Topic 1.1: Systems in Organization Flashcards
What is user documentation?
User documentation is any document that explains how to use the features and functions of a system to its end-users.
Why is user documentation important?
- Without detailed, simple, clear instructions, users might be unaware of particular features or unable to use features that are not immediately obvious.
- A well-made user documentation guides the user through using the system and thus increases productivity.
Why is it better if user documentation is simple?
- If the user documentation is simple, system implementation can happen faster because users require less training to learn how to use the new system.
- Users are non-technical people, they only need to know how to use the system. Therefore, the user documentation does not involve detailed explanations of how the system works.
What defines the quality of a ‘good’ user documentation?
- simple
- good quality
What are the three types of user documentation?
Help files: Files supplied together with the system. They can usually be called up with a button in the system.
Online support: Special web service hosted by the system’s developer to provide user documentation.
Printed manuals: Manuals printed on paper and supplied together with the system.
Pros and cons of help files
Advantages:
* Accessible at any time when using the program
* Give general instructions on how to use the system
* Give general instructions on how to solve some major errors
Disadvantages:
* They can only be used after system has been installed.
* They don’t give any help when installing the solution
* They often only deal with very general errors
* They often lack a search capability, you have to look to find help for your problem
Pros and cons of online support
Advantages:
* They are often extensive compared to help files
* They get continuously revised by the systems developer to deal with the problems occurring most often (FAQs)
* They often provide an option for live support, talking to a real human operator if a problem arises which the user documentation has no answer to
* They often have search capabilities built-in so that users can easily search through them
Disadvantages:
* They are useless if users have no internet connection
* Live support does not work quite well with users unfamiliar with computers when they have to explain their problem (“I clicked ‘that’ button and then something happened!”)
Pros and cons of printed manuals
Advantages:
* They can be read through by users before starting to work with the new system
* Always available
* Give help installing the system
Disadvantages:
* Can be lost / misplaced / limited in number
* Often limited to a little booklet supplying little information apart from how to install the system
* Not be updated every time the system is updated
Why is user training important?
productivity greatly depend on how familiar users are with a system.
What are the three types of user training?
Self-instruction: Users can learn how to use a new system on their own, provided they have the right material to learn from. It can take the form of reading a manual or watching a
tutorial.
Formal classes: Users sitting in a classroom listening to an instructor who shows and explains how to use the system. This type of training is useful to train large amounts of staff as it is effective and relatively cheap, but if the size of the classes is too big, there is little time to deal with individual problems and questions.
Remote/online training: An instructor training one user or a small group of users by some kind of remote connection (Skype, Google Hangouts, Face time, etc.). This is the most effective way of training as training can be suited to user’s needs and abilities, while being instructed by a professional that caters to specific needs.
Pros and cons of self-instruction
Advantages:
* Lowest cost – only materials needed, no teachers/buildings
* Flexible timeline
* Training tailored to exactly what users wants to learn
Disadvantages:
* With no guidance, user might feel lost/overwhelmed
* Unstructured learning means certain features might be misunderstood/ignored
Pros and cons of formal classes
Advantages:
* Structured learning environment
* Expert on hand to answer questions
* Curriculum designed to teach all aspects, including ones that might be misunderstood or difficult to grasp
Disadvantages:
* Expensive – teachers, buildings and facilities needed
* Rigid schedule and curriculum
* Not much personalisation possible
Pros and cons of remote/online training
Advantages:
* Structured learning environment
* Expert on hand to answer questions
* Curriculum designed to teach all aspects, including ones that might be misunderstood or difficult to grasp
* Flexible locations
Disadvantages:
* Expensive – teachers & internet connection needed
* Can feel ‘remote’ with no quick ‘hands on’
* Has to be computer-based
Causes of data loss
User Error: The user may accidentally delete some files, over write them, or just plain simply forget to save.
Malicious Actions of a Third Party: Someone else may break your device storage, for revenge.
Theft: People may steal your data, either physically or through hacking.
Viruses and Malware: There are a huge range of viruses and malware that can do anything from nothing, to deleting everything on a hard drive. (These include worms, Trojan horses, spyware, scareware, time bombs etc.)A Trojan Horse is a program that has the appearance of a useful and desired function but performs other undesired functions without you knowledge.Worms are programs that enable the duplication and spread of copies of themselves throughout a system.
Hardware Malfunction: Some storage devices come with defects, and may be the cause of data loss. These defects can be severe enough to cause the whole medium to ‘fry’ or just loss a small portion of the data.
Natural Disaster: Things such as earthquakes, floods, wars and, even volcanic eruptions can destroy your hardware. They may also cause things like power failure. Fires are also a big cause of data loss
Data loss prevention methods
Failover system: Failover is the constant capability to automatically and seamlessly switch to a highly reliable backup system. This can be operated in a redundant manner or in a standby operational mode upon the failure of a primary server, application, system or other primary system component.
Redundancy: Data redundancy is a condition created within a database or data storage technology in which the same piece of data is held in two separate places. This can mean two different fields within a single database, or two different spots in multiple software environments or platforms. Whenever data is repeated, this basically constitutes data redundancy.
Removable media: Removable media is any type of storage device that can be removed from a computer while the system is running. Examples of removable media include CDs, DVDs and Blu-Ray disks, as well as tapes and USB drives. Removable media makes it easy for a user to move data from one computer to another.
Offsite/online storage:
Offsite: An offsite backup is a backup process or facility that stores backup data or applications external to the organization or core IT environment. It is similar to a standard backup process, but uses a facility or storage media that is not physically located within the organization’s core infrastructure.
Online: Cloud backup is a type of service through which cloud computing resources and infrastructure are used to create, edit, manage and restore data, services or application backup. This is done remotely over the internet. Cloud backup may also be called online backup or remote backup.
What are the two ways to get updates?
+pros and cons
Manually (download and install them yourself)
* Pro: Full control
* Con: Time consuming
Automatically (software automatically contacts the developer, downloads and installs any updates)
* Pro: Don’t have to think/worry about updates, always up to date
* Con: No control – bad update might crash the system
