How to Implement a Digital Archive Information Management System. A Case Study of the Ugandan Ministry of Trade Industry and Cooperatives

Table of Contents

APPROVA

LIST OF ACRONY

CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTIO
Introduction
1.1 Background of the organization
1.2 Problem Statement
1.3Objective
1.3.1 Main Objective
1.3.2 Specific objectives
1.4 Scope of Study
1.4.1 Geographical Scope
1.4.2 Subject Scope
1.4.3 Time Scope
1.5 Justification of study

CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW
INTRODUCTION
2.1 INFORMATION SYSTE
2.1.1 Subject records can be;
2.1.2 Storage boxes;
2.1.3 Filling cabinets
2.1.4 Shelves
2.1.5 Computer storage devices
2.1.6 Flash Drives
2.1.7 External Hard Drives
2.1.8 Online storage
2.1.9 Re – writable CDs and DVDs
2.1.10 Access
2.1.11 Documentation
2.1.12 Follow up
2.2 MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEMS (MIS)
2.3 TYPES OF MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEMS (MIS)
2.3.2 Decision Support Systems (dss)
2.3.3 Executive Information Systems (eis)
2.2.4 Office information systems
2.2.5 Management reporting system
2.2.6 Decision support system
2.2.7 Expert systems
2.2.8 Knowledge work systems
2.2.9 Executive information systems
2.2.10 Relevance of Management Information System (MIS)
2.2.11 GOOGLE
2.2.12 Advantages of using Google
2.2.13 Library perceptions to AIMS
2.2.14 Traditional Stereotypes of Archives

CHAPTER THREE: METHODOLOG
Introduction
3.1 Study Area
3.3 Methods of data collection
3.3.1 Questionnaire
3.3.2 Interview
3.3.3 Observation
3.3.5 System analysis
3.3.6 Weaknesses of a current system
3.3.7 Threats of the current system
3.3.8 Strength of the new electronic system
3.4 Requirement Analysis
3.4.1 Functional Requirements
3.4.2 Non- Functional Requirements
3.5.1 Hardware requirements
3.5.2 Software requirements

CHAPTER FOUR: SYSTEM DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATIO
4.1 System Design
4.2 Conceptual Design
4.3 Entities and Attributes
4.3.1 Authors Table
4.3.2 Archivists table
4.3.3 Transactions table
4.3.4 Publishers table
4.3.5 files category table
4.3.6 Members table
4.3.7 Files-by –author table
4.3.8 Files table
4.3.9 Files-by-category
4.3.10 Files-in-archive
4.3.11 New Member
4.3.12 Archivists form
4.3.13 Authors form
4.3.14 File categories
4.3.15 Files form
4.3.16 Files by author
4.3.17 Publishers form
4.3.18 Borrowing form
4.3.19 Return form
4.4 Relationship
4.5 Data Entry Forms or Physical Design
4.6 Implementation of the System
4.7 Traini
4.8 Testing And Validation of the Syste
4.8.1 Unit Testing
4.8.2 System testing

CHAPTER FIVE: CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIO
5.1 Conclusi
5.2 Recommendatio

APPENDIX A: TIME FRAM

APPENDIX B: BUDGET ESTIMAT

APPENDIX C: ESTIMATED QUESTIONNAIR

REFERENC

ARCHIVES INFORMATION MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

A CASE STUDY OF MINISTRY OF TRADE INDUSTRY AND COOPERATIVES

PHILBERT OBUCHEL GEOFFREY

A Research Report Submitted To the Faculty of Science and Technology in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirement for the Award of Bachelor in Information Technology of Cavendish University Uganda

JANUARY 2020

APPROVAL

This research report entitled Archives Information Management System: A Case Ministry of Trade, Industry and Cooperatives carried out under my supervision and is submitted with my approval for examination

(Supervisor)

Signed: Date:

LIST OF ACRONYMS

GOU GOVERNMENT OF UGANDA

MTIC MINISTRY OF TRADE INDUSTRY AND COOPERATIVES

MTWA MINISTRY OF TOURISM WILDLIFE AND ANTEQUITIES

NITAU NATIONAL INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AUTHORITY UGANDA

