My take on the University Enrollment System..

{ Posted on 11:37 AM by Ariel Serenado }
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Each and every year, the enrollment process of the university is being changed to really cover the student's needs which is to have an easy flow of enrollment hence, will give convenience to every one involved in the process. The fact that the university is giving much effort to eradicate the past problems, it is right to give compliments in their part for, they are really looking forward on giving due services to the students. However, it could not be denied that the process the university is implementing appears to have some weaknesses on it thus, letting the students to criticize it and even marked it with “needs improvement”. End-users view on the process must be taken into consideration especially, that these end-users are the resources of the university and with that, it is a must to take “our” views on what is going on with the current process for it might serve as the stepping stone, if not the best but at least better implementation that the past few years.

In relation to my answer in the previous assignment, the enrollment process really improved since the time I entered the premises of the university up to this date, and as what I have mentioned from my last assignment there are still instances that the process really needs improvement. One thing which I considered a weakness in the process is that, there is no such unified submission of requirements or fees on the day of enrollment. In my case, I really wanted to have a unified processing of this certain process for somehow it could lessen the burden of the students to visit different divisions of the university with just one purpose which is to pay. For me, it is sometimes not ideal to do different tasks in different places with a single purpose when you can actually do it in a certain place, aside from it reduces time for students, and it also reduces operational cost; for the university will need to utilize another resources when the current resource can be utilized to cater two distinct tasks with a single purpose.


Furthermore, in the idea of improving the university enrollment process, it does not only require another set of enrollment process but also everyone involved in the process must take an action to make all things right.

Enrollment Process Observation...

{ Posted on 4:18 PM by Ariel Serenado }
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One of the processes that we can associate when we talk about a school or a certain educational institution is the Enrollment process. Enrollment process may differ in terms of the number of steps to be followed, or the requirements to be submitted but the main point of the enrollment is to admit a student who satisfactorily satisfied the standards, the policies, the guidelines and of course the requirements of the school. As to how this kind of process of a school will be implemented, it really depends to the people governing a school. In big universities especially state universities, it is important that the enrollment process must be systematic and orderly implemented to avoid chaotic scenario. In enrollment there is such thing as enrollment procedure that the school must attach in any strategic locations of the university for it serves as the guidelines of the students especially the incoming ones. This enrollment procedure may be in text format or flow charts that directly illustrate the flow of the process from the very beginning to the end of the process. It is important to clearly define all the items or the components in an enrollment system for a systematic flow of the process.

Let’s take the case of USeP for this assignment.

As a student of USeP I have that greater access to experience the enrollment process of the school, especially now that I have reached the 4 years of residency probably, I can criticized or state my observations as to how good or systematic the process is. When I took the challenge to enroll in the university I am not the kind of student who keenly observed the process of enrollment for what I am looking forward is to finish the process even how much time I spent for each step however, for the last few years and for this semester S.Y 2010-2011 I have these following observations on the enrollment process:

1. There is no such Unified collection of fees (miscellaneous, tuition fees). As though there are different university-accredited organizations in the school to collect fees, payment should be done in a single venue to make the process centralized. This also helps the process on submission or pertinent documents, sometimes these receipts are asked and sometimes it takes time for a student to present the receipt, whereas if the fees are reflected in a single document then the enrollment officer can just glance into the document whether the student paid the fees or not.
2. Limited number of windows to cater students, especially in finance division. This is one problem that students would like to be answered. This problem gives a long queue especially for peak period of enrollment, it is not ideal to cater student in university with only 2 windows with of course 2 officers to receive transactions.
3. Renewal of scholarship takes sometime. This is one process in the enrollment which causes long queue in other processes. Though this process depends on the benefactor but since it is part of the university enrollment process, then it must be settle by the governing body to make it systematic thus, will not cause any enrollment delays and extensions.

