INPUT CONTROLS: DATA

AND INSTRUCTION
INPUT
GROUP 2
MEMBERS:
MAXWELL BINDI
ONIAS G
DANIEL K

R104585C

INTRODUCTION:

Components in the input subsystem are responsible

for bringing information into a system. This
information takes two forms: first, it may be raw
data to be processed; second, it may be instructions
to direct the system to execute particular processes,
update or interrogate particular data, or prepare
particular types of output. This presentation
examines controls over the capture, preparation,
and entry of data and instructions into a system.

DATA CAPTURE METHODS:

Historically, document based data capture has
been

used

most

frequently

since

the

technology needed to support direct entry and

hybrid methods has been costly. The costs are
decreasing quickly, however, and direct entry
and hybrid methods are now widely used.

Document-Based Data Capture:

When document based data capture methods are used,
some type of data preparation activity also is undertaken;
scanning, keyboarding operation.
Advantage of document based data capture is that they
are easy and flexible.
Documents can be readily distributed close to the
points of data capture.
Expensive data capture and input devices are not
needed at each location where data capture occurs.
However, they often require substantial amounts of
human intervention.

Direct Entry Data Capture:

Involves immediate recording of an event as it
occurs using an input device.
The risks of clerical or operator errors decrease.
Immediate validation of data can be undertaken
to provide operators with feedback on data capture
errors.

Hybrid Data Capture

uses a combination of document-based and

direct entry techniques.

The Hardware and Software needed to support
hybrid data

capture

methods are

still

costly,

however, although costs are decreasing rapidly.

DATA PREPARATION METHODS.

Data preparation comprise one or more of the
following tasks:
Converting data to machine readable form
converting data from one machine readable form to
another
preparing batches and control totals
Scanning for authenticity, accuracy, completeness, and
uniqueness
Verifying data converted to machine-readable form:
costly and so it should be used for critical fields where
errors are difficult to detect with an input validation
program.

DIRECT ENTRY DEVICES

They are several direct entry devices, such as voice
recognition units, process control devices, light pens,
joysticks, mouse.
For now we look at some of the widely used.

Point-of-Sale Terminals:
Optical scanning of a pre-marked code, for e.g , the universal product code,
enables faster throughput of items.
Increased accuracy in pricing items
Reduced price marking upon receipt of an item and upon change of the
item's price.
Customer satisfaction; a more detailed customer receipt is printed
Improved control over tender since the terminal controls the cash drawer.
Better inventory control and shelf allocation through more timely
information on item sales.

Automatic Teller Machines

They are designed to be physically secure they

have the same anti-theft features as a safe.

Camera surveillance must be undertaken, and
heat, motion, and sound detectors might be installed.
ATMs usually provide some type of facility for
entering a cryptographic key.
If device control software is not secure, fraudulent
modifications can be carried out so an ATM dispenses
all cash when the software recognizes a particular
card.

INPUT DEVICES
Input devices are used to read the data into the
application. Since most input devices function
reliably, however, the auditors primary concern is
that a regular maintenance schedule for these
devices be maintained. Nonetheless, the auditors
should understand what type of errors will be
prevented, detected, and corrected by the controls
in the input devices.

Card Readers
Card reader malfunctions occur for three reasons:
(a) cards are defective in some way.
(b) Mechanical components have failed so that cards do not move across the
read stations in the correct positions or during the correct timing intervals
(c) electronic components have failed so that photoelectric cells or brushes in
the read station fail to sense the card correctly.
To detect card reader malfunctions, four types of controls are used:
Dual read: the card is read twice by two different read stations or the same
read station and the results of each are compared
Hole Count: the card is read twice and a count of the holes in each column
and row made during each read is compared.
Echo Check: The central processor sends a message to the card reader to
activate the read function and the card reader returns a message to the
central processor to indicate it has been activated
Character Check: the card reader checks that the combination of holes
read represents a valid character.

SOURCE DOCUMENT DESIGN

The auditor must understand the fundamentals of good
source document design. As a basic data input control, a
well designed source document achieves several
purposes:
increases the speed and accuracy with which data can
be recorded.
Controls the workflow
facilitates preparation of the data in machine readable
form
For pattern recognition devices, increases the speed
and accuracy with which data can be read.
Facilitates subsequent reference checking

Three decisions can be made after source document analysis:

1. Choice of Medium
Choices of length and width, grade and weight need to
be made
Choices of wrong length and width, or grade and weight
can cause a variety of problems

2. Choice of Makeup
They are four types of makeup; padding, multipart set,
continuous form, snap-apart sets
Choice of wrong makeup results in input errors
occurring through documents tearing, and data being too
lightly written to be read.

