Assignment of Management Information System - 2

 Conceptual System Design:

 Conceptual system design is the phase in the system development life cycle (SDLC)
where a high-level framework of the system is created, focusing on the overall structure
and key components. During this phase, the primary objective is to define what the
system will do and how it will function, without getting into the details of
implementation. It serves as a blueprint for the subsequent stages of system
development.

 Key Objectives of Conceptual System Design:

1. Define System Requirements: Clearly outline the system’s objectives, functional and
non-functional requirements, and user needs.
2. Identify System Components: Determine the key components of the system, including
inputs, outputs, data, and processes.
3. Establish System Architecture: Define the system’s high-level architecture, such as its
hardware, software, network structure, and user interfaces.
4. Provide Feasibility Analysis: Assess the feasibility of the system in terms of resources,
budget, time, and technical capabilities.
5. Ensure Alignment with Business Goals: Ensure that the system design aligns with
organizational goals and strategies.

 Key Elements of Conceptual System Design:

1. System Objectives:
Definition: Establish clear objectives the system must meet. These are typically derived from
user requirements, business needs, and strategic goals.
Example: A hospital management system might have objectives like improving patient data
management, reducing waiting times, and enhancing resource allocation.

2. System Scope:
Definition: Define the boundaries of the system, including what the system will and will not do.
Example: For a library system, the scope could include managing books, patrons, and loans, but
exclude features like managing staff payroll.

3. Functional Requirements:
Definition: These are the specific behaviors or functions the system must perform, such as
processing transactions, generating reports, or storing data.
Example: A retail point-of-sale (POS) system must include functions like scanning items,
calculating totals, and processing payments.

4. Non-Functional Requirements:
Definition: These refer to the quality attributes of the system, such as performance, security,
scalability, reliability, and usability.
Example: A system might need to handle 1,000 transactions per minute, or provide secure
access to sensitive data.

5. System Architecture:
Definition: High-level design that outlines the structure of the system, including its hardware,
software, network components, and interactions.
Example: A cloud-based inventory management system may have a client-server architecture
with cloud storage for data and web interfaces for users.

6. Data Flow Diagrams (DFDs):

Definition: These diagrams visually represent how data flows within the system. They show
processes, data storage, and how data moves between components.
Example: A DFD might show how data from a customer order form flows to the order
processing system and how it leads to inventory updates.

7. Entity-Relationship (ER) Diagrams:

Definition: These diagrams depict the relationships between data entities in the system. They
are used to model the data structure.
Example: An ER diagram for a customer relationship management (CRM) system might show
entities like customers, orders, and products, and how they are related.

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 8. Prototyping:
Definition: Early-stage models or prototypes are sometimes created to help users visualize the
system and provide feedback on the design.
Example: A clickable prototype of a user interface might be created to demonstrate the look
and feel of the system before development.

9. User Interfaces (UI):

Definition: The design of how users will interact with the system, including layout, navigation,
and usability.
Example: A dashboard interface for a financial management system might display key metrics
like revenue, expenses, and profit margins in an easy-to-understand format.

10. Integration with Existing Systems:

Definition: Assess how the new system will interface with or integrate into existing systems or
infrastructure.
Example: A new inventory management system may need to integrate with an existing financial
system to ensure seamless order processing and reporting.

 Conceptual Design Models and Tools:

1. Data Flow Diagrams (DFD): These diagrams are widely used in the conceptual design
phase to represent how data moves through a system. They help to map out system
processes and data sources.
2. Entity-Relationship Diagrams (ERD): Used to show the relationships between different
data entities, useful in structuring the database design.
3. Use Case Diagrams: Represent the interactions between users and the system, helping
to define user requirements.
4. Prototypes: Initial models of the system (often for user interfaces) that help clarify
system functionality and gain feedback from stakeholders.

 Phases in Conceptual System Design:

1. Initial Requirements Gathering:

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Collecting input from users, stakeholders, and business analysis to understand the system’s
goals and constraints.
Output: A list of requirements that the system must fulfill.

2. Conceptual Design of System Architecture:

High-level design of the system’s components and their interactions.
Output: Architecture diagrams, including system components and how they interconnect.

3. Data Modeling:
Developing entity-relationship diagrams (ERDs) and data flow diagrams (DFDs) to visually
represent how data is structured and flows.
Output: Data models and flow diagrams.

4. Prototyping:
Building prototypes or mockups for user interfaces or core system functions to visualize the
final system.
Output: Prototypes for user feedback.

5. Feasibility Study and Evaluation:

Analyzing the feasibility of the proposed system design in terms of technical, economic, and
operational factors.
Output: A report evaluating whether the design is achievable with available resources.

