Data processing center

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A data processing center (CPD) is the location where all the resources necessary for processing an
organization's information are concentrated. It is also known as a computing center in Latin America, or
a calculation center in Spain or a data center, its equivalent in English: data center.
These resources consist essentially of properly equipped premises, computers and communications
networks.

Communications equipment in a data processing centre.

Motivation
A data processing centre is a large building or room used to store a large amount of electronic
equipment. They are usually created and maintained by large organizations in order to have access to
the information necessary for their operations. For example, a bank may have a data center for the
purpose of storing all of its customers' data and the operations they perform on their accounts. Virtually
all medium-sized or large companies have some type of data center, while larger companies may have
several.
Among the most important factors that motivate the creation of a data center, we can highlight ensuring
the continuity of service to clients, employees, citizens, suppliers and collaborating companies, since in
these areas the physical protection of the computer or communications equipment involved is very
important, as well as database servers that may contain critical information.
Design
The design of a data processing center begins with the choice of its geographic location, and requires a
balance between several factors:
 Economic cost: cost of land, municipal taxes, insurance, etc.
 Infrastructure available nearby: electricity, roads, power connections, telecommunications
switchboards, firefighters, etc.
 Risk: possibility of floods, fires, theft, earthquakes, etc.
Once the geographic location has been selected, it is necessary to find suitable premises for its purpose,
whether it is a newly built premises or an existing one to be purchased or rented. Some of the
dependency requirements are:
 Double electrical supply.
 Loading and unloading dock.
 Forklift and wide doors.
  Sufficient height of plants.
 Safety measures in case of fire or flood: drains, fire extinguishers, evacuation routes, fire doors,
etc.
 Air conditioning, taking into account that it will be used to cool computer equipment.
 Warehouses.
 Etc.
Even when the appropriate premises are available, some infrastructure deployment is always necessary
inside:
 False floors and false ceilings.
 Network and telephone cabling.
 Double electrical wiring.
 Generators and electrical distribution panels.
 Conditioning of rooms.
 Installation of alarms, temperature and humidity control with SNMP or SMTP alerts.
 Etc.
A particularly important part of these infrastructures are those intended for the physical security of the
facility, which includes:
 Electromagnetic locks.
 Tourniquets.
 Security cameras.
 Motion detectors.
 Identification cards.
 Etc.
Once the room has been prepared, the computers, local area networks, etc. are installed. This task
requires a logical design of networks and environments, especially for security reasons. Some of the
actions are:
 Creation of demilitarized zones (DMZ).
 Local area network segmentation and creation of virtual networks (VLAN).
 Deployment and configuration of network electronics: gateways, routers, switches, etc.
 Creation of exploitation, pre-exploitation, application development and network management
environments.
 Creating the storage network.
 Installation and configuration of servers and peripherals.
  Etc.
The "fishbowl"
Generally, all large servers tend to be concentrated in a room called "cold room", "refrigerator", "fish
tank" (or site). This room requires a specific cooling system to maintain a low temperature (between 21
and 23 degrees Celsius*), necessary to avoid computer breakdowns due to overheating.
 According to international standards, the exact temperature should be 22.3 degrees Celsius.
The "fish tank" usually has strict security measures for physical access, as well as fire extinguishing
measures appropriate for electrical material, such as extinguishing by water mist or by INERGEN gas,
carbon dioxide or nitrogen, although a solution that is currently in vogue is to use extinguishing systems
using gaseous agents, such as Novec 1230.

Index1
. Development of Computer Systems.
2. Head of Data
Processing3. Origin and Basic
Formation4. How are information systems evaluated?
5. The study group.

CPD

1. Development of Computer Systems.

A computer system is the set of elements necessary for the implementation of applications. It is the set
of programs, together with the physical equipment, that operate on input data to produce the desired
output of any business problem.
The development of a computer system consists of the study and analysis of the current system and the
one that is intended to be created, the design of all its details and elements, the design and
programming of all its algorithms, the testing of their proper functioning, the implementation of the
system in the computer where it will carry out its work and, finally, the evaluation of the system and its
maintenance.

ConceptA
Data Processing Center (CPD) is the set of physical, logical, and human resources necessary for the
organization, execution, and control of a company's IT activities.
FunctionsWithin
a company, the Data Processing Center fulfills various functions that justify the established job positions
that exist in it.
Exploitation of systems or applications.
The exploitation or operation of a computer system or computer application consists of the use and
benefit of the developed system. It consists of forecasting dates for work execution, general system
operation, control and management of supports, system security, supervision of work, etc.

Technical support to users.

Support, both for users and for the system itself, involves selecting, installing and maintaining the
appropriate operating system, the design and control of the database structure, the management of
teleprocessing equipment, the study and evaluation of the needs and performance of the system and,
finally, direct assistance to users.

Management and administration of the Data Processing Center itself.

The management and administration functions of a Data Processing Center include supervision
operations, project planning and control, project security and control, general security of facilities and
equipment, financial management and management of human resources.

LocationThe
physical location and installation of a Data Processing Center in a company depends on many factors,
including: the size of the company, the service to be provided, the availability of existing or planned
physical space, etc. Generally, the physical installation of a Data Processing Center requires taking the
following points into account:Physical
location. Where the available space, access to equipment and personnel, electrical supply facilities,
thermal conditioning and available safety elements will be analyzed.
Space and mobility. Characteristics of the rooms, height, width, position of the columns, possibilities of
equipment mobility, movable floor or false floor, etc.
Lighting. The lighting system must be appropriate to avoid reflections on the screens, lack of light in
certain areas, and direct sunlight on the equipment must be avoided.
Acoustic treatment. Noisy equipment such as impact printers, air conditioning equipment or equipment
subject to high vibration should be located in areas where both noise and vibration are dampened.
Physical security of the premises. The fire protection system will be studied, taking into account that the
materials are non-combustible (paint on walls, floor, ceiling, tables, shelves, etc.). Protection against
flooding and other physical hazards that may affect the facility will also be considered.
Power supply. The power supply to a Data Processing Center, and in particular the power supply to the
equipment, must be done under special conditions, such as the use of a line independent of the rest of
the installation to avoid interference, with specific protection and safety elements and in many cases with
uninterrupted power supply systems (generator sets, battery installation, etc.).
On the other hand, from a functional point of view, the Data Processing Center is located within the
organizational chart of a company in four possible ways:

Dependent on company management.

At this location, the Data Processing Center is managed directly by management and through it provides
services to the different departments. It was possibly the first location that existed when equipment and
its installation and personnel needs were very expensive.

Dependent on the administration or financial department.

Since most of a company's IT needs are in the administration or finance departments, since the use of
computers has extended to business management, the latter is usually a fairly common location. In this
case, the rest of the department receives the IT service through the administration or financial
department. The Diagram represents the location of the Data Processing Center dependent on the
administration department.

Independent location.
In this case, the Processing Center is another department of the company, whose objective is to provide
its services to the rest of the departments. In the diagram we see that the Data Processing Center is like
another department in the organizational chart of a company.

Decentralized or distributed location.

Due to the recent widespread acceptance of what is known as distributed processing, the great
development of microcomputing and, finally, the current degree of connectivity of equipment, many
companies have a location where the Data Processing Center does not exist as such, but is made up of
different sections assigned to each of the different departments, according to their own needs. The
Diagram shows us this type of location.

