Introduction
The proposal is about a system that will be used in the management of human resource functions. This paper will focus on the development of a human resource information system that will be used in the management of human resource processes. The paper will develop a Project Interim Report (PIR). The project interim report will elaborate on the requirements of the report and establish ways in which the researcher will follow in implementing the project.
Structure of the project
The project will entail having a description of the problem that is being investigated. In this development, a background of the problem will be done. Different solutions that have been suggested and proposed for human resource processes will be evaluated and looked at. It will help the researcher to understand the problem and have ways in which to go about solving the problem that is at hand. The introduction and backgrounds will be found on chapter one. There will also be research objectives of the problem. The research questions will be associated and integrated with the research objectives. There will be then the ethical considerations and the validations. All these are in chapter One. Chapter Two will talk about Literature review. In this, the researcher will focus on the works that have been done about the use of information systems in human resource procedures and processes. All the current and the past work will be covered. The researcher will focus on the gaps that might exist in the research aspects of the project. Chapter Three will focus on the methodology of the work. It is here that the researcher will focus on how the data will be collected and how the analysis of the collected data will be done.
Project aims, objectives, and scope
The project will be done with the following objectives:
In the objectives, the researcher will strive to get the requirements that are needed for successful implementation of a human resource system. Different systems have different requirements that are needed in order to solve the problem it has been developed to solve. There are issues and measures that need to be taken in place in order to have to right measures to solve the problems that are found to be at hand. The researcher will also strive to ensure that the developments of new systems will be made possible with the use of the requirements that have been identified in the research objectives.
The researcher does not anticipate having any changes to the project objectives. If there will be any changes, then it will be dealt with according to the new requirements that have been defined in the project. It will also help to understand the issues and the aspects of concern that shall have arisen in the project.
The aim of the project is to ensure that there is a clear understanding of the human resource processes and how the automation of these processes will be achieved. It will help to understand the requirements and the aspects that are required in order to have a better understanding of these issues. In developing any information system, it will be important to understand the business requirement that is being solved. It is more important than understanding how to develop the system. In the end, it is about solving a business problem, and not having the latest technologies to solving an issue that has occurred.
The scope of the project will be to get to understand the infrastructure and the technologies that will be used in the development of the human resource information system. The project will entail developing a sample information system that will simulate a human resource system and will be used in a sample business to solve human resource systems.
Justification of the approach
The approach that I will undertake will include developing a research document that will have a literature review of the processing of human resource functions in organizations. The literature review is important in order to understand what strategies have been used to solve the automation problem. Having an understanding of what has been done in the past will help to know what will work and what will not work in the development of the human resource information system. The deliverable in this stage will be the literature review which will be in the thesis.
Another approach will be to have a software requirements specifications document. It is the document that has the requirements that the system will want to be having in the system. It is one of the most important documents because it is the link between the business process and the technology process which is being developed. It is the link that will be used in the development of the automation procedures in the project. It will be used in the management and enhancement of the integration process. The justification of this approach is that it is important to understand the user requirements and the solution that is being proposed in the project. It will be hard to solve a problem that is not understood how it will be approached.
There are other approaches that are available for undertaking this project. One of the approaches would be the use of information system which will be used in handling the project aspect of the project. It is the actual process of developing an information system that will be used in an organization. In this project, it will require enormous resources and time in order to develop a system that will span many departments and the whole organization. It is expected that there will be the development of a system that will span few departments, or one department that will show the way the business processes will be automated. It will help to show how the solution will be arrived at in the whole process.
Choice of the software tools that will be used
There are software tools that will be used in the project. Some of the tools that will be used include information systems design tools.
Entity relationship diagram – it is a tool that will be used to assess and evaluate how the data interact in the system. Since there will be data management in the system, the data model will have to be analyzed so that the exact methodologies will be followed. The entity relationship diagram modeling tool will be used.,
Reflection on the entire project
I have prepared adequately for the work that will be performed. I have put in place the tools and the tasks that will be handled in the development of the project. I understand that there are tasks that should have started and will take time, like the literature review. I have prepared adequately to ensure that I will be able to complete these tasks on time. I have also ensured that there is adequate preparation for the entire project in terms of budget. I understand there will be a lot of expenses that will be met in the undertaking of the project. It is for this reason that I have put measures in place to have better management and an organized schedule. I will ensure that I submit my project using the following schedule in the entire project. It is the schedule that will enable me to achieve the required objectives in the projects.
The work Breakdown Structure will be as follows:
The Gantt chart of the project will be as follows:
I will manage to achieve the project requirements by the time that it has been stipulated that it will be achieved. It will help me to ensure that there is an understanding of the project and make the necessary arrangements to ensure that there are steps that have been put in place to ensure that there is an achievement of the targets.