 Importance of Conceptual System Design:

1. Clarity and Direction: It provides clear guidance for both the development and
operational stages of the system, ensuring alignment with business needs and
objectives.
2. Cost and Time Efficiency: By planning the system at a high level before detailed
development, it helps to avoid costly changes during later stages of development.
3. Stakeholder Buy-in: The conceptual design helps ensure that stakeholders understand
and agree on the system’s objectives and approach, leading to more successful project
outcomes.

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 4. Risk Reduction: Early identification of potential design flaws, technical challenges, or
implementation issues reduces the risk of project failure.
5. Improved Communication: Conceptual design models, like DFDs and ERDs, help facilitate
communication between stakeholders, business analysts, developers, and end-users.

 Challenges in Conceptual System Design:

1. Ambiguous Requirements: Vague or incomplete requirements from users or

stakeholders can lead to misaligned designs.
2. Scope Creep: If the scope of the system isn’t well-defined, it can grow uncontrollably,
leading to delays, increased costs, and confusion about system functionality.
3. User Feedback: Gathering sufficient and meaningful feedback from stakeholders,
especially during prototyping, can be challenging but is essential for creating a system
that meets their needs.
4. Balancing Flexibility and Structure: While it’s important to provide flexibility for future
growth, conceptual designs should also be structured enough to guide the development
effectively.

Conclusion:
Conceptual system design is a crucial phase in system development that sets the foundation for
successful implementation. It involves understanding the system’s objectives, defining its
structure, and mapping out how it will function at a high level. A well-executed conceptual
design helps ensure that the system aligns with business needs, is feasible to build, and can
evolve with the organization’s goals. By using appropriate tools and models, such as DFDs,
ERDs, and prototypes, the design process can achieve clarity and reduce risks, leading to a
smoother development process.

 Define Problem:
In conceptual system design, a problem definition refers to the process of identifying
and clearly articulating the issues or challenges that the system is intended to address. It
sets the foundation for the entire system design process by providing a clear
understanding of the requirements, objectives, and constraints of the system. The
problem definition outlines the gap between the current state (the problem) and the
desired state (the solution), helping to direct the design efforts toward solving specific
organizational or business issues.

Key Aspects of Problem Definition in Conceptual System Design:

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 1. Understanding the Problem:
The first step is to thoroughly understand the problem or challenge the system is
intended to solve. This involves gathering input from stakeholders, analyzing current
processes, and identifying inefficiencies or pain points.
Example: A company may define the problem as “delayed order processing leading to
customer dissatisfaction.”

2. Identifying the Needs:

The problem definition should also highlight the needs that the new system must fulfill.
This could include automation of manual tasks, streamlining workflows, improving data
accuracy, or providing real-time insights.
Example: “The system should automate order processing, provide status updates to
customers, and improve inventory tracking.”

3. Establishing System Objectives:

Based on the problem analysis, the system’s objectives must be clearly stated. These are
the goals the system must achieve to solve the identified problem.
Example: “The objective is to reduce order processing time from 48 hours to 12 hours.”

4. Defining Constraints and Limitations:

The problem definition should also identify any constraints, such as budget limits,
resource availability, or technological restrictions, that the system design must consider.
Example: “The system must be compatible with the existing ERP system and have a
budget of $50,000.”

5. Clarifying Stakeholder Expectations:

Engaging stakeholders (e.g., users, management, and IT teams) is essential to ensure the
problem definition aligns with their expectations and needs. This can help in gathering
clear requirements for the system.
Example: “Sales team requires real-time updates, while management needs detailed
performance analytics.”

Scoping the Problem:

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 The problem definition should specify the scope of the system, outlining which aspects
of the organization or process will be affected and which ones will not be part of the
system's responsibilities.
Example: “The system will only address the order processing and inventory
management aspects, excluding customer support and billing.”

Conclusion:

A problem definition in conceptual system design is a critical step that ensures the
system development process begins with a clear understanding of what needs to be
solved. It helps in aligning the design team, stakeholders, and objectives, leading to the
creation of a system that effectively addresses the organization’s issues. By identifying
the problem, needs, objectives, constraints, and expectations early on, the design
process can proceed with a well-defined direction, ultimately leading to a more
successful system implementation.

 Set System Objectives:

In conceptual system design, setting system objectives is a crucial step in the process.
System objectives define the desired outcomes that the system is intended to achieve.
These objectives provide clear direction and purpose for the entire system design and
development process. By establishing well-defined objectives, the design team can focus
on creating a system that solves the identified problem and meets the needs of the
stakeholders.

Steps to Set System Objectives in Conceptual System Design:

1. Align with Organizational Goals:

The system objectives should align with the broader goals of the organization. These
goals could include improving operational efficiency, enhancing customer satisfaction,
reducing costs, or increasing revenue.
Example: If the organization’s goal is to enhance customer satisfaction, the system
objective might be to provide faster response times for customer inquiries.