Organizational
ChartThere is no single organizational model for a Data Processing Center. It is structured in many
different ways, depending on its size, its functional location and the type of applications or work it
develops.

Functional organizational chart of a Data Processing Center.

The most common organization we can find in a Data Processing center from a functional point of view
is the one represented above.
The analysis and programming section is responsible for the development of applications for both the
system and end users. This section is sometimes called the studies or project development section.
The operation and maintenance section is responsible for planning, organizing, directing and controlling
the operation of the equipment, the execution of processes, data collection, telecomputer processing
and the maintenance of existing equipment and applications.
The administration and services section is responsible for controlling everything related to personnel,
budgets, distribution and allocation of equipment, purchase and supply of materials, etc.
Another fairly widespread organization is the one based on the separation of teams, personnel and
functions by projects, each of them directed to an area of the company or to a specific need. Each
project brings together a certain number of specialties coordinated by a project manager.
Finally, there is a recently emerged organization that includes the two previous ones simultaneously;
that is, a project-based organization appears on a functional organization scheme.

Data Processing Center StaffIf

it is difficult to try to define the organization of a CPD, trying to define each of the jobs is even more
complicated due to the great variety that can be presented.
However, for the proper functioning of a CPD, as a safety standard, it is vital to define as clearly as
possible the characteristics of each job, indicating what the functions are, technical tasks to be
performed, administrative tasks, dependencies and dependent positions, as well as contacts outside and
inside the centre, and promotion positions, in order to try to reduce to a minimum the personnel
problems that would have a very unfavourable impact on the safety and proper functioning of the CPD.
As an example of the complexity of the definition, the problem existing between analysis, programming
and conception is shown. The interaction between programming, analysis and conception is evident.
These three functions are derived from one another and are so closely related that it is often doubtful
what qualifications and knowledge are required of their holders.
An attempt will be made to define the typical characteristics that IT staff must have, and then the
characteristics of some jobs will be defined, ending with a staff recruitment plan.

Typical characteristics of IT staff

Because of their diversity, IT jobs do not allow for a typical IT profile. It is also necessary to define what
a computer scientist is, since this neologism requires further clarification.
It can be accepted that a computer scientist is one who, due to the nature of his tasks, must, in order to
carry them out, have a certain knowledge of the possibilities of computer systems, understanding that
the level, degree, and breadth of this knowledge can, between extremes, vary according to the function
performed.
The acquisition of knowledge is a matter of teaching and learning; on the contrary, skills are personal
qualities that knowledge develops, reinforces, refines and/or affirms, but never creates.

In a global account, the aptitudes for computer jobs are subdivided into four categories, which
distinguish:
— Intellectual qualities.
— Character qualities.
— The qualities of competence.
— Social qualities.
Training, which can be general, specific and/or professional, is also included in these categories. It
would not be useful to outline the typical profile of each IT job, since, for many of them, the qualities are
common and only more or less precise.
Computer science requires very specific skills, and there are two main reasons for this. The first is based
on the fact that automated jobs require lengthy studies for their implementation, which must be precise
and definitive.
The second depends directly on operating costs, the amount of which, using a computer system that is
always very expensive, is, however, never sufficient to prevent a perfect profitability from being
expected. It should also not be forgotten that IT is a non-productive service and, as a result, should not
represent an excessive burden on company expenses.
This reason is therefore sufficient to not commit the slightest negligence in the quality and competence
of the staff, which, without a doubt, is more important for the success and good name of the IT service
than the type and class of material exploited or to be exploited.
To conclude, if one had to select the three fundamental qualities of a computer scientist, they would be:
logic, sense of
detail and sense of the essential. Through appropriate specialized training it is possible to increase or
develop these qualities, resulting in the computer scientist that society needs.

Characteristics of Typical
JobsThree typical jobs will be defined below as an example, with the sole purpose of detailing the way
in which the basic tasks, responsibilities and dependencies of each job should be clearly established.
However, it should be noted that this is only an example of job profile structuring; therefore, these
examples should not be taken as strict definitions.

2. Head of data processing

Functions
—Direct, plan and control all data processing activities for which he/she is responsible to
management.
Technical
Tasks— Propose data processing objectives and policies.
— Prepare the program of work to be machined.
— Establish personnel and salary policies specific to their departments.
— Studies of the necessary hardware and software, as well as the possible outsourcing of
services.
— Update the organizational structure when necessary.
— Specify the standardization for the development and documentation of the work.
— Develop procedural standards, both internal and for relations with users.
Administrative
Duties—Prepare periodic or special reports on your department.
— Chair key meetings with users.

Dependency
—Of the general management of the company.

Dependent
Positions— Development and operations managers.
— Specialists and staff.

Relationships Outside the Department

—Directors.
— Other service units of the company.
— Supplies of equipment, software, hardware and services.
— Other companies in your sector with similar problems.

Qualifications
—Essential qualities are those required at a senior management level, including the ability to
“sell your ideas” to others, especially management.

Origin and Basic

Training— Except in some cases, basic training should ideally be a bachelor's degree or a
computer engineer's degree and, in any case, correspond to that of a higher technical school or
bachelor's degree and include a stage of preparation in business.
— It is essential that the IT director has had the opportunity to manage or work in different
departments of the company or in a similar company, so that he or she is fully aware of the
needs.
— It is desirable that you have acquired experience in data processing at a responsible level, for
example as a research manager. If you are not experienced, your immediate subordinate must
be.

Professional
Promotion—Management positions in the company.

Systems
AnalystFUNCTIONS
— Design and analysis of systems to be machined.
— Support for operations and users during implementation.
Technical
Tasks—Study and analyze the existing system.
— Pre-design, present and justify the proposed system.
— Carry out detailed design, prepare specifications, documentation and operating manual.
— Analyze and evaluate changes requested to an application.
— Carry out implementation support work and promote user acceptance.

Administrative
Tasks—Provide data on the progress of the application.
— Prepare data about your personal activity.

Dependency
—On the development manager or project manager, as appropriate, at least functionally.

Dependent
Positions—Application Analysts involved in your application.

Relationships Outside the Department

—Users.

Department
Relations—Application Analyst.
— Programmers.
— Database Administrator.
— Team leader.
— Data transcription monitors.

Qualification
— Possessing an analytical mind, that is, the ability to investigate and find all the constituents of
an operation. Be very detailed.
— Having a mind synthetic enough to reconstruct an operation from its constituents, in order to
verify the analysis.
— Be very precise and organized.
— Practical programming knowledge.
— It is desirable that you have a theoretical knowledge of the job, but it is not necessary that you
have worked in the service.

3. Origin and Basic Formation

There may be three types of analysts depending on their origin:
a) Professional analysts. A mid-level education may be sufficient.
b) Analysts admitted to become project managers. It will be essential to verify your analyst qualities,
since the needs for permanent positions are not the same as those needed for analysts. Failure to
observe this rule would be detrimental to the work.
c) Analysts admitted on a trial basis before joining other company services. Normally you should have a
higher degree in computer science, but the rule learned above is even more imperative.

Database AdministratorDuties—

Prepare normalized data definitions.

