MS420/MS508: Management Science 4

Group Assignment: The Large Company Limited Challenge

Group 5

Registration Numbers
201926434
202006742
201908688
201927377
201906687

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 Outline
1. Executive Summary Page 3

2. Introduction Page 4

3. Initial Research Required Page 4

4. What upskilling will you need to do as a BA and how will you go about it Page 5

5. The problem statement Page 5

6. Stakeholder Identification and Investigative Techniques Page 6

7. Options and Recommendation/Benefits/Risks/Assumptions/ Financial costs Page

6-7

8. User Stories and associated acceptance criteria Page 7

9. Non-Functional Requirements and associated acceptance criteria Page 7

10. Closing Statement Page 7

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1. Executive Summary

The core HR system does not integrate with our vacancy and recruitment system (VARS) or
our personal assets management system (PAMS). This leads to serious data quality, financial
and operational issues and inefficiencies. 
  
The key issues are: 
 Data is manually keyed between the systems which is inefficient and error
prone. 
 The HR support team is inundated with requests for updates to the HR system
due to inefficient processes which results in incorrect payroll and lack of personal
equipment for staff. 
  
This report highlights how these deficiencies can be addressed but requires further initial
research into the following areas: 
 Training and upskilling for both HR and project delivery teams 
 Project delivery approach and timeline and in particular the introduction of
agile methodology  
 Financial impact 
 Process improvement  
 Technical analysis for core HR system integration with VARS and the
development of PAMS 
  
An initial view of the key stakeholders illustrates the relevant power and interest of each
group and recommends techniques for further stakeholder analysis. 
  
Finally, two main options are presented. 
 Integration of core HR system with VARS  
 Introduction of PAMS 
  
The report details the risks and benefits and key assumptions and initial view of project
financials. Further analysis is done on potential user-stories and non-functional requirements
with the associated acceptance criteria also provided. This report recommends that we
proceed with the implementation of both these options. 

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2. Introduction

This report aims to provide a structured solution to the questions that have been asked
regarding the integration of VARS and PAMS with the existing core HR system of “The
Large Company Limited”. We will cover various aspects of the project and clearly lay out
what steps need to be taken by ‘Large Company Ltd’ in order to successfully connect their
systems. After carrying out the activities set in the case study the report will conclude by
providing a recommendation on how best to build the systems together.

3. Initial Research Required:

 3.1 Training and Internal Skills

Training costs is required area of research here. The newly updated HR system may be
completely different from the older versions meaning employees need to be retrained. Study
towards the training requirements across all the systems both technically and for the end-user
as further research must be carried out (how, when and by who). The in-house team have
never used agile methodology before therefore, another area requiring research is what the
appropriate method for upskilling the in-house team will be whether this is virtual courses,
workshops or hiring consultants. We must also study whether the in-house team has the
technical capabilities to build and integrate PAMs with the other components of the system,
the assumption could possibly be made that this is the case.

 3.2 Technical

A crucial aspect of the project that needs to be researched is the length of system downtime
during the updates to the core HR system, if any. Additionally, the HR system is two versions
behind current updates, creating doubt on whether one or multiple updates will be required
(with or without downtime). Furthermore, research will have to be carried out on whether the
latest version of the core HR system is able to run on the existing servers. The potential
impact of these new systems on the existing reporting functionality must be considered.

Additional research is required on whether the proposed costs of VARs in the case study
cover the costs of development and test systems as these new components will need to be
tested before they are introduced into the system. The length of time that it will take for the
VARs component to be built into the system also needs to be investigated as this was not
mentioned in the case study. The level of integrability of the other systems that are used by
“The Large Company Limited” should also be considered with the newly updated core HR
system, VARs and PAMs possibly changing this.

 3.3 Project Delivery

The only area of research assigned to this section is whether there are any imminent deadlines
or timelines that the project must meet as this can impact the strategy used to complete the
project.

 3.4 Finance

One crucial area that needs to be researched is the cost of system downtime from the updates.
Previous research on the length of system downtime will be required in order to come to an

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accurate estimation. The implications of the potential overall cost of the project will also need
to be evaluated.

 3.5 People and Processes

This project can have a significant effect on the people and processes involved with these
systems. This means that research needs to be carried out on whether any change is required
to the existing processes/teams/areas of the organisation or whether new
processes/teams/areas need to be created. Additional research will be needed as by training
the in-house team on agile methodology there may be organisational changes required. 

4. What upskilling will you need to do as a BA and how will you go about it

The key competency for a business analyst is problem structuring, the ability to approach and
organise the problems logically from a large amount of information within a short time
frame. It could be improved by networking with colleagues and asking for feedback.
 
Second, the domain expertise in technology integration, as the focus of this case is on
integrating new technologies into the existing core HR system. Also, utilize Agile
methodology in managing the project. Communication and collaboration with the
organisation are essential to catch up progress. On-the-job training and observations by
looking at what the staff have done, and how they have done to gain hands-on experiences.
The external source includes program training, and workshops to acquire the necessary skills.

