Work-Related Workplace Application

Work-Related Project Analysis Part I

Corporate America was the name of the company in which I worked for and in those 20 years the company had made many changes into their computer systems, programs up grades (some good and some bad). One project in which is still with the company and running very good and is very reliable would be their ATM Network (Asynchronous Transfer Mode).

The ATM Network was being introduced to staff employees and everyone thought this would be a good way for thieves to break into the member accounts and empty out the cash from the ATM machines. For the new program to work a project system analysis needed to be structured to assure the staff and members that no one but the member themselves will be able to withdraw funds from their checking accounts.

Asynchronous Transfer Mode is a network technology based on transferring data in cells or packets of a fixed size. The cell used with ATM is relatively small compared to units used with older technologies. The small, constant cell size allows ATM equipment to transmit video, audio, and computer data over the same network, and assure that no single type of data hogs the line. Some people think that ATM holds the answer to the Internet bandwidth problem, but other is skeptical. ATM creates a fixed channel, or route, between two points whenever data transfer begins ("Atm", 2012). This differs from TCP/IP, in which messages are divided into packets and each packet can take a different route from source to destination. This difference makes it easier to track and bill data usage across an ATM network, but it makes it less adaptable to sudden surges in network traffic ("Atm", 2012).

Corporate America wanted to make sure that the "sudden surges" in network traffic will not affect the way their members would withdraw their funds, every day, seven days a week, 365 days of the year. The company wanted to assure their members.

Gather Information

The objective of the requirements analysis phase is to identify and secure approval for a project requirements specification. A complete requirements analysis is needed to ensure rapid project delivery and optimal return on information management investment (Bowman, 2009).

System analysts obtain some information from people who will be using the system, either by interviewing them or by watching them work (Satzinger, Jackson, & Burd, 2009). In Corporate America they let the employees in the accounting department to test first the ATM machine that was brought into the computer room for testing. They obtain other information by reviewing planning documents and policy statements. Documentation from the existing system should also be studied carefully (Satzinger, Jackson, & Burd, 2009). The existing system needed to be upgraded so that the new ATM network can work together with the company