— Define the structure of the data codes.
— Establish the list of programs and applications that have access to the different areas of the
database, as well as the information security structure and procedures.
— Advise programmers on the use of specific software.
— Collaborate in defining equipment and software needs for databases.
— Maintain specifications on its structure and collaborate in analysis of its performance.
— Support users in preparing consultation programs, as well as in the regulations for the use and
maintenance of data.

Administrative
Tasks—Report on the use made of the database.

Dependency
— Of the development manager.

Dependent
Positions—None.

Relationships Outside the Department

—Users.

Relationships Within the Department

—Project Manager.
— Systems and applications analysts.
— Programmers.
— Head of operations.

c) Staff
Recruitment PlanIt is not possible to dissociate the jobs to be filled from staff recruitment. Indeed, this
recruitment can only be carried out on the basis of the needs to be met, and these depend both on the
structures in place and on the resulting availability.
In practice, there may be three situations that give rise to recruitment:
1. The IT service has not yet been created, although a prior analysis report has shown the need for its
implementation.
2. The service is working, but its development requires the creation of more jobs.
3. As a result of vacancies, one or more positions are available for filling.

The first two situations require thorough preparation in order to define the objectives and tasks of each
job.
Experience suggests that, when created and except in specific, duly defined cases, an IT service should
not be overstaffed, which suggests that a certain number of planned and defined jobs are not, on the
other hand, staffed and are only staffed when the need becomes evident. This is why the first two
situations described are complementary and not exceptional.
It is true that a computer system requires a certain logistical framework, but the implementation of a
system, of any kind, imposes successive steps whose graduation and dosage depend largely on the
needs and financial means of the companies and, on the other hand, on the progressive adaptations,
which only time allows to be reasonably accomplished.
The third situation is more classic. It is a consolidated situation, which does not require, a priori, new job
definitions, although the movements of people can sometimes allow for corrections to be made in terms
of impact or qualifications that the internal situation may suggest.
Indeed, although a standard model of various activities has been proposed above, each job must be
adapted to both the company and the application material. This is what explains why, in any community,
no qualification is ever fixed in its definition; this is particularly sensitive in computer science because of
the young age of its development.
The recruitment of IT service personnel strictly depends on the policy practiced by the company. It is
indeed possible to carry out internal recruitment or prefer external recruitment. In many cases, an
intermediate policy makes one choose both forms.
Internal recruiting has its advantages, although these must be measured. Low- and medium-skilled staff,
especially operating staff, can indeed be recruited within the company.
At the present time and for a long time to come, this method of recruitment will be presented as a
promotion for
those interested. Adapted training will enable them to integrate into the context of IT service activities,
but it is important to clarify the issue with regard to study and methods staff.

While internal recruitment offers, on the one hand, the advantage of providing people who know the
company well, on the other hand it can also present the disadvantage of recruiting people who, due to
acquired routines, may not be able to develop and carry out the reorganizations that the use of a
computer system requires.
Furthermore, the choice of internal recruitment can be influenced by personal factors that depend on
both context and circumstances. For these reasons, the recruitment of analysts and programmers must,
in the most common cases, be completely mixed in order to associate, if multidisciplinary teams are
formed, both internal and external recruitment, trying to achieve a good balance.
Thus, an experienced management technician whose recruitment will be internal must be associated
with a recognized IT technician recruited abroad. There will also be time to take into account the
personalities of each member of the team in order to create a coherent and, consequently, lasting
marriage. This issue goes beyond the strict framework of recruiting IT personnel, but is as important as
that of technical qualifications.

As regards IT management, these clarifications will not be necessary if all senior management in the
company have sufficient IT training, which is not the case at present.
This situation can be resolved by choosing a person from the company's management team and
providing them with adequate training. This practice does not always lead to success, because that
person, unless his spirit is sufficiently open, will tend to favor his old activities.
Thus, in the early days of computing, responsibility for many services was entrusted to administrative
directors or chief accountants in companies undergoing automation. This measure has too often led to a
simple mechanisation of administrative tasks with absolute priority given to accounting work.
External recruitment can lead to the same excesses in other ways. Hiring a manager, especially an IT
technician, risks precipitating automation, even mechanizing applications that, due to their nature and
cost, could and should continue to be carried out normally. In short, at this level of responsibility, the
competition is very strong, as there are intelligent or at least educated people.

Each one fears losing a part of his prerogatives and fights fiercely to take on new responsibilities and to
oppose the introduction of new influences. For all these reasons, it is advisable to have an adequate
dosage, which through internal and external recruitment, and based on the personality of the candidates,
will allow the formation of a management team in which both the knowledge of the company and its
mechanisms and that of computer techniques will be harmoniously allied.
This dosage is, in all cases, an advantage, since it brings new blood to the interior of the social body,
which is the company, which comes to oxygenate the structures and systems in the process of
fossilization or even already fossilized. Renewal is a positive fact to the extent that, previously thought
out, it is not revolutionary, but evolutionary.
Whatever the form of recruitment, internal or external, it must be carefully prepared. The job offer must
precisely define the position(s) to be filled and the profile(s) of the candidates for each role. If it is an
internal recruitment, this offer gives rise to a dissemination note that, in principle, is read by all staff.

This note must provide the qualification(s) required to be a candidate, as well as the degree or skills
required. It is clear that in internal recruitment and depending on the position(s) to be filled, the choice
may be more or less restrictive depending on the job. Very often, on the other hand, this choice
proposes to this or that member of staff to occupy the position to be filled. This procedure should be
avoided as it can lead to bias.
External recruitment requires more careful wording of the offer in order to give the desired psychological
impact. The chronology of the procedure is then established according to a flow chart.

In the organization chart, there are three contacts

with the candidates:— Aptitude test.
— Personal interview.
— Interview with the person in charge of the IT service.

In fact, these three actions are often grouped together to avoid unnecessary or costly movements.
This does not change the recruitment schedule at all, considering that the interview session with all
candidates cannot take place on the same day, resulting in a fragmentation in time.
The first interview can be prepared by the content of the job application rubrics. Reading this application
and studying the aptitude tests will help you determine the course of action to follow. The conversation
concludes with the drafting of a summary sheet, which, drawn up by a psychologist, should help the
person responsible for the future employee to make his or her choice.

It should be noted that the contract is never decided by the psychologist, but by the person responsible
for the position(s) to be filled. Many people point out the uselessness and danger of testing. Experience
shows that tests are not intended to inventory a person's entire personality and are only intended to
reveal the qualities required by the role(s) to be filled in different candidates.
Technical aptitude tests, in particular, are neither a confession nor an attack on freedom, but rather a
means of choice. They are a reflection of both the intellectual and psychological situation and its
eventual possibilities.
This set of information is studied by the hiring manager, which allows him to prepare his interview with
the selected candidate(s). The particularity of this interview is that it brings together two people who will
have to live and work together.
The interview may be completely banal, but it is, however, a point of contact that can be established
between two people who, a priori, would not suggest that they will work together. It should allow the
selection of the candidate who, due to his or her personal and social qualities and technical skills,
appears to be the best for the position to be filled.

