Purchase Solution

Fitness Center Information Systems Plan

Not what you're looking for?

Ask Custom Question

Choose a decision support systems (DSS) function that will be applicable to the fitness center

Demonstrate the application of your chosen DSS to a specific problem or set of problems and include the role of the following components of a DSS as they pertain to your system:
o description of the situation
o intended users
o database

You are developing a new information system for The Fitness Center, a company that has five fitness centers in your metropolitan area, with about 650 members and 30 employees in each location. This system will be used by both members and fitness consultants to track participation in various fitness activities, such as free weights, volleyball, swimming, stair climbers, and yoga and aerobic classes. One of the performance objectives of the system is that it helps members plan a fitness program to meet their particular needs. The primary purpose of this system, as envisioned by the director of marketing, is to assist The Fitness Center in obtaining a competitive advantage over other fitness clubs.

Use word processing software to prepare a brief memo to the required participants in the development team for this systems development project. Be sure to specify what roles these individuals will play and what types of information you hope to obtain from them. Assume that the relational database model will be the basis for building this system. Use a database management system to define the various tables that will make up the database.

a. Define the purpose of the info rmation system and its alignment with company goals.
b. Address the roles of the people who will be involved in the project.

Outline the considerations for systems investigation.
b. Outline the steps for systems analysis.
c. Outline the steps for systems design.
d. Create guidelines for a systems review and maintenance schedule.
e. Determine a sequence of activities.

a. Create an announcement of the new system roll out that includes the benefits to users.

Purchase this Solution

Solution Preview

Please see the attached file.

Decision Support System
Decision support systems are the interactive computer based-system that provides the user with the easy access to decision models and data in order to support the semi structured and unstructured decision-tasks.
The key aspects of the DSS follows directly from the definition but can be made clearer if we would look at the various characteristics of the Decision Support System.
? Decision making supported by DSS must be in a semi structured or unstructured environment. In every decision-making situation, there are many factors to consider, conflict about the factors, insufficient information, complexity, and lack of the clarity. While a computer cannot make an actual decision, it can help the managers by analyzing the measurable factor.
? This sort of the decision-making will occur at all levels of management. Others in a company besides the chief executive officers can benefits from the use of DSS.
? A DSS should be able to help the group decisions, rather than just individuals working independent tasks. Decision may be developed by many decision makers and then passed along to others as the company new policy.
? The DSS should assist in all the stages of the decision-making including the identifying the problems, analyzing the alternatives, and choosing solutions.
? A DSS should be flexible, fitting the style of a particular manager, and adaptable, accommodating changes in the environment.
? The DSS should be easy to use. A user should not be required to be a computer programmer to generate reports answer to queries or graphics. It must be convenient for the user to use the DSS; otherwise the DSS probably would not be used.
? DSS are the information system whose focus is on the decision-making. In this sense they differ from EDP and MIS, which would focus on the data and information respectively.
? They rely on the man and machine working together for solving the decision problems. In this sense they differ from the EDP system, which focus on the automating routine processes, and MIS whose main objective is to provide information that be useful to the management.
? They are support tools under the controls of the managers. They do not attempt to automate the decision-making, predefine objectives, or impose solutions.
? Their functional capabilities are oriented more towards supporting decision making activities rather than solving decision problems.
? They provide an environment where decision makers can effectively apply the various kinds of the management science methods and quantitative analysis techniques that would otherwise be too cumbersome to use.
? Their impact is on decision where the manager's judgment is essential and there is sufficient structure for the computers and analytical aids to be of value.
? They emphasize flexibility and adaptability to accommodate the changes in decision-making.
? DSS are usually ad hoc system that is designed for specific non-recurring decision problems.
? DSS are tends to extensible, and evolve over time.

? They provide extensive data management and model management facilities.
? DSS are used as much for decision-making as for communicating decisions, and for training purposes.

Types of the Decision Support System
? File drawer system gives users immediate access to data in a database.
? Data analysis system allows the managers to work with the data in a single data file.
? Analysis information system gives manager access to many databases and small models.
? Accounting models help the managers see the effects of the various activities on the company's income statement.
? Representation models help the managers predict the result of the alternative decisions by analyzing the decision along with the financial data.
? Optimization models tell the managers the optimal solution to problems.
? Suggestion models suggest decisions for the fairly routine problems faced by the company.

Each of the Decision support system is different, as it is built to meet the need of the users. But the several general components are found in every DSS;
? A user.
? A working with the hardware and software.
? A software system that includes both the data - and model handling programs.
? A database that contains internal and external information from all areas in the company;
? A model base that contain strategic, tactical and operational models as well as tools to build the additional models.

