Analysing usability and security issues in design and development of information systems

Recent technological advancements and the global economic challenges have meant that, individuals and businesses are constantly seeking new ways to exploit Information Systems (IS) and in manners that not only enhance user experiences and/or improve business processes and productivity, but also protect the individual‟s privacy and business assets for competitive advantage. Therefore, Information Systems need to be designed and developed to meet these challenges and/or other objectives. This thesis will delve primarily into the history of IS as a basis for establishing where the problem(s) lie or emanate from. It will focus on critically analysing existing Information Systems, and investigating the conflicting issues of usability and security, from an Information Systems Design and Development perspective by analysing various approaches. An in-depth review of literature and critical analysis of requirements necessary for the design and development of a usable and secure Information System will be carried out and will form the intellectual framework for this research. The premise therefore, is to look for a balanced approach or appropriate trade-off framework for designing usable-secure systems. The research will conclude with a discussion on how an envisaged conceptual framework or model can be developed based on certain influential factors, and how the framework can be experimentally evaluated, and to suggest areas for further improvement or future research

Modelling, analysis and design of computer integrated manufacturing systems.

In the present climate of global competition, manufacturing organisations consider and seek strategies, means and tools to assist them to stay competitive. Computer Integrated Manufacturing (CIM) offers a number of potential opportunities for improving manufacturing systems. However, a number of researchers have reported the difficulties which arise during the analysis, design and implementation of CIM due to a lack of effective modelling methodologies and techniques and the complexity of the systems. The work reported in this thesis is related to the development of an integrated modelling method to support the analysis and design of advanced manufacturing systems. A survey of various modelling methods and techniques is carried out. The methods SSADM, IDEFO, IDEF1X, IDEF3, IDEF4, OOM, SADT, GRAI, PN, 10A MERISE, GIM and SIMULATION are reviewed. The majorities of these contain graphical components and therefore, fulfil basic modelling requirements. In addition, these methods represent a comprehensive sample of manufacturing systems modelling methods. A manufacturing system comprises different sub-systems including physical, information and decisions sub-systems. These sub-systems can be modelled using a combination of the methods described i.e. GRAI for decision systems, IDEFO for physical systems, simulation for dynamic aspects, etc. A novel framework for comparing the modelling methods selected is developed using a number of factors derived from CIM and modelling requirements. The study discovered that no single modelling method or technique could model all the different aspects of a manufacturing system or achieve integration between system domains at both static and dynamic levels. As a result, it was concluded that there was a need for an integrated modelling method for the analysis and design of complex manufacturing systems. To overcome these problems, a novel integrated modelling method called GI-SIM has been developed. The method is composed of four modelling components GRAI grid, IDEFO, IDEF1X and SIMAN/ARENA. GI-SIM integrates these four tools to form a complete method, which combines the advantages of existing modelling methods and eliminates their shortcomings. The method developed is evaluated using a case study carried out in a UK company manufacturing electric motors. It is also tested for the design and specification of CIM system components (CAD, CAPP, CAM, etc.). The case studies demonstrate that GISIM achieves two important types of modelling integration; the first is a vertical integration between different levels of abstraction (conceptual, structural and dynamic) and the second is a horizontal integration between five modelling domains (decision, functional, information, physical and dynamic). In addition, the method is easy to learn and use, and sufficiently flexible to model any system function according to its related objectives. The findings of this research and recommendation for future research are presented in the final chapter

General timetabling system for school

The General Timetabling System for School is developed based on the local school timetable structure. The system is implemented using a heuristic generic algorithm that best fit to the timetabling solution. The system is designed on the principle of providing a user-friendly interface for the beginner to learn and use the system with ease. Result of the system testing shown that the system development objectives are successfully achieved. However, there are some limitations on the programming language and database management basis that are still looking for better solution. Additionally, possible future works to improve the usability of the system had also been identified and discussed

Dynamic enterprise modelling: a methodology for animating dynamic social networks

PhD ThesisSince the introduction of the Internet and the realisation of its potential companies have either transformed their operation or are in the process of doing so. It has been observed, that developments in I.T., telecommunications and the Internet have boosted the number of enterprises engaging into e-commerce, e-business and virtual enterprising. These trends are accompanied by re-shaping, transformation and changes in an enterprise's boundaries. The thesis gives an account of the research into the area of dynamic enterprise modelling and provides a modelling methodology that allows different roles and business models to be tested and evaluated without the risk associated with committing to a change

Developing a design methodology for the construction of hypertext and hypermedia, with particular reference to hypertext electronic prospectuses