4. How are information systems evaluated?

The last phase of a system development life cycle is a post audit. This is a review by a working group
(composed, for example, of one or more users, representatives of internal audit staff, and information
systems analysts). The audit team reviews the objectives and cost-benefit representations made on
behalf of the project and compares them to actual performance and actual costs. It also reviews the
operational characteristics of the system to determine whether they are satisfactory. Documentation is
reviewed considering backup and maintenance aspects. Control and security provisions are examined.
The results of a post audit are intended to assist in justifying cost improvements and in managing future
projects, in making improvements to the application being reviewed, or in its cancellation if the
application is no longer justified.
Applications can be evaluated in terms of measures of system value. They can also be compared with
the technical, operational and economic feasibility report by which they were originally justified.

Technical EvaluationThe
questions asked during a technical evaluation are similar to those used to determine where the
application was technically feasible. Some examples are:

 Is the data transmission rate fast enough to handle all the data?
 Is there enough storage to save the necessary data?
 Does the CPU respond to all requests within a specified period of time?

When applications are installed, subsequent evaluation may discover that they operate inefficiently
because the technical capabilities of hardware and software cannot properly support them. An online
real-time operation may be very slow due to the computer involved having insufficient capacity to handle
the workload. A communications network may adequately handle the workload but may be more
expensive than anticipated. Another common problem is that transaction volumes were underestimated,
such that secondary storage for online processing has inadequate capacity.

Operational Evaluation

Considerations establish whether the data input is appropriately provided and whether the output is
useful and used appropriately. Application evaluation should examine how well they operate, with
particular reference to input, error rates, timeliness of output, and utilization. Some research on the use
of output suggests the need for periodic evaluation of applications. In a study by Gee,3 64 mid-level line
managers in manufacturing companies were interviewed and asked to rate the elements of control
information they received on the extent to which they were being substantially used or were irrelevant or
reference information. Of the 579 items, 46 percent (267) were considered irrelevant or useful only for
reference. In a subsequent study, 49 mid-level managers were asked to classify control information
elements as vital (allowing no delays), important (used as a reference and delays or unforeseen events
were generally not significant), or backup (elements rarely used). The result showed that 383 items were
as follows:
Vital 32%
Important 36%
Backup 32%

There is a tendency not to finish a report once it has been started. Even if it is not used today, there is
often a feeling that it may be useful in the future. Several methods can be used to identify unused
reports:
 Completion of the report to see if anyone asks about him when he doesn't arrive.
 Periodic review of all reports by workforce.
 Pricing reports to provide incentives to managers to eliminate unnecessary reports.

Economic EvaluationThe
original proposal for an application includes an economic evaluation. In post-audit economic evaluation
current costs are compared with current benefits. Costs can be estimated with reasonable accuracy in
post-audit, but several benefits may still be difficult to measure. After making these estimates, a return
on investment (ROI) review can be calculated.
Economic evaluation can be useful beyond the specific application examined. For management
purposes, the evaluation can assist in future decision making by identifying application costs for which
an economic return was expected or could not be estimated. For example, the justification for the
application may have been:

 Mandated by law or by changes in external systems (such as changes in postal code).

 Required in order to equalize competition.
 To establish or maintain a competitive advantage or innovation.
 Improvements in organizational performance that are expected but difficult to measure.

If the economic evaluation shows that the objective return on investment will not be achieved or other
benefits are less (compared to costs) than anticipated, the economic analysis required to decide whether
or not to continue the application uses only future costs and benefits. In other words, the development
cost previously incurred is no longer relevant; there are already costs incurred and they cannot be
altered by the decision. However, frequently an application that has had less profit than anticipated may
still have enough future profit to pay for subsequent operation and maintenance costs.

Evaluating Existing Hardware and SoftwareThe

purpose of evaluating existing hardware and software is to determine whether all resources are needed,
whether some should be replaced with improved hardware or software, whether a new arrangement of
resources will improve effectiveness, or whether additional resources will increase the effectiveness of
the system. Some examples of actions resulting from the evaluation of the performance of the existing
hardware and software system are:

 Adding a new data channel or removing channels that are not being used.
 The replacement of low-speed data channels with high-speed channels.
 Adding main memory capacity.
 Changing disk storage units.
 Change in disk storage organization.
 Change in database management software.
 Change in the communications network.
 Replacing the order entry application package.

Methods and tools for hardware system evaluation are hardware and software monitors, system logs,
observations and simulation.

Evaluation through the use of performance monitors.

Hardware monitors are sensor devices coupled to selected signal lines in computer hardware to
measure the presence or absence of electrical impulses. For example, a sensor may be coupled to
measure the time the CPU is in a standby state. Another sensor can measure channel activity.
The monitoring device does not affect the operation of the computer hardware. It requires no primary
storage nor CPU cycle time. Data from sensor test points are routed to counters. Periodically, data from
the counters, along with time determined by an internal clock, are written to magnetic tape or other
output medium in computer-readable format. This is periodically summarized using a computer program
and reported in an analytical format.

Monitors can collect data from both the CPU and the activity of peripheral devices such as disk storage.
The biggest disadvantage of the hardware monitor is that it cannot identify the program being measured
unless the program's position in memory is known. Most reasonably sized computers use relocatable
programs and have more than one program in memory at any given time; this reduces the effectiveness
of hardware monitors in measuring specific program efficiency. The operating system normally resides in
a fixed partition of memory, so that its activity can be measured.
Software monitors are computer programs. They reside in main memory and require execution time;
they interrupt the program being executed to record data about the execution. Therefore, they delay the
execution of the programs they are monitoring. One approach to reducing the amount of interruption is
to sample the activity that is being executed rather than continuously measuring it. Software monitors
can identify particular programs, or program modules, within the operating system environment. The
activity of peripheral devices is not measured directly but can be estimated from CPU commands.

Hardware and software monitors can be used to detect idle resources, bottlenecks, and load
imbalances. Inefficient use of resources can be measured due to excessive waiting time. This waiting
time can be caused by insufficient channel capacity, excessive seek time on disk storage devices,
inefficient juxtaposition of input and output processing, etc. Monitors help to identify the causes of
inefficiency.

Some remedies that can be applied after performance monitoring and analysis of results include:

 Changes in the team.

 Recoding of program segments.
 Redesign of the file on disk storage.
 Restructuring access to disk storage records.

The results of “tuning” the hardware-software system have been significant. It is common to see a 25%
reduction in execution time for a few jobs that normally took up most of the processing capacity.

Evaluation using system logs and observationsThe

system log can provide useful data for evaluation. This is most evident in small facilities that maintain
simple logs of jobs, work time, etc. An analysis of the system log may indicate problems with lap times,
variations in job run times, or excessive machine failures. The log can also be used to develop a
distribution of work according to the required times. Such lists typically reveal the impact of, for example,
a few large jobs or a stream of small jobs.
Observing computer operations is useful for detecting the allocation of used resources and inefficient
applications. Some signs of inefficient distribution or poor operating procedures are:

 Delays in processing while the operator locates files, mounts tapes or disks, loads forms, or
performs similar functions.
 Excessive response requirements on the operator console.
 Delays caused by lack of training in proper restart procedures when processing is interrupted.

Evaluation of the proposed hardware and software.

