Date post: | 17-Oct-2015 |
Category: |
Documents |
Upload: | assignmentlabcom |
View: | 745 times |
Download: | 0 times |
5/27/2018 Hoosier Burger Case
1/12
HOOSIER BURGER CASE 1
Hoosier Burger Case
An Assignment Submitted by
Name of Student
Name of Establishment
Class XXXX, Section XXXX, Fall 2012
5/27/2018 Hoosier Burger Case
2/12
HOOSIER BURGER CASE 2
Abstract
The paper is devoted to system analysis and design of a particular case of Hoosier Burger
restaurant, a fictional fast-food establishment, the owners of which would like to introduce some
radical changes to their business management. It outlines the most pressing problems faced by
consultants and their possible solutions. The paper consists of an Introduction, Conclusions and
such sections as Information Systems Development Life Cycle (SDLC) Analysis, Hoosier
Burger Projects Scope and Feasibility, Customers and Employees Feedback, Process
Modeling, Conceptual Data Modeling, all of which encompass major consultants tasks.
Key words: Hoosier Burger case
5/27/2018 Hoosier Burger Case
3/12
HOOSIER BURGER CASE 3
Hoosier Burger Case
Hoosier Burger, as we know, is an imaginary fast-food service, located in Indiana. Its
fictional creators, Bob and Thelma Mellankemp, dreaming of developing a business for their
own, buy a former family restaurant and start their business there. However, they soon face a
number of problems, in particular, inventory items track keeping, which have to be solved by
consultants. Their next step is implementing an automated food-ordering system, which will
tackle some of the most important issues the owners have to deal with (Valacich et al, 2012). In
this paper we, in a role of consultants, will demonstrate how system analysis works out in a
specific situation trying to provide step-by-step proper solutions to each of the case scenarios.
Information Systems Development Life Cycle (SDLC) Analysis
In this part of the given assignment we will apply the SDLC approach to the given
restaurant of Hoosier Burger. But, first, let us try to define information system analysis and
design. This is a method which helps to develop and maintain various information systems that
perform general business functions, for example, listing customers names, analyzing orders or
paying the workers (Valacich et al, 2012). Then, SDLC, in particular, is a conceptual model
used in project management that describes the stages involved in an information system
development project, from an initial feasibility study through maintenance of the completed
application (Search Software Quality, 2012). There are four steps in SDLC, which are the
following: (1) planning and selection, (2) analysis, (3) design, and (4) implementation and
operation (Valacich et al, 2012, p. 13).
The first phase is obvious from the very case scenario given in the book (Valacich et al,
2012): the owners of Hoosier Burger have come up with the idea of a new, enhanced system, i.e.
they want to computerize their business, paying special attention to inventory supervision,
5/27/2018 Hoosier Burger Case
4/12
HOOSIER BURGER CASE 4
customers orders, and management systems, within the work of which errors often occur. This
stage also includes a plan consisting of a schedule for system development and then the owners
have to decide whether they really want to spend some of their resources on a new system
establishment or not.
Step two is usually devoted to analyzing current systems in use and what a new system
should be like (Valacich et al, 2012). In the case of Hoosier Burger this is paper-based system
and the owners have decided to have an opportunity for electronic access to forecasting
information, inventory usage, and basic sales information, which will save their time and will
be more useful when making crucial decisions in business management (Valacich et al, 2012,
p.25).
The third phase includes logical and physical designs of a new system (Valacich et al,
2012). This means that all owners preferences concerning their business should be taken into
consideration and included, if possible, within the frame of a new system. For example, some
specific point-of-sale registers should be chosen and adjusted to Hoosier Burger owners needs.
During the last stage, a new system must be tested and verified in addition to primary
user support (Valacich et al, 2012). In Hoosier Burger case, new registers, for instance, should be
programmed accordingly and adjusted in the future, if necessary. Employees will also have to get
acquainted how the new registers work.
When applying major system characteristics to Hoosier Burger case (Valacich et al,
2012), we will get the following:
Components: all types of inventory, basic customers orders information, cus-tomers names and addresses;
Interrelated components: inventory and orders;
5/27/2018 Hoosier Burger Case
5/12
HOOSIER BURGER CASE 5
Boundary: counter area, kitchen, office, storage area, the size of the restaurant; Purpose: effective selling of fast-food and earning money; Environment: the area for customers in the restaurant; Interface: counter where cash registers are installed; Constraint: the system cannot cook the food or order supplies for delivery; Input: stock log form; Output: inventory management.
The whole process of delivering fast-food to customers may be described in the following
way: at first, food is brought to the restaurant, then kept in storage area, ordered and sold at the
cash register area, cooked in the kitchen, and, finally, consumed in the dining-room. As a result,
the main subsystems of a new system will be:
Storage: for keeping inventory and receiving it from suppliers; Kitchen: for preparing food; Counter: for receiving orders and selling; Dining-room: for clients to receive their orders; Office: for documentation.
