New System for Hydraulics Manufacturing Co - Essay Example

Reliable Solutions wants to implement a new system for Hydraulics Manufacturing Co. that would help increase the overall efficiency and profitabilityof the company. The initial part of the document provides an implementation strategy that would help in implementing Quickbooks Enterprise 9.0. The latter part of the paper would evaluate the final output and measure the profitability of the system with the help of post implementation reviews. Implementation Strategy The implementation strategy describes those methods and procedures that we need to perform for setting up the new system. The new system would serve the purpose of information systems auditing. Information system auditing is carried out to identify the reliability of data processed into the financial system. Reliability of such a system is necessary because the information systems are responsible for generating the financial statements. The following issues play a key role in the implementation plan and thus, affect the overall system. The focus of the implementation strategy is on those procedures that affect the overall working of the system. Managing Change The implementation of the new system would bring major changes in the organization. Therefore, we need change management policy and procedures to handle that. The main idea behind forming and implementing a change management policy is to provide a guideline for the management of change in an effective manner so that the human resource, i.e. the employees and the customers are not taken by surprise. Moreover, when we make changes, we need to plan ahead, monitor and take continuous feedback to reduce retention for the new system in the organization and to increase value addition by the system. Before we move onto the procedure of managing change, we must define what is change management? Change Management is the process of managing changes that happen with the implementation of some new system or with changing scenario (Change Management – Best Practice, 2009). We need to realize the issues that would arise as the Quickbooks Enterprise 9 is deployed in the organization: Retention – Changes are not usually welcomes, therefore, it is perfectly normal that Hydraulics Manufacturing Co. would have to face retention from its staff. This retention is mainly due to the apprehension that the experienced staff members might lose their job due to the new system. System Failure – Another risk associated with the deployment of the system is that it might not serve the purpose it is intended to serve. It might fail and not function properly and thus, this fear may delay the initiation of the project. Lack of perspective – It is not always possible that all the employees are on board with the system implementation. Some might oppose the implementation because they have limited perspective and cannot possibly see the advantages an Quickbooks Enterprise 9 can bring for the company in the future. Change management has become a proper discipline and organizations invest greatly so that the process of managing change could be structured. Several models are practiced by various organizations. One such model is the ADKAR model, developed by Prosci. The model consists of five stages that an organization should follow to have a structured approach towards change. ADKAR is an abbreviation for Awareness, Desire, Knowledge, Ability, and Reinforcement. Awareness – This process is the first step of the model that involves creating the awareness for change. The employees and the rest of the organization must be on board regarding the implementation of an Quickbooks Enterprise 9. They need to understand the reasons behind implementing an Quickbooks Enterprise 9, the purpose it would serve and why it is necessary. Desire – The next phase is creating the motivation and enthusiasm in the employees regarding the change so that they participate with enthusiasm in the process. Knowledge - Even if an organization is aware of the need to change, they must understand how to do it. This means that the organization needs to have knowledge of the method for making the change. Ability – This step is the most important phase of the change management process. Even if all the above-mentioned phases go extremely well, the employees must have the ability to use the newly deployed system. The employees need new skills and behaviors. We can develop ability with the help of training and development procedures. Reinforcement – Individuals and organizations must review and revise what they have learnt in the earlier steps so that the changes can be sustained. (Change Management Learning Center, 2007). The management plays a very important role in the implementation of any new system within an organization. Once Accountants Generals Inc. have realized the need of the implementation of Quickbooks Enterprise 9, they also need to understand the impact of the change. Moreover, they also must understand the reaction of the employee. Hydraulics Manufacturing Co. is in dire need of an Quickbooks Enterprise 9 and thus, it is bound to bring some positive changes in the organization. However, in case if the employees do not have the adequate skill set, they might feel resentment towards using the system. The management of the organization needs to address this need if they want to make the implementation successful. They need to help and provide support to the employees so that changes could be swift. Human resource development It is important that users of the system fully understand the purpose and functioning of the system. If the users of the system are unaware of its functionality, they would not be able to utilize the system fully. Similarly, even if they do understand what the purpose of the system but they do not know how to use then also the system would be useless. Therefore, in order to tackle the above-mentioned problems, we plan to conduct a training package that would include understanding of basic troubleshooting guides, system functionality, procedures, etc. The package would include 7 sessions in the assistance of well-experienced trainers; each would last for two hours. The sessions would include half an hour of theory where the trainers would detail on the purpose of the various functions and their operations, whereas the practical part would involve the users using the system and performing basic operations to understand the working and procedures. Moreover, the training would also involve self-study materials that the users can utilize even later, when the training sessions have ended. Reliable Solutions also provides online troubleshooting help, in case the users get stuck on something and cannot understand what to do next. Besides, online customer support for troubleshooting, an online forum for discussion is also available for users where they can ask questions, give answers, and basically share their experience