ICT INFORMATION COMUMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

UBOS UGANDA BUEAU OF STANDARDS

UEPB UGANDA EXPORT PROMOTION BOARD

UDC UGANDA DEVELOPMENT COPORATION

AIMS ARCHIVES IFORMATION MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

CBIS COMPUTER BASED INFORMATION SYSTEMS

IS INFORMATION SYSTEM

CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION

Introduction

Electronic Records Management involves a comprehensive and structured approach to the long term management of records as tools for the efficient and effective delivery of community and organizations. For an organization to manage its records efficiently all files owned by the organization must be stored somewhere and recorded in the organization’s records management system either manual or electronic. The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Cooperatives is still using the manual file based system to store their files. The Archives Information Management System is a computer based storage system for keeping important files. The manual system employed by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Cooperatives involves the physical movement and storage of files into the registry and later to the archive. This method wastes time, and is characterized by errors and loss of files among others, so the researcher has developed a system that can capture all file details before the files are sent to the national archive

1.1 Background of the organization

The ministry of Trade, Industry and Cooperatives was formally Ministry of Tourism, Trade and Industry before 2011. Later in 2011 it was split into two i.e. Ministry of Trade, Industry and Cooperatives (MTIC) and Ministry of Tourism, wildlife and Antiquities (MTWA) The ministry of Trade, Industry and Cooperatives is a government organization that brings services to the public these include but not least Trade(to handle Internal and External Trade of the country), Industry(this department handles issues to do with constructing industries in Uganda ) and Cooperatives(this department handles registration and sensitization about cooperatives in the country ) Finance and Administration(handles issues that deal with finances and administration of staff members at the MTIC ). The following units lie under Finance and Administration the ICT unit which is responsible for handling issues to do with ICT at the MTIC; Records Unit which handles storage of files concerning the MTIC and its employees, Human Resource which handles employment of stuff at the MTIC store unit handles storage of stationery as well as providing stationery to staff for use. The Legal unit handles the legal aspect concerning the MTIC and procurement unit which handles the procurement and disposal of assets of the MTIC finally the accounts unit makes payments for employees, pensioners and service providers.

1.2 Problem Statement

Due to the outcry of stakeholders about the loss of files handled manually GOU encouraged all ministries in the country to computerize all related information in handling files. A number of studies were taken and all procurement departments in the ministries were mandated to procure the computers to man the information systems and also manpower was recruited

However with all the efforts made by the GOU there was still a persistent loss of files and information in the MTIC, all computers were procured but still the loss of files was still persistent due to this fact the researcher was motivated to study this phenomena

1.3 Objective

1.3.1 Main Objective

To develop an Archives Information Management System for Ministry of Trade, Industry and Cooperatives Registry to manage the daily management of file storage of records and issuing files before they are taken to the national archive.

1.3.2 Specific objectives

- To collect and gather the archives systems requirements
- To analyze the collected data and system requirements
- To design, develop and implement the system
- To test and validate the system

1.4 Scope of Study

1.4.1 Geographical Scope

MTIC is located on Parliament Avenue Farmers House 3rd to 6th floor opposite café javas plot 6/8 P.O Box 7103 Kampala Uganda

1.4.2 Subject Scop e

This study is concerned with developing an Archives Information Management System for the MTIC that will enable a fully automated archive service. It has the ability to display the details of files available for various departments, the transactions of files and about the file holders it also has the ability to store files such as microfilms, still pictures, electronic media,

1.4.3 Time Scope

The researcher spent three months carrying out research from August to December 2019 and the period of study is from 2010 to 2017

1.5 Justification of study

- AIMS helped MTIC to be able to track records concerning the ministry and also for storage purposes of files details from the hard copies
- Time for users when searching for files has been reduced which has helped the public in easily acquiring the information they want
- Data has been kept secure from unauthorized users of the registry and non-registry employees this measure it has helped secure the files for future use or research by the stakeholders
- Secure storage of file information

The electronic system has helped with storing file information just in case there are fires the files details will have been kept secure

CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW

INTRODUCTION

This chapter was generally dedicated to analyzing what had been written and published in regard to Information systems. The researcher endeavored to quote written material from journals, books and articles on the subject in question. There was a great deal of material that had been documented in regard to information systems and the researcher quoted much of this material as he could.

2.1 INFORMATION SYSTEMS

Information systems (IS) involve a variety of information technologies (IT) such as computers, software, databases, communication systems, the Internet, mobile devices and much more, to perform specific tasks, interact with and inform various actors in different organizational or social contexts (Sebastian K Boell Business Information Systems, The University of Sydney Business School, Australia, 2015). This research was focused on result management systems for education institutions in general.