2. Define Clear and Measurable Outcomes:

System objectives should be specific and measurable, meaning there should be a way to
evaluate whether the objectives have been successfully achieved. These outcomes help
ensure that the system’s success can be objectively assessed.

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 Example: “Reduce order processing time from 48 hours to 24 hours” or “Increase order
accuracy by 15%.

3. Consider Functional and Non-Functional Requirements:

Objectives should include both functional and non-functional requirements.

Functional requirements refer to specific tasks the system must perform, such as
processing orders, generating reports, or managing inventory.
Non-functional requirements address performance standards, such as response time,
system reliability, scalability, and security.
Example:

Functional: “The system should automate order processing.”

Non-functional: “The system must handle up to 500 orders per minute without
performance degradation.”
Identify Stakeholder Needs:

System objectives should be based on the needs and expectations of stakeholders,

including end-users, management, and other departments. Gathering input from key
stakeholders ensures that the system will address the right problems and deliver value.
Example: If the sales team is a primary stakeholder, an objective might be to “Provide
real-time access to inventory levels for the sales team to prevent over-selling.”

4. Be Achievable and Realistic:

The objectives should be practical and achievable given the available resources,
technology, budget, and time constraints. Unattainable objectives can lead to project
failure.
Example: If the budget is limited, setting an objective to “Implement a fully automated,
AI-driven system in six months” may be unrealistic. A more realistic objective might be
“Automate manual data entry processes in the first phase.
Define the Scope of the System:

Clearly outline the boundaries of what the system will and will not do. This helps focus
on essential features and avoid scope creep.
Example: “The system will automate order processing and inventory management but
will not include customer service functionality.”

5. Ensure Flexibility for Future Growth:

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 While objectives should focus on the immediate needs, they should also consider the
future growth and scalability of the system. The system should be able to accommodate
changes in the organization or its operations.
Example: “The system should be scalable to accommodate up to 1,000 users in the
future.”

 Examples of System Objectives in Conceptual System Design:

1. Improving Operational Efficiency:

“Automate the order processing system to reduce manual intervention and processing
time by 50%.”
“Implement a centralized inventory management system that improves stock accuracy
and reduces stockouts by 20%.”

2. Enhancing User Experience:

“Design an intuitive user interface that reduces training time for employees by 30%.”
“Develop a mobile application for customers that allows them to track orders in real
time.”

3. Increasing System Reliability:

“Ensure 99.9% uptime for the system, with no more than 4 hours of downtime
annually.”
“Implement automatic backup and recovery systems to ensure data integrity in case of
failure.”

4. Cost Reduction:

“Reduce operational costs by automating manual workflows and eliminating paper-

based processes.”
“Minimize hardware expenses by implementing a cloud-based solution that scales as
needed.”

5. Compliance and Security:

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 “Ensure the system complies with industry standards for data security and privacy,
including GDPR.”
“Implement user authentication and access control to restrict unauthorized access to
sensitive data.”

 Characteristics of Well-Defined System Objectives:

1. Specific: The objectives should clearly state what is to be achieved.

Example: “Reduce manual data entry errors by 15%.”

2. Measurable: There should be clear metrics or criteria to evaluate the success of the
objective.
Example: “The system should process 1,000 transactions per minute.”

3. Achievable: Objectives should be realistic and within the capabilities of the system
and available resources.
Example: “Automate the payroll process within six months.”

4. Relevant: The objectives should directly address the identified problems or

opportunities and be aligned with the overall goals of the organization.
Example: “Enhance customer satisfaction by reducing order fulfillment time by 25%.”

5. Time-bound: It’s important to define when the objective should be achieved, such as
setting deadlines or milestones.
Example: “Implement the system within 12 months.”

Conclusion:

Setting clear and well-defined system objectives in conceptual system design is essential
for ensuring the system aligns with business goals and stakeholder needs. These
objectives provide a framework for designing and developing the system and guide its
evaluation once implemented. By considering functional and non-functional
requirements, resource constraints, stakeholder input, and scalability, system objectives
help ensure the system will be both effective in addressing the problem and sustainable
for future growth.

 Establish System Constraints:

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 A system constraint is any factor that limits or restricts the performance or capacity of a
system. It can be physical, financial, technological, or related to time, resources, or
manpower. Identifying and understanding system constraints is essential for optimizing
system performance and achieving goals efficiently.

 Key Points:

Types of Constraints:
Physical: Limited resources like equipment or space.
Time: Deadlines or process durations.
Financial: Budget limitations.
Technological: Outdated systems or insufficient knowledge.
Resource: Limited availability of inputs or materials.

