AIMS’ Assignment
In this
assignment we will use a car rental company for conducting systems and business
process analysis. The idea is to apply the systems approach and the PFD
and data need assessment techniques for uncovering process and interface
problems so that we can later address them through development of Information
Systems. This also reinforces your skills with systems and process flow
diagrams that you would use in your project. The case is at the end,
just scroll down.
Goal of the
Assignment.
Reinforcing
the systems concept, PFD and data need assessment skill and understanding their
use in discovering problems in Business Processes.
Objectives.
1.
Demonstrate the difference between the symptoms and problems
2.
Uncover problems in Business Processes using systems approach and PFD
3.
Derive data needs for the various processes in the PFD using SIPOC
4.
Draw systems diagram and process flow diagram for existing business processes
Tasks to perform.
Specific tasks that you need to
perform are (you do not have to provide any solution at this point, that is
Assignment 5).
1. List all the symptoms of the
problems faced by CaRent. Identify and list the possible underlying
problems. Please note that symptoms are outward manifestations of
problems (e.g. long wait time, misplaced paperwork) and they can be cascaded. (7
points)
2. List the possible external
environmental pressure points faced by CaRent. Also list the various
systems components of CaRent such as inputs and outputs, various sub-systems,
interfaces, etc. Draw a systems diagram that will represent CaRent using
a suitable drawing program. (10 points)
3. Identify and list the various
types of interfaces and associate the symptoms listed in part 1 with these
interfaces and with the sub-systems identified in part 2. (8 points)
4. Develop two process flow diagrams
for CaRent’s rental and return processes. Identify and mark the processes
(circle them) and interfaces (put a red + mark on them) creating problems for
the company and thus are in need for change. (10 points)
5. For the above process flow
diagram, select about 5-6 processes that you think are in need of change and
develop a SIPOC chart to show how the data/information are obtained by each of
the processes along with the sources, storages, and sinks for those information
items. (7 points)
6. Write a one page memo/description
of your findings clearly articulating the problems faced by CaRent and the area
where those problems are to be found. This is more of a summary of the
work that you have done in step 1-5 above. Please note that the memo is not
due with the rest of the work, it is due later on Sept 29, 2016. (8
points)
Due Date.
Please see above. Please submit electronically
through the Assignment 1 link (found under the Assignments button) in
MyLMUConnect. No part of this assignment can be hand-written (except the
rough work); writings and the diagrams must be of professional quality.
Please understand that it is an individual
assignment and each one of you will have somewhat unique answer for
this assignment. It is very unlikely that two answers will be the
same. If you need help, ask me. Any hint of unfair collaboration will
result in failing grades BOTH in the assignment and the course without any
recourse to further actions.
When you are uploading the
Assignments, please make sure to click on the Assignment 1 link and then attach
ALL THE FILES before you click on the Submit button.
Helpful Hints:
1.
Please plan your work. The business analysis often is an unstructured
task and needs multiple iterations and attempts before all the processes can be
clearly identified and laid out. Try some rough systems diagram and PFD
on paper. Please include all of your rough work along with your
submission (you can scan your hand-written notes, diagrams, etc). Please note that the final answers to the questions as well
as all the final diagrams must be done in computer. Only the rough work
can be hand-written. I not only want to see the final outcome of your work, I
also want to follow your thought process in developing the solution.
Hence the request.
2.
Plan your memo as well. Create an outline and a draft and do it early
enough so that you have time for revision. Read the guidelines on writing
an effective memo that have been uploaded along with this assignment.
3.
You can use PowerPoint, Visio, LucidChart or other drawing programs for your
systems diagram and PFD.
For MyLMUConnect submissions:
Check the following before you
upload your work.
1.
Have you made sure that the computerized part of the assignment is professional
looking?
2.
Have you identified the symptoms?
3.
Have you identified the problems that are resulting from the above symptoms?
4.
Have you associated the symptoms and the problems?
5.