There are many systems development approaches: Computer-Aided Software
Engineering, Prototyping, Rapid Application Development, Joint Application Design, etc (Vala-
cich et al, 2012). Each of them can be chosen by an organization depending on its needs, strong
or weak points, or strategy of development. For Hoosier Burger the best choice would be
prototyping, since its owners would see the final result and whether it meets their expectations.
5/27/2018 Hoosier Burger Case
6/12
HOOSIER BURGER CASE 6
Hoosier Burger Projects Scope and Feasibility
The Hoosier Burger project was identified by the restaurants owners, because their
previous paper-based management system had a few problems concerning inventory supervision.
Though the demand for food was high, the owners were on the threshold of losing their income
due to inefficient management system. Now, the newly developed enhanced system is expected
to concentrate more on inventory supervision and faster customer order processing (Valacich et
al, 2012). The project is planned to cover implementing of a new point-of-sale system, which
will be more useful in keeping the track of the necessary inventory and making shortages more
unlikely to appear: it is capable of tracking bills and alerting the staff when supplies get low.
Projects feasibility analysis includes close consideration of six different factors (Vala-
cich et al, 2012). The results will show whether the project is beneficial to the restaurant or not.
Keeping in mind the pressing problems with inventory control, customer service and their
dissatisfaction, management inefficiency and possible lost sales due to untimely supplies
deliveries, the project may prove to be feasible. Regarding economical, operational and technical
factors, Hoosier Burger project can be profitable, since it will add to the number of sales, despite
its initial cost. Apparently, it will improve restaurant functioning, making all the necessary
ordering routine faster. Besides, providing the new point-of-sale system with necessary software
and service is not an insurmountable technical task. When talking about schedule, legal, and
political feasibility, Hoosier Burger project should not have any problems, too.
The Hoosier Burger projects scope statement will be as following:
To shift from manual management system to a new computerized one; To implement more efficient point-of-sale system, properly devised and installed; To attain better results in inventory supervision and order processing;
5/27/2018 Hoosier Burger Case
7/12
HOOSIER BURGER CASE 7
To increase profits.Customers and Employees Feedback
Now, it is the time for assessing new systems work. One of the restaurants staff has
asked the consultants to interview cooks, waiters, as well as customers in order to better
understand possible future improvements to the Hoosier Burger project (Valacich et al, 2012).
As a result, starting from customer satisfaction survey, the following questions should be
included: (1) What is the average time that you to have to wait to place your order? (2) How long
do you usually wait for your order to be served to you? (3) Was there an occasion, when you
were not served your order because of supplies shortage? (4) Was there an occasion, when you
received somebody elses order? (5) Are you generally satisfied with the work of our restaurant?
When interviewing cooks, the possible questions would be: (1) Is there always enough
supplies at hand to prepare an order? (2) How long does it take for you to prepare an average
order? (3) At rush hours, do you have any problems with cooking the food in time? (4) Do the
deliveries of supplies arrive in time? (5) Was there an occasion, when the food was delivered not
fresh or was spoiled due too long storage period?
Finally, waiters interview may include such questions: (1) How long does it take for you
to take an order? (2) Do you have any difficulties working with point-of-sale registers? (3) Do
you have to wait long for orders to be processed and prepared? (4) How often do you stay idle
because of new systems failure or delays? (5) Relying on your personal observation, do the
customers seem satisfied with the work of our restaurant?
When analyzing how successful a new project is, it is not enough to only conduct
interviews or compile surveys. There may be some other documents worth considering. For
5/27/2018 Hoosier Burger Case
8/12
HOOSIER BURGER CASE 8
example, in our case the most accessible will be those describing the amount of supplies
deliveries, stock log forms, point-of-sale information from the new register, receipts, etc.
Considering modern methods for determining requirements, the most appropriate in
Hoosier Burger case would be Joint Application Design, which includes collecting information
from the key people that deal with the system (Valacich et al, 2012).
Process Modeling
Process modeling is one of the most important stages in system analysis. It involves
graphic representation of how the system is going to work including data distribution between
systems components, system itself, and its environment. These graphic representations are
called Data-Flow Diagrams (or simply DFD) (Valacich et al, 2012). Knowing that Hoosier
Burgers owners want to expand their business by introducing drive-through and customer
delivery systems, the context diagram provided in Figure 6-4 should be modified accordingly
(Valacich et al, 2012, p. 158). There should be one more data flow added to the external entity
Customer, since the owners decided to firstly do everything manually what concerns home
deliveries. Drive-through orders should not be taken into consideration, since the mechanism of
their processing is the same as typical orders. So, it would be a good idea to differentiate two
data flows from customers, naming them Typical Order and Delivery Order. In addition,
Food Ordering System should also be able to record customers names, addresses, phone
numbers, when referring to delivery orders.
