Transaction Operations versus Management Controls

We$$re interested in discerning management requirements in and around a university library that could be supported or enhanced through the application of MIS technology. Our focus is on defining requirements for management controls generally, not on determining the extent to which any particular actual library already has any of those controls in place. Visit the UCF or other university library $$ either live or virtually through its web site $$ making note of the different functions that might need some form of management control, speaking with staff members or patrons if available. Evaluate each function to determine the extent to which each represents a transactional operation, and what MIS controls could enhance the management of the function.

First think about the library as a collection of functions being performed. Write a list of the day$-$to$-$day transactions that an IS system would need to be able to perform. Can you think of everyday transactions that might be needed that wouldn't necessarily be directly associated with a library patron, but that might be an integral function within the operation of the library. If you are thinking very broadly, your list of functional transactions might be quite long, and cover a broad array of functions that people in the library have to perform. An IS system to support these functions would be large and probably complex.

Now think about the library as something that needs to be managed, including planning and control. Management is responsible for making sure that all of the functional transactions support an effective, or optimized, library organization. Make a list of some of the questions you think management would need to be able to answer or monitor in order for the library system to be a full MIS system rather than just an IS system. Have you thought of questions that would impact most, or all, of the functional transaction areas you had already identified?

Some relevant areas for questions include:

$1.$ What are the products and services provided by the UCF library?

$2.$ What delivery channels are available to patrons for accessing those products and services?

$3.$ What inventory, if any, does the library need to be able to manage?

$4.$ Where does any inventory come from, reside, move through, or ultimately go$?$

$5.$ What are some identifiable defects or defectives that the library works to avoid?

$6.$ What core questions would one need to be able to answer to know the library is functioning optimally?

Write up your two lists: $1)$ functional transactions, and $2)$ management questions.

Next, draw a set of Use Case diagrams for the system, one per Stakeholder that you have identified as using or controlling your elements in the system. Check to ensure that your Use Cases include the use of your list of functional transactions somewhere, and that collectively the Use Cases would be able to support your management questions. A reader knowledgeable with the library system should be able to review your use case diagrams and feel confident that all stakeholders and process are included and accounted for.

Submit your list write$-$ups and Use Cases diagrams to this assignment.

$($Typically Use Cases are in PowerPoint, and your write$-$up would be in Word.$)$