A common decision in information systems is the acquisition of new or replacement of hardware and
software. These are often major purchases with significant organizational implications. The evaluation
process for a new or major replacement of a hardware-software system will vary depending on the level
of experience of the organization using the computers, the urgency of the replacement, and other
factors. A general approach consists of steps such as the following:

1. Study of the requirements.

2. Preparation of specifications.
3. Obtaining proposals from the seller.
4. Evaluation of proposals.

The basis of this approach is that the organization must perform sufficient analysis to specify its
requirements and request proposals from vendors, based on the specific requirements. The seller's
proposals are systematically evaluated against the requirements and a decision is made. This approach
contrasts with the common method of asking a vendor to propose hardware and software without any
organizational study or specification.

5. The study group.

If the acquisition of hardware and software is significant, a high-level study group or committee
should be formed. The high-level study group will be described as a model for both groups. A
senior committee should usually include middle management personnel representing the core
business functions, plus an executive from the systems function.
The study group must be provided with technical support staff. For an organization that already
has computer installations and is studying the value of a data processing system. For an
organization without prior experience, the use of external support consultants is often advisable.

How is the cost of information systems calculated?

Initial costs of the new information system.

1. Cost of site preparation. ...................................xxx

2. Application analysis and programming. ...................... xxx
3. Training cost, file conversion.

Parallel operation, etc. .......................................................

xxxTotal initial costs................................................xxx

Estimated annual operating cost

1. Rental of computers and related equipment

2. or amortization and maintenance. ............................................xxx

3. Software rental or maintenance. ...........................xxx

Analysts and programmers. ......................... Index1

. Development of Computer Systems.
2. Head of Data
Processing3. Origin and Basic
Formation4. How are information systems evaluated?
5. The study group.

1. Development of Computer Systems.

A computer system is the set of elements necessary for the implementation of applications. It is the set
of programs, together with the physical equipment, that operate on input data to produce the desired
output of any business problem.
The development of a computer system consists of the study and analysis of the current system and the
one that is intended to be created, the design of all its details and elements, the design and
programming of all its algorithms, the testing of their proper functioning, the implementation of the
system in the computer where it will carry out its work and, finally, the evaluation of the system and its
maintenance.
ConceptA
Data Processing Center (CPD) is the set of physical, logical, and human resources necessary for the
organization, execution, and control of a company's IT activities.

FunctionsWithin
a company, the Data Processing Center fulfills various functions that justify the established job positions
that exist in it.
Exploitation of systems or applications.
The exploitation or operation of a computer system or computer application consists of the use and
benefit of the developed system. It consists of forecasting dates for work execution, general system
operation, control and management of supports, system security, supervision of work, etc.

Technical support to users.

Support, both for users and for the system itself, involves selecting, installing and maintaining the
appropriate operating system, the design and control of the database structure, the management of
teleprocessing equipment, the study and evaluation of the needs and performance of the system and,
finally, direct assistance to users.

Management and administration of the Data Processing Center itself.

The management and administration functions of a Data Processing Center include supervision
operations, project planning and control, project security and control, general security of facilities and
equipment, financial management and management of human resources.

LocationThe
physical location and installation of a Data Processing Center in a company depends on many factors,
including: the size of the company, the service to be provided, the availability of existing or planned
physical space, etc. Generally, the physical installation of a Data Processing Center requires taking the
following points into account:Physical
location. Where the available space, access to equipment and personnel, electrical supply facilities,
thermal conditioning and available safety elements will be analyzed.
Space and mobility. Characteristics of the rooms, height, width, position of the columns, possibilities of
equipment mobility, movable floor or false floor, etc.
Lighting. The lighting system must be appropriate to avoid reflections on the screens, lack of light in
certain areas, and direct sunlight on the equipment must be avoided.
Acoustic treatment. Noisy equipment such as impact printers, air conditioning equipment or equipment
subject to high vibration should be located in areas where both noise and vibration are dampened.
Physical security of the premises. The fire protection system will be studied, taking into account that the
materials are non-combustible (paint on walls, floor, ceiling, tables, shelves, etc.). Protection against
flooding and other physical hazards that may affect the facility will also be considered.
Power supply. The power supply to a Data Processing Center, and in particular the power supply to the
equipment, must be done under special conditions, such as the use of a line independent of the rest of
the installation to avoid interference, with specific protection and safety elements and in many cases with
uninterrupted power supply systems (generator sets, battery installation, etc.).
On the other hand, from a functional point of view, the Data Processing Center is located within the
organizational chart of a company in four possible ways:

Dependent on company management.

At this location, the Data Processing Center is managed directly by management and through it provides
services to the different departments. It was possibly the first location that existed when equipment and
its installation and personnel needs were very expensive.

Dependent on the administration or financial department.

Since most of a company's IT needs are in the administration or finance departments, since the use of
computers has extended to business management, the latter is usually a fairly common location. In this
case, the rest of the department receives the IT service through the administration or financial
department. The Diagram represents the location of the Data Processing Center dependent on the
administration department.

Independent location.
In this case, the Processing Center is another department of the company, whose objective is to provide
its services to the rest of the departments. In the diagram we see that the Data Processing Center is like
another department in the organizational chart of a company.

Decentralized or distributed location.

Due to the recent widespread acceptance of what is known as distributed processing, the great
development of microcomputing and, finally, the current degree of connectivity of equipment, many
companies have a location where the Data Processing Center does not exist as such, but is made up of
different sections assigned to each of the different departments, according to their own needs. The
Diagram shows us this type of location.

Organizational
ChartThere is no single organizational model for a Data Processing Center. It is structured in many
different ways, depending on its size, its functional location and the type of applications or work it
develops.

Functional organizational chart of a Data Processing Center.

The most common organization we can find in a Data Processing center from a functional point of view
is the one represented above.
The analysis and programming section is responsible for the development of applications for both the
system and end users. This section is sometimes called the studies or project development section.
The operation and maintenance section is responsible for planning, organizing, directing and controlling
the operation of the equipment, the execution of processes, data collection, telecomputer processing
and the maintenance of existing equipment and applications.
The administration and services section is responsible for controlling everything related to personnel,
budgets, distribution and allocation of equipment, purchase and supply of materials, etc.
Another fairly widespread organization is the one based on the separation of teams, personnel and
functions by projects, each of them directed to an area of the company or to a specific need. Each
project brings together a certain number of specialties coordinated by a project manager.
Finally, there is a recently emerged organization that includes the two previous ones simultaneously;
that is, a project-based organization appears on a functional organization scheme.

Data Processing Center StaffIf

it is difficult to try to define the organization of a CPD, trying to define each of the jobs is even more
complicated due to the great variety that can be presented.
However, for the proper functioning of a CPD, as a safety standard, it is vital to define as clearly as
possible the characteristics of each job, indicating what the functions are, technical tasks to be
performed, administrative tasks, dependencies and dependent positions, as well as contacts outside and
inside the centre, and promotion positions, in order to try to reduce to a minimum the personnel
problems that would have a very unfavourable impact on the safety and proper functioning of the CPD.
As an example of the complexity of the definition, the problem existing between analysis, programming
and conception is shown. The interaction between programming, analysis and conception is evident.
These three functions are derived from one another and are so closely related that it is often doubtful
what qualifications and knowledge are required of their holders.
An attempt will be made to define the typical characteristics that IT staff must have, and then the
characteristics of some jobs will be defined, ending with a staff recruitment plan.