Level-0 diagram presented in Figure 6-5 already provides more details on the systems
separate processes, especially those in Food Ordering System, which are then further
subdivided (Valacich et al, 2012, p. 159). It goes without saying that this diagram should be
changed, too. Since Hoosier Burger will have two types of customers (at the restaurant and
5/27/2018 Hoosier Burger Case
9/12
HOOSIER BURGER CASE 9
private homes), new process Filling/Reviewing Delivery Order should be added. As a result,
new data stores will appear, for example, Delivered Order Tickets and Delivery Orders.
Then, extra data flows should be established between Customer and Filling/ Reviewing
Delivery Order, Filling/ Reviewing Delivery Order and Kitchen. Besides, the necessary
information on home deliveries should be transmitted to Restaurant Manager via Daily
Delivery Orders and Reconciled Delivery Order Report new data flows.
In level-1 diagrams main processes of the system are further decomposed into
subprocesses, but the sources/ sinks are not labeled (Valacich et al, 2012). Applying this to the
Hoosier Burger scenario of delivery system establishment, the process of receiving customers
delivery order may be further decomposed into the following processes: (1) to receive customers
order, including their names, addresses, phone number, etc. by filling-in the special form; (2) to
produce three copies of the filling form, one into reconciliation box, one for the customer,
and one taken back to the restaurant after delivery; (3) to change the order to the kitchen
format; (4) to update information on sold goods and inventory; (5) to generate and give the
receipt to the customer.
Conceptual Data Modeling
Now, that the Hoosier Burger receives large orders from private businesses, its owners
are interested whether it is possible to track their orders history, since they give a chance to their
permanent clients to charge orders. At the given moment the owners save information on their
products, recipes, inventory items, sales, item sales, invoice and invoice items (Valacich et al,
2012). However, there will be a number of additional entities Hoosier Burger will have to store
information about, such as delivery customers, their charges, and order histories, in general.
A set of attributes concerning each above-mentioned entity will be as follows:
5/27/2018 Hoosier Burger Case
10/12
HOOSIER BURGER CASE 10
Sale: number of the receipt, date of selling; Item sale: product ID, number of the receipt, sold quantity; Product: product ID and its description; Recipe: number of the item, product ID, used quantity; Inventory item: number of the item and its description, quantity available, type of
item, quantity for minimum order;
Invoice item: sellers ID, invoice number, number of the item, added quantity; Invoice: sellers ID, number of the invoice, date of paying invoice; Charge: customers ID, number of the receipt, date of purchase, quantity; Customer: customers ID, delivery address, phone number; Order history: customers ID, number of the receipt.As we may see from the above-mentioned attributes, it is important to specify identifiers
for each entity: in the case of customers, it is their IDs; for inventory products ID and its de-
scription; for venders also their IDs; for receipts its numbers, etc. In order to select a proper
identifier for an entity, it is advisable to use the following rules: (1) to choose candidate keys that
will not change overtime; (2) to choose such a candidate key that an attribute will not have an
invalid value; (3) not to use intelligent keys, which later may be modified; (4) it is better to sub-
stitute single-attribute key with the ones of composite nature (Valacich et al, 2012). As it is seen
from the entities description, all of the given rules were applied.
As far as modification of the Figure 7-10 (Valacich et al, 2012, p. 207) is concerned, such
entities as Charge, Customer and Order History should be added to the general diagram.
Besides, it is necessary that each of the above-described entities include appropriate attributes
identified before.
5/27/2018 Hoosier Burger Case
11/12
HOOSIER BURGER CASE 11
Conclusions
System analysis is a complex process, the successful results of which depend on step-by-
step consideration of the given problem. System consultants take on a huge responsibility devel-
oping projects for specific purposes and for specific organizations. A lot of details should be
weighed while making final decisions about new systems introduction and beneficial implemen-
tation. As a result, a number of mechanisms, methodologies, and approaches are to be carefully
studied in order not to let down ones business customers.
In the Burger Hoosier case we tried to trace all possible problematic issues and provide
reasonable solutions starting from the very idea of the enhanced project up to its verification pro-
cess and even further. Generally speaking, all four stages of SDLC analysis have been studied
within the framework of Hoosier Burger restaurant. Then, an attempt has been made to deter-
mine projects scope and feasibility. Furthermore, questions were prepared in order to get em-
ployees and customers feedback concerning the project. Finally, we got acquainted with, prob-
ably, the most difficult stages of process and conceptual data modeling, which require both crea-
tive and good analytical skills on the part of consultants. All in all, studying a particular case
helps students to experience difficult job of analysts, broaden their practical knowledge in the
sphere as well as to put to the test their creative skills.
5/27/2018 Hoosier Burger Case
12/12
HOOSIER BURGER CASE 12
References
Systems Development Life Cycle (SDLC) (2012). In Search Sowtware Quality online.Retrieved
from:
Valacich, J., George, J., Hoffer, J. (2012). Essentials of Systems Analysis and Design (5thEd).
Pearson Education, Inc, Prentice Hall, New Jersey.