It’s all worth it…

VG…wow...For once on my life, I will never forgot that handwritten two letter word. It’s as if my world stops turning. (ana jud na bsta first time…)Consultation is always as terrible as ever. But sir gamboa make us feel comfortable every time we consult him. Perhaps it’s because of our beautiful faces. (paitah!!!)

I think it’s safe to say we all have some heavy feelings these days. Deadlines are already coming. We need to be ready for future breathtaking consultation. Granted that there are days that I think I won’t be able to do it – but I have fallen into a rut of assuming I can’t rather than committing a try. Completing Planning phase was always fun. Maybe it’s a good start. We will just ensure that we will still stay on track.

The relief I feel as I see things put into their place will give me more room to explore and open up a clearer path to where I want to go. How about a round of applause sa atung pogi na teacher???

Honestly, what is it about a thing that brings about this scenario for memories? Well, I think it’s because of the VG.
It’s all worth it…

Mistakes may be made on the part of the software developers

Mistakes may be made on the part of the software developers or indeed may be made on the part of the entity requiring the software system. So who exactly is responsible when once a system is built and the system harms someone either physically or financially? In developing systems there are many problems that can result from faulty assumption or system failures which are perceptibly made by the development team. A system, which was developed by the collaboration of a costumer and the user, can encounter some important factors that are needed to ensure that the system would do well.

Since developer takes the biggest role in the making of the system, if anything happens, it is his responsibility. It is already by default that once you are a developer you have the great factor that is important contributor to a system failure.

Since some of the user is improperly trained then the likelihood of them making serious errors is increased due to their lack of knowledge of the system. When a system harms someone physically or financially, user should not be held reliable due to lack of training. A user and a costumer who makes a mistake should not be reprimanded for it if they have not been trained to deal with it. When a developer has made the user and costumer well-trained, then the end users will significantly reduce harms and improve the integrity of the systems.

The responsibility for failures caused by many factors falls squarely on the developer responsible for creating and maintaining the software system. As such measures to reduce poor development practices must center on the development team itself.

Project managers can increase their productivity in a variety of ways

Project managers can increase their productivity in a variety of ways. The most obvious methods involve automation and computerization which minimize the task that must be performed by employees. The growth of productivity – output per unit of input – is the fundamental determinant of the growth of a country’s material standard of living. The most commonly cited measures of productivity are in terms of a unit of size per unit of time. One cannot have sustained growth in output per person.

Regarding the first issue, measuring productivity in terms of number of lines is somehow futile. It is for the reason that different languages can produce different numbers of lines of code. Nowadays, as a programmer who always runs out of time, we typically make line of source codes shorter but concise to make it easier to decode and manage.

Productivity in lines of code cannot also be measured until an implementation starts. It is only generated during the implementation period. Measuring productivity through this kind of way can somehow take no notice of the other phases of development. Simply because we cannot identify its efficiency not until it’s implemented.

But, on the other hand, programmers may structure code to meet productivity goals ineffective because a programmer is already known on manipulating program making it more efficient.

Total productivity is a productivity measure that incorporates all the inputs required to make a product. Thus measuring productivity by means of lines of source codes are not an effective way but inputs could be grouped in several ways as long as they determine the total inputs required to produce an output.

expedite implementation of IS plan

You were invited by the university president to prepare an IS plan for the university, discuss what are the steps in order to expedite the implementation of the IS Plan.

Planning an IS plan can somehow complex. If I were to think of steps in order to expedite the implementation of IS plan to ensure that something takes place or dealt with more quickly than usual I would rather take into consideration some factors.

• Project management

We should determine the time to be allotted in order to complete the plan. With this we can utilize time management and other factors concerning schedules. Other than managing time we should also consider who will manage the plan and create planning teams that is capable in planning an IS. Project management must be properly supervised and development practices are also one most significant factor to be considered. We need to better understand the plan so that implementation won’t become more complicated. That is why such issues must be put into consideration.