4. Submission of requirements is not centralized. The University and Guidance office (UGTO) once posted and reminded students not to give their original documents to any department except the registrar for, the office of registrar will not be liable of lost documents once those documents are not submitted in the registrar’s office. It seems that there colleges / departments in the university that makes their own policy, in which some documents are taken from the students and doesn’t give any proof that a certain document was duly received unless you ask one. I have observed this scenario last summer S.Y 2009-10. For what I have experienced when I enrolled for freshmen all original documents are endorsed ONLY in the office of the registrar.

However, as a whole the enrollment process is good for every year there are changes made into the process of enrollment which makes it more systematic compared with the last implementation. Like in enrollment of S.Y 2008-2009, once a student submitted his requirements he will be advices to wait until his name is called which is not ideal at all. However, for the succeeding year of implementation of the enrollment, the registrar initiated to have a window to cater transactions per college, the process still causes long queue since only 1 officer who receiver transactions per college, good for those colleges with lesser number of students compared to colleges with large number of students. And in the S.Y. 2009-2010 until this semester the registrar’s office initiated to make all transaction windows open to mall departments, apparently in improves the process of enrollment.

As year goes by, the enrollment process will really improve and will continue to improve to cater students effectively, however, even how structured or systematic the processes are, still the cooperation of the students and the people governing the school is what really matters. Students have to be vocal what’s in and right for the process; and for the governing people to be considerate and to look after everybody’s needs.


MIS 2 Assignment 7: All about GOOGLE

{ Posted on 3:48 PM by Ariel Serenado }
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Google: The perfect search engine (Larry Page)

Nowadays, people of different places in different organizations are aware on the popularity marked by Google as a search engine. People find Google a convenient way to find a vast of information and ideas in different field of interest. Google paved the way for many organizations especially in the field of advertising. Google marked the highest revenue compared to its major and minor competitors all over the world. In search engine optimization it is always an ideal objective to give convenience in looking for a subject or a set of information in a very large resource. A good way to get many users in the search engine is making it really easy to use Google believes they should hide the complexity of their powerful and effective search engine from the followers so that they will be left with a simple, understandable way to get information they need. Google really does provide the best user experience possible, it refuses to make or deliver changes that would not benefit the users that go to their site. Google is a global technology leader focused in improving the ways people find and use information. Google maintain the world’s largest index of websites and other content and, via their automated search technology, make this information freely available, nearly instantly, to anyone with an internet connection.

Google is not just a popular search engine but also a business. Besides trying its best to satisfy its users it has to find way generating the most revenue. Google does this in a few different ways. The first one is the advertising which is the main source of the revenue that Google is getting from the advertisers, a program called AdWords paved for this business transaction thus, earning a high revenue among its competitors. A business using AdWords can accomplish greater cost effectiveness with their marketing budgets. AdWords is serving ads to thousands of third party websites who are part of the Google Network, this only means that advertisers using AdWords can target people by way of developing sites that are most likely be adapted by the people. The second way is offering its search technology, a program called AdSense paved for this particular business transaction. AdSense brings related texts, images, advertisements which are relevant to the content of your website. When a Google search box is added to your website, AdSense will deliver text ads which will go with the results of the visitors of the site, it also offers customization services. Thus, AdSense is not only maximizing the usability of the sites but also optimizes the operation. The third way is making money through Google Search Appliance which they sell to their customers. This transaction is very essential, especially that it delivers accurate search results throughout a number of documents. Meaning if the company will engage into Google Search Appliance, they will have its own search engine that works similarly with google.com. Thus, it gives the company’s employees, partners and customers the same quality that Google does.

The business model of Google comprises three models includes, Customer Model, Value Model and the Revenue Model. Three underlying models relate to the business approaches and offerings by Google. Like in the case of the value model, it involves search and community. It actually defines the search technology that Google is offering to its constituents and the community that embraces the said technology. Revenue model involves search services, advertising, it clearly defines the core offerings of the Google which is the search engine service and the main source of their revenue, Advertising.