Typical characteristics of IT staff

Because of their diversity, IT jobs do not allow for a typical IT profile. It is also necessary to define what
a computer scientist is, since this neologism requires further clarification.
It can be accepted that a computer scientist is one who, due to the nature of his tasks, must, in order to
carry them out, have a certain knowledge of the possibilities of computer systems, understanding that
the level, degree, and breadth of this knowledge can, between extremes, vary according to the function
performed.
The acquisition of knowledge is a matter of teaching and learning; on the contrary, skills are personal
qualities that knowledge develops, reinforces, refines and/or affirms, but never creates.

In a global account, the aptitudes for computer jobs are subdivided into four categories, which
distinguish:
— Intellectual qualities.
— Character qualities.
— The qualities of competence.
— Social qualities.

Training, which can be general, specific and/or professional, is also included in these categories. It
would not be useful to outline the typical profile of each IT job, since, for many of them, the qualities are
common and only more or less precise.
Computer science requires very specific skills, and there are two main reasons for this. The first is based
on the fact that automated jobs require lengthy studies for their implementation, which must be precise
and definitive.
The second depends directly on operating costs, the amount of which, using a computer system that is
always very expensive, is, however, never sufficient to prevent a perfect profitability from being
expected. It should also not be forgotten that IT is a non-productive service and, as a result, should not
represent an excessive burden on company expenses.
This reason is therefore sufficient to not commit the slightest negligence in the quality and competence
of the staff, which, without a doubt, is more important for the success and good name of the IT service
than the type and class of material exploited or to be exploited.
To conclude, if one had to select the three fundamental qualities of a computer scientist, they would be:
logic, sense of
detail and sense of the essential. Through appropriate specialized training it is possible to increase or
develop these qualities, resulting in the computer scientist that society needs.

Characteristics of Typical
JobsThree typical jobs will be defined below as an example, with the sole purpose of detailing the way
in which the basic tasks, responsibilities and dependencies of each job should be clearly established.
However, it should be noted that this is only an example of job profile structuring; therefore, these
examples should not be taken as strict definitions.

2. Head of data processing

Functions
—Direct, plan and control all data processing activities for which he/she is responsible to
management.
Technical
Tasks— Propose data processing objectives and policies.
— Prepare the program of work to be machined.
— Establish personnel and salary policies specific to their departments.
— Studies of the necessary hardware and software, as well as the possible outsourcing of
services.
— Update the organizational structure when necessary.
— Specify the standardization for the development and documentation of the work.
— Develop procedural standards, both internal and for relations with users.

Administrative
Duties—Prepare periodic or special reports on your department.
— Chair key meetings with users.

Dependency
—Of the general management of the company.

Dependent
Positions— Development and operations managers.
— Specialists and staff.

Relationships Outside the Department

—Directors.
— Other service units of the company.
— Supplies of equipment, software, hardware and services.
— Other companies in your sector with similar problems.

Qualifications
—Essential qualities are those required at a senior management level, including the ability to
“sell your ideas” to others, especially management.

Origin and Basic

Training— Except in some cases, basic training should ideally be a bachelor's degree or a
computer engineer's degree and, in any case, correspond to that of a higher technical school or
bachelor's degree and include a stage of preparation in business.
— It is essential that the IT director has had the opportunity to manage or work in different
departments of the company or in a similar company, so that he or she is fully aware of the
needs.
— It is desirable that you have acquired experience in data processing at a responsible level, for
example as a research manager. If you are not experienced, your immediate subordinate must
be.

Professional
Promotion—Management positions in the company.

Systems
AnalystFUNCTIONS
— Design and analysis of systems to be machined.
— Support for operations and users during implementation.

Technical
Tasks—Study and analyze the existing system.
— Pre-design, present and justify the proposed system.
— Carry out detailed design, prepare specifications, documentation and operating manual.
— Analyze and evaluate changes requested to an application.
— Carry out implementation support work and promote user acceptance.

Administrative
Tasks—Provide data on the progress of the application.
— Prepare data about your personal activity.

Dependency
—On the development manager or project manager, as appropriate, at least functionally.

Dependent
Positions—Application Analysts involved in your application.

Relationships Outside the Department

—Users.

Department
Relations—Application Analyst.
— Programmers.
— Database Administrator.
— Team leader.
— Data transcription monitors.

Qualification
— Possessing an analytical mind, that is, the ability to investigate and find all the constituents of
an operation. Be very detailed.
— Having a mind synthetic enough to reconstruct an operation from its constituents, in order to
verify the analysis.
— Be very precise and organized.
— Practical programming knowledge.
— It is desirable that you have a theoretical knowledge of the job, but it is not necessary that you
have worked in the service.
3. Origin and Basic Formation

There may be three types of analysts depending on their origin:

a) Professional analysts. A mid-level education may be sufficient.
b) Analysts admitted to become project managers. It will be essential to verify your analyst qualities,
since the requirements for permanent positions are not the same as those needed for analysts. Failure
to observe this rule would be detrimental to the work.
c) Analysts admitted on a trial basis before joining other company services. Normally you should have a
higher degree in computer science, but the rule learned above is even more imperative.

Database AdministratorDuties—

Prepare normalized data definitions.

— Define the structure of the data codes.
— Establish the list of programs and applications that have access to the different areas of the
database, as well as the structure and procedures for information security.
— Advise programmers on the use of specific software.
— Collaborate in defining equipment and software needs for databases.
— Maintain specifications on its structure and collaborate in analysis of its performance.
— Support users in preparing consultation programs, as well as in the regulations for the use and
maintenance of data.

Administrative
Tasks—Report on the use made of the database.

Dependency
— Of the development manager.

Dependent
Positions—None.

Relationships Outside the Department

—Users.

Relationships Within the Department

—Project Manager.
— Systems and applications analysts.
— Programmers.
— Head of operations.
c) Staff
Recruitment PlanIt is not possible to dissociate the jobs to be filled from staff recruitment. Indeed, this
recruitment can only be carried out on the basis of the needs to be met, and these depend both on the
structures in place and on the resulting availability.
In practice, there may be three situations that give rise to recruitment:
1. The IT service has not yet been created, although a prior analysis report has shown the need for its
implementation.
2. The service is working, but its development requires the creation of more jobs.
3. As a result of vacancies, one or more positions are available for filling.

The first two situations require thorough preparation in order to define the objectives and tasks of each
job.
Experience suggests that, when created and except in specific, duly defined cases, an IT service should
not be overstaffed, which suggests that a certain number of planned and defined jobs are not, on the
other hand, staffed and are only staffed when the need becomes evident. This is why the first two
situations described are complementary and not exceptional.
It is true that a computer system requires a certain logistical framework, but the implementation of a
system, of any kind, imposes successive steps whose graduation and dosage depend largely on the
needs and financial means of the companies and, on the other hand, on the progressive adaptations,
which only time allows to be reasonably accomplished.
The third situation is more classic. It is a consolidated situation, which does not require, a priori, new job
definitions, although the movements of people can sometimes allow for corrections to be made in terms
of impact or qualifications that the internal situation may suggest.
Indeed, although a standard model of various activities has been proposed above, each job must be
adapted to both the company and the application material. This is what explains why, in any community,
no qualification is ever fixed in its definition; this is particularly sensitive in computer science because of
the young age of its development.
The recruitment of IT service personnel strictly depends on the policy practiced by the company. It is
indeed possible to carry out internal recruitment or prefer external recruitment. In many cases, an
intermediate policy makes one choose both forms.
Internal recruiting has its advantages, although these must be measured. Low- and medium-skilled staff,
especially operating staff, can indeed be recruited within the company.
At the present time and for a long time to come, this method of recruitment will be presented as a
promotion for
those interested. Adapted training will enable them to integrate into the context of IT service activities,
but it is important to clarify the issue with regard to study and methods staff.