• Adaption of resources and information

Issues involving data conversion and allocation of resources must also be considered. Proper usage of resources must also be recognized because it might cause several failures, either when it comes to implementation or allocation of data.

• Training people

Training is also the most important factor to be considered. IT staffs that are properly trained will make the project easily done. They need to have knowledge in terms of managing data and IS plan implementation. One of the things that are essential to successful continuous improvement in order to expedite implementation of IS plan are strongly matters on the people involve around the plan.

on a real scenario

On a real scenario, there are only very few software projects which are completed in time. As a student, we are trained to face and focus on what we need to know about risk in the pursuit of delivering software projects. Through this we are practicing our best techniques of risk analysis and to be able to develop the process for various organizations.

When we are in the midst of making a software project we always think a lot of risk like we cannot complete the system and will not meet its user needs. That is why we understand its function better than we could for a successful information system development. During the time of making “so called student projects” we face this kind of risk that has been consistently identified by all.

• Lack of Technical knowledge
Since we usually do the research we don’t have enough information for us to better implement our project effectively. And because we are just a simple student we don’t have enough will power to ask questions and help from the people whom we know has the knowledge.

• High cost of requirements
Being in a world with low cost of living, it is and always a problem for us to acquire high cost requirements. This one can also be the reason for project delay or even the worst.

• Time management
Since we don’t have all the time, making it ours is also a main problem. In a group we usually quarrel when managing our time schedule. Sometimes, since night time is the only moment we can gather ourselves together we usually end up making our projects in a sleepless night leading us to force our self doing projects overtime.

• Unpredictable changes and the lack of will to overcome it
As a student, we usually have the aura of being anxious when it becomes to dealing changes. We always keep on running to changes. In a real scenario, we typically lose self-esteem that we end up losing also our self confidence and the drive to finish project.

• Lack of comprehension
Misunderstanding between group members can also be determined as one of the major risk in making projects. We usually fail to understand or interpret something correctly. Minor disagreement can sometimes lead to project failure.



Since risk are everywhere we need to make it part of our own. If we are fugitive when we encounter it, if we have used our strength in fleeing it will surely prevail. But if we do the seeking we will be able to destroy it. If we want to cease being hunted, we must become the hunter.

changing requirements and employee turnover...a reason?

Changing requirements and employee turnover are widely perceived as one of the main reasons that a project will be late. It is a problem particularly experienced on a long design and development projects that needs to rework the designs to keep them in step with changes in the specifications or in the expectations of the clients.

Employee turnover is a ratio comparison of the number of employees a company must replace in a given time period to the average number of total employees. Wages, company benefits, employee attendance, and job performance are all factors that play a significant role in employee turnover. It can also be a factor that makes a project late because it changes number of staff either adding or losing personnel. It has proven to be one of the most costly and seemingly intractable human resource challenges confronting organizations.

Changing requirements are a fact of life on any project, and managing them can take a lot of time and effort. Managing requirements change has been a major challenge even for the best-run projects. Keeping track of how the changing business environment impacts ongoing projects and production applications can be a nightmare without proper tools and techniques.

There is a lot of talk about change and how we should alter the way we do to things at work and in our personal lives in order to be more effective. Sometimes we even hear how it is essential to change even if just for change’s sake. We are pattern-making mechanisms. In general, our system is more comfortable with pattern and routine than with change. Once a pattern is established, our brains will quite happily keep marching along that path. Sometimes we are already at ease on the things we usually do, so think what resistance we have when we try to change patterns that have been part of our lives for years. Some things we usually keep on doing are as simple and straightforward as the route we take into work every day. Some of it is as complex as the way we feel about ourselves.

why it takes longer to develop a utility program?

Before discussing briefly why it takes longer to develop a utility program than an application program and longer still to develop a system program I just want to explain further there differences. Utility program performs a specific task related to the management of computer functions, resources, or files, as password protection, memory management, virus protection, and file compression. Application program is any program designed to perform a specific function directly for the user or, in some cases, for another application program. Application program use the services of the computer’s operating system and other supporting programs.