Google has two types of competitors, the major and the minor competitors. Major competitors are Yahoo! Inc. and the Microsoft Corporation. The minor ones are American Online (AOL) and Baidu. Yahoo owns the world’s most popular websites and believes in multidimensional approach, wherein they identify what people want and out of it they can create a product that best suit to their clients’ needs. Google on the on the other hand owns the world’s leading online search engine, its mission it to transform the today’s world in storing or finding information. American online is an ISP or Internet Service Provider, in which subscribers nowadays are shrinking because of the development of broad band network technology. Baidu on the other hand is a Chinese search engine. It claims the biggest search engine in Chinese Language, the most popular feature of the search engine id to support MP3 search.

Furthermore, Google provides inclusion and frequent updating in their sites for free. Meaning anybody’s website could be in search results as possible. The unique about Google is that it uses the Pagerank technology as a result it makes the search result completely accurate. Google has worked very hard on getting rid of excess bit or byte from their pages to make it go as fast as it possibly can. Google developed new algorithms which proved that there was no limit as to how fast you could go in searching the most relevant information. Google’s services include Alerts where you receive news, Blog Search, which finds on people’s topics; Book Search; Images; Maps, where you find directions anywhere in the world; News. Some on the Google’s tools are Blogger, where you make express ideas online; Earth, lets you discover the world over your PC; Translate, view pages in other languages. Furthermore, Google has also a web browser built for speed, stability and security.

Larry Page: Google would understand exactly what you mean and give back what you want.

References:

http://scenariothinking.org/wiki/index.php/What_is_Google's_business_model?
http://www.google.com/intl/en/options/
http://investor.google.com/faq.html
http://www.seobook.com/archives/000273.shtml

SAD 1 Assignment 6

{ Posted on 3:43 PM by Ariel Serenado }
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Juan: The way to go about the analysis is to first examine the old system, such as reviewing key documents and observing the workers perform their tasks. Then we can determine which aspects are working well and which should be preserved.

Pedro: We have been through these types of projects before and what always ends up happening is that we do not get the new system we are promised; we get a modified version of the old system.

Juan: Well, I can assure you that will not happen this time. We just want a thorough understanding of what is working well and what isn’t.

Pedro: I would feel much more comfortable if we first started with a list of our requirements. We should spend some time up-front determining exactly what we want the system to do for my department. Then you systems people can come in and determine what portions to salvage if you wish. Just don’t constrain us to the old system.

Insights...

The scenario is very common to those who are involved in technical aspect on system analysis. In this kind of scenario, adjustment is very important especially that you cannot expect everyone to make believe with the idea that you brought to the group. And you cannot force the people around you to implement the said idea or the approach because they do have their own perspective on how the process should be and how a system should be developed. This case is very crucial in a technical environment, there are many approaches, set of standards and with these standards there are corresponding processes and the worst case is that it is not flexible for some point, one have to consider an approach that the system is suited to. Considering now the fact that the two people involved in the presented scenario are not of the same field; from the situation we can somehow say that John Juan is a system analyst or project manager, and IT professional while Pedro Peter is most likely a department manager of a certain business company. It cannot be expected that these two people can immediately unify there ideas considering that their nature of work is different. There are related works that the system professional can relate towards the work of a department manager and so with the manager, there are task perform by system professional that he cannot relate to. Generally, people of different organizations have different outlooks in most processes these people take.

Going back to the scenario, let us first tackle the point made by the system professional, John Juan. A system professional has a wide range of idea in system analysis and developing systems that their clients want them to do, a system professional has a wide range of knowledge on how a project must be processed as to the stages and phases of development; therefore a system professional has the edge on the targeted system by the department manager. I got the point of John which is to examine first the old system that the company is using, review related documents, and observing the functionalities of the system. Knowing that not all developers has the knowledge on the operations of different organizations, so the manner of examining the old system paved the way for the system professional to evaluate and examine the functionalities of the old system, for him also to know how these functionalities relate to the day-to-day operations of the department. Also, the system professional can assess whether to make another system or maybe make some enhancement from the old system without compromising the functionalities of the system. Besides, developer can assess further which data of the involved system can be salvaged and can be migrated to the new system to be developed, otherwise the system professional will develop the required system “from scratch” which is most likely cumbersome to the developer or maybe to the developing team. This is also to reduce the time allotted for the system, instead of developing from the beginning; the developer can just make some improvements or maybe enhancements to realize the system in the least possible time.

