Analysis - The company needed a new stock control system, they would have identified in the analysis stage that their current stock control system was not sufficient and a new on would be needed.

Decision - Therefore, the company would have made the decision that a new stock control system would be required, based on the information found in the analysis phase. The budget for this task would be decided here also.

Agreement - The decision would then have been discussed with the other employee within the business, ensuring they agree with the idea and are happy to go ahead with it.

Planning - The time allocated to building the new system would be agreed on here and a plan to build this would be made using Gantt and Pert charts.

Implementation - The changeover of systems would occur, so the new stock control system can be used by the company.

Assessment - An evaluation of the new system would be made, if any problems are identified then changes could be made.


Consulting staff when changes are being made:
- Setting up meetings between higher level staff ie. managers with lower level staff to discuss the changes being made. This will ensure they fully understand the changes that are going to take place and are happy with them, they will also be able to offer suggestions to help the change take place smoothly.

Make changes occur easier:
- offer training days to staff, ensuring they understand the change and will still be able to work efficiently with the change being made / ensuring they have the appropriate skills to be able to work with the change.

Keeping staff morale high with changes being made:
- By discussing the changes with staff and getting their views on the change it will make them feel valued by the business and thus keep staff morale high.


Training off staff - ensuring the staff have the appropriate skills and a re taught these skills through training sessions.

Data migration - The conversion of data from the old system to new.

Switching over - This is the point at which the old system is switched off and the new one is switched on.

Disaster Recovery - A plan that has been put into place to restore the old system if the new system fails.

Help Systems - Even after training, staff will need to have a support system in place if they need help. This may be part of the system itself or it may be a help desk with trained IT staff on hand.

Business process change - Most systems are there to support some business process within the organisation. The current process should be analysed to see if changes are required because of the new system. Expert staff should be consulted as part of this analysis.

Custom Vs Off The Shelf

Custom Vs Off The Shelf 

Off the Shelf Advantages: 

• It is relatively cheap
• It is easily available from most computer shops
• It will have been thoroughly tested so there won’t be any serious problems or bugs
• There will be lots of user support i.e. books, user guides, online help and discussion forums on the Internet
• Available immediately

Off the Shelf Disadvantages: 

• No access to original developers
• May not meet all client needs
• Large memory footprint
• Lots of ‘unneeded’ features

Custom Advantages: 

• The company will get the exact software/system that they need
• The software will work exactly how they want it to work
• The software will only have the features that they specifically need in their business.

Custom Disadvantages: 

• It takes a long time to develop such a system, between a few months to  years.
• It costs a great deal of money to develop such a system. 
• The company may need to employ a team of people such as business analysts, programmers, testers etc.
• There will be little in the way of user support and online help.

An online ordering system for a small company. [Essay]

Both off the shelf and custom made software could be purchased by the small company for an online ordering system. Off the shelf software is much cheaper in comparison to custom, therefore this software is likely to be more appropriate for a small business as they are likely to have limited funds to spend on this software. As well as this the small company's needs for the software are not really specific, there's already off the shelf software that would meet the requirements of the small business, therefore it would not be necessary to spend extra money on custom made software.

The off the shelf software would be available to the company immediately, where as they would have to wait time for the custom made software to be built, therefore it would be beneficial for the business to use off the shelf software. 

The small company may also not be experts at using software's / systems, therefore off the shelf software would be more appropriate, this is because there is lots of support available such as user guides and online help. Therefore, if the company was to have any problems, then lots of help would be available to them in order to solve the issue. Whereas, this would not be the case for custom made software, if there was problems with this they would have talk to the original developer, which may be difficult. 

Implementation

Implementation Methods

Direct

This changeover is direct, it's is an instant swap from the old system to the new one.

Parallel

With a parallel changeover the organisation runs both the old and new system in parallel for a time. Once the organisation is sure that the new system is working properly and that staff are ready to begin using it they will make the decision to completely change over. During a quiet period, perhaps during the night or at a weekend, the data is fully transferred from the old system which is then shut down.

