Cost Time And Money O Computers example essay topic

Professional Standards Part One / Task One I have been asked to describe two current legal requirements affecting the implementation and management of computer systems. I must: Give an outline of what is required and Must state the advantages that the legal standards are designed to achieve. The two legal requirements that I have chosen are The Data Protection Act and The Computer Misuse Act. The Data Protection Act: The Data Protection Act is designed to ensure that by laying down certain principles to which data-collecting organisations must adhere too.

The principles describe a best practice approach, which should be adopted by persons in order to protect their users right to privacy, as well as being a legal obligation. The Data Protection Act refers to the processing of personal information by organisations and businesses. In order for the Act to apply, 'individuals have to be personally identifiable by the data that is held about them'; where they are not personally identifiable, the Act does not apply. The Data Protection Act has 8 acts - I have listed these below. Fairly and lawfully processed Fair and lawful obtaining Adequate, relevant and not excessive data Accurate and up-to-date data Not keeping data longer than necessary Processing only in accordance with the data subject's rights Taking of appropriate technical and organisational measures Trans border data flow Advantages that the Data Protection Act design to achieve: Personal data shall be processed fairly and lawfully and shall not be processed unless the person has given consent. You can only use data for the purposes, which you have already specified to the Commissioner.

You shouldn't collect more data than you need for the purposes you have specified. You must ensure that all the data you hold on clients is accurate, and remember that a data subject has a right to see the data held about him or her. Personal data processed for any purpose or purposes shall not be kept for longer than is necessary. The data must be safe and secure. Personal data cannot be transferred to a country outside the European Area. With the above points about the Data Protection Act it is clear that any information that is processed is secure and will not be given out due to the various laws that would restrict this.

The Computer Misuse Act: The Computer Misuse Act, 1990 was passed to deal with the problem of hacking into computer systems. The problem of hacking wasn't taken very seriously until companies, organisations and individuals started to complain about major loss and problems. It was difficult to prosecute people for hacking, as existing laws were not written. However, it became clear that hacking should be against the law, and that the laws should be effective and enforceable. The Computer Misuse Act was passed in 1990 and has three new offences which I have given a brief description of each below: Unauthorised access to computer material.

Advantages that the act is designed to achieve: This offence includes finding or guessing someone's password and using it to get into a computer system to have a look at what it contains. Although if the hacker does not change any files or does no damage it still carry's a penalty of imprisonment of up to six months. Unauthorised access with intent to commit or facilitate commission of further offences. Advantages that the act is designed to achieve: This is similar but more serious to the first new offence. It deals with persons who would hack in to people's computers (guessing their password) and maybe transferring money from their on-line bank account in to their own bank account.

The penalty for this is up to five years in jail and a major fine. Unauthorised modification of computer material. Advantages that the act is designed to achieve: This offence includes deleting files, changing the on-line desktop and using a centres main computer to damage other computers outside the centre. These offences have been done deliberately rather than mistake and carry a fine of up to five years in jail. Task Two: I have to describe two current professional standards recommended for computer practitioners by professional Computing bodies: I must in each case: Outline the chief aspects of the recommended standard And State clearly the advantages to be gained by the adoption of these professional standards. Code of Practice The British Computer Society sets the professional standards of competence, conduct and ethical practice for computing in the United Kingdom.

Royal Charter incorporated the Society in July 1984. This Code of Practice is directed to all members of The British Computer Society. It is a generic Code of Practice, consisting essentially, of a series of statements, which prescribe minimum standards of practice, to be observed by all members. Advantages: The Code is concerned with professional responsibility. All members have responsibilities: to clients and to users. Those members who are employees also have responsibilities to their employers and employers' customers and, often, to a Trade Union.

The British Computer Society membership covers all occupations relevant to the use of computers and it is not possible to define the Code in terms directly relevant to each individual member. The Society has recognised that due to the continuing diversity of the profession, it must encourage its members to produce additional Codes, which are applicable and relevant to specific sectors of the profession. This Code will enable the production of such Codes, which will be presented to, and approved, by, the Professional and Public Affairs Board prior to circulation. ACM Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct This Code identifies the elements such a commitment. It contains many; issues professionals are likely to face.

The Code is supplemented by a set of Guidelines, which provide explanation to assist members in dealing with the various issues contained in the Code. The Guidelines will be changed more frequently than the Code. The Code and its supplemented Guidelines are intended to serve as a basis for ethical decision making in the conduct of professional work, they may serve as a basis for judging the merit of a formal complaint pertaining to violation of professional ethical standards. Part Two System Failures I have been given a web site, which contains detailed descriptions of failed computerised Information Systems projects: web I have to choose three of these Case Studies and for each I must: Identify and list the problems that arose during the planning, design and implementation phases of the project; And For each of the problems that I identified, suggest how the management or other computer practitioners involved may have avoided or minimised the effect of these failures. Tiptree Company Warehousing System o Didn't look into great detail or plan on what they were about to do. o Should have listed ideas and set up a proper system to deal with the outflow of books. o Attempted in 'one go' to set up a system which was a downfall. o Staff were not trained properly - this cost time and money. o Computers couldn't cope with the information entered. o Didn't have a fallback idea when things went wrong. o Distributors started to get impatient. o Publishers started to seek compensation. o Tiptree started lying about deadlines, which upset customers.

Tiptree-from the start was doing well in business. I think they rushed into opening up a new warehouse and distribution centre. They should have hired a business team to search and set up new premises, which should have included all the new up to date machinery and computer software. Any staff that was brought in to help out, should have been properly trained for all use of equipment. Tiptree should have been reasonably honest with their customers about deadlines that were not going to be met in time. Once Tiptree were behind in orders - there was no way back for them.

They should have organised a management meeting and employed persons to help them out of the mess they were in. Northumbria Police o System was incomplete when delivered. o Checks should have been carried out. o Project was a failure after only one month. o Parts of the system were error prone and some functions were missing, which meant they didn't carry out their proper job. o A salvage operation was mounted a year after the problems arose. The system needed modified according to the specification. o No attempts were made to rectify the design faults that were originally the main problem. o System lost its credibility. o Staff were given unlimited time to train up to use the replacement system. The management started off on the wrong foot by not planning their project properly.

There was no understanding of what the system could carry out and deliver. The system should have been checked when delivered and set up properly. After a month when the system was playing up - someone should have been brought in to sort the problems out. Everything was not planned properly and the vendor is at fault for the majority of these problems. Department of the Environment (Northern Ireland). vs. Systems Designers, EDS o Too much was expected from the new system that was set up. o No price was given on costs to be carried out. o System took too long to be completed. o Nobody took charge + the treasury gave no thought. o Delivery dates were not kept. o Lack of communication between both parties. o Money was paid without assurances. o Contracts were not read over properly. The Department of the Environment should have ordered a new system for each sub-section, rather than to try to computer ise the whole of its operations.

In this case the system wouldn't have taken so long to make. Doing one section at a time would have saved money and it would have ensured that the company would remain up to date with the hardware technology. The department were at fault as they paid over thousands of pounds without any assurances. They should have had all the contracts from the supplier with them and gone through them all. They may have noticed some problems such as the clause in the contract saying that it would not own any of the equipment if a dispute arose. All these problems could have been avoided if time had been taken in reading over contracts and by sorting out contracts that had been made up on behalf of The Department of the Environment.