During observations and interviews conducted it was determined that each area using the HIRS systems is not able to perform job duties in a timely manner, the creation of documents for reporting training, compensation, and employee relations are all being maintained using Microsoft Excel documents (spread sheets). The current HIRS systems can only track the following information:
- Personal information (name, address, marital status, birth date, etc.)
- Pay rate
- Personal exemptions for tax purposes
- Hire date
- Seniority date
- Organizational information (department for budget purposes, manager’s name, etc.)
- Vacation hours (for non-exempt employees)
The payroll clerk must enter any changed via a written submission by the employee to their manager. Their individual managers, with no centralized location, maintain employee files. Based on this information the analysis of the project is to upgrade software, the hardware, the network and perform training on all new integrations.
Visio Diagram of Current and Proposed System 1.1
Figure 1.1 Current and proposed systems. Restructure HR system beginning by identifying current system feasibility to additional work performed. Then the Proposed systems identifying new hardware, network and training requirements.
Approved System Requirements
High priority requirements are making the Human Resources department more sophisticated and state of the art. By acquiring state of the art software, hardware and performing proper training to all evolved staff. Maintaining a budget with guidelines set and within the mandated time to completion. Medium priority requirements are to have all needed personal perform or direct their current job requirements to other capable personal, to ensure their jobs are being performed in their absence. This will allow for unnecessary stress to be removed from these individuals. This project currently does not maintain any low priority requirements.
Scope and Feasibility
This project will maintain its integrity during the beginning phases of development and continuing its integrity on into the final phase. Project development will be determined based on interviews and observations conducted. This will allow for all needs and specified information to be maintained through out the projects completion. With the use of current personnel there will be extensive knowledge of current operation to allow for unnecessary time consumption on areas that will not work in the current situation. This will give the ability to maintain the time constraints proposed at the beginning of the project. Purchasing servers, PC’s, and network components, such as, network grids, cables, and routers will be performed first. Installation of these items will be performed and tested, and then software will be purchased and installed. The next step of the project will be to enter and integrate current data. Finally, training and implementation of all new applications will be performed and tested to complete the project within the timeline given and completion date.
System Development
Functional Allocation
Hardware required for this project will include personal computers for each department a detailed description of these PC’s are HP Compaq dx7500 NV395UT Desktop PC with Intel Core 2 Duo E7400 2.80GHz processor, 4GB DDR2 800 (PC2-6400) memory, two 500GB SATA II hard drives which give you a total of 1TB, DVDRW Light scribe optical drive, multimedia card reader, dual monitor support, RAID 1 Mirroring support and HP Power Manager and integrated Ethernet each for the cost of $700. A 24-Port 10/100/1000 Gigabit Switch hub will be needed, at a cost of $269.
Personal computers will all be networked to a four-server component have Intel® Xeon® Processor 3360 running at 2.8GHz, 4GB of DDR2 memory, and SATA 3G hard drives in RAID Level 5. A Full Tower case with expansion possibilities, a total of 13 drive bays for future growth. With (3) 250GB SATA 3G Drives, that are setup for RAID 5, and the DVDRW drive for backups, that will be located in the main office of Human Resources a single server of the same kind will be placed at each location for local back and data storage for higher performance.
Figure 2.1 Chart of components required for more functional human resources (Functional Allocation)
Design Model 3.1
Figure 3.1 Design Model: This design model shows how the information will be maintained and structured from Headquarters to each location.
Specification of Preliminary Design
With the use of 4 servers and 7 personal computers (as seen above) along with the essential network components (Hub, routers, cables) the Head Quarters to Riordan Manufacturing will be able to maintain all data from all locations networked through a VPN (virtual private network). Software required will be an upgrade to the current software, this will allow for additional information to be maintained in one location and alleviate the need to use other programs to keep track of important information. Each PC will be placed in Human Resources, department managers area, Employee relations, recruitment, and in the offices of the training and development department.
The cost of each PC is $499, with 7 of them needing to be purchased for a total cost of $3493. The 4 servers will cost $999, with 4 of them being needed for a total cost of $3996. Also a twenty-four-port hub will be purchased at $269 to allow for any future expansion. Cables to be used are CAT-5e Snagless Molded Cables ranging in size from 3 feet in length to 50 feet in length to accommodate for current network locations. These cables range in price from $3 to $10 some cables currently owned by Riordan Manufacturing will be used to cut some costs. Software, Staff Files Pro, will give the company a multi-user license for $499; this should be exactly what we need to maintain all information in one software application. (See Data Flow image)
Figure 3.2 Data Flow: This illustrates the data flow process from one location (Headquarters) to the other locations operated. Through a virtual private network these locations will maintain data necessary for human resources and back up locally and to the main server at headquarters.
Implementation
During the implementation phase there will be an outline for installation and training. This project utilized individuals from the existing Human Resources department and Information Technology department. They have the knowledge needed for the current system and with their involvement they will have experience with the layout, design and functions, of the new system. This will provide them with the experience that will allow them to train others on the new system, which will give faster transition between old and new systems.
