BTEC National in ICT: Unit 3 - Operational Issues
- 1. Information Systems Operational Issues
- 2. Security of Information • Security means that data is safe from unauthorised or unexpected access, alteration or destruction • Management should dictate who can view and update information • This could be: – Everyone in the organisation – Those on authorised lists – More controlled access following complex rules, with logging of access to data • IT Department is usually responsible for advising and implementing rules
- 3. Backups • Organisations need to safeguard against physical data loss or processing problems • Information should be backed up regularly • Could be full or partial backups of information which has changed • IT Departments should practise data recovery and restores
- 4. Health and Safety • MIS are relatively low risk • Regulations for using, and the position of screens and monitors • Keyboards, mice, chairs and tables must be positioned appropriately • Computer users are entitled to eye tests • Computer users should take regular breaks away from the computer • All existing office and workplace environment laws apply to using information systems
- 5. Organisation Policies • Organisations can have policies related to the use of information systems • Examples: – Keeping information confidential – Correcting data that is incorrect
- 6. Business Continuance Plan (BCP) • Plan in case any major part of an IT System fails • IT Department should have procedures to follow in case of a failure so that they can at least provide a limited service. • Example: Dual network with alternate terminals connected to each network. If one network fails, half the terminals will still work. • Organisations need to plan their BCP, e.g. having additional servers
- 7. Costs • It is important to manage the costs of IT Projects • The total benefits of a project should exceed the total costs • Two areas to consider regarding costs for a business case: – Additional resources required e.g. • New computer equipment and installation • User testing and training • Additional IT resources to run the systems – Cost of development • Cost of getting/developing the new system • Costs of future developments of the system
- 8. Impact of Increasing Sophistication of Systems • Early MIS often automated manual systems • Software was relatively simple and users did not need extensive training • Today's systems are more complex. They need: – More trained personnel – training needed in using equipment and using the software – More complex software packages are provided for business experts to build information systems – Problems may need both business experts and development experts to solve them