While internal recruitment offers, on the one hand, the advantage of providing people who know the
company well, on the other hand it can also present the disadvantage of recruiting people who, due to
acquired routines, may not be able to develop and carry out the reorganizations that the use of a
computer system requires.
Furthermore, the choice of internal recruitment can be influenced by personal factors that depend on
both context and circumstances. For these reasons, the recruitment of analysts and programmers must,
in the most common cases, be completely mixed in order to associate, if multidisciplinary teams are
formed, both internal and external recruitment, trying to achieve a good balance.
Thus, an experienced management technician whose recruitment will be internal must be associated
with a recognized IT technician recruited abroad. There will also be time to take into account the
personalities of each member of the team in order to create a coherent and, consequently, lasting
marriage. This issue goes beyond the strict framework of recruiting IT personnel, but is as important as
that of technical qualifications.

As regards IT management, these clarifications will not be necessary if all senior management in the
company have sufficient IT training, which is not the case at present.
This situation can be resolved by choosing a person from the company's management team and
providing them with adequate training. This practice does not always lead to success, because that
person, unless his spirit is sufficiently open, will tend to favor his old activities.
Thus, in the early days of computing, responsibility for many services was entrusted to administrative
directors or chief accountants in companies undergoing automation. This measure has too often led to a
simple mechanisation of administrative tasks with absolute priority given to accounting work.
External recruitment can lead to the same excesses in other ways. Hiring a manager, especially an IT
technician, risks precipitating automation, even mechanizing applications that, due to their nature and
cost, could and should continue to be carried out normally. In short, at this level of responsibility, the
competition is very strong, as there are intelligent or at least educated people.

Each one fears losing a part of his prerogatives and fights fiercely to take on new responsibilities and to
oppose the introduction of new influences. For all these reasons, it is advisable to have an adequate
dosage, which through internal and external recruitment, and based on the personality of the candidates,
will allow the formation of a management team in which both the knowledge of the company and its
mechanisms and that of computer techniques will be harmoniously allied.
This dosage is, in all cases, an advantage, since it brings new blood to the interior of the social body,
which is the company, which comes to oxygenate the structures and systems in the process of
fossilization or even already fossilized. Renewal is a positive fact to the extent that, previously thought
out, it is not revolutionary, but evolutionary.
Whatever the form of recruitment, internal or external, it must be carefully prepared. The job offer must
precisely define the position(s) to be filled and the profile(s) of the candidates for each role. If it is an
internal recruitment, this offer gives rise to a dissemination note that, in principle, is read by all staff.

This note must provide the qualification(s) required to be a candidate, as well as the degree or skills
required. It is clear that in internal recruitment and depending on the position(s) to be filled, the choice
may be more or less restrictive depending on the job. Very often, on the other hand, this choice
proposes to this or that member of staff to occupy the position to be filled. This procedure should be
avoided as it can lead to bias.
External recruitment requires more careful wording of the offer in order to give the desired psychological
impact. The chronology of the procedure is then established according to a flow chart.

In the organization chart, there are three contacts

with the candidates:— Aptitude test.
— Personal interview.
— Interview with the person in charge of the IT service.

In fact, these three actions are often grouped together to avoid unnecessary or costly movements.
This does not change the recruitment schedule at all, considering that the interview session with all
candidates cannot take place on the same day, resulting in a fragmentation in time.
The first interview can be prepared by the content of the job application rubrics. Reading this application
and studying the aptitude tests will help you determine the course of action to follow. The conversation
concludes with the drafting of a summary sheet, which, drawn up by a psychologist, should help the
person responsible for the future employee to make his or her choice.

It should be noted that the contract is never decided by the psychologist, but by the person responsible
for the position(s) to be filled. Many people point out the uselessness and danger of testing. Experience
shows that tests are not intended to inventory a person's entire personality and are only intended to
reveal the qualities required by the role(s) to be filled in different candidates.
Technical aptitude tests, in particular, are neither a confession nor an attack on freedom, but rather a
means of choice. They are a reflection of both the intellectual and psychological situation and its
eventual possibilities.
This set of information is studied by the hiring manager, which allows him to prepare his interview with
the selected candidate(s). The particularity of this interview is that it brings together two people who will
have to live and work together.
The interview may be completely banal, but it is, however, a point of contact that can be established
between two people who, a priori, would not suggest that they will work together. It should allow the
selection of the candidate who, due to his or her personal and social qualities and technical skills,
appears to be the best for the position to be filled.

4. How are information systems evaluated?

The last phase of a system development life cycle is a post audit. This is a review by a working group
(composed, for example, of one or more users, representatives of internal audit staff, and information
systems analysts). The audit team reviews the objectives and cost-benefit representations made on
behalf of the project and compares them to actual performance and actual costs. It also reviews the
operational characteristics of the system to determine whether they are satisfactory. Documentation is
reviewed considering backup and maintenance aspects. Control and security provisions are examined.
The results of a post audit are intended to assist in justifying cost improvements and in managing future
projects, in making improvements to the application being reviewed, or in its cancellation if the
application is no longer justified.
Applications can be evaluated in terms of measures of system value. They can also be compared with
the technical, operational and economic feasibility report by which they were originally justified.

Technical EvaluationThe
questions asked during a technical evaluation are similar to those used to determine where the
application was technically feasible. Some examples are:

 Is the data transmission rate fast enough to handle all the data?
 Is there enough storage to save the necessary data?
 Does the CPU respond to all requests within a specified period of time?

When applications are installed, subsequent evaluation may discover that they operate inefficiently
because the technical capabilities of hardware and software cannot properly support them. An online
real-time operation may be very slow due to the computer involved having insufficient capacity to handle
the workload. A communications network may adequately handle the workload but may be more
expensive than anticipated. Another common problem is that transaction volumes were underestimated,
such that secondary storage for online processing has inadequate capacity.

Operational Evaluation

Considerations establish whether the data input is appropriately provided and whether the output is
useful and used appropriately. Application evaluation should examine how well they operate, with
particular reference to input, error rates, timeliness of output, and utilization. Some research on the use
of output suggests the need for periodic evaluation of applications. In a study by Gee,3 64 mid-level line
managers in manufacturing companies were interviewed and asked to rate the elements of control
information they received on the extent to which they were being substantially used or were irrelevant or
reference information. Of the 579 items, 46 percent (267) were considered irrelevant or useful only for
reference. In a subsequent study, 49 mid-level managers were asked to classify control information
elements as vital (allowing no delays), important (used as a reference and delays or unforeseen events
were generally not significant), or backup (elements rarely used). The result showed that 383 items were
as follows:
Vital 32%
Important 36%
Backup 32%
There is a tendency not to finish a report once it has been started. Even if it is not used today, there is
often a feeling that it may be useful in the future. Several methods can be used to identify unused
reports:

 Completion of the report to see if anyone asks about him when he doesn't arrive.
 Periodic review of all reports by workforce.
 Pricing reports to provide incentives to managers to eliminate unnecessary reports.