The Decision support function applicable to the fitness center
The data and model function is the most popular function, which is used for our developing project that is fitness center. There are two kinds of the critical resources that are used in this function used in the project that is: data and models.
Data fulfills the basic information needs of the decision makers, and models provide various analytical scheme for analyzing the decisions problems, making the conclusion from the data and studying the consequences of the potential decisions. The architecture provides three types of the subsystem.
? Data base management system.
? Model Base management system
? Dialog generation and Management system.

Role of the Description of Situation
? This component of the DSS will be helpful in determining the feasibility of the computerization of a particular system or the area of operation.
? It will be helpful in determining the objectives, scope and limitation of the project.
? It will also helpful in establishing the good relationships between the user department and the data processing department.
? To acquaint the user management with the approach and method of work in system development.
? To estimate the resources required for the system development, live running and maintenance.
? It will also helpful in identifying the likely benefits, which would accrue from the introduction of the system.
? It will also helpful in the designing of the outputs.
? It will also be helpful in ascertaining the time required to complete the changes.
? Helpful in knowing the general schedule for developing the system.
? Helpful in knowing the objectives of the system.
? Knowing how the system will interface with the other system and the implication of these interfaces.
? Knowing about the present operating costs and condition including the organization structure and staffing levels.
? Make the schedule of the hardware and software requirements.
? Report on the expected benefits, which will accrue from the use of a new system.
? A cost-benefits projection.

Role of the Intended Users
A number of the people are involved in running and using the Decision support system.
? The manager is the user-the person who has to make the decision.
? The intermediary helps the user works with the decision support system and may even make the suggestions.
? The Decision support system builder designs the specific DSS from the DSS generator or the DSS tools.
? The technical supporter provides the new function, data and models for the system when they are available, he must be thoroughly familiar with the computer technology but needs to know only a little about the types of the problems being solved.
? The toolsmith develops the new tools, models or the software and works to improve the efficiency of the system.

In a Decision Support system, the database sub system will provide the following capabilities.
? Managing a wide variety of the data with the full range of traditional data management functions such as the creation and updating, data dictionary and query processing.
? Interfacing with the wide variety of the external data sources.
? Integrating data from a wide variety of the data sources through the data capture and extraction processes.
? Portraying the logical data structures in user usable terms.
? Handling the temporary and ad hoc databases for experimentation purposes.
? Interfacing with the model management system.

Introduction
A) Purpose of the information system
Before the availability of the computers, all the records such as member's records, the bookkeepers and clerks maintained consultant records, types of the activities, tracking of the participation in the various activities. Records keeping systems were frequently large in size, inefficient and subject to a human error.
Information system can be defined as a systematic or organized way of providing informational supports to the managerial function of the organizations. The system will utilize the hardware, software, manual procedures, and models for analysts, planning, control, decision-making and a database. In other words " An Information System is an automated system which will presents the information both internal and external to the organizations, that will help in making a specific sets of the routine decisions."
? Information system is organized or planned efforts and not the results of some sporadic attempts.
? Meaningful and interpreted information is the output of the system.
? The primary function of the Information system is to provide the information's.
? Information system is a facilitating or supporting system to aid the managerial functions and not merely help operational tasks, the information system will also provides the information that assists the managers at the different levels in the organizations.
? Information system is formed from a number of the components, including the hardware, software, manual, control procedures models and a database.
? Information system is system of the users and machines.
Information system is a system that creates, processes, stores and generates information within and outside the organization. The main purpose of the Information system is to support the organizational decision making, though it may have another purposes such as the designing and developing the new products, ensuring the quality of goods and services, preventing theft and pilferage and so on.
Information system can be formal or informal. Formal system are designed and developed using a set of well established organizational policies, procedures and principles to coordinate and facilitate communication between the different functional units and the processes they support, and to meet the overall information needs of the business.
Informal systems do not follow any formal or pre-established rules for collecting, processing, storing, or disseminating data. Employees will create the informal system when they need the information that is not readily available through the formal system.

According to the Scenario given, the main company goals are as follows:
? The main goal of the company is to create a system, which will be helpful in obtaining a competitive advantage over the ...

Purchase this Solution


Free BrainMass Quizzes
Word 2010: Table of Contents

Ever wondered where a Table of Contents in a Word document comes from? Maybe you need a refresher on the topic? This quiz will remind you of the keywords and options used when working with a T.O.C. in Word 2010.

Basic Networking Questions

This quiz consists of some basic networking questions.

C# variables and classes

This quiz contains questions about C# classes and variables.

Excel Introductory Quiz

This quiz tests your knowledge of basics of MS-Excel.

Inserting and deleting in a linked list

This quiz tests your understanding of how to insert and delete elements in a linked list. Understanding of the use of linked lists, and the related performance aspects, is an important fundamental skill of computer science data structures.