There are several types of information systems, according to Wikipedia these are: a computer information system is a system composed of people and computers that processes or interprets information. The term is also sometimes used in more restricted senses to refer to only the software used to run a computerized database or to refer to only a comprised system Information systems are an academic study of systems with a specific reference to information and software that people and organizations use to collect, filters, and process, create and also distribute data. An emphasis is placed on an information system having a definitive boundary, users, processors, storage, inputs and the aforementioned communication networks.

Single set of hardware, software, databases, telecommunications, people, and procedures, configured to collect, manipulate, store, and process data into information Information technology (IT), Hardware, software, databases, and telecommunications CBIS (Computer based Information Systems) components Internet: World’s largest computer network, People: Manage, run, program, and maintain the system, Procedures: Strategies, policies, methods, and rules for using a CBIS.

Records management practice is an essential component of office administration. An effective records management program allows the organization to render better customer service, provides legal defensibility and leads to improved profitability. Hence, it is necessary to award high priority to records management to avoid organizational problems that may arise owing to poor handling of office records (Robles & Langemo, 2016). Education institutions and business alike rely on information past and present to keep them running. In the case of education institutions records are vital, especially when it comes to students who have passed through these institutions and need to access their result records. And for the administrators who will be able to keep a true record of both current and former students.

Records can be categories by format, currency and subject as stated below, Edmonds (1992) advances only two forms of records and these are non- paper, Non- paper records, these are captured on non- convectional media like audio cassettes, microfiche, roll films and optical media among others.

These can also be called electronic records. These are stored on electronic media that can be readily accessed or changed. A piece of equipment is required to view and read or listen to electronic records (Read and Ginn, 2007).

Paper records, these are captured and stored on paper media for example newspapers, pamphlets, journals, magazines, maps and textbooks.

The National Records and Archives Act (2001) categories records into three types, depending on their currency. These are current, semi- current and non- current records.

- Current records, these are records that are often referenced in the organization.
- Semi- current records, these not only referenced in the organization.
- Non – current records, these are records that are stored permanently in the organization due to their enduring legal, fiscal, administrative, historical and evidential values. They are therefore referred to as Archives. Archives provide primary source documents that have accumulated over the course of an individual or organization‘s life time and are kept for their enduring cultural, historical, evidential values and are from journals, magazines and books as they are un published (Kumar, 2011).

2.1.1 Subject records can be;

- Legal, administrative, historical, fiscal and personal.
- Legal, these provide evidence of business transaction like contracts, financial, agreements, deeds to property owned and articles of incorporation.
- Administrative, these help employers perform office operations for example hand books, organizational charts, policy and procedure manuals (Read and Ginn , 2007)
- Fiscal, these document the operating funds and other financial processes. They include tax returns, purchase orders, sales orders, invoices, balance sheets and ledger documents (Gross,,2005).
- Historical, these document organization’s operations and major shifts of direction over years for example minutes of meeting, corporate charters, public relations documents and information on corporate officers. They therefore contain significant information about the past and are thus worthy of long term preservation (Dearstyne, 2000).
- Personal, these pertain to the employees of the organization. They show employees ‘ complete particulars , negative notes like on indiscipline , along with positive records like his achievements, training promotion so that such details may be useful for his future use (Sharma,2001)

According to Sanderson & Ward (2013), the importance of records management is increasingly being recognized in organizations. It is therefore the responsibility of records managers to ensure that they gain the attention of decision-makers in their organizations. Gaining recognition is all about convincing management of the role of records management as enabling unit in an organization.

According to Jude Jay Nsababera, Technical Proposal For Electronic Document Management System For Dfcu Bank, 2011, the benefits of an information system ranged from having access to a multi-portal approach to Electronic Document and Archive Management Systems. Loaded with predefined gadgets for portal design, an information system would enable organizations to design departmental portals which have unique appearances and work-related gadgets that are tailored to the needs of the department. Behind the departmental portals are shared libraries which host documents and records, which also enable staff to work on joint documents without the need to print and merge documents, enable staff to execute internal business process like;-procurement requests; leave applications; salary advances; loans etc. without printing a paper or moving paper from one desk to another.

Wilkins (2006) the storage equipment used in records facilities has great impact on the overall management of records in an organization especially their preservation and conservation.

