill of health. These expectations define what the system is to achieve; they, therefore, have to be defined explicitly at the onset of the project. The successful implementation of Wonderland’s integrated weather data collection and dissemination system will depend on the extent to which it meets set requirements. This can only happen if requirements elicitation and specification take place in the right way. For this project, requirement elicitation was carried out by engaging stakeholders in the following ways: a. Interviews A sub-committee of the team tasked with requirements elicitation conducted interviews; the respondents were mainly composed of members of the public. Their input was crucial in the development of specifications for the system’s user interface. b. Questionnaires The team administered questionnaires to staff of the three government departments that had experience handling environmental data. Their contributions provided an insight on the capabilities of the existing systems. This helped identify weaknesses and strengths of the systems, as well as propose improvements that were included in the specifications of the integrated system. c. Brainstorming Sessions Group discussions were the main modes of interaction used to arrive at specifications from the many suggestions collected through interviews and questionnaires. All stakeholders of the project were represented in the brainstorming sessions. The requirements elicitation and specification process yielded the following business requirements for the project: A. Functional Requirements i. The system should be web based ii. The new system should be able to run on different hardware and software platforms, including personal computers and mobile phones iii. The system should allow members of the public to input data iv. The MoE should be able to verify data contributed by the public before they are published. v. The system should display data using a map-based interface B. Non-Functional Requirements i. Maximum response time of five seconds ii. The system should have a real time backup system to assist in case of failure iii. Efficient error detection, prevention, and recovery mechanisms iv. The system should be secure to protect it from unauthorized access 4. MANAGING CHANGES 4.1. Changes during Development Once requirement specifications have been made, they will act as the terms of contract between the government of Wonderland and the developers. The project costing and resource allocation will be done based on the business requirements contained in the Software Requirements Specification (SRS) document. If any section of stakeholders finds it necessary to make any changes to the specifications, it has to consult the others so that, together, they reach an agreement; this will help set new timelines and adjust project costs accordingly. 4.2. Post-development Changes Quite often users have a hard time adjusting to new systems. As such, change management has to be included in the planning stage of the project. In order to manage these changes efficiently, the following measures will be taken: 1. All stakeholders of the project shall be invited to attend trainings where all issues pertaining to the new system will be clarified. These trainings will be conducted keeping in mind the user levels; expert and intermittent users. Expert users will be guided on how to handle the administrative functions of the system while normal users will be enlightened on how to enter and interpret data from the maps. 2. The system will be deployed concurrently with the three existing systems. This will give time for the system testing while comparing its performance to those of existing systems. It will also provide users an opportunity to get used with the new system before switching to it fully. Once it has been certified as good, the other systems will be discarded, leaving it as the primary source of weather data in Wonderland. 3. In case new requirements emerge, the project manager shall constitute a team of experts and stakeholders. The team will deliberate on the proposals and come up with recommendations. The team headed by the Secretary to the MoE shall review the recommendations and come up with final requirements. These requirements shall then be used to come up with the budget and timeframe for the upgrades. These will be used to develop the contract to take care of the changes to the system. 5. CONCLUSION, CRITICAL EVALUATION AND FUTURE IMPROVEMENTS The system will provide data and information required to manage the environment, and hence, human activities efficiently. Platform independence will ensure that the system is accessible to as many people as possible; this will not only guarantee that the system serves many people, but also attract inputs from the many users it will have. This will expand the area of coverage of the system through the availability of large amounts of data. Limitations of Design Just as it is in other system designs, this system design has a few shortcomings. These are discussed as follows: 1. The system does not have its own data collection mechanisms. This makes it dependent on third party data; hence, putting it at risk of presenting misleading information after processing false data. 2. The system does not have the capability to predict future weather patterns. It uses weather experts to analyze and come up with weather forecasts. Suitability of Assumptions The project will be undertaken on the assumptions that the government is willing to own and fund it, there are enough professionals to handle all activities, and that the data that the system will use will be readily available. Whereas the government of Wonderland has asserted its commitment to the project, the last two assumptions are not guaranteed. There might be a shortage of experts both in the development and post-development phases. Whereas there are software engineers and weather experts, the packages offered to them may not be enough to attract them to the project. As such, more resources may have to be allocated human resources, raising the overall cost of the project. The availability of data to be used by the system is also not guaranteed. Currently, there are only three government departments involved in the collection of environmental data. The data provided by these institutions might not cover the system requirements sufficiently. More organizations, both public and private, should be encouraged to participate in data collection. Bibliography Filho, W. L. (Ed.). 2012. Climate Change and Disaster Risk Management (1 ed.). Berlin: Springer Berlin Heidelberg. Lechter, T. 2009. Climate Change: Observed impacts on Planet Earth. Amsterdam: Elsevier Science. Team, N. A. (Ed.), 2001. Climate Change Impacts on the United States - Foundation Report: The Potential Consequences of Climate Variability and Change. Cambridge, MA: Cambridge University Press. Read More