Economic EvaluationThe
original proposal for an application includes an economic evaluation. In post-audit economic evaluation
current costs are compared with current benefits. Costs can be estimated with reasonable accuracy in
post-audit, but several benefits may still be difficult to measure. After making these estimates, a return
on investment (ROI) review can be calculated.
Economic evaluation can be useful beyond the specific application examined. For management
purposes, the evaluation can assist in future decision making by identifying application costs for which
an economic return was expected or could not be estimated. For example, the justification for the
application may have been:

 Mandated by law or by changes in external systems (such as changes in postal code).

 Required in order to equalize competition.
 To establish or maintain a competitive advantage or innovation.
 Improvements in organizational performance that are expected but difficult to measure.

If the economic evaluation shows that the objective return on investment will not be achieved or other
benefits are less (compared to costs) than anticipated, the economic analysis required to decide whether
or not to continue the application uses only future costs and benefits. In other words, the development
cost previously incurred is no longer relevant; there are already costs incurred and they cannot be
altered by the decision. However, frequently an application that has had less profit than anticipated may
still have enough future profit to pay for subsequent operation and maintenance costs.

Evaluating Existing Hardware and SoftwareThe

purpose of evaluating existing hardware and software is to determine whether all resources are needed,
whether some should be replaced with improved hardware or software, whether a new arrangement of
resources will improve effectiveness, or whether additional resources will increase the effectiveness of
the system. Some examples of actions resulting from the evaluation of the performance of the existing
hardware and software system are:

 Adding a new data channel or removing channels that are not being used.
 The replacement of low-speed data channels with high-speed channels.
 Adding main memory capacity.
 Changing disk storage units.
 Change in disk storage organization.
 Change in database management software.
 Change in the communications network.
 Replacing the order entry application package.

Methods and tools for hardware system evaluation are hardware and software monitors, system logs,
observations and simulation.

Evaluation through the use of performance monitors.

Hardware monitors are sensor devices coupled to selected signal lines in computer hardware to
measure the presence or absence of electrical impulses. For example, a sensor may be coupled to
measure the time the CPU is in a standby state. Another sensor can measure channel activity.
The monitoring device does not affect the operation of the computer hardware. It requires no primary
storage nor CPU cycle time. Data from sensor test points are routed to counters. Periodically, data from
the counters, along with time determined by an internal clock, are written to magnetic tape or other
output medium in computer-readable format. This is periodically summarized using a computer program
and reported in an analytical format.

Monitors can collect data from both the CPU and the activity of peripheral devices such as disk storage.
The biggest disadvantage of the hardware monitor is that it cannot identify the program being measured
unless the program's position in memory is known. Most reasonably sized computers use relocatable
programs and have more than one program in memory at any given time; this reduces the effectiveness
of hardware monitors in measuring specific program efficiency. The operating system normally resides in
a fixed partition of memory, so that its activity can be measured.
Software monitors are computer programs. They reside in main memory and require execution time;
they interrupt the program being executed to record data about the execution. Therefore, they delay the
execution of the programs they are monitoring. One approach to reducing the amount of interruption is
to sample the activity that is being executed rather than continuously measuring it. Software monitors
can identify particular programs, or program modules, within the operating system environment. The
activity of peripheral devices is not measured directly but can be estimated from CPU commands.

Hardware and software monitors can be used to detect idle resources, bottlenecks, and load
imbalances. Inefficient use of resources can be measured due to excessive waiting time. This waiting
time can be caused by insufficient channel capacity, excessive seek time on disk storage devices,
inefficient juxtaposition of input and output processing, etc. Monitors help to identify the causes of
inefficiency.

Some remedies that can be applied after performance monitoring and analysis of results include:
 Changes in the team.
 Recoding of program segments.
 Redesign of the file on disk storage.
 Restructuring access to disk storage records.

The results of “tuning” the hardware-software system have been significant. It is common to see a 25%
reduction in execution time for a few jobs that normally took up most of the processing capacity.

Evaluation using system logs and observationsThe

system log can provide useful data for evaluation. This is most evident in small facilities that maintain
simple logs of jobs, work time, etc. An analysis of the system log may indicate problems with lap times,
variations in job run times, or excessive machine failures. The log can also be used to develop a
distribution of work according to the required times. Such lists typically reveal the impact of, for example,
a few large jobs or a stream of small jobs.
Observing computer operations is useful for detecting the allocation of used resources and inefficient
applications. Some signs of inefficient distribution or poor operating procedures are:

 Delays in processing while the operator locates files, mounts tapes or disks, loads forms, or
performs similar functions.
 Excessive response requirements on the operator console.
 Delays caused by lack of training in proper restart procedures when processing is interrupted.

Evaluation of the proposed hardware and software.

A common decision in information systems is the acquisition of new or replacement of hardware and
software. These are often major purchases with significant organizational implications. The evaluation
process for a new or major replacement of a hardware-software system will vary depending on the level
of experience of the organization using the computers, the urgency of the replacement, and other
factors. A general approach consists of steps such as the following:

1. Study of the requirements.

2. Preparation of specifications.
3. Obtaining proposals from the seller.
4. Evaluation of proposals.

The basis of this approach is that the organization must perform sufficient analysis to specify its
requirements and request proposals from vendors, based on the specific requirements. The seller's
proposals are systematically evaluated against the requirements and a decision is made. This approach
contrasts with the common method of asking a vendor to propose hardware and software without any
organizational study or specification.
5. The study group.

If the acquisition of hardware and software is significant, a high-level study group or committee
should be formed. The high-level study group will be described as a model for both groups. A
senior committee should usually include middle management personnel representing the core
business functions, plus an executive from the systems function.
The study group must be provided with technical support staff. For an organization that already
has computer installations and is studying the value of a data processing system. For an
organization without prior experience, the use of external support consultants is often advisable.

How is the cost of information systems calculated?

Initial costs of the new information system.

1. Cost of site preparation. ...................................xxx

2. Application analysis and programming. ...................... xxx
3. Training cost, file conversion.

Parallel operation, etc. .......................................................

xxxTotal initial costs................................................xxx

Estimated annual operating cost

1. Rental of computers and related equipment

2. or amortization and maintenance. ............................................xxx

3. Software rental or maintenance. ...........................xxx

4. Analysts and programmers. ............................................xxx
5. Operations Staff. .................................................. xxx
6. Leases, utilities, electricity, etc. ................xxx

Total operating costs................................................xxx

b. Annual savings (shifted costs plus value of operating efficiencies minus annual operating
costs)...........................................................................................................................xxx
c. Rate of return (rate at which the present value of savings equals the present value of cash
cost)..........................................xx%
d. Other intangible benefits (list).
4. ...................xxx
5. Operations Staff. .................................................. xxx
 6. Leases, utilities, electricity, etc. ................xxx

Total operating costs................................................xxx

b. Annual savings (shifted costs plus value of operating efficiencies minus annual operating
costs)...........................................................................................................................xxx
c. Rate of return (rate at which the present value of savings equals the present value of cash
cost)..........................................xx%
d. Other intangible benefits (list).