Approaches to system design You may

Approaches to system design
You may not need to read this chapter. If your only desire is for a word processing computer, or a computer to handle business matters, you can turn immediately to Chapter 4. If, on the other hand, you eventually wish to examine data about clients, or about the services of your agency ,then you should read on. And if you want to use such data for program evaluation, program monitoring, or agency planning, then this chapter is vital.
Word processing and business applications are well standardized, highly conventional, and require little design effort. Appropriate programs are available for most microcomputers; they are well-documented and easily used. For business needs the agency executive and/or the agency’s fiscal officer should have no trouble preparing the initial system specifications, and consulting help is widely available.
If, on the other hand, you want an information system for client data or for program planning, you are going beyond the conventional. New issues arise. Suppose, for example, you need to track clients through your agency’s services. Or you want to have certain kinds of client listings available at the push of a button. Or you want aggregate information about the cost of particular services to help you in setting rates. Or you want to examine referral sources to see who is (and is not) making use of your agency’s services. Such needs require you to invent something new, to use new data in new ways Existing software may not be appropriate. Designing such systems is likely to prove time consuming and costly if you start from scratch.
Given these problems, it is useful to look at the approaches used by different agencies in “inventing” nonconventional client information and management information systems. Their experience provides many a cautionary tale.