Phased

This is where the old system is still active but parts of the new system or modules are brought online, for example, perhaps just the data entry screens and the printing modules are made available but the 'back end' of the system remains the same. Once any problems are ironed out with the new modules then extra modules will be introduced. Effectively the installation happens in small chunks.

Pilot

This is where the complete new system is installed and tested in a small number of departments or branches. They then use the system and report their feedback and any issues to the analyst. Once the organisation is confident that the system is working as expected, it will be rolled out across the whole organisation.

Exam Question: Discuss which method would be best for a company looking to change over systems fast, the current system is losing them money. 

The best method that the company should use would be a direct changeover. This is because this method is fast and does not involve continued use of the old system which is losing the company money. Therefore using direct changeover will allow them to change to the new system immediately, which is an inexpensive process and by doing this the company will not be wasting money through the old system, this method will also allow the company to complete the changeover within a week as specified. 

Although direct changeover can be a risky process, because the new system may fail and there would be nothing to fall back on. As well as requiring a bit of human work as all data needs to be transferred, I think it is still the best method of changeover for the company, saving them both money and time. 

Discuss why a company would use parallel over phased implementation? 

With parallel 

Limitations of ICT

Limitation of modern technologies

1) Virtual Reality Headsets
- Designed with large amounts of wires etc. - takes away the realism and is a trip hazard.
- Limited field of view - low resolution - visually unconvincing: could mean the technology is not fit for purpose.
- natural effects are not present in the 'virtual reality world' - takes away the realism: means the technology may not be fit for all purposes, where a realistic environment needs to be created.
- Virtual Reality can make users feel sick due latency in motion tracking and cue conflicts in visual displays

To over come these limitations developments in improving the graphics and resolution will help to improve realism, helping to make the technology fit for purpose.

2) 3D Printing
- To slow to create products to be fit for purpose in the manufacturing process
- Can not make products simultaneously, meaning the 3D printer would not be cost effective or quick enough for mass production.
- Cost is high


Explain three limitations, for a candidate, of using a computer to answer exam questions. 
1. Computer may fail, fore example there could be a power outage and the computer would shut down whilst working, which may mean that work is lost and exam needs to be retaken.,

2. Answers may take longer to input if the user is not fast at typing, which means the user will have less time to answer the questions in the exam.

3. Their are health concerns/issues with using computer for a long period of time, such as RSI. ]

Describe three possible limitations to wireless networking for the wedding outfitter.
1. Additional hardware will need to be built, increasing installation costs.

2.

Phishing

“Phishing” is a form of Internet fraud where criminals aim to steal valuable information such as credit cards, social security numbers, user IDs and passwords for bank accounts. They set up a fake website which looks identical to a legitimate company such as a bank or insurance company.

To protect against phishing - anti virus, anti malware & anti spyware - keep up to date 

Describe a telecommunications service that can be used to

help business have multiple people within a telephone call. [2] 

Voip - Voice other Internet Protocol software's such as skype offer services that can be used to allow businesses have multiple people in a telephone call at once. With this the users will speak into a microphone and the service converts this speech into a format that can be transferred over the internet to the other people in the call. Therefore allowing multiple recipients to be involved in the call.  

Manufacturing and ICT

ICT has led to automation within manafacturing, this is due to developments from ICT such as; ndustrial robots, programmable logic controllers, computer networks for co-ordinating the production process. Input / output devices and a whole array of sensors.

This has been done because: 

Reduced piece cost over the life time of the production plant

Higher quality

More consistent quality

Can run 24 hours a day

Very fast

Improved reliability

Huge volumes can be produced in a short time

Wireless Communication Methods

Infrared Communications
It is found in remote controls for televisions, DVD players and most other entertainment devices.
The key component of an infrared system is an infrared LED (Light Emitting Diode) to emit the light and a photo-diode in the television or equipment to receive the light.
A digital code within the controller switches the light on and off, this is then picked up as a digital code at the other end. The communication standard is called 'IrDA' short for Infrared Digital Association and it allows wire-less communication between Mouse, keyboard, joysticks, gamepads etc.