of using the system. The manager of Hydraulics Manufacturing Co.might hold these sessions continuously after regular intervals to facilitate their employees. A continuum of these training sessions would serve as a refresher course that would enhance the utilization of the system. Preparing the environment The company needs to prepare its systems and environment for the deployment of the Quickbooks Enterprise 9. Reliable Solutions need to make sure that the equipment, hardware, and other components are working so that the deployment of the system could take place as planned. Conversion and Deployment The company had a basic excel based system in place that it was using for its payroll and other operations. They were not using a proper system; however, the previous system would require conversion. Therefore, we would need to deploy the new system and start with its usage. System Deployment Reliable Solutions would try to reduce the impact of the deployment process on the overall return and the customers. We plan on doing a demo installation initially, i.e. we would first install the information system on a single site at first. This would simplify the work to large extent, moreover, it would also allow Reliable Solutions to introduce the system. Another advantage of a demo installation is it makes testing easier with low amount of risk and lesser costs while managing change at the same time. The demo location depends on the level of work associated with each of the locations. The selection of demo location depends on the level of return and profitability associated with each of the sites. This is necessary as it allows minimum costs to be associated with the installation of the system along with handling problems so that the business is affected least. Reliable Solutions would send their implementation team to the demo location so that they deployment could be carried out without any difficulties. After the demo installation, after the initiation, the team would ask the users of the system to fill in a survey that would have questions regarding the new systems and the issues they might be facing. Moreover, we would also hold focus group sessions that would include random users to discuss the issues that they may be facing and also ask them to compare it with the earlier excel based system being used in the company earlier. The demo location installation allows us to conduct necessary actions that would help possible problems. Once, the installation at the demo location has been completed, we would deploy the new system at the other locations depending on the experiences that we have gained from the focus groups and survey. Implementation Strategy Processes/ Day Starting Date Ending Date Responsibility Documentation Submission 21-11-10 22-11-10 Administration department Preparing the environment 22-11-10 24-11-10 Implementation team Installation of the hardware 25-11-10 27-11-10 Implementation team Checking and monitoring 28-11-10 28-11-10 Implementation team Installation of the software 29-11-10 1-12-10 IT Staff Checking and monitoring 2-12-10 2-12-10 IT Staff Training and development 3-12-10 6-12-10 Training Staff Real-time demo installation 7-12-10 9-12-10 Implementation team Performance evaluation 10-12-10 10-12-10 Testing team Real-time installation in other centers 13-12-10 13-12-10 Implementation team Post review 14-12-10 15-12-10 Implementation team Testing Phase Salient Features of the Testing Phase The testing phase is one of the most important phases; as it would help in understanding, the overall operations of the system along with in helping in evaluate how successful it is in fulfilling the purpose that was meant for Quickbooks Enterprise 9 Software. The testing phase would also test the ability of users to handle the system and operate it efficiently. System testing would be a part of the overall testing procedure that would evaluate system performance. Domain of Testing – The testing of the system would be conducted at the head office of Hydraulics Manufacturing Co. along with two of its main branches located at central points in New York. The test would be conducted on the systems deployed at the sites testing the overall functionality and efficiency of the system. Resources Required for testing No. of employees – Reliable Solutions would include 4-5 person testing team with 1 one person who would be the in charge. Moreover, we would also have people from the field of IT responsible for testing and preparing the final evaluation. This would be the initial testing phase whereas the second testing phase would involve employees from Hydraulics Manufacturing Co. testing the system. Hardware – The testing would be performed on the system with minimum required configuration mentioned in the feasibility study. Software – The software that we are testing is Quickbooks Enterprise 9 Software. Duration – The testing phase would last for five days. Acceptance Testing Operations Rationale Data check Expected Output Comments Reliability and accuracy of data Industry trends and sustainability of the business A random sample of ten tables chosen from the database and forming financial statements Generating required financial information Generation of relevant financial statements and portfolios Market status and business sustainability Manual financial statement formation and portfolio management Updated and accurate financial statements plus portfolio management Maintenance of hours works by employees Automated payroll management Check against information recorded manually Output of actual hours worked by employees Obtaining and maintaining employee personal data Update payroll Check against previously stored information Output of actual employee personal data Preparation of relevant taxation and other benefit forms Automatic payroll management Taxation on the salary of employees manually and employee benefits Output of a taxation and benefit statement System Testing The System testing procedure would involve the testing of the interface and usability of the system. The focus of this testing would not be on the functionality, but rather on the ease of use, security of data, interface, and outlook. It would be conducted in the following manner: Component Rationale Data required Expected Output Comment Synchronization of the software design with the overall purpose To see if the design and purpose complement each other User feedback The design of the system is in synch with the overall purpose Ease of navigation To see if the users could move from one link to another easily User feedback The navigation is fairly easy and it increases efficiency Existence of help menus To see if users can take help from the system itself Testing of the deployed system Help menus have been provided to support user friendliness Buttons Relevant buttons should be available to increase user friendliness User feedback Relevant button should be present Presence of