FNDS015 Essentials of Computer Organization and Architecture Assignment Sample

Information Technology Business Case

2.1 Information System (IS)

1. Describe how each employee would use the IS, based on their role and the tasks they must complete during their workday.

Different employees in “Emma’s Physio” will use IS in different ways as per their roles. The receptionist of the company will use the IS to make personal records of patients, which may include their name, address, contact details and other demographic information. Further, physiotherapists in “Emma’s Physio” will access the preliminary information about the health of patients through IS such as the cause of wound and organs where the pain is experienced. Also, physiotherapists will update the records in IS after their examination and activities performed in the gym.

The mobile physiotherapist will also use the IS to manage the records of the patients who are visited in their home. Personal and health-related information sourced by a mobile physiotherapist will be stored in the system of the company. Further, the accountant will also use the IS for accessing the services used by the patients and generating their payment bills.

2. For each type of employee, describe what procedures each would have in order to complete their tasks during their workday.

Different employees in “Emma’s Physio” will execute following procedures.

Receptionist

• Asking patients about their name, age, contact number and other details
• Creating patient-specific digital records and files
• Accessing payment details of patients and generating bills
• Receiving payments from patients

Physiotherapists

• Accessing demographic information about patients
• Subjecting patients to activities in gyms
• Making records of physical activities and analysis
• Updating IS with information about the activities and health of patients

Mobile physiotherapist

• Asking receptionist about bookings
• Visit patients at their home
• Recording their performance details
• Updating IS after the visit

Accountant

• Accessing information about offered services in “Emma’s Physio.”
• Generating invoice of delivered services and sending it at reception

3. For each employee, describe what data/information they would work with. Provide examples.

Employee	Information
Receptionist	Name, age, contact number, gender, address of patients
Physiotherapists	The efficiency of patients on treadmills and other setups in the gym, level of pain experienced in different activities, cause and duration of pain or injury, rate of healing
Mobile physiotherapist	Address of the patient, level of pain, cause of pain
Accountant	Prices of services received by patients, payment status

2.2 Information Technology (IT)

4. Define what general-use computer(s) each employee will need, and why

The receptionist will need computers to create patient-specific files in which information about their appointments and personal details is stored. Also, the receptionist will use computers to make a record of payments and send emails. Physiotherapists will use computers to record efficiency shown by patients in the gym and to make suitable recommendations to heal wounds and injuries. The mobile physiotherapist will use a computer to make records of their visits and health information of patients. The accountant will provide computer-generated copies of bills and make performance record of “Emma’s Physio”.

5. Do you think the business needs a server? Explain why.

There is an immense need for a server to manage the business of “Emma’s Physio”. It is because there are different departments, which should be interlinked to manage the business processes. For example, payments bills can only be generated; if the accountant will have proper information about services used by patients. Therefore, a common database and server should be there, which can be accessed by different employees to perform their roles.

6. List what input and output devices Emma will need to purchase for the business, and explain why they are needed.

Input devices that “Emma’s Physio” will need to purchase, include keyboards, mouses, scanners, cameras and microphones for audio recording. These input devices will allow employees to enter information and save it in the server (Null & Lobur, 2014). Also, the company needs to purchase output devices such as printers, monitors and speakers. These devices can be used to display and print files and bills, which can be used for analysis and payments.

2.3 Networks

7. What network type is most suitable for Emma’s business, and why?

Star network type is more suitable to manage different business processes of “Emma’s Physio”. In the star network typology, different computers are linked to one common server, as shown in the figure below.

Figure 1: Star network typology (Lea, 2018)

Star network type may allow receptionists, physiotherapists, account and other employees in the company to update information about a patient and access them through a common server rather than creating separate files (Lea, 2018).

8. What communication technology do you recommend for the network at the business; wired, wireless, or a mixture? Explain your answer.

Since “Emma’s Physio” is a small organisation with only six employees. Therefore, mixed communication technology can be considered. There will be devices, which can be linked through wires as well as Wi-Fi. Devices in office areas can be linked through wires, while input from devices used in the gym can be acquired through a Wi-Fi network (Null & Lobur, 2014).

9. Do you think the business needs fibre optic cabling? Explain why.

Optical fibre cabling can be used in the system, which will be developed for “Emma’s Physio”. It is because optic fibre provides transmission of data at very high bandwidth. In comparison to ordinary electric fibres, optical fibres are highly efficient (Lea, 2018). Therefore, communication flow with different departments of the company will be high. Use of optical fibre may enhance the speed of the internet, which may facilitate the online booking process for services.

10. What advice can you give the employees to help them not fall for a phishing scam?

There are several advices that need to be considered by employees in “Emma’s Physio” to avoid falling for phishing and scam. For that purpose, employees must not access the links, which can be received through emails, messages or other mediums (White, Fisch, & Pooch, 2017). Clicks on these links may provide easy access to intruders. Also, provisions for detecting and blocking the suspected users should be there.

11. What advice can you give the business and the employees to best protect themselves against IT security threats?

Hacking and information breach is the most prevent threat, which can be experienced in “Emma’s Physio”. To eliminate these threats; employees may enhance the security of their network by enabling user authentication process (Stewart, 2013). Therefore, user Ids and passwords can be generated, which will provide authentic access to the server. Also, data protection measures can be considered such as firewall, antivirus and others, which may detect malware and resist the access of un-authorised personal.

2.4 Data

12. What is a DBMS? Describe its purpose.

DBMS stands for Database Management System, which is a software application having several features to store information (Gorman, 2014). The software is used to eliminate redundancy while storing and accessing data. DBMS can be accessed through different users at the same time due to which it may act as a common database to store, rectify and access information. The software can be used to stockpile data related to different patients in “Emma’s Physio” such as personal details, health data, and payment and so on.

13. Identify the three different entities (tables) that the business should have in their database, and what fields would be stored in each table.

Personal information		Health information		Payment
Name		Cause of wound or injury		Service used by the patient
Age		Duration of wound or injury		Fees per service
Gender		Exercise performed in the gym		Total payment
Address		Readings and statistics		Payment status
Contact number		Actions taken
Health issue		Recommendations to improve health
		Outcomes

14. Why should the business bother with using databases to store and manage their data? Why not just use Excel?

“Emma’s Physio” must bother with using databases to manage their business. However, Excel spreadsheets can be used to store data corresponding to different business processes; but, probabilities of redundancy increases with the use of excel. For example, physiotherapists in the company will be required to create new separate files storing information about the patients such as the cause of wound and many others. Use of databases may reduce the need for creating separate files, which also reduces redundancy (Rahimi & Haug, 2015). Along with this, there can be vital possibilities of human-made errors while creating multiple excel files. Contrary to this, databases are required to be updated only once, and the information can be accessed at multiple channels. Therefore, databases are more suitable to manage the business of “Emma’s Physio properly”.

References for Essentials of Computer Organization and Architecture

Gorman, M. (2014). Database Management Systems Understanding and Applying Database Technology. USA: Elsevier Science

Lea, P. (2018). Internet of Things for Architects Architecting IoT Solutions by Implementing Sensors, Communication Infrastructure, Edge Computing, Analytics, and Security. UK: Packt Publishing

Null, ‎L. & Lobur, J. (2014). Essentials of Computer Organization and Architecture. USA: Jones & Bartlett Learning

Rahimi, ‎S. & Haug, F. (2015). Distributed Database Management Systems. USA: Wiley

Stewart, M. (2013). Network Security, Firewalls and VPNs. UK: Jones & Bartlett Learning

White, G., Fisch, ‎E. & Pooch, U. (2017). Computer System and Network Security. UK: CRC Press

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