Information System Development: Case Studies

Case Study 7: System Development Frameworks

Hitherto, Susan Park has done a stellar job at investigating, planning and designing of the
proposed Personal Trainer Inc. branchs information system in Toronto. However, the next step is
one that requires critical evaluation as it encompasses the key success factors of the proposed
system. The question of whether or not to consider the increasingly popular web-based system
development framework is totally dependent on the underlying factors. It is true web based
system development promises several benefits including low maintenance cost, wider audience
accessibility, easy scalability and the ability to run on multiple hardware environments, yet these
advantages should not deter us from considering the greater risks that comes with such good
prospects.
The Toronto Supercenter will be a part of the parent Personal Trainer Inc., and
determining whether this new subsidiary will have independent management from its parent
company is very crucial. Centralized management and information access will require that the
new system is integrated to the parent companys legacy systems. In this case, web-based
framework will be preferable, but when distributed systems is considered, Parker may be forced
to consider traditional or composite systems. Park will also have to consider the companys
cultural philosophy in relation to outsourcing, technical challenges such as the additional
middleware and staff requirements, and system user attributes.
The system requirement presentation to the companys management will require Susan
Parker to draft a list of the chosen systems outputs, inputs, processes, performances and
controls. Additionally, Parker will have to provide a comparative analysis of the proposed system
design against other alternatives with reference to cost, merits and demerits, and how she arrived

at her choice of the proposed system. This stage is very critical to the overall implementation of
the tentative system as it determines the managements decision on the next course of active. She
will therefore need the help of some contemporary presentation and illustration tool to facilitate
this exercise. Visual aides are quite useful in these scenarios and they range from whiteboards,
flip charts, slides, overhead transparencies and films. She should however make sure that her
chosen media is suitable for use in the venue of presentation and suits her audience.

