Assessment of Enterprise-Level Business Systems
BSA 400
6/2/14
Introduction There are many information gathering methods that can be used to analyze the requirements of an enterprise-level system, each with their own benefits and drawbacks. These Techniques include, but are not limited to, one-on-one interviews, group interviews, and JAD (Joint Application Development) sessions. The main business process mapping method is logical mapping. Tools to map logically include flow charts, brainstorming, cause and effect diagrams, and various other techniques. There are two ways to determine if the methods and/or tools were effective in understanding requirements. Prototyping tools are very useful in confirming requirements because they allow for various input about a system before it is being mass produced.
Information Gathering Information gathering can be done in several ways and in order to ensure that data is accurate it is important to gather as much information as possible in the most correct manner available. One-on-one interviews are a common way of gathering information. Here you can ask employees a large variety of questions, but these interviews will usually take some time. On the other hand, group interviews ask multiple people questions in the same room. These generally require more preparation and are more difficult to keep the group focused, but can gather feedback more quickly. Similarly, JAD sessions are a type of group session where a group stays until all the requirements set out to be accomplished in the meeting are completed. This generally ensures all information that is required is gathered, but can take a large amount of time. Furthermore, questionnaires or surveys can also be sent to specific users or large numbers of employees with various questions in order to quickly gather a large amount of data, but it may not be as accurate or detailed as other information gathering methods.
Business Mapping The optimal business process mapping method is logical mapping. Logical mapping is taking the detailed processes of a system and simplifying them into their objectives so that they are easier to understand. This is better than more detailed approaches because it allows for quick and easy understanding without losing too much detail about a system. There are several tools that can be used with logical mapping. The most commonly used tool is a flow chart. Generally, this shows what happens in a system and explains it easily. Alternatives include cause and effect charts, which allow you to see simple relationships, bar charts, which allow you to see relationships and
