LESSON 3 - 1

Office Automation



Dr. David Asirvatham
david.asirvatham@gmail.com
Office Automation
David Asirvatham
LESSON 3 - 2
Office Automation
David Asirvatham
Software
LESSON 3 - 3
Office Automation
David Asirvatham
Types of software
End-user
Software
Application
software
Systems
software
Systems Develop.
Tools
Used for a
specific
type of business
process.
E.g billing
systems,
inventory system
End-User
Software
General purpose
software.
E.g. word
processor
spreadsheet, etc
Systems
Develop. Tools
Used for the
construction of
other business
applications
e.g. compilers.
DBMS, etc
Controls the
operation of a
computer
e.g. Windows95,
UNIX, etc
Application Software
System Software
LESSON 3 - 4
Office Automation
David Asirvatham
Application Software
Application software perform the functions required by the users
e.g. word-processor, graphics, CAD, Animation
Effective software should be:
free from errors or bugs
flexible (can handle a range of transactions; changing OS, etc)
performance (response time)
Examples
General purpose: Ms-word, Excel, OpenOffice, etc
Special purpose: ATM application, accounting package, etc
LESSON 3 - 5
Office Automation
David Asirvatham
Systems Software: Operating Systems
Generally, these software are hidden from the users
Most of the resident programs are OS modules
The main module of the OS is the monitor program. Its functions
include:
memory allocation and management
multi-user scheduling
access control
I/O control
providing utilities and user services
OS performs four main functions:
controlling of all devices and components of the computer
carry out all utility routines
performs translation to machine code (compatible to the OS)
supports networking & communication

LESSON 3 - 6
Office Automation
David Asirvatham
Operating Systems
Examples:
Windows XP, 98 and windows 2003
Linux
Unix (e.g. Solaris)
IBM OS/2
McOS
LESSON 3 - 7
Office Automation
David Asirvatham
Development Tools
These software supports the programmers
Users can also use it to write their own modules
It involves the writing, storing and execution of programs
The main functions are:
load program into the memory (loaders)
links modules together (linkers)
permits modification of program codes (editors)
e.g Visual Basic, Visual C++, PHP, Java, etc
LESSON 3 - 8
Office Automation
David Asirvatham
Programming languages
Machine language
instructions, in binary, that directly controls the computer
processor depended; different machines will different machine codes
not human recognisable; difficult to read or understand
Assembly language
written in symbolic rather than numerical machine code
An assembler is used to translate it to machine code
High-level language
machine independent
more efficient development of software
procedural language and more English-like
easy to user and understand

LESSON 3 - 9
Office Automation
David Asirvatham
Programming Language
Fourth generation language
non-procedural language
easy to use
closer to natural language
main features
prototyping
query language (oracle-SQL)
report gemerators
application generator
E.g PowerBuilder, FOCUS, NOMAD and RAMIS
LESSON 3 - 10
Office Automation
David Asirvatham
Programming Languages
0110 00101
1100 01010
0111 10101
1100 01010
0111 11000
0001 01100
1010 01010
MACHINE LANGUAGE
LDA A,5
LDA B,10
ADD A, B
MOVE C
INC A


ASSEMBLY LANGUAGE
$a=8;
$b=2;
if ($a>$b) { print "a is bigger \n";}
else { print "b is bigger \n";}
print "Done\n";
HIGH LEVEL LANGUAGE
LESSON 3 - 11
Office Automation
David Asirvatham
Translation
LDA A,5
LDA B,10
ADD A, B
MOVE C
INC A