Issues of project management
Like any project, there has been issues that I have encountered while undertaking this research. These issues have been solved in the course of the project. One of the issues is getting the time required to handle the literature review and at the same time looking for information about the research. I have been able to solve most of the issues. I have had to balance between the system requirements and the literature review. It is perhaps hard to work between literature review and practical systems.
Another issue has been the lack of information about human resource systems that have been put in place. There is little or minimal literature that has been written that concerns information systems use in human resource functions. Most of the literature that has been written has talked about the requirements of systems in use in other sectors.
Another issue that I have encountered is the dynamic nature of information systems. I have found it hard getting the software requirements that are needed for most information systems. It is because most of the software requirements were written for systems which have been developed many years ago. These requirements no longer work in the current systems. It is one of the requirements that need to be assessed and analyzed with the use of the software system requirements.
Evaluation of progress
The undertaking of the various tasks of the project management has helped and hampered my progress of the work at the same time. I have been able to achieve the needed progress and the work that is needed in the entire process. I have managed to achieve most of the schedules and the timeline that I had set. One of the issues though is the gathering of information about the software requirements. Like it has been stated earlier, I had to change the software package to use from Java to Visual Basic because of the dynamic nature of software and tools that are used in developing software. It is one of the things that are of concern for many information systems projects. I have had to ensure that there is an understanding of the changes in the software tools and packages that are in use. The dynamic nature of the tools that are used in developing information systems.
Discussion of some of the evidence to date
I have been able to get the approval of the supervisor on the system that I will be able to develop. Initially, I had the plan of developing a project that would assess the requirements for developing systems that are compatible with Graphical User Interface. I wanted to focus on the human factors that affect the development of GUI platforms that will enable human beings to interact better with machines. This proposal was turned down on the grounds that I would not be able to interact with a real system in the entire procedures. It is one of the proofs that enables me to claim that I did all I could to have a better and enhanced system.
Another evidence that proves that I have been able to make some progress is that I have gathered some requirements specifications from users. From the research, I was able to design a simple questionnaire that sought to find the processes that information users wanted to get automated. The questionnaire is found in the Appendix.
I have also been able to set my computer so that it will be able to support the tools that will be used in the development. The proof that I can provide, although it is intangible is the software packages I have been able to install. I have been able to install Access 2013, it came with the complete Microsoft Office Suite. I have also been able to install Microsoft Visual Basic 8.0.
Analysis of the readings
I have been able to get insights from research materials that will help me in my final project. I have been able to get a lot of information on human resource systems from Aggarwal, Nisha, and Mona Kapoor’s article, Human Resource Information Systems (HRIS)-Its role and importance in Business Competitiveness. The article has helped me in getting to understand some of the requirements that the users were not able to give it to me. Another article that has been useful in my research is that of Marler, Janet, and Sandra Fisher’s An evidence-based review of e-HRM and strategic human resource management. It is one of the articles that has been useful in the entire project management process. It has helped me to undertake the project and have insights in the whole process. The book by Werner, Jon, and Randy DeSimone on Human resource development was also useful in the entire process. I have been able to learn a lot from this development and information systems use.
Impact of supervised work
Supervised work has proved to be useful to me. I sometime feel that I could have lost focus on my work if there was no supervision. I have been able to concentrate on my work because of the supervision that has been consistent.
References
Aggarwal, N, & Kapoor, M 2012, Human Resource Information Systems (HRIS)-Its role and importance in Business Competitiveness, Gian Jyoti E-Journal, Vol 1, Issue 2.
Aggarwal, Nisha, and Mona Kapoor. "Human Resource Information Systems (HRIS)-Its role and importance in Business Competitiveness." Gian Jyoti E-Journal 1.2 (2012).
Armstrong, M, & Taylor, S 2014, Armstrong's handbook of human resource management practice, Kogan Page Publishers.
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Crawford, JK 2012, The strategic project office, CRC Press.
Davenport, TH 2013, Process innovation: Reengineering work through information technology, Harvard Business Press.
Fine, SA, & Cronshaw, SF 2014, Functional job analysis: A foundation for human resources management, Psychology Press.
Gelinas, U, Dull, R, & Wheeler, P 2011, Accounting information systems, Cengage Learning.
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Appendix: Questionnaire
- How often do you use information systems in your workplace?
Very rarely
Rarely
Occasionally
Frequently
Very frequently
- What part of your work do you feel need automation?
Data entry
Payroll
Human resource updates
None
- Are you satisfied about the proposal and that the new system will increase your efficiency?
Very dissatisfied
Dissatisfied
Neutral
Satisfied
Very satisfied
What feature do you need in the new system?
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