Advantages	Disadvantages
Inexpensive compared to other technologies	Only works line-of-sight
Works over a moderate bandwidth 115 kbps	Short range - a few metres
Works well over a short distance	Low bandwidth

Laser Communication Methods

This method uses high power laser beams to transmit light signals.

Uses:

• Campus wide communication
• Emergency data links (disaster relief etc)
• Outdoor events requiring high speed data feeds
• Building - to - Building communication
• Satellite to Satellite communication
• Backup network in case main cabled network fails

Advantages	Disadvantages
Wide bandwidth compared to infrared	Affected by weather
Can be set up quickly (compared to laying cable)	Requires line-of-sight to work

Bluetooth

Bluetooth is a type of short range radio communication and networking protocol combined.

It was developed so devices close to one another could exchange data.

Uses: 

• Hands-free mobile telephone calls
• Short range communication such as a PC and a nearby bluetooth enabled printer
• Transferring files, contact details and calendar appointments between devices
• Connection to measurement devices, medical equipment, GPS receivers, bar code scanners
• Connection to industrial and medical sensors

Wireless Communication

This form of communication makes use of radio waves in order to transmit and receive information.

Uses: 

• Connecting to an organisation's Local Area Network
• Connecting to the Internet through a hotspot
• Smartphones and PDA connecting to the internet
• Wirelessly downloading electronic books into a reader
• Wirelessly streaming music throughout a home
• Wi-Fi enabled printers
• Games consoles to connect to the Internet

Advantages	Disadvantages
No need for physical cables	Slower than cabled networks e.g. 54 Mbps compared to the 1000 Gbps that Gigabit Ethernet offers
The laptop or device can work anywhere within range of a WAP	Requires a Wireless Access Point (WAP) to be present
Can work through walls and on different floors as long as the radio signal is not too weak	Requires encryption to ensure data privacy
Smartphones can roam the Internet through the home network without incurring expensive 3G charges	It can only support a limited number of simultaneous connections so not so good as a company-wide LAN
Sufficient bandwidth for most Internet use although streaming video is more of a challenge_blue	Performance depends on the structure of the building and any obstacles there may be weakening the radio signal
Wi-Fi certified devices are guaranteed to be compatible

Coaxial Cable - This consists of a solid copper core surrounded by insulation which is then surrounded by a copper shielding and finally covered with a plastic sheath. Coaxial cable is widely used for television wiring as it has enough bandwidth to handle a television signal over a typical run from antenna to television.
Early computer networks also used coaxial cable with a bandwidth of 10Mbps. But for high speed networks (100 Mbps and above) coax cable is no longer sufficient


Twisted Pair Cable - There are 8 colour-coded wires with each related pair twisted around one another. Twisting it in this way reduces signal loss over any given length of cable.
Twisted pair cable is widely used in 100 Mbps and 1 Gbps networks. In order to guarantee the performance of the cable.


Fibre Optics - fibre optic cable works by a light signal being 'launched' at one end of the glass thread core. The light is reflected internally down the fibre until it reaches the other end. Light sensitive electronics then pick up the signal.
The downside of fibre is the cost - it is more expensive that ordinary UTP network cable therefore it is only cost-effective if there is a very high bandwidth requirement or if the network has very long cable runs.
If fibre-optic could be laid from the telephone exchange right up to the house then broadband bandwidth of 100 Mbps is quite possible. At the moment fibre-to-cabinet is the norm in the UK, where it is fibre from the exchange to the nearest junction box, then normal copper cable to the home.


Wireless signal - Connection between computer and router is achieved using radio waves.
This has the strong advantage of not requiring cables to be laid through a building. On the other hand radio is very prone to being weakened by walls and other objects.
The bandwidth of a wireless network is lower than a physical network.