In the presence of excessive moisture and oxygen, storage equipment can lead to deterioration of records as they are produced by products that react with the moisture damaging chemicals Wilkens (2006). Equipment used in storage of records therefore includes:

2.1.2 Storage boxes;

This is the easiest and most used equipment for storing of records. Records are placed in the boxes and information about what’s in each box is written on it before boxes are placed on shelves providing fast location, retrieval of requested records and save spaces shelves with multiple levels can hold lots of records ( Mbaga, 2000)

2.1.3 Filling cabinets

Wil ki ns (2006), filling cabinets are considered to be the best storage equipment for the active records that are frequently accessed for use in reference areas. There use is however not encouraged in storage of archival materials

2.1.4 Shelves

Since shelves are relatively cheap and easy to maintain compared to other storage equipment, their usage in the registries should be inspected periodically. Use of wooden shelves and other wooden materials around records should be avoided or limited (wilkins 2006) wood contains pitch, resin, and other acidic elements that can cause deterioration of records. According to Wilkins, (2006) shelves should be stable and have;

- Back to side braces.
- Adjustable shelves.
- Be 12 inches away from outside wall.
- Have the bottom shelf elevated 4-6 inches from the floor
- Have two inches of clearance between the bottom of the shelf and the top box on the next lower shelf.

2.1.5 Computer storage devices

Harvard records management office (2002) in additional to the manual storage equipment and internal hard drives that virtually every computer storage devices that can be used as storage equipment for records such as:

2.1.6 Flash Drives

Saffady (2009) also known thumb drives because of their size or as USB drives because that’s the port they connect to, flash drives are extremely popular way to store data in a compact disk and portable fashion. Flash drives range in data capacity up to 1000GB

2.1.7 External Hard Drives

External hard drives are like the .hard drives on any computer except they are outside of the computer (Saffady, 2009). They are designed either for desktops or laptops and usually connect through a USB port (similar to flash drives).

2.1.8 Online storage

Saffady (2009) also called ‘’ or ‘’ cloud storage ‘’ online storage sites allow you to store information on company’s servers. Sugar Sync, drop box, 1 Drive and numerous other sites provide these services for free but more storage space is typically available for a fee.

2.1.9 Re – writable CDs and DVDs

Wilkins (2006) re-writable CDS and DVDs you can buy in a store with music and movies on them, except in the case of writable you can store information on them they are often used to store music files, photos and other data. For organization to ensure proper records management there has to be producers in place to follow when accessing and retrieving required records such as the use of borrower cards identity cards filling a requisition form and use of passwords for electronically stored records. Stewart (2005) explains that the function of records retrieval has five major components access, documentation, delivery, follow up and recovery. The mentioned components are usually informal in small record centers, in large record centers however, each component may be structured. He further explain these components as

2.1.10 Access

He asses that quick access to all types of records whether paper based, film, or magnetic tape is assured with effective filing system. Filling refers to producers and methods used to classify, sort and store records (Stewart, 2002). In a manual system access may entail walking to a file cabinet scanning drawer labels, opening the drawer, locating folders and removing either the entire or removing the record. In an electronic system however, access may simply take a click of a computer mouse to identify the current location of a record.

2.1.11 Documentation

Stewart (2002) documentation in regards to records access and retrieval is a written account of who retrieved a record and when it was retrieved.

2.1.12 Follow up

Robek (1996) noted that to ensure that records retrieved are returned to their area of storage at the appropriate time, provision for follow up can be made by using a pending folder, disk calendar tickler.

2.2 MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEMS (MIS)

These can be defined as information systems that provide information for users with similar needs. The main purpose of Management Information Systems is to provide managers with the information they need to take decisions and solve problems. Management Information Systems are supported by corporate databases, which include data generated by transaction processing.

(Rafael Lapiedra Alcamí Carlos Devece Carañana)

According to O’Brien, & Marakas, 1 information system (IS) can be any organized combination of people, hardware, software, communications networks, data resources, and policies and procedures that stores, retrieves, transforms, and disseminates information in an organization. People rely on modern information systems to communicate with one another using a variety of physical devices (hardware) , information processing instructions and procedures (software) , communications channels (networks) , and stored data (data resources) . According to Patterson 2 an information system is a group of interrelated components that work to carry out input, processing, storage, output and control actions in order to convert data into information that can be used to support forecasting, planning, control, coordination, decision making and operational activities in an organization. Every business organization in this era needs an information system (IS) to keep track of all business activities, right from business planning, till the product delivery via manufacturing and quality cycles 3.

