Input Design

Input technology has changed dramatically in recent years

Modern systems use the new technology to speed up the
input process, reduce costs, and capture data in new forms
The quality of the output is only as good as the quality of
the input, known as Garbage in, garbage out (GIGO)
The main objective of input design is to ensure the quality,
accuracy, and timeliness of input data
During input design, you determine how data will be
captured and entered into the system
Data capture/Data entry uses an automated/manually
operated device to identify source data and convert it to
computer-readable form

Input Design

Input design main objectives

Select a suitable input and data entry method
Reduce input volume
Design attractive data entry screens
Use validation checks to reduce input errors
Design required source documents
Develop effective input controls

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Selecting Input and Data Entry Methods

Process should be efficient, timely, and logical

System analysts should study system transactions and business operations
to determine how and when data should enter the system
First thing to think about is whether to use batch or online input methods

Batch input data entry usually is performed on specified time

schedule such as daily, weekly, monthly, or longer
Online input offers many advantages, including the
immediate validation and availability of data
A popular online input method is source data automation which
combines online data entry and automated data
capture using input devices such as magnetic data
strips or RFID tags, or swipe scanners.
Source data automation is fast and accurate, and minimize human
involvement

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Selecting Input and Data Entry

Methods

Many large companies use a combination of source data

automation with powerful communication network to
manage global operations instantly. Examples of source data
automation are
Automatic teller machines (ATMs) that read data strips on bank
cards
Factory employees who use magnetic ID cards to clock on and off
specific jobs so the company can track production costs accurately
Libraries that use handled scanners to read optical strips on books
Businesses that use point-of-sale (POS) terminals equipped with
bar code scanners and magnetic swipe scanners to input credit card
data
Hospitals that imprint bar codes on patient identification bracelets
and use portable scanners when gathering data on patient treatment
and medication
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Selecting Input and Data Entry

Methods
Tradeoffs between batch input and online input
The decision to use batch or online input
depends on business requirements
Unless source data automation is used,
manual data entry is slower and more
expensive than batch input because it is
performed at the time the transaction occurs
and often done when computer demand is at
its highest

Input Volume
To reduce input volume, you must reduce the
number of data items required for each
transaction
When you reduce input volume, you avoid
unnecessary labor costs, get the data into the
system more quickly, and decrease the
number of errors
Guidelines will help reduce input volume
1.Input necessary data only. Do not input the data item
unless it is needed by the system
2.Do not input data that the user can retrieve from
system files or calculate from other data
3.Do not input constant data
4.Use codes. Codes are shorter than the data they
represent, and coded input can reduce data entry time
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Designing Data Entry

Screens

Most effective method of online data entry is form filling,

in which a blank form that duplicates or resembles the
source document is completed on the screen
Guidelines in designing data entry screens
1. Restrict user access to screen locations where data is entered
2.design forms with proper flow, from left to right and
top to bottom
3.group information logically
4. Provide a descriptive caption for every field, and show the user
where to enter the data and the required or maximum field size

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Designing Data Entry

Screens

Guidelines in designing data entry screens

5. Display a sample format if a user must enter values in
a field in a specific format
6. Require an ending keystroke for every field, by
pressing the ENTER or the TAB key. Avoid a design
that moves automatically to the next item when the
field is full
7. Do not require users to type leading zeroes for numeric
fields
8. Do not require users to type trailing zeroes for
numbers that include decimals

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Designing Data Entry

Screens

Guidelines in designing data entry screens

9. Display default values so operators can press the
ENTER key to accept the suggested value
10.Use a default value when a field value will be constant
for successive records or throughout the data entry
session
11.Display a list of acceptable values for fields by
providing a drop-down list box containing acceptable
values that allows users to select a value by clicking,
and provide meaningful error messages

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Designing Data Entry Screens

Guidelines in designing data entry screens
12. Provide a way to leave the data entry screen at any
time without entering the current record
13. Provide users with an opportunity to confirm the
accuracy of input data before entering it by displaying
a message such as, add this record? (Y/N).
14. Provide a means for users to move among fields on
the form
15. Design the screen form layout to match the layout of
the source document
16. Allow users to add, change, delete, and view records
17. Provide a method to allow users to search for specific
information
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Designing Data Entry Screens

Good Flow in a Form

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Designing Data Entry Screens

Bad Flow in a Form

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Reducing Input Errors

Reducing the number of input errors improves data
quality
The best defense against incorrect data is to
identify and correct errors before they enter the
system by using data validation checks
A data validation check improves input quality by
testing the data and rejecting any entry that fails to
meet specified conditions

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Reducing Input Errors

You can design at least eight types of data validation
checks into the input process
1. Sequence check: are used when the data must be
in some predetermined sequence. If the user must
enter work orders in numerical sequence, for
example, then an out-of-sequence order number
indicates an error. If the user must enter transactions
chronologically, then a transaction with an out-ofsequence date indicates an error.
2. Existence check: are used for mandatory data
items. For example, if an employee record requires a
Social Security number, an existence check would
not allow the user to save the record until he or she
enters a suitable value in the SSN field.