Why is it that it takes longer to develop a utility program? It is because this program that is designed to perform a particular function. It refers to software that solves narrowly focused problems or those related to computer system management. It functions more composite compared to application program. An application program carries out two types of task: those related to work being performed, such as accepting text or numbers input to a document or spreadsheet, and those related to maintenance chores, such as managing files and displaying information on the screen. These maintenance chores are performed by the computer’s operating system, and an application program interface provides the program with a means of communicating with the system, telling it when system-level task to perform and when.

Many programs come as part of a computer’s operating system, the software that schedules task, allocates data storage, and coordinates data transmission between the computer, connected devices and other computers. From this we can tell that system program has also the longest development time since it is the one who holds the computer and its function.

should i recommend outsourcing??

How can you determine if outsourcing is advantageous to your organization? Would you recommend outsourcing to USeP?

When we are in the midst of making a decision we usually visualize everything first before making moves. How can I determine if it can add improvement to my organization if I recommend outsourcing? Is there a need to outsource? In today’s time, outsourcing is already commonly introduced to every organization. Is it also for the reason that it offers a lot than in-source.

Yes, considering the fact that when we outsource we will have an access to a larger talent pool and a sustainable source of skills. But if I suggest outsourcing in my school it could be one of the biggest decisions to be made. Because when we outsource, it also means that we are withdrawing the business function involving the transfer of people and the sale or resources to a provider because we are hiring somebody else to do all or part of the work instead of the person or company originally hired.

I think there is no need for outsourcing in USeP because we have lots of human resources that are expert in the field of creating systems and things like making databases. We have lots of staffs that are brilliant enough to provide the needs of the school so there is no need for us to outsource. It will just cost us money to outsource while in fact we can still save a little amount if we just hire people inside the school to do the work. Yet, we can still acquire outside the organization to improve our ideas so that we can develop better systems.

Yes, it will advantageous if we outsource if the organization has limited staff to do a certain job in-house. If we want to improve something better that we think our resources cannot do the job. There is a need to outsource if we want to have access to operational best practice that would be too difficult or time consuming if we develop it in-house. And if we want to standardize our business process and that is the time we outsource.

Although outsourcing offers a lot more, the school can minimize the cost if they will hire people inside the organization and we can still make sure that our concept and design are out of harm’s way and protected.

The image above is the USeP enrollment system activity diagram. It is to show the functions of the enrollment system performed during enrollment time.

Step 1:
During enrollment time, students need to pay local fees first before any other transactions specifically headlight and other local council fees.

Step 2:
Student’s clearance which is processed prior the scheduled enrollment is a must. In case the said clearance is not completely signed then she/he will not be entertained by the assigned class adviser. The students are obliged to bring all the receipts and the student’s clearance during advising as a requirement. During this period, the adviser will give a form commonly known as PRF for the student to write the subject he/she is advised to enroll for the semester.

Step 3:
When the student is already advised as to what subject he/she will enroll, encoding of the advised subjects will be the next step. In every college there are assigned offices or encoders who will handle this task. Sometimes this is where the students are stuck due to number of students per one encoder. After this, the student now have the COR or Certificate of Registration which consist of the said amount the student will pay.

Step 4:
If the student is a scholar, she needs to go to the bookkeeper window for the approval of their scholarship and for records purposes also. Otherwise, if you are just an ordinary student (katong scholar sa parents) you need to fall in a long line. This is where the student will pay his/her tuition fee. You also need to prepare coins because the cashier sometimes doesn’t provide coins. Partial payments are also accepted.

Step 5
After paying the tuition fee, we need to go to the registrar’s office. There are assigned windows every college or department. The enrollee needs to present her receipts (headlight, local council fees and tuition fee) and also the student’s clearance before you will be officially enrolled.

Step 6:
When you are already officially enrolled, you need to go to the university library for the library card validation.