If there are multi-level symptoms and problems, then have you correctly
indicated them?
6.
Have you drawn a systems diagram and shown the environmental elements?
7.
Have you identified the sub-systems?
8.
Have you connected the sub-systems using arrows and have you written the types
of interfaces used between the sub-systems on those arrows?
9.
Have you developed a PFD?
10.
Do the swim lanes of PFD correspond to the sub-systems or actors identified
earlier?
11.
Are all the processes connected? Have you made proper use of the decision
diamonds?
12.
Have you cleaned up the PFD with clean and straight connectors in your
computerized version?
13.
Have you revised the overall work at least once after completion to ensure that
it is free of
a. Spelling errors
b. Grammatical mistakes
c. Unclean and confusing
diagrams
Grading Criteria: Your work will be graded on completeness and
correctness. Please make sure that you answer each of the sub-questions
1-6. To get a score at the A level you have to answer each of the sub-parts
correctly and completely and your answer should reflect your understanding of
the materials and successful application of the concepts taught in the
class. Incorrect and low quality answers will score lower. Partial
credits, however, will be given for incomplete but correct answers.
Please understand that it is an
individual assignment and each one of you will have somewhat unique answer for
this assignment. It is very unlikely that two answers will be the
same. If you need help, ask me.
CaRent
Inc.[1]
Peter
relaxed by his swimming pool sipping the ice-cold frapp. Earlier in the
day, he had accepted the position of Vice President of Operations and Marketing
at CaRent Inc. He is pleased with his decision because he now has the
opportunity to manage a small business and grow it into a national chain.
Peter knows that it will not be easy, but he is ready to face the
challenge. As he watched a couple of squirrels play on a tree next to the
pool, he began to think about the challenges at CaRent and what he would have
to accomplish as a new VP.
CaRent
is a small car rental company in Los Angeles that started about 5 years
ago. It provides a very competitive rate compared to the big players
(Hertz, Avis, etc.) and the cars, though small in numbers, are kept in
excellent condition. Since its modest beginning, the company has seen its
business growing steadily.
One
of the critical success factors of CaRent is its excellent customer service and
its ability to keep its vehicles in top-notch condition. CaRent sees
itself as a serious future competitor of the other rental companies by
satisfying the “Customers’ Moment of Value” by delivering the exact
product at the correct place at the time it is needed. So far things are
working out, but some problems have started to show their ugly heads. As the
customer base is growing, the company is facing a new problem, and that is of
keeping information, inventory and operations in order. There are long
lines for renting and returning cars that are creating frustrations amongst the
customers and they are opting to rent from CaRent’s competitors, often
customers are being wrongly informed about the availability of a particular car
type at the rental desk which creates more frustrations when customers cannot
find their cars and which results in unnecessary free upgrades to a better car
and thus loss of revenue, promotions are not targeted well, many customers are
not getting their frequent flyer miles that they are supposed to get for
renting with CaRent (CaRent has an agreement with most of the major airlines
for crediting 500 miles to the frequent flyer account for every day of the
rental). The maintenance records on the cars are getting mixed up as well
resulting in delays in meeting the regular maintenance schedules on many cars.
The
promotional department of CaRent works with the local hotels, travel agencies
and tour operators to get the business and a fixed percentage commission (5% of
the revenue) is paid for each referral. Recently, the referring agencies
are also complaining for not getting their commission in time or sometime
incorrect amount is sent to them. CaRent also gets a lot of business
through their e-mail marketing and yellow page advertising. CaRent also
does mass-mailing of coupons containing various discounts (5%, 10% and 15%).
These promotions are not targeted at all and CaRent feels that the ROI on the
promotions are rather low. It needs a system to identify the business
coming from each marketing effort and better target the promotions.
Currently,
the entire record keeping is done mainly on paper at CaRent. When
customers come in for renting, they go to one of the two desks in the rental
area and provide all the necessary information about the customer is entered by
the desk person in a pre-formatted rental agreement form in the computer.