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Reducing Input Errors

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3. Data type check: is used to ensure that a data

item fits the required data type. For example, a
numeric field must have only numbers or numeric
symbols, and an alphabetic field can contain only
the characters A through Z or the characters a
through z.
4. Range check/limit check : tests data items to
verify that they fall between a specified minimum
and maximum value. The daily hours worked by an
employee, for example, must fall within the range
of 0 to 24. Limit check is a validation that
involves a minimum or a maximum value but not
both.
5. Reasonableness check: identifies values that are
questionable, but not necessarily wrong. For
example, input payment values of P0.05 and
P5,000,000.00 both pass a simple limit check for a
payment value greater than zero, and yet both
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values could
beDesign
errors.
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Reducing Input Errors

6. Validity check/Referential Integrity: is
used for data items that must have certain
values. For example, if an inventory system
has 20 valid item classes, then any input item
that does not match one of the valid classes
will fail the check. Verifying that a customer
number on an order matches a customer
number in the customer file is another kind of
validity check.
7. Combination check: performed on two or
more fields to ensure that they are consistent
or reasonable when considered together. Even
though all the fields involved in a combination
check might pass their individual validation
checks, the combination of the field values
might be inconsistent or unreasonable.
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Reducing Input Errors

8. Batch controls are totals used to verify

batch input. Batch controls might check

data items such as record counts and
numeric field totals. For example, before
entering a batch of orders, a user might
calculate the total number of orders and
the sum of all the order quantities. When
the batch of orders is entered, the order
system also calculates the same two
totals. If the system totals do not match
the input totals, then a data entry error has
occurred.

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Designing Source
Documents

(Required) Source Documents

A form used to request and collect input
data, trigger or authorize an input
action, and provide a record of the
original transaction.
During the input design stage, you
develop source documents that are easy
to complete and inexpensive.

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Designing Source Documents

Form layout
refers to the physical appearance and
placement of data on a form.
Form layout makes the form easy to
complete and provides enough space, both
vertically and horizontally, for users to enter
the data.
A form should indicate data entry positions
clearly using blank lines or boxes and
descriptive captions

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Designing Source Documents

Form layout
Captions may be
one of the
following:
Line caption,
putting the
caption on the
same line,
above the line,
below the line,
or combination

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Designing Source Documents

Form layout
Captions may be one of the following:
Boxed caption, providing a box for data instead of
a line

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Designing Source
Documents
Form layout

Vertical check boxes, lining up choices or alternatives

vertically
Horizontal check boxes, lining up choices or
alternatives horizontally

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Designing Source Documents

The six sections of a form
Heading zone
Area of a form that usually contains the
company name or logo and the title and
form number.

Control zone
Area of a form contains the codes,
identification information, numbers, and
dates that are used for storing completed
forms.

Instruction zone
Area of a form contains instructions for
completing a form
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Designing Source Documents

The six sections of a form

Body zone
The main part of the form. It usually takes
up at least half of the space on the form and
contains captions and areas for entering
variable data.

Totals zone
If a form has data totals, they will appear in
this section of the form.

Authorization zone
Part of a form that contains any required
signatures.
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Designing Source
Documents
Source document zones.

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Designing Effective Input Controls

Input Control
Input control includes the necessary measures
to ensure that input data is correct, complete,
and secure.
A systems analyst must focus on input control
during every phase of input design, starting
with source documents that promote data
accuracy and quality.
A system analyst must take into consideration

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Access legal channels of getting resources

Identification to uniquely distinguish a user of a
resource
Authentication to prove positively that the user is
what he/she claims to be.
Authorization being able to determine and allow the
user only those resources the user has ability to
utilize.
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Designing Effective Input Controls

Every piece of information should be traceable back to the input data
that produced it.
Systems analysts must consider:
Audit trail
An audit trail records the source of each data item and when it entered
a system. In addition to recording the original source, an audit trail
must show how and when data is accessed or changed, and by whom.
All these actions must be logged in an audit trail file and monitored
carefully.

Data security
Data security protects data from loss or damage and recovers data
when it is lost or damaged.

Records retention policy

A records policy that is designed to meet all legal requirements and
business needs for keeping records

A company must have procedures for handling

source documents to ensure that data is not lost
before it enters the system. All source documents
that originate from outside the organization should be
logged when they are received
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End