LCC Software and Hardware Analysis

MAIN

Executive Summary

by Karen Stone

Topic

As a group project for English 3020, our class analyzed the LCC software and hardware. In the analysis, department needs, uses, potential uses, education, performance, and many other topics were covered. The LCC department has a wide variety of resources available to use for instructional purposes as well as hands-on use. However, it did not seem that there was one person or source who knew all the material and software that the department owned or used or could possibly use. The analysis was conducted to give the LCC department an idea of what the department already had, what each individual in the department used the software for, and what the department could possibly use in the future. Our analytical report will give the department a single resource to see what the department has and what they could have in the future considering the needs.

Method

Conducting such a large type of analysis took a lot of organization on our part. There are approximately 80 students involved with this analysis. In order for the group to cover the areas needed to gather the necessary information we split the large group into four subgroups in which each student was a part of a different group. The individuals in these four groups worked among themselves to gather the information and analyze his/her part of the project. The four groups are:

• Department Needs
• Potential Software
• Existing Software
• Existing Hardware

Each group was responsible for collecting the information needed and analyzing the information. However, all four groups had to work together and share information so research would not have to be duplicated. This was a tough job, but the four groups handled it well.

Department Needs

The department needs group was responsible for finding out how the faculty, graduate students, and undergraduate students of the LCC department used the present technology and what type of software programs they were using. Also information such as how often each person uses the computer or why he/she use the computer was gathered. To collect this type of information interviews were used. Different students interviewed faculty, graduate students, and undergraduate students. Most of the interviews were conducted in a face-to-face interview, although there were a few interviews conducted over email.

The interviews also brought out a lot of other information besides what was mentioned above. Comfort with computers and technology was addressed, along with knowledge of computers and software. Once the information from the interviews was collected, the information was then analyzed.

Example Interview Questions

The department needs group split up the task individually so each individual would have a certain task. The way the group split the tasks, were by the different topics the group decided to be the most important for covering the department needs. For example, a few of the topics were potential uses for faculty, money available for faculty, money available for graduate students, etc. In the formal report, you will see a section on each topic.

Once the information was gathered and analyzed, members of the other groups could see the information gathered which would help them in their analysis.

Potential Software

Potential Software researchers were responsible for looking into new and different types of software that the LCC department does not already use or own. The reason for studying different types of software was to find new software that could be used to better suit the needs of the department and packages that may do the same tasks, but cost less than the package the department is already using.

This group also broke down into smaller groups in order to research as much software options as possible. The first step this group took was to get a list of software from the existing software group to be sure and not research a software product the LCC already owns. Once the list was received the group broke itself down into researchers and liaisons to other groups. The liaisons were responsible for staying in touch with the other groups (department needs, existing software, and hardware) in order to do a complete analysis of the potential software. The researchers needed to know what the department needs were what type of software already existed, and what type of hardware existed to run the software programs on.

Each software researcher was responsible for researching 2-3 pieces of software that the LCC department did not currently own. The five main areas the researchers were interested in were:

• Wed Editing Software
• Communications Software
• Word Processing Software
• Multimedia Software
• Miscellaneous Software

After the research was complete, the group did an analysis on each piece of software that was researched.

The existing software group was responsible for obtaining information on the software the LCC department owns at the present time and what they use this software for. Each type of software was analyzed to see what the software could be used for and what type of hardware, etc. it took to run the programs.

A list of current software used by the LCC department was obtained from Ben Phillips. Mr. Phillips is in charge of the department's programs, etc. Once the list was received the group split the different software programs in order for each individual member of the group to analyze software. Each individual was responsible for researching his/her type of software and analyzing certain topics the group felt was most important for the department to know about the software. These topics included:

• Features/Functionality
• Compatibility
• Tech Support
• Cost
• Conclusion

Once each individual had completed his/her research for the software, an analysis was done based on the above mentioned topics.

Existing Hardware

The existing hardware group had the responsibility to found out what kind of hardware exist in the LCC department. This included computers (how many and what kind), types of servers, etc. It was necessary to find out what type of hardware existed to know what types of software could be used in the department.

The two main tasks of the existing hardware group were to do an analysis of the servers and an analysis of the desktops. To perform this type of analysis a good amount of information was needed, which led to the research of the group. Information was collected from Martin Brooks, who has the knowledge of what the LCC department has concerning hardware. Also information was collected by reading information on the Macs in the different labs. A list of systems in the different offices was also collected since the individuals did not have access to these offices.

Once this information was collected, the individuals of this group performed an analysis on the existing hardware the LCC department owns at the current time. The potential and existing software groups to help in their recommendations then used this information.

Recommendations and Conclusion

Each of the four groups made its own recommendations depending upon the information obtained and the analysis that was done for each group. However, the four groups did have to work together and rely on each other to develop a thorough, concise, and accurate analysis and recommendation. The department needs group concluded which categories were more important do the department, which enabled the potential and existing software groups to know what types of software the department liked and used the most. It also gave these two groups information on what the department would like to be able to do, but did not have the software capable of that function. In return, these two groups also used the information analyzed by the hardware group to know exactly which types of software programs would work with the department hardware without having to purchase any new hardware. Cost was also a large function of each group. The groups focused on what the LCC department needed how much they were allotted for software, and how each program would benefit the department.

The LCC department has a wide range of skill concerning technology. Different types of training programs could be developed to get everyone more on the same level. There will always be different levels; however, there could be a way to have not such a wide range of skills, so similar software could be used by everyone. There are also a variety of programs used by the department. This will always remain true since there are so many different tasks undertaken in the department. There is not a good solution to cut the variety of software programs. In actuality, this is not a problem. Technology will be used more when a number of tasks are covered.

In the following report, each analysis contains detailed information of what has been stated above. The table of contents can be used to easily find the topic you are most interested in.

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