Riordan Human Resources

Bobby Wilson

BSA\375

November 7, 2011

Human Resources The system that Riordan has in place has several areas that need to be upgraded in order to bring it up to today’s standards. Although this system seems to work for the time being it is far from being adequate to keep up with the demands of a growing company at this stage. Because of the importance of the functions that this system is responsible for it is essential that a new system be implemented. The proposed design method that will be used in this overhaul will be the Top-Down method because it will allow the design team to thoroughly examine the existing system, and test new ideas that will work within a new system. This is an approach that has been successfully implemented in other manufacturing environment. It seems to work so well because it makes it easy for the design team to break the functions into smaller tasks and test at that that level for functionality. Testing at the sub system level could provide very good data that can be used at all the subsequent levels of the design. One of the first tasks that the design team has to deal with is to decide what type of architectural information that they should from the existing system to integrate into the new system. As stated earlier there are some good points in the system that Riordan has in place already. It will still be responsible for the same functions before the changeover such as:

• Personal Information

• Pay Rate

• Personal Exemptions – for tax purposes

• Hire Date

• Seniority Date

• Organizational Information

• Vacation Hours

The challenge for the design team is to decide what will extract from the existing system. This, according to one source will become a major factor in deciding how to design the new system (Karen White /University of Houston Clear Lake). This portion of the process is called the generalization. As mentioned earlier Riordan does have some good points in the way that these functions are applied. While they need to be updated they are still desirable as part of the new system. Some practices will be retained as requiring employees make changes to their payroll status in writing. One of the major things that will be included in the new system is that there will be one central database that will be accessible from each plant. This should save the personnel in Human Resources a lot of time when they need to access an individual file for an employee. Another big change that will be implemented in the new system will be the ability for Riordan to include its applicant information and resumes in that same database. They will have a more centralized system for maintaining their information. The new system will implement an E- Sign type of program that I have noticed that some of the other major companies use. This method has proven to be very secure because it poses several challenge questions before any information can be changed. By using this method it will free the payroll clerk to perform other duties. However; in the event that there are changes that need to be made by a person, it is still better that only designated personnel have access to the system to modify information. This function is very important because the payroll clerk is responsible for making sure that employees are paid the proper amount. The new system should have shared security in case there is a need for someone other than the payroll clerk to go in and make changes. With the new system there is also a plant to include new interfaces that will be used to communicate with all the other departments together in the system files instead of a storage area. This will make them easier to access in the case of an opening. This is an example of the process that the project will go through.
| Mapping Process For New Human Resource System |

I think that the best way to go about finding out what types of problems the new system would help to alleviate would be to do a brainstorming session with those that use, and maintain the system. It would help to ask some relevant questions. • What are we trying to accomplish? • What exactly is wrong with the present system? These are key questions that will help to make sure that the scope and feasibility of the project are kept intact. The questions and answers provided from this group should provide valuable insight for the project manager, as well the other people involved in the project. In addition to the group brainstorming session, there should be some one on one interviews with employees in the payroll department to get a genuine feel of what they are tasked with on a day to day basis. According to one article that I read on the internet the “System Development Life Cycle should reflect itself” I think that with this project it would be better to use the iterative approach to make enhancements to the existing system. This will allow for the development to take place in stages, which will help to identify any procedures that will adversely affect what the project is trying to accomplish.

References

www.coolinterview.com/type.asp

benderrbt.com/Bender-SDLC

https://ecampus.phoenix.edu/secure/aapd/cist/vop/Business/Riordan/HR/RiordanAdmin

sce.uhcl.edu/whites/webpapers.dir/ETCE97pap.

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Domain Architecture

Existing Architecture

Proposed Design

Proposed Architecture

Architecture