Modelling the Business Case Study 3 Attendance Monitoring Project and Enterprise Architecture

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1 Modelling the Business Case Study 3 Attendance Monitoring Project and Enterprise Architecture Background: Currently, in Roehampton University, class attendance data is collected and used as one of the mechanisms to improve student retention figures. The premise is that issues of concern regarding students are highlighted partly by inconsistent attendance at lectures and seminars. Hard copy registers are produced on a weekly basis by administrative staff and distributed to academics for taking to class. The signatures of the students who attend are collected on these registers and the data is then manually entered into an excel database and analysed both at the individual module and Programme level. That is the basic system but, of course, large variations exist in the way this is done in reality. Positive student feedback has been received on the prospect of improving the current systems which they felt were unsatisfactory, particularly for large groups where student accountability was difficult to maintain. A project was therefore developed to evaluate alternative methods by which attendance could be monitored on an ongoing, effective basis. The School of Business and Social Science and the School of Human and Life Sciences agreed to participate in the project which would also achieve legislative compliance to Tier 4 of the UK Border Agency Act. Project Proposal: It was proposed to pilot a system to collect and record attendances electronically. The aims of the pilot project were:- To improve student monitoring and feedback picking up concerns at the earliest opportunity and offering further support To achieve legislative compliance to Tier 4 of UK Border Agency Act To improve centralised data to ensure a consistent approach to attendance and learning support To improve data to ensure accuracy of Registry details e.g. check for students attending modules they are not registered for (or not attending those they have). To open the way for further integration of the system within the University The system chosen for the Pilot Project was IntelliReg from DRS ( This system records the presence, absence or lateness of students in real time using fingertip (biometric) and card reader solutions. The pilot study was also designed to gather feedback and gauge opinion from students and staff regarding the means of collecting the data prior to any significant capital investment in the technology. A number of objectives were set within the project to facilitate evaluation. The project was measured against the IT Architecture Principles and the Architecture Vision scoring highly on the principle of maximisation of benefit to the business (retention of students) and the vision of interoperability and shared data, although it was recognised that this vision would not apply until later in the implementation lifecycle. The Use of Modelling As an integral part of the Project the Business Analysis Team at the University used BiZZdesign Architect Business Modelling software to produce models of the baseline and Target Architectures. The models referred to below are shown in Figures 1 through 4 at the back of this document. Unfortunately the Architect software does not make it easy to take effective screen shots of the models but enough can be seen to further the discussion here. Roehampton is seeking ways, Date : 22/02/2010 Modelling the Business Case Study 3 Page : 1

2 through its own website and through the JISC Innovation Base project by which more satisfactory access to the models can be made available. The 2 Schools which took part in the pilot offered to trial the use of both the biometric and card reader methods of data capture for the same groups of students so that opinions could be sought from these students as part of the evaluation. A relatively small module in terms of student numbers was used in the School of Business and Social Science and a relatively large group of students took part from the School of Human and Life Sciences. On the first iteration around the TOGAF Architectural Development Method (ADM) the team produced:- Baseline model for the School of Business and Social Science Baseline model for the School of Human and Life Sciences Target model for a consolidated process based on the new system These models exposed the very different methods by which the current processes were operated in the 2 Schools and facilitated the acceptable merging of these different ways of working into one consolidated model. This consolidated model and associated trialling formed the output to the first TOGAF iteration. This first iteration consolidated process model was used to assist in building the business processes which enabled the pilot project to take place, the resulting gap analysis informing the Statement of Architectural Work for the first iteration. This first iteration consolidated process model becomes the Baseline model for the second iteration which sees benefits to be gained in greater integration, less manual intervention and a higher level of reporting. Development of the EA Repository The BiZZdesign Architect modelling software facilitates the building up of information in the Repository. Each entity within the models is reusable. Servers, for example, can host more than one application or database. As the modelling work proceeds and the entity is reused then this information attaches to the entities within the models and can be seen in full or in relation to a specific situation as part of a specific view. For example in the Attendance Monitoring Project baseline the Server Heron hosts a timetable database which is reported against to support the business process of building up the data of manual registers. If required, Heron can be viewed in relation only to the Attendance Monitoring Project as shown in Figure 5. Alternatively a different view of the server displays all its connections as in Figure 6. Date : 22/02/2010 Modelling the Business Case Study 3 Page : 2

3 The use of Modelling in the Attendance Monitoring Project Business (Process and Roles) Domain Application Domain Infrastructure Domain Figure 1 Attendance Monitoring Pilot (Baseline) School of Business and Social Sciences These models show the different ways that the attendance monitoring is carried out in different Schools. There is a different level of use of technology and extra application use in the School of Business and Social Sciences. This School also has a longer and slightly more complex set of linear processes. Figure 2 Attendance Monitoring Pilot (Baseline) School of Human and life Sciences Date : 22/02/2010 Modelling the Business Case Study 3 Page : 3

4 Figure 3 Attendance Monitoring Pilot (TG) Consolidated Processes First TOGAF Iteration The model above shows the agreed consolidated processes in both Schools. This represents the result of the first iteration around the TOGAF Architecture Development Method. This model becomes the Baseline Model for the second iteration. The model below shows the first Target model for the second iteration incorporating integration features not used in the Pilot (first iteration) and Reporting or monitoring functionality not build in, either, to the first iteration. Notice the fewer roles necessary to operate the processes following the introduction of the integration functionality. The Supplier and Technical roles are much reduced. Note also the reduction in complexity in the linear processes as well following the introduction of integration. Figure 4 Attendance Monitoring (Target) Consolidated and Integrated Processes Second TOGAF Iteration Date : 22/02/2010 Modelling the Business Case Study 3 Page : 4

5 Figure 5 Server Heron as a device within the Attendance Monitoring Target Model a specific view Figure 6 Server Heron as a device showing all its relationships Date : 22/02/2010 Modelling the Business Case Study 3 Page : 5