Detail Report: Personal Trainer Courses

Emergency First Aid Class

Instructor: Broke Miller

Student Information
SSN

Name

Telephone Number

791-23-6782

Ronald Cooper

+18451688217

871-15-8834

Spencer McCoy

+18452300345

711-20-6299

Alaba Reynolds

+18444611536

942-32-6623

Wang Xing Lee

+18765553674

878-12-7391

Taylor Connor

+18664359864

674-22-7688

Albert Martin

+17600549576
Student Count: 6

Yoga Class

Instructor: Jane Moor

Student Information
SSN

Name

Telephone Number

685-00-8672

Myrlande Farida

+16526686211

866-24-9012

Amanda Scott

+12373003332

777-22-4758

Joy Crystal

+18848326728

867-11-8940

Jennifer Arthur

+14589278378

689-44-9567

Marilyn Smith

+16378930039

586-31-8567

Ashley Macintyre

+16838378938

879-35-8678

Hayley Mather

+18378648786
Student count: 7

Aqua Training Class

Instructor: Thomas Grey

Student Information
SSN

Name

Telephone Number

543-27-5895

Mike Laurel

+16486470001

578-33-4387

Dennis Roddy

+15995959508

777-12-5799

Moon Walker

+13450777775

589-43-5750

Sarah Sarema

+15968859975

848-17-7579

Richie Norman

+16458447484
Student Count: 5

Suspension Fitness Class

Instructor: Emmy Taylor

Student Information
SSN

Name

Telephone Number

578-13-5660

Hakeem Salim

+184775984899

869-33-7035

Gary Daniels

+157959948856

678-44-4075

Michael Sober

+175797447874

879-48-8599

Ellen Johnson

+146847587483

865-48-5983

Isabela Hayek

+147842478273

759-85-5848

Whitney Honor

+167384773738
Student count: 6

Case Study 9: Reservation System Records

PASSENGER RECORDS
Flight Number

Passenger Name

Seat Number

Reservation Code

301

Samir Mohamed

5C

AXQBYT

301

Shapiro Alaska

3A

AXQCMA

303

Mark Polar

8B

AXQTTP

301

Isko Costa

6A

AXQQMM

302

Naomi Shaban

7C

AXQBNS

301

Willis Stan

9A

AXQBBZP

303

Robin Van Der Sir

8A

AXQNDH

303

Sherry Lawyer

7B

AXQOPF

303

Ibrahim Klopp

9C

AXQHVN

301

Thomas Muller

2C

AXQCDH

302

Esther Rowler

11A

AXQBDH

303

Katelyn Bush

6D

AXQOFH

302

Emily Petals

4A

AXQVHJ

302

Michael Jordan

5D

AXQNCH

Origin

Destination

Arrival Departure

FLIGHT RECORDS
Flight Date

Flight Number

15/12/2015

301

Maine

Orlando

10:30

11:00

15/12/2015

301

Maine

Orlando

10:30

11:30

15/12/2015

303

Maine

N. Hampshire 9:30

10:30

15/12/2015

301

Maine

Orlando

10:30

11:30

15/12/2015

302

Maine

Virginia

12:00

1:00

15/12/2015

301

Maine

Orlando

10:30

11:30

15/12/2015

303

Maine

N. Hampshire 9:30

10:30

15/12/2015

303

Maine

N. Hampshire 9:30

10:30

15/12/2015

303

Maine

N. Hampshire 9:30

10:30

15/12/2015

301

Maine

Orlando

10:30

11:30

15/12/2015

302

Maine

Virginia

12:00

1:00

15/12/2015

303

Maine

N. Hampshire 9:30

10:30

15/12/2015

302

Maine

Virginia

12:00

1:00

15/12/2015

302

Maine

Virginia

12:00

1:00

RESERVATION RECORDS
Flight Number

Seat Number

Flight Date

Reservation Code

301

5C

15/12/2015

AXQBYT

301

3A

15/12/2015

AXQCMA

303

8B

15/12/2015

AXQTTP

301

6A

15/12/2015

AXQQMM

302

7C

15/12/2015

AXQBNS

301

9A

15/12/2015

AXQBBZP

303

8A

15/12/2015

AXQNDH

303

7B

15/12/2015

AXQOPF

303

9C

15/12/2015

AXQHVN

301

2C

15/12/2015

AXQCDH

302

11A

15/12/2015

AXQBDH

303

6D

15/12/2015

AXQOFH

302

4A

15/12/2015

AXQVHJ

302

5D

15/12/2015

AXQNCH

Case Study 10
ERP Strategies and Client-server Architecture
Enterprise Resource Planning, ERP, is a technological approach to business management
that seeks to integrate a set of business functions through a computer-based system to facilitate
smooth information flow and access. This concept should however be distinguished from ERP
strategy which defines a set of rules, procedures and roadmaps that governs ERP
implementation and utilization. Personal Trainer Inc. surely needs such a roadmap to guide the
implementation of its proposed system. Susan and Grey need define their ERP strategy before
selecting their desired system architecture to avoid selecting one that is against the overall
philosophy if the company.
Presently there exist a vast number of ERP dealers, largely classified as Tier I, II or III
depending on their scales of operation. Tier one companies are giant multinational corporations
such as Oracle and SAP, and are associated with huge capital-based markets. Similarly, ERP
practices and trends are also constantly changing with the recent advent of cloud computing. A
number of institutions, especially small firms finds cloud computing a great opportunity for cost
cutting and easy up scaling, and are therefore shifting their ERP strategies towards cloud
computing and web-based frameworks. The fact that Personal Trainer IT consultant has settled
for an integrated web-based system for its new subsidiary, makes it be better posed for a tier II
ERP services.
In case Susan opts for a client-server architecture, she should first determine the costbenefit efficiency of these architecture against others such as file-server architectures. Clientserver is cost effective in the long run, yet it also requires huge initial capital outlay to install.
Client-servers are highly scalable and can be easily integrated to other web-based systems, but

can be quite vulnerable to security attacks especially with small firms that cannot afford overthe-top security measures. Finally, Susan also need to consider the legacy system requirements,
the additional middleware requirements and the companys overall ERP strategy while making
and implementing this decision.

Case study 11
Training concerning the navigability and usage of an information system of most
significance and goes a long way in determining the success of any given system. For this project
Susan and Grey together with their team should consider training the various uses of the new
system. These persons should include the IT staff, managers, trainers and clients. Level of
training and information dissemination is however dependent on the level of technical knowhow
of each specific groups.
Manager require the overall overview of every aspect of this system, therefore a bit of
interactive training on functional elements of the system is highly recommended. This training
should cover elements such as the cost and benefits, system charges, support features, reports and
displays, and basic user training. Next in line are the IT staffs. These group are most important
personalities who are responsible for the technical bit of the installed system. For that reason,
they should receive the most thorough training. These training such involve resource vendor
personalities, comprehensive tutorials, outside trainers and be highly interactive. Recommended
course topics include system architecture and documentation, user and management training,
system diagnosis and support. Finally, the trainers and clients need also be trained on overall
system use, troubleshooting, basic navigation, system functions and dealing emergencies. This
training should be interactive.

Case Study 12
TO: Personal Trainer Users
FROM: Name
DATE: 3/12/2015
SUBJECT: System Performance and Workload Measurements
Slow System Responses
Most certainly, many of you have by now noticed that at times our systems becomes a bit slower
in responding to queries and in providing feedbacks. This is a critical problem our technical team
is working around the clock to resolve. As at now, the causes for the delays have been identified
as