collection in tps option 1: transaction processing systems

COLLECTION IN TPSOption 1: Transaction Processing Systems

Collection

In this section we are going to look at the Information Technology (Hardware and Software) used to collect data into Transaction Trocessing Systems.

Hardware includes MICR, Barcode Reader & Magnetic Stripe Reader.

Software includes forms used to collect data

Collection Hardware

There are countless collection devices used in TP systems eg keyboards, mice, scanners, touch-screens, RFID readers and ATM’s. For a reference ATM’s were discussed earlier in the course (page 294-295) and RFID’s were outlined earlier in this topic (page 394). That being the case we are going to restrict our conversation to three specialized pieces of hardware- MICR readers, barcode readers and magnetic stripe readers.

Collection Hardware

MICR (Magnetic Ink Character Recognition) for reading cheques

MICR has been in use on cheques since the 1950s. MICR is the primary method of high speed data collection from cheques. The ink or toner used contains ferromagnetic material that can easily be magnetised. Only this ink is read by readers meaning that it is possible to write over the ink without affecting the ability of the MICR reader.

Collection Hardware

MICR Contd…

There are strict standards that specify font usage, paper characteristics and the MICR line data on a cheque.

There are agreed upon standard for MICR usage on cheques and the current standard requires a cheque to be potentially read 30 times before being discarded.

Collection Hardware

MICR Contd… Each cheque has an MICR line positioned

at the bottom of the cheque as follows…

Collection Hardware

MICR Contd…

MICR readers either utilise a ‘waveform’ technique or a ‘matrix’ approach to reading MICR data.

Waveform MICR readers first magnetise the MICR line by passing over with a write head. The read head then converts the magnetic data into a small electrical signal. Each MICR character is different therefore each signal has a unique signature waveform.

Matrix is used for most high speed readers and can sort up to 2400 cheques per minute. Each character is firstly magnetised into a series of slices or cells, similar to the way a bitmap image is made of pixels. The read heads builds a picture of the magnetised cells and converts that image to a corresponding digital code.

Collection Hardware

Barcode Readers

BC readers operate by reflecting light off of the barcode image, as light reflects well off of white and not very well off of black. Most barcode readers incorporate a decoder to map character to the visual data recorded.

Based on this principle of reflecting light there are three types of barcode readers – LED, Laser and CCD (Charged Coupled Devices).

Collection Hardware

Magnetic Stripe Readers

Almost all plastic cards contain magnetic stripes: e.g. bank cards, ID cards, frequent flyer cards, even temporary documents like bus tickets etc.

Magnetic Stripes are made up of three parallel tracks. Each track is approx 2.8mm wide

Most ATM/Credit cards contain data on tracks 1&2 however most readers are only capable of reading track 2. Track 2 contains the account number, details unique to the card issuer and in some cases an encrypted pin number. Only the bank has the decryption key for the encrypted pin.

Collection Hardware


Track 1 contains essentially the same information as track 2 plus the card holders name.

Track 3 was originally intended to contain re-writable data but this is rarely used

Collection Hardware


All magnetic stripe readers contain a magnetic read head similar to the principles used in a tape drive or hard disks. Some readers require swiping whilst many modern ones require inserting the card. Insertion machines control the speed at which the magnetic stripes are read and hence contain less errors. In these cases the card is kept until the transaction is complete.

Collection Software - Forms

Forms can be paper based where an indirect users inputs information, which is manually entered into a system through batch or real time. Forms can also be electronic surveys where they are processed into a database through LAN or the internet, in batch or real time.

A form is essentially a User Interface. Its purpose is to guide the user through a data collection process.

Data validation is on advantage to electronic forms.


Some form design principles include: Making sure the form suits the user in

ability and motivation. Identify the precise nature of all data items

being collected. Being consistent. Easily readable and not ambiguous. Use of white space to avoid visual

crowding.


Layout of Labels and input fields The layout and labels should be used to

guide the user through data collection. It is custom to have the layout “left justified”.


Principles particular to the design of paper forms The paper form should be in a similar format to

the data entry screen of the computer system so that manual inputting is simple.

Instructions should be clearly stated and labelled.

Colour, texture and fonts must be easy to read for all. Think of colour blind users, or visually impaired.

Appropriate answering space.


Principles particular to the design of online screens Clearly show available functions, e.g. drop down

menus etc. User input should cause reactions on the user

interface, such as a tick appearing to mark that a column has been successfully filled and validated.

Having an undo button or asking a confirmation message before deletion.

Make the formatting similar to the OS of the system so that the UI is familiar to the user.


Principles particular to web forms Data validation prior to transactions in order

to save download time. Provide a sequence of forms. For example,

when going through an online “checkout”. Hardware and software specifications must

be accessible for all users. Auto format to resolution and screen size. Security such as encryption when

transferring credit card details.

Collection – Analysing Data from TP Systems

Analysing Data

TPS contain large amounts of data that can be analysed to improve an organisations performance. E.g: Past Trends can be examined, buying habits of customers, tracking online purchases, stock details can all be used as evidence to assist decision makers. Such analysis can be performed on operational data or on a data warehouse.


Data Warehouse

We spoke about Data Warehouses in the Database topic and if you remember a Data warehouse is “a large database that includes historical copies of data from each of operational database within an organisation”. Data Warehouses grow as new transaction data is added over time. The warehouse is not in itself an analysis tool but rather a data resource that can be analysed.


Advantages of Data Warehouses: Old transaction data deleted from operating

system and archived within the data warehouse. Analysis on DW doesn’t affect system performance. DW are snapshots of real data (Therefore ACID &

data integrating is maintained) and as such analysis processes can proceed more efficiently.

DW centralise data from the entire organisation Because a DW is separate to the operational data it

can be organised differently and to the user’s needs.


Management Information Systems

A Management Information System (MIS) transforms data within transaction processing systems into information to assist in the management of business operations. MIS functions include generating sales reports, profit and loss statements, graphs of sales trends. Essentially it’s a summary or statistical analysis of the system data.


Management Information Systems

In a small system such information would be generated by the manager whilst in larger organisations one or more department might be dedicated to MIS processes. Similarly in small systems the MIS might be a part of the TPS itself where as in a larger organisation the MIS is likely to be a system of its own.

Come to page 436 for some examples…


Decision Support Systems

A DSS, like an MIS, provides information to managers to assist the decision making process. The analysis provided by a DSS presents possibly solutions to problems and highlights likely consequences of making particular decisions.

Once the MIS has created the graphs and gathered the information, the DSS is designed to assist in the decisions that will solve the improvements or problems regarding data.



For examples an MIS might create a graph summarising total sales made by each branch over the course of a month. A DSS is then used to determine possible reasons why a branch might have had higher or lower sales.

DSS are an elective option for IPT but in this section our concern is the relationships between the data generated within a TPS and how a DSS might be used for analysis.



Typically DSS analysing data from a TPS use a Data Warehouse as their data source. As such the DSS’s hardware and software must be capable of processing huge volumes of data.

Data Mining is one Decision Support technique that examines raw data to discover patterns or relationships. Data Mining presents new information that was not intended to be present within the data.


Enterprise Systems

An Enterprise is a large organisation for example Gov. Department or University.

An Enterprise system is any system that performs processes central to the overall operation of the enterprise. E.g. Critical hardware and software updates and data management.

For example a University would have a variety of enterprise systems in operation such as – Student Records, Finance, Payroll, Human Resources and Content Mangament.

collection in tps option 1: transaction processing systems

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