sound and images Sound and imagery to support ease of use Self-testing Sounds and images have been included to complement with the purpose of the system System hang ups To see if the system crashed at some point Self-testing The system crashed when too much data was retrieved at once, otherwise it didn’t crash once Backing of data Taking data backups at regular intervals Self-testing The system took the backup of data at the end of each day Connectivity Checking the ability of the system to connect with other systems across different branches User feedback The head office system connected with the information system at the branches easily Security and authorization Securing confidential information and limiting user access Self-testing The system hid confidential information and imposed authorization checks at various stages. (Computer Science 110, 2010) System Controls Controls on the system are necessary to implement so that Hydraulics Manufacturing Co. can fully achieve the objectives that are to be obtained. If they fail in maintaining those controls, then there is a strong chance that the system would fail and would not serve the required purpose. System Controls for Quickbooks Enterprise 9 includes normal procedures of operations, schedules of back, as well as maintenance of security checks and controls. This would ensure that the possible risks could be minimized to the maximum. The following section describes the system controls that Hydraulics Manufacturing Co. needs to implement to help achieve the desired objectives: Authorization Checks The implementation phase should ensure that a single person cannot be authorized to build, and change. The authorization and recording of change should be separate. Similarly, the assets to which changes are supposed to be made should be taken into custody before a change could be made. Once the change has been made, the phase should ensure that it has been reviewed and tested to maintain quality. Once the above mentioned procedures have been performed, the change is then implemented in the real time environment. The implementation of the system should ensure that the role could be separated to authorize users for making emergency changes. The separation of roles becomes complex when transfers between staff members bringing their prior access rights. Similarly, in case an employee is absent, the access rights should be granted to the member filling in his place for the particular day. User Roles and Specifications Assigning each user with a specific role would ensure smooth flow of operations from various service centers. The manager needs to assign the role for each of the users of the system so that the flow of work could be clear and everyone is aware of their responsibility ensuring control and accountability. Figure 1 explains how we can use the system to assign roles: Figure 1: Role specifications, Source: Intuit QuickBooks The users would have their own username and password that would be needed to access the system as depicted in figure 2 depending on the roles assigned to each of the users allowing the manager to choose the right role for the right person. Figure 2: Creating the user name and password for a new user, Source: Intuit QuickBooks This is also logical as an organization is a combination of employees working in different fields and they do not need to access the same kind of information, for example technicians only need to view orders, however, they don’t need to make any changes to them. We can set access levels to ensure that each of the users perform tasks specific to them. Figure 3 below displays how access levels could be set. Figure 3: Permission levels given to each user, Source: Intuit QuickBooks Audit Trail The audit trail keeps track of the changes made to a transaction that could have an impact on the financial statements generated along with affecting other information. An entry in audit trail would be created in case changes are made to any of the information mentioned in the list below: Date of Transaction Document number Payment terms Sales rep Shipping date Modifying user Account Class Associated name Amount Quantity Unit price Item Payment method Due date Recon. Status postingstatos transaction type Un-deposited money Account Fraud detection is also an important utility offered by Enterprise Solutions. It would add an Un-deposited money account to the chart of accounts automatically when the company receives the payment for an invoice for the first time or a sales receipt. The software would use the account to hold money until the has been deposited into the bank account. The following screenshot displays the un-deposited money account: Figure 4: Undeposited Money Account Source: Intuit QuickBooks Post Implementation Review Client Approval Evaluation The purpose of this evaluation is to find out to what extent has the new system been able to meet customer requirements. The features that the software offers such as payroll management, financial statement generation, customer record maintenance, etc. seem to meet the overall customer requirements. Effectiveness of the training and development As we had mentioned earlier, the training sessions would be evaluated on the basis of feedback obtained through surveys and questionnaires filled by employees who have attended the training sessions. They would evaluate the training program suggesting if it was enough to help them use the system efficiently. They found it to be extremely helpful and clear in explanation. System documentation Evaluation of system documentation would help in determining their helpfulness in understanding and operating the system. System documentations included manuals, guides, etc. were extremely helpful in explaining the procedures of performing a number of tasks along with providing logical explanations to a number of functions. Budget Analysis An analysis of the estimated costs against actual costs incurred along with a cost-benefit analysis of implementing the new system. The cost-benefit analysis revealed that the benefit of implementing the new system outweigh the costs. Meeting Deadline The project was completed in due time. Post implementation report A post implementation report enlisting the evaluations and their finding based on the criteria mentioned above. It would also suggest recommendations if needed. References Change Management – Best Practice (2009). Retrieved on November 20, 2010 from Change Management (2010). TopBits.com – Tech Community. Retrieved on November 21, 2010 from < http://www.tech-faq.com/change-management.html> Computer Science 110 (2010). Computers & Internet : Project Testing Phase. Retrieved on November 23, 2010 from Intuit QuickBooks: Set-up & Training Services. Retrieved on November 23, 2010 from . Change Management Learning Center (2007). "ADKAR" - a model for change management Change Management Tutorial Series. Retrieved on November 23, 2010 from Read More