Please read the whole assignment carefully and answer all the questions briefly
School report notebook kit (cover, binder spine, divider tabs) Learner Guide ICTICT509 – Gather Data to identify business requirements Version Control Unit code Document version Release date Comments/actions ICTICT509 1.0 30.11.2015 First draft ICTICT509 1.2 08.12.2016 Second draft ICTICT509 2.0 01/08/2018 Third version Contents Introduction3 Chapter 1. Identify key information sources4 Identify information repositories across the business4 Review current organisational documentation4 Develop critical questions to elicit information from key stakeholders using a mixture of open and closed questions4 Chapter 2 Gather data15 Use a wide range of information gathering techniques15 Review reports and other data sources for business information15 Confirm with stakeholders business critical factors relating to current and future directions of the organisation15 Chapter 3. Prepare data analysis for review28 Analyse group and individual responses to clearly define business priorities28 Document data analysis for review according to organisational standards28 Bibliography:39 Introduction This workbook is about the skills and knowledge required for: · Identify key information sources · Gather data · Prepare data analysis for review This learner guide will help students to learn about identifying key information of the business including information repositories, organisational documents including financial, annual report. You will also learn how to write critical questions for the survey. You will learn different techniques to collect stakeholder information, review different report, identify business critical success factors. Chapter 1. Identify key information sources This chapter will help you learn about the following: · Identify information repositories across the business · Review current organisational documentation · Develop critical questions to elicit information from key stakeholders using a mixture of open and closed questions 1.1 Identify information repositories across the business What is repository? In information technology, a repository is a central place in which an aggregation of data is kept and maintained in an organised way, usually in computer storage. The term is from the Latin repositorium, a vessel or chamber in which things can be placed, and it can mean a place where things are collected. Depending on how the term is used, a repository may be directly accessible to users or may be a place from which specific databases, files, or documents are obtained for further relocation or distribution in a network. A repository may be just the aggregation of data itself into some accessible place of storage or it may also imply some ability to selectively extract data. Related terms are data warehouse and data mining. Information repository Common internal repository is the business documentation that the business produces or works with. This can include such things as sales data, financial data, policies and procedures, websites, forms and other documents that the business uses. Common methods of identifying business documentation that is relevant is to talk to stakeholders, observer employees doing work tasks, and instructions in policies and procedures. The importance of information repository Over the past few years, a large number of organisations have initiated some type of Business Process Management strategy. These strategies have taken many different forms from requiring individual business units or departments to document work procedures to enterprise-wide recognition of the importance of aligning business processes with the financial and operational health of the organisation. At one end of the spectrum countless binders detailing individual work procedures line the cubicle shelves while at the other end automated tools are used to maintain and integrate business processes with the daily execution of critical applications. In the latter case, they are often considered core assets of the organisation. How an organisation stores the information about its business processes presents a clue as to whether they are considered merely nice-to-have documentation or true business assets. As documentation, they are used primarily as reference material for the daily activities of the organisation. However, as often happens with documentation, it quickly becomes out of date and adherence is difficult to monitor and enforce. As assets, integration with the automated tools of the organisation provides a means to ensure timely maintenance and adherence. A Business Process Repository is a central location for storing information about how an enterprise operates. This information may be contained in various media including paper, film or electronic form with a storage mechanism appropriate to the medium. Electronic repositories range from passive containers which store process artifacts (also referred to as process objects) to sophisticated tools that serve as active participants in monitoring, executing, managing and reporting on business processes. They come in the form of Document Management Systems, Process Modelling Tools and Business Process Management Systems. Administration of a Business Process Repository includes activities such as storing, managing and changing process knowledge (objects, relationships, enablers, attributes, business rules, performance measures and models) for an enterprise. It includes creating the repository structure; defining and maintaining procedures to ensure changes are controlled, validated and approved; mapping processes to applications and data, and providing the required infrastructure to enable effective and consistent use of the models in the repository. A repository of business processes provides a central reference location to ensure consistent communication about what each process is, how it should be applied, who is responsible for its successful execution, a clear understanding of the inputs or triggers and what the expected results should be upon process completion. It maintains information needed to