If the customer has already made a booking then the booking details are
retrieved from a paper file (created by the person who makes the bookings over
the phone and files them) to see the customer’s choice of the car and other
preferences. The desk person then searches the computer for available cars (the
list of available cars is maintained in a database that is also updated by the
return desk personnel when a car is returned), assigns a car to the customer
and completes the rest of the rental agreement and print two copies. Customer
signs both copies and takes one of the copies along with a card that contains
the details and location of the car rented. Car keys are typically kept
in the cars so that customers can drive the cars away once they locate them. To
prevent someone just taking the car away from the lot without paperwork,
customer’s copy of the rental agreement is checked at the exit gate and matched
against the car’s license plate and the customer’s driver license number.
This takes some time and during busy times, can create a bottleneck at the exit
gate thereby causing a long queue of waiting cars with impatient
customers. The office copy of the rental agreement is filed in a file
folder created for the customer and is sent to the return desk area (CaRent has
their rentals and returns in two separate areas, each with two service desks)
for calculation and processing of total rental charges after discounts and
promotions when the car is returned. Cars are also checked for exterior and
interior damages upon return and if anything is found, customers are notified
about the extra charges that need to be levied and the details are noted on the
paperwork. As mentioned earlier, customers often have to wait in long
queues to return the car and get the paperwork processed. CaRent
maintains a paper master folder for each of the car it owns and that folder is
updated with the completed paperwork from the return at the end of each
business day. That way, CaRent can maintain a rental history as well as
maintenance and repair histories on each car. Once a car is returned, it
is taken to the cleaning area for a thorough cleaning. An inspector
checks each car after cleaning to make sure that it is rent worthy again and
then places an inspection report inside the car which is later collected (after
the car is parked in a numbered slot) and delivered to the return desk. Once
the return desk person receives this paperwork, he/she enters the car’s license
plate information in the database of available cars thereby updating the list
for the rental process. Sometime, there is a delay in sending these reports
back to the return desks thus creating an information delay about the
availability of a particular type of car. Additionally, this process
creates extra work for the return personnel who are already overloaded during
busy times. This lack of timely updates about the availability of the
returned cars give rise to unnecessary upgrades (a particular type of car may
have already been returned and cleaned, but the rental desks will have no way
of knowing that till the inspection reports make their way to the return desks)
and loss of revenue. The consolidation of the paperwork by the car also
makes it difficult to provide any kind of after sales services to the customers
(e.g. easily matching articles that may have been left in the car, crediting
missing frequent flyer miles, etc.). Commissions for referrals are
calculated at the end of each month and checks are mailed to the referral
agencies.
Cars
with interior and exterior damages are typically sent to repair shops at the
end of each week. Cars also have regular maintenance schedules that are
performed by four repair/maintenance facilities who have contracts with
CaRent. Whenever a car goes for maintenance or repair, its file and the
database of available cars are updated to indicate the unavailability of the
car and its expected available date. Once the car is returned to the lot
after repair/maintenance, the file and the database are updated again.
This process, while is simple, can create confusion if the paperwork is not
timely updated.
Assume
that the company currently has only 5 computers and three printers. Four
of the computers and two of the printers are used by the rental and return desks
(two computes and one printer for each area). The fifth computer and the
second printer are used by the company secretary. The computers are
networked through a basic networking router which also is connected to the
Internet through a high speed connection. The computers are relatively new and
are quite powerful in terms of processing, memory, storage etc.
Peter
realizes that the current operations processes cannot support future growth and
knows that CaRent is losing customers to other car rental companies due to its
inefficiencies. He also knows that price cut and promotion cannot be a
sustainable strategy for attracting the customer back. He has to somehow
change the process to make the customer experience at CaRent much better than
its current state and possibly better than its competitors by cutting down on
the paperwork and waiting time for rentals and returns. He wants your
help in laying out the processes and various interfaces to identify the points
are areas of inefficiencies so that solutions can be sought out.
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