2.3 TYPES OF MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEMS (MIS)

The management information systems is a system of decision making for the coordination of control any organization smoothly MIS provides data in both hardware and software formats. For past provide information MIS used some software that helps in decision making, data resources, hardware resources, people management project management application and any computerized processes that need for the whole entity to run efficiently

2.3.1 Transaction Processing Systems (tps)

Transaction processing systems are the cornerstones of a company’s information system and compile their daily business operations. Many companies cannot operate without this type of system. As operations are carried out in the company, transaction processing systems gather, process and store data and reflect business transactions such as sales, purchases, payments, etc.

Transaction processing systems are the most defined or structured information processes in the organisation, automating the central core of its operations.

Their purpose is to improve the company’s routine activities. The most common transactions include invoicing, payrolls, production and reception of orders. Companies aim to carry out these activities quickly, systematically and efficiently.

2.3.2 Decision Support Systems (dss)

Not all company decisions are recurrent, and some have to be taken infrequently or perhaps only once. Decision support systems provide a tool to deal with less precisely structured or defined problems that arise sporadically. dss help managers who have to take non-structured decisions. A decision is understood to be nonstructural if there are no clear procedures in place to take the decision, and it is decision.

It must be said that all information systems support decision making, even if only indirectly. dss have been expressly developed to support the decision making process. These systems facilitate dialogue with the user when he or she is considering alternative solutions to a problem, and the system provides database access and models constructed to present information. Decision support systems are interactive, and aim to expand human reasoning capacity to resolve specific non-structured decision-making problems (Gil, 1997). This type of system focuses on the decision-making processes and must provide relevant facts relating to the decision easily, quickly and accurately it must also offer interactive access to processing media that can be used creatively and that allow the user to explore a range of alternatives, and provide the information necessary to respond to the problem.

2.3.3 Executive Information Systems (eis)

dss mainly support planning tasks, whereas the essential feature of the powerful eis tool is their support for control activities. An executive who uses an eis has a greater capacity to analyse all aspects of the company’s operations and to seek out problems and opportunities.

Since companies timidly began to adopt Information Technologies (it), there has been a growing conviction that it cannot easily be applied to managerial tasks: the more complex and ambiguous the activity is, the less useful computer-based tools prove to be.

This conviction can easily be verified in the real business context. Computers are now widely used by administrative staff and increasingly by middle management. However, the image of a general manager of a large company busily working in front of a computer screen does not easily spring to mind. A top-level executive’s daily routine is inevitably assumed to be a round of meetings, telephone calls, conferences, conversations, business lunches, etc. Research shows that the executive’s activity is more oriented to verbal communication, and highly analytical reports and documents are relatively unimportant (Rockart and Treacy, 1982). However, there is a widespread interest in linking up high-level management with computer tools.

2.2.4 Office information systems

This is an information system that uses both hardware and software networks to facilitate and communicate with their employees. Any electronic device or media is used for communication with employees or mangers or communicate with each other, under the umbrellas office information system. These devices can include cell phones, landline, multimedia, internet, voice mail, email sharing and video conferencing

2.2.5 Management reporting system

Management reporting systems or management information systems generates accurate regular reports by comparing current and past financial performance to determine financial growth of organization. The objective of MRS is to track financial growth, analyze and report your business income

2.2.6 Decision support system

Decision support system is a computer program application that supports and analyses business or organizational decision making activities. A well designed DSS helps organizations to identify and solve problems and making decisions. They compile a variety of data from many sources from employees, personal knowledge, documents, management, raw data, business models and executives

2.2.7 Expert systems

Expert systems that stores and captures the knowledge of human experts and then imitates this knowledge to those who have less expertise in human reasoning and decisions making processes. Part of the expert systems is taken to complete the tasks by sensing your actions, your past behavior experience and logical assumptions

2.2.8 Knowledge work systems

Knowledge work systems are a specialized system used to promote the business, make sure the knowledge and skills are properly integrated into the business organization. The workers should need to search for the knowledge outside the business organization. Some examples of knowledge workers are financial workstations, virtual reality systems, and computer aided design systems

2.2.9 Executive information systems

An executive information system is used to obtain the data from various types of decisions and present in the form of graphs, charts and tables that is easy to understand

2.2.10 Relevance of Management Information System (MIS)

Stored information must be recalled and distributed for the use of an organization leadership and top management as well as mid-level managers to take effective long term (strategic) and short term (Tactical) decision-making. MIS is deemed to be a system which provides organizations top management and, even lower level management, with appropriate information based on data from both internal and external sources, to allow them to make effective and timely decisions that best achieve their organization goals and satisfy stakeholder requirements (Argyris, 1971, p. 291).

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