TPS. Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey. Sistemas de Apoyo a la Administración y Planeación

Transcripción

1 TPS Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey Sistemas de Apoyo a la Administración y Planeación Lic. Javier Salaís Diana Fernández A /23/2007

2 Sistemas de Procesamiento de Transacciones Introducción Los caminos a la globalización exigen a las empresas adquirir o generar herramientas que les brinden una ventaja competitiva y los diferencien de sus competidores, para lo cual es necesario apoyarse de Tecnologías de Información. Dentro de Sistemas que podemos encontrar en las TI, tenemos los Sistemas de procesamiento de Transacciones, TPS por sus siglas en inglés, los cuales proveen una herramienta tecnológica que permite registrar y concentrar la información de las operaciones de negocios. Un TPS forma parte las labores operativas de la empresa y dentro de sus objetivos se encuentra: el representar y mejorar los procesos organizacionales con el fin de reducir tiempos de entrega y minimizar los costos operacionales, recabando y resguardando la información de la empresa, por lo cual resulta de vital importancia tener conocimiento de las bases, ventajas y desventajas de un TPS. Contenido TRANSACTION PROCESSING INFORMATION SYSTEMS The core operations of organizations are enabled by transaction processing systems. Computerization of Routine Transaction Processes

3 In every organization there are business transactions that provide its mission critical activities. Such transactions occur when a company produces a product or provides a service. For example, to produce toys, a manufacturer needs to but materials and parts, pay for labor and electricity, build the toys, ship them to customers, bill customers, and collect money. A bank that maintains the toy company's checking account must keep the account balance up-to-date, disperse fund to back up the checks written, accept deposits, and mail a monthly statement. Every transaction may generate additional transactions. For example, purchasing materials will change the inventory level and paying an employee reduces the corporate cash on hand. Because the computations involved in most transactions are simple and the transaction volume is large and repetitive, sue transactions are fairly easy to computerize. As defined in Chapter 2, the information system that supports these transactions is the transaction processing system (TPS). The transaction process in system monitors, collects, stores, processes, and disseminates information for all routine core business transactions. These data are input to functional information systems applications, as well as to decision support systems (DSSs), customer relationship management (CRM), and knowledge management (KM). The TP also provides critical data to e-commerce, especially data on customers and the] purchasing history. Transaction processing occurs in all functional areas. Some TPSs occur within one area, others cross several areas (such as payroll). Online File W7.2 provides a list of TPS activities mapped on the major functional areas. The information systems that automate transaction processing can be part of the departmental systems, and/or part of the enterprisewide information systems. For a comprehensive coverage of TPSs, see Subrahmanyam (2002) and Bernstein and Newcomer (1997). Major Characteristics of a TPS Typically large amounts of data are processed. The sources of data are mostly internal, and the output is intended mainly for an internal audience. This characteristic is changing somewhat, since trading partners may contribute data and may be permitted to use TPS output directly. The TPS processes information on a regular basis: daily, weekly, biweekly and so on. Large storage (database) capacity is required. High processing speed is needed due to the high volume. The TPS basically monitors and collects past data. : Input and output data are structured. Since the processed data are fairly stable, they are formatted in a standard fashion. A high level of detail (raw data, not summarized) is usually observable, especially in input data but often in output as well. Low computation complexity (simple mathematical and statistical operations) is usually evident in a TPS. A high level of accuracy, data integrity, and security is needed. Sensitive issues such as privacy of personal data and strongly related to TPSs. High reliability is required. The TPS can be viewed as the lifeblood of the organization. Interruptions in the flow of TPS data can be fatal to the organization. Inquiry processing is a must. The TPS enables users to query files and databases (even online and in real time).

4 Objectives of TPS The primary goal of a TPS is to provide all the information needed by law and/or by organizational policies to keep the business running properly and efficiently. Specifically, a TPS has to efficiently handle high volume, avoid errors due to concurrent operations, be able to handle large variations in volume (e.g., during peak times), avoid downtime, never lose results, and maintain privacy and security (see Bernstein and Newcomer, 1997). To meet these goals, a TPS is usually automated and is constructed with the major characteristics listed before. Specific objectives of a TPS may include one or more of the following: to allow for efficient and effective operation of the organization, to provide timely documents and reports, to increase the competitive advantage of the corporation, to provide the necessary data for tactical and strategic systems such as Webbased applications, to ensure accuracy and integrity of data and information, and to safeguard assets and security of information. It also is important to remember that TPSs must closely interface with many IT initiatives, especially with e-payment, e-procurement, and e-marketing. It should be emphasized that TPSs are the most likely candidates for restructuring and usually yield the most tangible benefits of IT investments. They were the first to be computerized so they have had more improvement opportunities. Also, their information volume is high, so even a small improvement may result in a high payoff. Activities and methods of TPS Regardless of the specific data processed by a TPS, a fairly standard process occurs, whether in a manufacturer, in a service firm, or in a government organization. First, data are collected by people or sensors and entered into the computer via any input device. Generally speaking, organizations try to automate the TPS data entry as much as possible because of the large volume involved. Next, the system processes data in one of two basic ways: batch or online processing. In batch processing, the firm collects data from transactions as they occur, placing them in groups or batches. The system then prepares and processes the batches periodically (say, every night). Batch processing is particularly useful for operations that require processing for an extended period time. Once a batch job begins, it continues until it is completed or until an error occurs. In online processing, data are processed as soon as a transaction occurs. To implement online transaction processing, master files containing key information about important business entities are placed on hard drives, where they, are directly accessible. The transaction files containing information about activities concerning these business entities, such as orders placed by customers, "also held in online files until they are no longer needed for everyday transaction processing activity. This ensures that the transaction data are available all applications, and that all data are kept up-to-the-minute. These data can also be processed and stored in a data warehouse. The entire process is managed by a transaction manager. The flow of information in a typical TPS is shown in Figure an event, such as a customer purchase, is recorded by the TPS program. The processed information can be either a report or an activity in the database. In addition to a scheduled report, users can query the TPS for nonscheduled information (such as, "What was the impact of our price cut on sales during the first five days, by day?"). The system will provide the appropriate answer by accessing a database containing transaction data.

