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a) A transaction is a basic activity conducted at the Operational level of any organization. A
computer based transaction processing system (TPS), processes and records the daily
routine transactions that any organization must carry out. The criteria and processes are
clearly defined, and highly structured. TPS may be operated under batch or on-line
conditions.
b) One example of a TPS is a point of sale system (POS) used in supermarkets and other
retail stores. This system is used to process sales at the supermarket counters. The inputs
for such a system are the type of good and its price. This data is usually encoded in a bar
code that is attached on the commodity and swiped past the bar code reader at the POS
in order to capture the data. The processing consists of calculating the amount that is
due from the customer and also the change that is to be given to the customer once the
customer has given money for the commodities. The storage in the system is in the form
of a database of files. The records in the files usually describe the commodities on the
counter e.g. their name, type, number of units, reorder level, expiration date, etc. The
database is updated after each transaction. The output from the POS is a receipt
containing details of the purchase of goods by the customer such as the goods
purchased, their unit cost, the total cost of the purchase, VAT charged, etc.
Another example of a TPS is a flight reservation system. This system is used to book
flights of different airlines according to the preferences supplied by the client wishing to
travel. Inputs for such a system include the date of travel, the time and the preferred
airline. The processing consists of checking whether the client preferences can be
satisfied and returning a response to the client which will prompt him either to supply
different preferences or proceed with the booking by paying. The processing also
consists of updating the database of records with the details of a client‘s payment. The
storage consists of a database containing records of each airline such as the number of
flights made in a week, the schedule of the flights, the costs of each flight, etc. The
output of such a system is a receipt containing details of the booking.
Other examples of TPSs could include systems in Manufacturing, personnel, academic
registration, holiday booking, etc
c) Security implications of transaction processing systems:
o There have to be controls to prevent data capture with errors e.g. repeated data
entry
o There have to be controls to ensure that processing is not interrupted for whatever
reason e.g. Uninterruptible power supplies could be installed to protect the
processing from being interrupted by power loss.
o Storage and backup have to be secured from threats to data security e.g. fires,
unauthorized access, etc
o Adequate controls in the database have to be put in place to counter security
threats, the threat of lost updates, etc
d) As the TPS is crucial to an organization, great care in its design and implementation is
essential. Methodologies such as SDLC, SSADM and their variants, with the possible
use of prototyping to clearly define the users requirements in their initial stages, are
possible candidates for the design and implementation of a TPS. A methodology with
rigour and good documentation is required for this system which serves as the
foundation to many other management information systems.
gregorymasila answered the question on February 15, 2018 at 16:51
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