System Backup

Identify a range of causes of data loss

Causes of data loss
 Power out during storm
 Defect hard drives
 System crashes
 Malicious activities by employees or outsiders/intruders

Describe a range of methods that can be used to prevent data loss

 Regular back ups
Copying all sensitive information on to a different medium than the one used in the system (e.g.
second hard disk, CDs) = chance of information loss & due to malicious activities is reduced
significantly
 Making hard copies
Information printed out to be archived (e.g books, texts, important contracts, scientific papers
Disadvantages = expensive, take up a large amount of space, liable to data loss (e.g printouts
getting burned in fire)
Methods to prevent data loss
 Fail over systems
 Redundancy
 Removable media
 Offsite/online storage
 Physical security

Software Deployment
Describe strategies for managing releases and updates
Automatic Updates
 The system checks automatically for updates over the Internet from time to time. If
updates are available, they are downloaded and installed automatically.
Advantages Disadvantages
Updates get installed automatically = Users miss updates if they are not connected to
inexperienced users have an easy chance the Internet
to get the updates
No need for software manufacturer to If updates bring a major change of system
contact every user about the new update functions, users might not be informed about it
Manual Updates
 The software manufacturer contacts every user about the new update and supplies the
installation package to them to be installed
Advantages Disadvantages
Users have more control what updates they want
Users might miss an update fixing security issues
to Users might not know how to install the update
install
Users get to know if an update brings major Users might harm the system by wrongly installing
changes update
to how the system works Users might lose medium containing the update

System Design Basics

Define the terms: hardware, software, peripheral, network, human resources
5 Key Concepts:
 Hardware – anything within a computer you can physically touch
 Software – collection of programs and instructions that control the computer
  Peripheral – devices attached to the computer that allow it to interact with its
environment and exchange information (input: keyboard, mouse, microphone, webcam,
scanner | output: screen, speakers, printer)
 Network – a group of computers connected together in some way to share resources
such as documents or files and printers
 Human resources - humans operating the computers

Describe the roles that a computer can take in a networked world
Client vs Server
 Client: a computer accessing resources (documents, printer, scanners, etc.) hosted by the
server
 Server: a computer hosting resources to be shared across the network (documents, printer,
etc.)
 A computer can be both client and server in a network at the same time!

Additional roles for computers

 DNS Server: a special type of server mapping web addresses to IP addresses allowing us to
surf the web without having to look up the IP address of every website they want to visit
 Router: a computer routing network packages between two networks usually using a different
medium for information transfer, like phone cables or glass fibre connections
 Firewall: a computer or software package monitoring and protecting the network traffic of a
computer or computer network. It decides which computers get access to the network or
computer based on a set of rules.

Discuss the social and ethical issues associated with a networked world
Social & Ethical Issues Examples
 Loss of jobs due to computers because less secretaries are needed
 Through extensive networking many business activities can be outsourced to cheaper
locations (e.g. call centres to India, leading to loss of jobs in home country)
 Is it ethical to fire works from a company because a computer system has been implemented
that does the same job cheaper?
 Digital divide: those who are confident with computers have higher chances for success than
those who don’t
 Can an iPad and Facebook replace face-to-face social interaction?
 Reliability
 Surveillance
 Integrity Multi Factor
 Globalization and Cultural Diversity
 Inconsistency Authentication
 IT Policies
 Security (MFA)
 Standards and Policies  Knowledge
 Privacy
 People and Machines factors
 Anonymity
 Digital Citizenship  Possession
 Digital Divide and Equal
Access factors

 Identify the relevant stakeholders when planning a new system
 Stakeholder: a person with an interest or concern in something
 Parties usually involved in a system
 System analyst
 End users
 Software manufacturer
 Client company

 Describe methods of obtaining requirements from stakeholders
 Observation
 Involves system analysts walking around the organization watching how things are
done with his/her own eyes
 Advantages  Disadvantages
 Possibility of gathering first-hand,  Often people don’t work the way they
unbiased information normally do when being observed (Hawthorne
effect)


 Interviews
 Involves the systems analyst interviewing key people within the system to find out
how it works
 Advantages  Disadvantages
 Allows a lot of very detailed  Takes a long time
information to be gathered
 People can be asked about what they
don’t like on the system
 Questionnaires / Surveys
 Involves the systems analysts handing out questionnaires for people to fill out
 Advantages  Disadvantages
 Large amount of data from a large  It is hard to ask the ‘right question’
group can be gathered
 Takes little time  Information gathered is limited by
questionnaire
 Simple  It may not be taken seriously
 Collecting documents
 Involves the system analysts looking in the documents in the archive to try to find
out how the present system works
 Advantages  Disadvantages
 Detailed information about the present  Time consuming
system can be gathered
 It can be seen where the old system  Just looking at the forms may be
has problems confusing

 Describe appropriate techniques for gathering the information needed to
arrive at a workable solution
 Techniques
 Examining current systems
 Looking at competing products
 Organizational capabilities
 Literature searches (web/books)

 Construct suitable representations to illustrate system requirements
 System flow charts
 Diagrams representing how different parts of the system are linked together and
how the system should work in general
 Data flow diagrams
 Diagrams representing how information is moving through the system together with
identifying all relevant inputs and outputs to the system
 Structure charts
 Diagrams representing the organization of a system, usually with showing the
different parts in hierarchical order

 Describe the purpose of prototypes to demonstrate the proposed system to
the client
 Prototypes
  Prototypes are abstract representation of the system, often focusing on only one or
two key aspects of the system
 They are important in testing as each component of the system can be tested
before implementing, and to illustrate the working of the future system to the client
 Prototypes in systems development are usually ‘ghost’ user interfaces illustrating
the position of control elements to the user or little programs developed to explore
the working of a key algorithm in the system

 Discuss the importance of iteration during the design process
 Design cycle
 Designing and creating the system usually happens in 5 stages: Planning, Analysis,
Design, Implementation, Maintenance (PADIM)
 Maintenance step is often let out because in maintenance, you plan, analyse,
design, and implement changes, so the circle effectively begins from the start again
 The iterative process happens during the entire product life cycle

 Explain the possible consequences of failing to involve the end-user in the
design process
 User may be unsatisfied with the system
 System may be unsuited for user’s problem, affecting productivity
 Off-the-shelf software <-> Tailored software

 Discuss the social and ethical issues associated with the introduction of new
IT systems
 Digital divide
 Firing workers because computer system can do the same job cheaper
 Through mobile phones with access to business IT-systems, workers can be reached
even out of work -> dad hangs on phone with colleagues the entire holiday
 Less social interaction due to home offices