 5. The problem statement

 Problems decompositions:
First, the core systems and the internal systems are not integrated, and end-to-end business
processes do not flow. As the result, incorrect data from manually keyed-in information and
data duplication across the business departments cause inefficiencies and communication
errors. Second, HR support teams are flooded with requests for updates to HR systems and
personal assets. The staff expects the changes to salary to be reflected quickly in their
monthly pay and want their equipment when they need it.

 Prototyping:
The proposed solution for improvement involves the implementation of the vacancy and
recruitment system (VARS) and Personal assets management system (PAMS). VARS intents
to integrate the recruitment activities into the HR system so that when a position is filled, the
system will receive the information needed for HR that was recorded throughout the hiring
process. However, an update of the core HR system will be required before the integration.
PAMS would employ Agile methodology to manage the project. However, their in-house
development team has no hands-on experience with the Agile methodology. The
implementation of the new systems should not affect the existing reporting functionality.

The new technologies are expected to improve the organisation's efficiency in several
aspects. In particular, the CEO is expected to save £25k from improved recruitment and staff
retention, and £10k pa from downtime reduction.

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6. Stakeholder Identification and Investigative Techniques

It is important for data to be collected directly from stakeholders with high levels of power
and influence in the project, such as the CEO, HR Director, and Recruiting Managers.
Therefore, one-to-one interviews would be an efficient way to gather data and gain an
exhaustive understanding of the current situation and their expectations. 

Online surveys and observations are an efficient way to gain information from general staff
and gain a collective view of their thoughts and feelings regarding the project. Interviewing
every member of staff would be time-consuming and inefficient. 

As the HR Support team have high levels of interest in the project, but medium levels of
power. focus groups would be beneficial to elicit information and gain a collective
understanding of their challenges and support needs, as well as their likes and dislikes. This
technique was selected due to time constraints, as it would be challenging to speak to every
member of the team individually.  

Software vendors have a low

interest in the project, however a
high level of influence. Phone calls
are a logical way to communicate
and elicit information, as questions
can be asked clearly and responded
to quickly. 

The in-house development and IT

team have a low level of power in
the project but a high interest,
group meetings would allow
discussion to occur and provide a
clear understanding of objectives
and expectations. 

Finance Managers have a medium level of power and influence in this project but a high level
of interest. Group meetings in the initial stages of the project would allow limitations to be
identified quickly in an engaging discussion. However individual meetings would be time
consuming.  

7. Options and Recommendation/Benefits/Risks/Assumptions/ Financial costs

There are two systems identified for the integration of the established core system, aiming to
boost overall efficiency and competitiveness. They are the new vacancy and recruitment
system (VARS) and the new personal assets management system (PAMS).

 Option 1: integrate the core HR system with VARS, which has an add-on component. It
boosts efficiency by exploiting more automation in the business model, which could
mitigate human errors and approach the faster process. This option requires the latest
version of the core HR system, whereas the concurrent version in use is two versions
behind the latest one.

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 Option 2: is to introduce PAMS into the business, which utilises resources management
with an agile approach. It enables the business to achieve superior resource management
by eliminating chaotic asset requests and deliveries. The in-house development team have
never approached similar projects, thereby, some unknown variables and unforeseen
situations could arise when PAMS is in place.

These options could be implemented with benefits and without conflicts. Firstly, it is
complemented by cost reduction in a long run. The VARS would break even in the third year.
Second, it helps by providing accessible data across systems. So, it is beneficial for both
rightful financial reporting and timely decision-making. Third, it has improved productivity
from the general staff with PAMS because of short waiting time.

Integration also means taking risk. Firstly, the adaptation of staff is important. Regarding
technological advancement in business, if users fail to utilise it, there is no value in the
project. Additionally, unpredictable situations could happen while integration begins. The
ever-changing external business environment and economy are also risky to the project.

We assume that the adaptation of staff to the integration goes smoothly, especially for the in-
house development team. We also assume that excellent training or mentoring would be
provided for the best result on adaptation. Furthermore, we anticipate the entire integration
process would not experience any issues of delays or terminations. We assume that there is
no inflation and VAT.

The total cost of VARS for three years is £103,000. Expected savings anticipated from VARS
are £35,000 yearly. By using the payback period to evaluate this project, we found that the
breakeven point would be in the third year. Three years on, the project shall be rewarding.
8. User Stories and associated acceptance criteria

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 9. Non-Functional Requirements and associated acceptance criteria

10, Closing Statement

Through the analysis carried out in this report it can be concluded that the simultaneous
integration of VARS and PAMS can be a financially rewarding project over the new few
years. While questions linger over the efficiency of the integration and its long-term costs,
there is no doubt that said integration will provide a wide range of benefits that can improve
profitability and internal effectiveness at “The Large Company Limited”.