adequately define measure, analyse, improve and control business processes. It helps to promote and support the understanding and acceptance of the cross-functional nature of many of the enterprise’s business processes and facilitates collaboration across functional business units by enabling and enforcing a methodology that focuses on the end-to-end process. A centralised Business Process Repository is critical to the success of the enterprise’s business process strategy by providing a blueprint to manage and control how process change is introduced and implemented into the enterprise. It also becomes the system of record for information on process ownership, technological enablers, business rules and controls, both financial and operational. It may serve primarily as documentation about the enterprise’s business processes or may be used to simulate various scenarios to evaluate process improvements and to detect and analyse problems. It can also be used to identify and validate the appropriate solution. Sophisticated repositories can be interfaced with the enterprise’s applications to enforce defined business rules. Google site as an information repository Today, a growing number of businesses are using Google Sites as part of Google business apps to build their company intranets and internal project sites. Google Sites makes it easy for businesses to create secure web pages with the capacity to support intranet, team projects or client extranets. Easy in the sense that you really do not need HTML coding or web design experience to get your Google Sites operating system up and running. With Google Sites you can use its cloud-based capability to centralise your presentations, documents, spreadsheets, slideshows, videos, and more--which is good for business collaboration requirements. Google Sites comes with Google business apps as a fully hosted offering. You really do not need any software to deploy or servers to maintain. All that is provided for you with Google Sites is retention of full control of your documents and with whom you share any information is protected. Core benefits of google sites: Many small to medium business employees, C-level executives (CEOs, CFOs, and COOs) as well as IT/email managers and administrative assistants have found Google Sites as part of Google business apps easy to integrate into business systems. Google sites is the ultimate Google cloud solutions provider with three major benefits that can be discussed this way: · The anywhere/anytime access capability to the corporate intranet for distributed or remote users: Google sites is securely powered by the web which means you can access company pages from your desk, on the road, at home and on your mobile phone. As an end user of Google Sites, you can even update content yourself anywhere, any place and you don't have to be the expert with web design skills. And sure enough, there is no additional software to purchase, all you can get from Google Sites is included in Google apps subscription. The Google Drive (GDrive) operating system will allow you that unrestricted access to files "anywhere", "anytime". It is an "any" file backup system you can roll out with a desktop client and web access. What is great about Google Sites is that it provides you the capacity to integrate your operating system with all your online services and personal devices--granting you unlimited storage and access which is just what your business needs to be agile in ways that will support your growth. · Google Sites capacity to work across operating systems: Google sites has the flexibility to work primarily with web applications. What Google Sites does best is to keep everything synced so you can access the same data from any operating platform. Google's Android-based operating system allows your business to have a uniform look and feel across the many devices you may have from multiple manufacturers and your contacts, calendar, and other data among employees become properly synchronised. Of course, the Android platform have proven to be more flexible, reliable and cost effective for small businesses. And to date, there are more and more Android activations--up to 900 million activations with 48 billion apps downloaded according to a recent Google report. You may think that Apple owns the mobile market, but there is data to show that 75% of all smart phones sold are Android based. Even more, the beauty with Google Sites operating system is that it is more open for developers to continue to create new custom applications for businesses and the system itself works efficiently in any browser--be it a PC, Mac, or Linux computers. · Google Sites functionality with system and site-level security controls: With Google Sites you have a full documents security controls built-in system. Your data remain secure and Google has a commitment to respect the privacy of information placed in their systems. As such, Google Sites operating system offers end users the capacity to manage site sharing permissions across the business, and authors can share and revoke file access at anytime that help keep information safe. Google Sites functionality with system and site-level security controls is a Google's security objective is made whole by a multi-layered security strategy that provides controls at multiple levels of data storage, access and transfer. Google values the privacy confidentiality, integrity and availability of data which is key for business sustainability and growth. 1.2 Review current organisational documentation Why It Is Important to Review Policies and Procedures For some people, the idea of an employee policy manual brings to mind an image of a dusty binder sitting on a shelf. These people tend to think of policies and procedures as inflexible and unchanging. Once they are created, they are in place for good. But this is a flawed and problematic view of policies and procedures. Effective policy and procedure management requires far more than just creating a manual to sit on a shelf. Policies and procedures are living documents that should grow and adapt with a company. While