Use and development of hypertext-based documents is becoming more widespread in both industry and die academic world. This has obvious implications for the design of hypertext documents. The hypertext designer has been relatively ignored until recently, with attention largely focused on the quality of the hypertext rather than support for the designer. Recent hypertext design methodologies, such as that described by Isakowitz et al. (1995) have made a useful contribution, but are oriented towards designers with a background in computing science and related professions. This research addresses this problem by the development of a design methodology which is intended to be accessible to the general author. The design methodology was based on three sources of data: a taxonomy of existing design guidance, including a range of principles and guidelines and previous design methodologies for hypertext; hypertext versions of a higher education college prospectus, and a case study of a CD-ROM higher education prospectus. This material was assembled and synthesised to produce a provisional design methodology that is positioned between existing design methodologies such as Relationship Management Methodology (Isakowitz et al 1995) and Object-Oriented Hypermedia Design Method (Schwabe et al 1995), which are influenced by software engineering and database design concepts, and other less formal descriptions of the hypertext design process. The design methodology supports and encourages iterative methods of working, and includes supporting documentation and pro formas designed to encourage a thorough approach to hypertext design

Information Systems Development through an Integrated Framework

Information systems are essential entities for several organizations who strive to successfully run their business operations. One of the major problems faced by the organizations is that many of these information systems fail, and thus the organizations do not achieve their required targets in time. Many of the reasons for the information system failures documented in the literature are related to development methodologies or frameworks that are unable to handle both ‘hard’ and ‘soft’ system aspects. In general, the hard issues of the system are considered more significant than the soft issues, however, all the methodologies must be able to deal with all the system and business aspects. This thesis investigates the possibility of developing and evaluating a multimethodology framework that can be used for information systems development in an academic and business environment. The research explores the applicability of such a framework that comprehends both ‘soft’ and ‘hard’ system aspects in order to eliminate information system failures. Different software development approaches are investigated, including the dominant ‘domain-driven design’ (DDD) approach. A new multimethodological framework entitled ‘Systemic Soft Domain Driven Design’ (SSDDDF) has been developed by combining ‘soft system methodology’ as a guiding methodology, ‘unified modelling language’ as a business domain modelling approach, and a domain-driven design implementation pattern. This framework is intended as an improvement of the DDD approach. Soft and hard techniques are integrated through mapping from the ‘consensus primary task model’ of the soft approach to the ‘use cases’ of the hard approach. In addition, ‘soft language’ is introduced as a complement to DDD’s ‘ubiquitous language’, for facilitating the communication between the different stakeholders of a project. The implementation pattern (e.g., Naked Objects) is included for generating code from domain models. The framework has been evaluated as an information systems development approach through different undergraduate and postgraduate projects. Feedback from the developers has been positive and encouraging for further improvements in the future. The SSDDD framework has also been compared to different ISD methodologies and frameworks among of these DDD as an approach to ISD. The results of this comparison show that SSDDDF has advantages over DDD and significant improvements to DDD have been achieved. Finally, the research suggests an agenda for further improvements of the framework, while suggesting the development of different pattern languages

Compliance flow: an intelligent workflow management system to support engineering processes

This work is about extending the scope of current workflow management systems to support engineering processes. On the one hand engineering processes are relatively dynamic, and on the other their specification and performance are constrained by industry standards and guidelines for the sake of product acceptability, such as IEC 61508 for safety and ISO 9001 for quality. A number of technologies have been proposed to increase the adaptability of current workflow systems to deal with dynamic situations. A primary concern is how to support open-ended processes that cannot be completely specified in detail prior to their execution. A survey of adaptive workflow systems is given and the enabling technologies are discussed. Engineering processes are studied and their characteristics are identified and discussed. Current workflow systems have been successfully used in managing "administrative" processes for some time, but they lack the flexibility to support dynamic, unpredictable, collaborative, and highly interdependent engineering processes. [Continues.

Information systems - a methodology for capturing user requirements.

Systems development has been a topic of discussion for many years, with the growth of the Information Technology (IT) industry. Many organisations use systems to allow them to have more control over the processes that are carried out on a daily basis. The Systems Development Life Cycle (SDLC) has had a major impact on the way that systems are developed. It provides a structure that begins with identifying the feasibility of the project to be completed, and guides the project through implementation and maintenance of the system. It has been suggested that the lack of user involvement during this development process is a major cause of this failure in the systems that are developed. This research addresses this problem by reviewing the most popular methods and examining the concept of user involvement. An industrial perspective also assists in generating key issues in systems development. These, together with the lessons learned during the literature review form the basis of the development of a new approach. The new approach proposed in this thesis (URCAM, User requirements Capturing Method) comprises a set of stages and phases that a developer can use to carry out the process of capturing user requirements. While learning from the weaknesses of the existing methods, the proposed method considers their strengths. URCAM was evaluated during a systems development project at BICC General Cables. The results of the evaluation suggested that the method would produce higher quality information than verbal communication. However, the major strengths of the method are that it offers the developer a guide that they could follow from identifying the types of users who would be involved, to the sign-off, of the final specification. URCAM forms are also presented, which offer the user an opportunity to write down information. The results suggest that this method helps the user to feel more involved and increases their willingness to use the implemented system.PhD in the School of Applied Science