Preparation of Coding, Installation, Testing and Documentation
Installation of the new systems at each location, setup of the VPN (virtual private network) and addition of the software proposed would all take place during implementation. Data will be sent from each location to give programmers the programming files that will have additional information to determine if several versions of the software will be required. The coding will also provide the programmers the information for the software to be used and to test its feasibility. During this process there are quality assurance measure to be performed. These measures include; testing the system from Riordan Manufacturing’s headquarters to the two other branches. This will include a script to run from one location to the other and back again, testing security and data integrity. During this testing we will analyze the data and the design of the system, the high and low level design, and the outcome for the end users performance. Ease of use is key in this area of development. The end users must be able to perform task required of them without difficulty and without creating addition work. Users guides will be provided that will include documentation of all functions of the system design and the functions of the software. Those that have been involved in the design, creation and implementation of this project will perform training. This will remove outside contractor costs for training and give a level of comfort to the end users due to familiarity with their training staff. Also the training staff, having this knowledge, will be able to make corrections or additions to the new system and software.
Testing Procedure
Software testing will give the information from the start of one or more areas to have the software responds to the information and how it will respond to the end users. The data will then be tested to see if there are any errors during the process. Integration testing will give the behavior of software, once it has been integrated into the network interface, parameter values, run-time exceptions and unexpected state integrations will be expected and corrected. This will also allow for any other possible errors to be determined and corrected as well. Testing of the system during this process will allow us to see if the VPN will deliver the information quickly and accurately. It will also allow for any failed communication attempts performs. Once all tests are complete and limited errors have occurred, corrections needed in the design model, the installation, VPN, and software will be ready for end users to perform data entry.
Training of Staff
Current members of Riordan Manufacturing’s IT department and Human Resources will provide excellent training to their staff. This will allow for comfort of employee training and understanding from their peers. These individuals will be able to answer questions as the project is in place and used on a daily basis. They will also be able to make corrections and additions quickly cutting down on costs to the company. They will not need to wait on technical support to call back or arrive on site to perform maintenance or corrections. Users and all support staff from all locations will be part of the implementation team, this will give them working knowledge of the system and its operation.
Documentation
The documents required for this project are an outline of the network design, network addresses and code, software codes and licenses. There are users guides and “how to” manuals for each member that will be using the system. Chief executive officers, managers and trainers will have all documents involved during the process and the final documents created for end users. A troubleshooting directory will be created based on the testing performed. Any errors received during testing and those that are predicted to happen will have solutions in this document.
System and Site Support
Onsite support teams have been planned for the Information Technology departments at all three locations. Each member of the support staff will be qualified to offer technical support to end users and walk them through techniques to resolve solutions quickly.
Maintenance
Corrective Maintenance Plan
Any system, network or software implemented at Riordan Manufacturing will have warranties extended to one-year replacement, five-year repair of parts. Response guarantee for off site assistance will be next day turn around, unless loss of work is in play, then same day assistance will be provided. Yearly system check ups will be required after the first year a bi-annual check up will be provided. Additions and improvements to software and hardware will be performed yearly provided that new versions become available. Within five years the system will be required to have an update to ensure quality and performance.
Cost of System Maintenance
System Maintenance is an important factor to consider with any new project. The cost of this maintenance is limited to the current staff payroll and their time to correct issues and maintain the system. Outside solutions and maintenance will be on an as needed basis for improvements or additions. At that time projected cost for hardware will be based on market value. A guarantee of $75 per hour will be for time of staff to install, test and implement any additions to the network, software or hardware installation.
Conclusion
This project was defined as wanting a more sophisticated and “state of the art” system for Human Resources. It was outlined to be within a budget, create ease of use for support staff and provide each location with information needed to be in one location. In this project outline there is an analysis of the current system, hardware and software. Solutions have been recommended within the budget, projections provided for the outcome and ability of performing this project within the designated time frame. Any recommendation provided in this project outline is to establish what could be performed and how it could be performed in the time allotted. System design, implementation and maintenance are also discussed.
References:
Guidelines for cost estimates, Tiger Direct – Networking, Servers and Personal Computers
(NOTE: This reference was used to determine the cost of each component described and recommended in this paper)
UOP, Virtual Organization Riordan Manufacturing; Intranet site Human Resources
Satzinger, Jackson & Burd (2004), Systems Analysis & Design pp. 625-664
Staff File Pro, Human Resource Software, product selection and demo
Search Engine used for educational purposes was
(NOTE: The Virtual Organization was used to obtain information about the needs of Riordan Manufacturing and Software recommendations were part of my design so I used the Staff File Pro website to find out additional information about the product. I downloaded the demo version of the software to see if it was easy to use)
Each reference above was used to gather information in order to perform the requirements of this paper. Research was performed to find software that would be valuable to the company and solutions for network, hardware and other components mentioned were all priced by using Tigerdirect.com. These costs are only for estimates at this time and at this market value stated in 2009 and is in no way a guarantee of cost.