5 Transaction processing systems may be fairly complex, involving customers, vendors, telecommunications, and different types of hardware and software. Traditional TPSs are centralized and run on a mainframe. However, innovations such as online transaction processing require a client/server architecture. In online transaction processing (OLTP), transactions are processed as soon as they occur. For example, when you pay for an item at a POS at a store, the system records the effects of the sale by reducing the inventory on hand by a unit, increasing the store's cash position by the amount you paid, and increasing sales figures for the item by one unit. A relatively new form of Web-based transaction processing is object-oriented transaction processing, which is described in Online File W7.3. With OLTP and Web technologies such as extranet, suppliers can look at the firm's inventory level or production schedule in real time. The suppliers themselves, in partnership with their customers, can then assume responsibility for inventory management and ordering. Such Webbased systems would be especially useful in processing orders involving several medium-to-large business partners. Customers too can enter data into the TPS to track orders and even query it directly, as described in IT at Work 7.1.

6 Análisis Constructivo En todas las áreas de una empresa es necesario realizar operaciones o transacciones como pagar la nómina, imprimir reportes, recolectar información, automatizar algún proceso de producción, etc. Los TPS permiten agilizar y/o automatizar este tipo de operaciones para cumplir con las estrategias funcionales de la empresa. La empresa debe cumplir con ciertas reglas establecidas por la ley o políticas diseñadas por su administración, y los TPS permiten proporcionar toda la información necesaria para cumplir con dichas reglas y políticas corporativas. Los TPS permiten: Procesan gran cantidad de datos para actividades rutinarias de los negocios (nóminas, inventario, contabilidad, etc.). Reducen el tiempo de la actividad, ya que anteriormente la operación se hacía manualmente. Monitorear y recolectar información anterior. Estructurar la información de entrada y salida de las operaciones realizadas o por realizar. Que los usuarios realicen peticiones de archivos o bases de datos a la aplicación que estén utilizando. Observar un amplio nivel de detalle tanto en entradas como en salidas. Reducir Costos (control sobre recursos, rapidez). Crear interfaces entre diferentes sistemas (Nómina-Contabilidad, Ventas-Cuentas por cobrar) Las características listadas arriba permiten que las operaciones organizacionales se realicen efectiva y eficientemente, y así incrementar la ventaja competitiva de la empresa. La función principal que realiza un TPS es realizar operaciones con la información referente a la empresa, permitiendo así tener datos o entradas a los sistemas de soporte a las decisiones (DSS), Sistemas Expertos o Sistemas de Información Gerencial.

7 Juicio Crítico Aparentemente los TPS son una perfecta solución a muchos problemas que se pudieran tener en una empresa de cualquier tipo, sin embargo es importante aclarar el punto que la confiabilidad de cualquier sistema nunca cumple con el 100%, y este tipo de sistemas no es la excepción. Debido a que se deben manejar grandes cantidades de información es importante tener un esquema de seguridad robusto para que sea difícil para personas externas acceder a nuestra información, o que truene el sistema debido a que la base de datos o el tipo de almacenamiento que ese está utilizando no soporte las variaciones o volumen de información manejado por nuestro TPS. Además es necesario que los TPS cumplan con ciertos requerimientos mínimos para que realicen las peticiones de sus usuarios sin fallas recurrentes (ya que no existe un sistema perfecto): Gran capacidad de almacenamiento. Alta Velocidad de procesamiento. Alto nivel de confiabilidad. Alto nivel de exactitud, integridad de los datos y seguridad. Captura de datos por medios diversos. Aunque en la mayor parte de las organizaciones las transacciones son parte de las actividades cotidianas que se realizan, los tipos de transacciones cambian en cada una de las organizaciones, y los TPS no pueden ser tan genéricos, y si lo son deben estar adaptables a las necesidades internas y externas de la empresa. Conclusión Los TPS pueden existir para muchas áreas o departamentos de la empresa y a medida que las necesidades de negocio aumentan puede requerirse la integración de estos sistemas, para generar un sistema de mayor tamaño que resuelva los retos que se le presentan a la organización de hoy en día. Es por esto que antes de diseñar un sistema nuestro punto de partida como ingenieros de software es explorar y analizar los procesos existentes en la organización. Referencias. Turban, E. y Wetherbe, J. (2004). Information technology for management: transforming organizations in the digital economy. Hoboken: Wiley.