Sometimes, it is not ideal for a developer to make another system without having examined the old system, for in developing system one has to have the initiative to utilize available resources before re-inventing tools and approaches. Furthermore, to just examine the old system is not sufficient to define some requirements towards the new system to be developed. The developer should engage a thorough investigation of the current system before defining requirements and specifications for the next system. Thorough investigation may involve interviewing the management and the operational staff, also by direct observation and experience on the system. A set of requirements and specifications, this means the additional functionalities that the new system needs, interfaces, etc.; performance standards, this means levels of system service in terms of quantity, quality, efficiency, effectiveness of the new system; social and technical requirements, this involves system architecture, architectural designs, the languages that the developer will utilize to capture the need of the client. However, the most critical thing in this stage is the knowledge of the end user or the intended user of the system and the effective interpretation of their needs by the developer or the system professional who deals all of these processes. Achieving correct interpretation requires the end user interest and values, and making amicable resolutions which largely meets the interest of both parties.

Pedro on the other hand has also the point which is to have requirements phase, specification analysis before they examine what portion of the system to salvage if they wish. To develop a system, one cannot jump directly to hard coding of the system, the development involves series of documentation to be done prior an implementation phase is made. Pedro mentioned listing of requirements; it is actually the very first phase in the life cycle of a system which covers 2% of the whole development. This phase’ goal is to explore and refine the concept of the system, as result requirements are being elicited. Moreover, in this phase the client outlines the product as he conceptualizes it. From the viewpoint of the developer, the client’s description of the desired product may be vague, unreasonable, contradictory, or simply impossible to achieve. The task of the task of the developer at this stage is to determine exactly what the client needs and to find out from the client what constraints exist. The second thing to do as what Pedro mean in his statement is Specification (analysis) phase, which cover 5% of the total development of the project. This phase is sometimes called “analysis phase”. At the end of this phase, a plan is drawn, the Software Project Management Plan (SPMP), describing the project in detail. Besides, the document includes the functional requirements. In this manner there is a formal project requirements elicitation close-out, requirements set by the client are finalized in the paper. Since there is a close-out if there are changes of the functionalities in the middle of the development then it should de dealt accordingly. In this manner also, you can formalize the functional requirements of the project so the developer can assess how the system should work an in times of examining the old system the developer can see which data, related functionalities will be saved. The idea can be of help to the developer since they will no be working the system “from a scratch”, instead they can make some enhancement for they already know the requirements that has been elicited prior the examination.

Software professionals are also human and therefore sometimes make error especially if requirements needed are not clearly defined. As a result, there will be fault in the system. If the error is made during the requirement phase, then the resulting fault probably will appear in the specifications, design, and most probably in the code. Clearly, the earlier we correct the error, the better. Because if the client discover fault later if the product has been delivered and deployed, cost may be another issue between the developer and to the client. Furthermore, sometimes you don not have to constrain yourself in old systems because not all system can be intermingled with the other program in the sense that some data cannot be migrated to the other system might be that they are using different technology. Also, the old system is not capable to work and cater the need of the client if intermingled with the new system. However, according to Stephen Schach, “up to now, everything seems to be straightforward. Unfortunately, the requirements elicitation phase is inadequately performed”. Reasons may include, the client may not truly understand what is going on in the organization, the client cannot clearly define the functional requirements that involve the operations in the organization. It is therefore hard for a developer to visualize the project when the client himself is not clearly defining the project as to the functional and non-functional requirements of the system. If that is the case then prototyping can be used until such the client is satisfied that the developer has finally captured the system they desired.

In my own notion, I would like to propose the idea of Pedro Peter. Ideally, Pedro is following the ideal stages that a system should undergo prior any implementation is being made. A system should undergo, a hard copy or the technical paper for the developer to finalize what is to develop and what is not.
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