 Process:

1. Identify system objectives.

2. Analyze components and dependencies.
3. Recognize and quantify constraints.
4. Set limits and priorities.
5. Continuously monitor and adjust.

Understanding and managing constraints helps in improving system efficiency by

focusing on overcoming or minimizing the limiting factors.

 Determine Information Needs & Sources:

 Determining Information Needs and Sources

1. Information Needs:
Identify the specific data required to achieve objectives or solve problems.
Define the type of information (e.g., quantitative or qualitative).
Determine the frequency of updates (e.g., real-time, daily, monthly).
Establish the level of detail needed for decision-making (e.g., high-level summaries vs.
in-depth data).

2. Information Sources:
Internal Sources:

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 Company databases, reports, and records.
Employees' expertise and internal communications.

External Sources:
Market research, industry reports, and government publications.
Online databases, public records, and third-party consultants.

3. Selecting Sources:

Ensure sources are reliable, accurate, and relevant.

Choose sources that best align with the specific needs of the organization or project.
By determining clear information needs and selecting appropriate sources,
organizations can make informed decisions and streamline processes.

 Develop Alternative Conceptual Design & Documentation:

 Develop Alternative Conceptual Design & Documentation

Developing alternative conceptual designs involves creating different approaches or

solutions to a problem or project. These designs are high-level, preliminary ideas or
models that can be refined later. The goal is to explore various possibilities, ensuring
that the best option is selected for further development.

Steps in Developing Alternative Conceptual Designs:

1. Identify the Problem or Objective:

Clearly define the problem or the project goal to ensure all design alternatives align with
the desired outcome.

2. Brainstorm Alternative Solutions:

Generate a range of potential designs or approaches, considering different methods,
technologies, and strategies.
Encourage creativity and innovation while ensuring feasibility.

3. Evaluate Alternatives:
Assess each design concept based on criteria such as cost, time, resources, and technical
feasibility.
Consider the potential risks, benefits, and impacts of each alternative.

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 4. Select the Best Alternatives:
Choose the most viable options based on the evaluation process.
Refine these selected alternatives for further development or prototype.

5. Create Documentation:
Document each design alternative in detail. This may include:
Concept Diagrams: Visual representations of the design ideas.
Descriptions: Clear and concise explanations of the design concepts.
Feasibility Analysis: Assessment of each design’s practicality, including resource
requirements, timelines, and potential risks.
Cost Estimates: Preliminary cost breakdown for each alternative.
Comparison Charts: A side-by-side evaluation of alternatives.

6. Present to Stakeholders:
Share the alternatives and documentation with stakeholders for feedback and approval.
Revise the designs as necessary based on feedback.

 Documentation Example:

Conceptual Design 1: Modular system with scalable components.

Feasibility: High; components can be added or removed.
Cost Estimate: $500,000 initial setup.

Conceptual Design 2: Integrated system using off-the-shelf technology.

Feasibility: Medium; may face compatibility issues.
Cost Estimate: $350,000 initial setup.

This process allows for exploring a variety of possible solutions and ensures that the
chosen design aligns best with project goals, constraints, and available resources.

 Design Report: Conceptual System Design:

1. Introduction

This report outlines the conceptual system design for [Project Name]. The objective is to
define the high-level architecture, key components, and their interactions to address
the project's requirements efficiently and effectively.

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 2. Problem Statement

The system aims to solve [brief problem description], requiring a design that is scalable,
secure, and able to handle [specific functions like data processing, user interactions,
etc.].

3. System Overview

The conceptual design includes several key layers:

User Interface (UI): Provides interaction points for users.
Application Layer: Handles core logic, data processing, and decision-making.
Data Storage: Manages data storage and retrieval using databases or file systems.
Communication Layer: Ensures seamless interaction between components and external
systems.

4. System Components

User Interface: Front-end access for users, including web/mobile apps.

Application Layer: Business logic and process handling.
Data Storage: Databases or cloud services for data storage.
External Interfaces: Communication with third-party systems or APIs.

5. Data Flow

Data is input via the UI, processed by the application layer, stored in the data storage
layer, and outputted to the UI or external systems as needed. The system supports
bidirectional data flow for updates and feedback.

6. Design Diagrams

System Architecture Diagram: A high-level view of the system’s layers and components.
Data Flow Diagram (DFD): Illustrates the flow of data through the system.

7. Feasibility and Risks

Technical Feasibility: Utilizes existing technologies and standards.

Risks: Integration challenges, scalability limitations, and dependency on third-party
systems.

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 8. Next Steps

Proceed to detailed design, focusing on component specifications and technology

selection.
Develop a prototype for validation before full implementation.

9. Conclusion

The conceptual system design provides a solid foundation, outlining the architecture
and key components required for the project. This design will guide future detailed
development phases.

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