Woodruff - Barcomb

This is more of a research phase where the organization analyses itself, processes together with the industry to come up with the aspects in which it is lacking). Moreover, the organization can establish areas in which it can improve in so as to aid the establishment of its presence in the industry. i. Evaluation In this phase the results from the searching phase are analyzed and the requirements clearly brought out.

The needs and the wants of the organization established in the previous phase are translated into real life requirements and design of what the organization looks for in a system. ii. Decision This basically is an analysis phase. The recommendations from the previous phase are looked at thorough. The effect of the purchase especially the benefits that it will have on the working environment and the expected increase in production due to the implementation of the new system are all established in this phase.

Moreover, the effects on the system and factors such as organizational culture are considered and their interaction established. One of the most important occurrences in this phase is that a decision on whether to build or buy the Automated office systems support is made (Barcomb, 2001). iii. Purchase/ Build This phase depends on the implementation model chosen at the decision phase. If the decision made is to buy, steps are made to analyze the existing software in the market to establish their cost and relevance to the needs of the organization examples ofdisagreements in natural sciences.

After which the organization buys the one that presents it with the best economic option according to its objectives. If the decision was to build a system from scratch steps are taken to ensure that the organization has the available resource, skill and space to ensure that the plan is a success. iv. Reevaluation This is the phase where the organization analyses the effect the implementation of the Automated office systems support has on its daily operations and any benefits or disadvantages are noted (Barcomb, 2001).

This phase is also characterized by comparing the functionality of the system with the intended functionality and any discrepancies noted and Automated office systems support steps taken towards their correction. Organizations must ensure that the automated system addresses the organizations needs. The decision to automate an office is one of the most important decisions a company or organization makes (Barcomb, 2001). Office automation has been limited for some time due to the central nature of the computer system at its initial phase of development.

But development in the computer industry have led to the creation of computer units that can work efficiently. Moreover, in the current computer environment organizations are spoil of choice on which softwares or hardware components would best suit their needs. Before a decision is made on the software to be implemented, a detailed assessment of the computer support needs for instance word processing, database management, case tracking and file management have to be correctly identified and the expected functionality of the needed automated systems support determined.

Compatibility with the existing equipment and user needs have to be determined, it is advisable that managers should go for systems that allow for a high rate of data exchange. The cost of the purchase includes not only the price but also the cost of space, furniture, training, support, peripherals, software, conversion and interconnection. The organization should create systems that manage their data well. This may involve creation of a single filing system or coming up with a database as per the technological capabilities and resource base of the organization.

The system should enable individual’s access, edit and store data at their will though the implementation of security mechanism can never be ignored. Moreover, the data available on the organizations database about an activity or an entity should be consistent as disparities dent the integrity of the database and that of the organization as a whole. Networking that allows for storage at the end user workstations and implementation of a central database is desirable as it meets both the end user needs for privacy while ensuring the organization's data is utilized optimally.

Furthermore, coming with a universal naming convention aids the retrieval of data. Organizations should develop a policy that governs the deletion of obsolete data and managing dormant records. The creation and storage in an automatic system needs maximum control from the time of creation to the time of deletion. Organizations should also develop criteria that will aid the retention and retrieval of data in the design phase of implementation.

One approach that is highly recommended is where the inactive records are periodically purged based on some preset program administration guidelines. A major consideration in the destruction of data is ensuring that the state has authorized the destruction. Other considerations include the documents needed for input, legality, data aging, output requirements, type and number of copies needed from the system and determination of media that require special handling. The storage media to be implemented by the systems depends on:

? Ease of use: The type of media used has a great bearing on the ease of its use and therefore organizations must establish its capabilities before deciding on the best media to implement in storing its data. ? Volume: The nature of the data that the organization keeps is very influential on the storage media implemented. Moreover, it is advisable to store voluminous data in electronic format where they occupy small physical space. ? Activity: This is defined as the frequency of retrieval. Data that is needed regularly is best stored in electronic format.

Moreover, in the implementation of a computer system data that is retrieved frequently is automatically cached in the cache memory and is thus accessed easily. ? Dissemination; This is described as the ease with which data transfer takes place. The major considerations are the number of copies, the cost involved (time & money), the importance of speed in the transmission, the ability of the recipient to receive information in the media and format that it was sent in, security and the need for a centralized system of control.?

Authentication: In general documents are made authentic by the use of stamps and signatures, though not all require signatures. Steps must be taken to ensure that the organizations data obey high levels of integrity and can thus be used as evidence, failure to which the data stored can never be considered as important in determining the direction of a hearing in a court of law. ? Human factor: The most efficient and reliable of systems fail due to failure of the human component in a machine system.

Therefore, organizations must be prepared to take steps in ensuring that their labor force is well conversant with any system that they may implement. Furthermore, the staff should be guaranteed of the authenticity, stability and ease of use if they are to form a right attitude towards the system to be implemented. Therefore, training staff on the maintenance and implementation of electronic procedures, controls and documentation will ensure that the records are authentic and up to date and will limit the likelihood of corruption and loss of data.

Lastly, organizations must ensure that the electronic records are secure by the implementation of good security and preservation mechanism. One objective in automation is to ensure that the records are in a form that makes it easy to retrieve, modify and edit them. In ensuring this the following are implemented: ? Security: Computer systems are protected from unauthorized use and thus prevent the loss of data either maliciously or unintentionally. The organization should create mechanisms that ensure that the authorized staff are the only individuals who have access to data.

This may involve, central administration, use of passwords, designating user priority and using other system and network security mechanisms. ? Media management: Most decentralized systems implement a mechanism where the data is stored in magnetic media which may either be off or online. Such media is susceptible to deterioration and therefore data can be lost easily without any warning, thus there is need to come up with protocols and systems that will curb such loss of data.

The creation of backup copies either manually or automatically is a mechanism hat is mostly used in dealing with system crashes. The backup data is often stored in offline storage that is kept in a very secure place. Moreover, carefully handling of the magnetic storage media us desirable, labellings necessary and the creation of new copies after some time highly recommended. ? Migration: Upgrades are a necessary part of the human life and thus there always will be development in any systems that are aimed at ensuring that it performs better.

Software and hardware upgrades are the developments that feature the most in the adaptive maintenance of an Automated office management software. In case of change, there is always the danger of incompatibility which will render some equipments and data formats obsolete. In the modern computer environment new and better versions of a software or hardware components are often released on average after two years. Avoiding such states of obsolesce is necessary for records that have been in place for a considerable number of years.

Therefore, any organization should ensure that mechanism are in place to smoothen the transfer of the records from the old system into the new system, which may involve data conversion. This will ensure the accessibility of data and reduce the cost that organizations incur in using special programs designed to retrieve data from decayed or old media. ? Vital Records: A record is defined to be vital if it is essential to the resumption of normal services by an organization after a disaster.

Thus in managing the vital data the first stage is their identification which involve the interaction between the data administrators and the systems manager. In ensuring recovery, a copy of the operating system, software and viral data is stored in offline storage in a very secure place. Moreover, the managers should prepare for such eventualities by ensuring that a system that can run the vital processes is in place. Archiving is a means through which records that have legal, historic or public value are stored.