0110 00101
1100 01010
0111 10101
1100 01010
0111 11000
0001 01100
1010 01010
Assembler
ASSEMBLY LANGUAGE
(Source Code)
MACHINE LANGUAGE
(Object Code)
0110 00101
1100 01010
0111 10101
1100 01010
0111 11000
0001 01100
1010 01010
$a=8;
$b=2;
if ($a>$b) { print "a is bigger \n";}
else { print "b is bigger \n";}
print "Done\n";
Compliers
(Interpreters)
HIGH LEVEL LANGUAGE
(Source Code)
MACHINE LANGUAGE
(Object Code)
LESSON 3 - 12
Office Automation
David Asirvatham
Evolution of Programming Languages
First Generation
1940s (Machine language)
Difficult to learn and use
Long instructions
Machine Dependent
Second Generation
1950s (Assembly language)
Difficult to use for
large programs
Shorter codes than ML
Machine Dependent
Third Generation
1950s (COBOL, C++)
English-like
Problem Oriented
Easy to use
Fourth Generation
1980s (Foxpro, Dbase)
More English-like
Many Functions
Incl. Data Management
Easy to use
Natural language
Future
Use of natural language
Voice-recognition
LESSON 3 - 13
Office Automation
David Asirvatham
Off-the shelf vs in-house development
Software can be obtained in three different ways:
off-the-shelf
third party software developers (consultants)
in-house development
Off-the-shelf
suitable for well-established software like word-processors, graphics
packages, small database, etc
e.g. MS-Office, Lotus Smartsuite, Macromedia Director, etc
general applications
difficult to customers
cheaper
upgrade version are available
available immediately
user-friendly; user-support, documentations
LESSON 3 - 14
Office Automation
David Asirvatham
Off-the shelf vs in-house development
Consultant
suitable if the necessary skills are not available internally
drawback:
consultant may not have sufficient experience
may require more time
future enhancement can be expensive
support; documentation; enhancement of software
In-house
should have a programming team within the company
staff must be of high-caliber, reliable and well trained
expensive; proper documentation is needed; time consuming
easy to maintain; future upgrades; tailor-made
LESSON 3 - 15
Office Automation
David Asirvatham
Selection of Software
User friendly
Compatibility (platform, other packages)
Editing facilities
Text, graphics, GUI and others options
import/export capability
Media option (interface with various peripherals)
Interactivity (branching, menu, hot spots)
Management capabilities (database, folder organisation)
Cost (incl. Upgrades)
Others: Support, Reliability, number of users, hardware &
memory requirements, training, installation, Documentation, etc
Networking (ability to share the software/files)
LESSON 3 - 16
Office Automation
David Asirvatham
Software Selection
Features Weight Package 1 Package 2
Price/perform. 0.8 9 7
Compatability 0.7 4 7
Features 0.6 5 5
Vendor 0.4 2 6
Total 13.8 16.3
LESSON 3 - 17
Office Automation
David Asirvatham
Software Evaluation
8 compatibility 3 Networking
8.5 Charts/graphics 7 Installation
9 Formulas/analysis 7 Performance
8.5 Programming 8.5 User friendly
9 Editing 8.5 Support
8 Tools/Utilities 8 Reliability
LESSON 3 - 18
Office Automation
David Asirvatham
Office Automation
The main reason for the application of IT in office environment is
to increase productivity
Productivity can be improved in the following ways:
better utilisation of workforce (lesser number, higher output per
person)
improve utilisation of time
improve quality of management through better decision-making
increase output through better individual performance
greater effectiveness through the use of Information
LESSON 3 - 19
Office Automation
David Asirvatham
Benefits of OA
Direct benefits
better control over work
fewer conversion from one form of information to another
fewer non-productive activities (filing, recording, updating)
better personal organisation (less travel and less meetings)
LESSON 3 - 20
Office Automation
David Asirvatham
Benefits of OA
Indirect benefits
less dependency on other departments
less need for procedures and control
increased individual job satisfaction
greater customer satisfaction
LESSON 3 - 21
Office Automation
David Asirvatham
OA Technology
E-mail
variety of message format
fast and easy to use
communication tool
ability to receive message in real-time
text manipulation facilities
files and graphics can be attached
digital signature
broadcast capabilities
integration with organizers


LESSON 3 - 22
Office Automation
David Asirvatham
OA Technology
Telecomputing
work from at home
save commuting time
greater flexibility in working hours
significant reduction in interruptions
reduction in office space
welfare support facilities
travel expenses
LESSON 3 - 23
Office Automation
David Asirvatham
OA Technology
Facsimile
scanning and transmission of the documents
can verify signatures and can transmit graphics or pictures
uses telephone lines
Teleconferencing
allow organisation to conduct presentation, meetings and negotiations
80% of Fortune 500 companies are using or planning to use it
still expensive to high quality video conf. system
LESSON 3 - 24
Office Automation
David Asirvatham
OA Technology
Voice mail
voice store-and-forward
less wasted telephone time
fewer interruption as message are stored until it is convenient for the
user to receive them
one-way
absence of social discourse
high installation cost
LESSON 3 - 25
Office Automation
David Asirvatham
OA Technology
Computers
business presentation
clerical work
analysis
database systems
CAD/CAM
simulation and testing
many more
e.g. MS Office, Smartsuite, financial packages, etc