3.Choice of Layout and Style

some general design guidelines are:
1) Preprint wherever possible: preprint the responses and have
users tick the correct response.
2) Provide titles, headings, notes, and instructions
3) Use techniques for emphasis and to highlight differences
4) Arrange fields for ease of use
5) Where possible,provide multiple choice answers to questions to
avoid omissions
6) Use boxes to identify field size errors
7) Combine instructions with questions
8) Space items appropriatel on forms:
9) Design for ease of keying
10) Prenumber source documents
11) Conform to organization's standards

DATA CODE CONTROLS

Data codes have two purposes that is they uniquely
identify an entity or identify an entity as a member of a
group or a set and codes are often more efficient than
textual or narrative description, since they require a
smaller number of characters to carry a given amount of
information.

Design Requirements:
A well designed coding system achieves
Flexibility; easy addition of new items or categories
Meaningfulness; where possible, a code should indicate
the values of the attributes of the entity
Compactness; Maximum information conveyed with a
minimum number of characters
Convenience; A code should be easy to assign, encode,
decode and key.
Evolvability; where possible, a code can be adapted to
changing user requirements.

Data Coding Errors

Addition
Truncation
Transcription
Transposition
Double Transposition

Types of Codes:
1. Serial Codes
Serial coding systems assign consecutive numbers or
alphabetic to an entity irrespective of the attributes of the
entity.
Advantage of a serial code are the ease with which a new
item can be added and conciseness.
Deleted items must have their codes reassigned to new

2. Block Sequence Codes

Block sequence codes assign blocks of numbers to

particular categories of an entity.

Block sequence code have the advantage of giving
some mnemonic value to the code.
They are problems in choosing the size of the block
needed(and the remedy if overflow occurs) and ensuring
blocks are not too wasted large so wasted characters
occur and the code is no longer concise.

3. Hierarchical Codes
They require the selection of the set of attributes of the
entity to be coded and their ordering in terms of importance.
The value of the code for the entity is a combination of the
values of the codes for each attribute of the entity
they are more meaningful to their users.
They carry more information about the entity to which they
are assigned
sometimes they present problems when changes occur.

4. Association Codes
the attributes of the entity to be coded are selected and
unique codes assigned each attribute value.
The code for the entity is simply a linear combination of the
different codes assigned the attributes of the entity
They carry substantial information about the entity they
represent.
They are not concise.
An example is SHM32DRCOT

CHECK DIGITS
In some cases errors made in transcribing or keying data
can have serious consequences. One control used to
guard against these types of errors is a check digit.
Calculating Check Digits
A check digit is a redundant digit added to a data code
that enables the accuracy of other characters in the code
to be checked
If the code contains alphabetic, a check digit can still be
calculated. Each alphabetic must be assigned a number
according to some rule.

When to use Check Digits

Use of check digits should be limited to critical fields
Where possible, the computer should assign new codes
with their check digits
Checking of check digits should take place only by
machine
to save storage space the check digit can be dropped
once it has been read into the machine and recalculated
upon output

INSTRUCTION INPUT
- Ensuring the quality of instruction input to a computer
system is a more difficult objective to achieve than to
ensure the quality of data input.
- Users often attempt to communicate complex actions
that they want the system to undertake.
- On the other hand the input subsystem needs to provide
considerable flexibility so users can accomplish their
processing objectives.
- On the other hand, it needs to exercise careful control
over the actions they undertake.
- The languages used to communicate instructions to the
system tend to trade off flexibility with control.

Question-Answer Dialogs
Used primarily to obtain data input.

Also can be used to obtain instruction input in

conjunction with the data input.
In those cases where the required answers are not
obvious, a help facility can be used to assist
inexperienced users.
Effectiveness and efficiency issues are of primary
concern
For experienced users, the alternating sequence of
question and answer may be slow and frustrating.
Experienced users may be allowed to stack answers or
change to another language mode.

AUDIT TRAIL CONTROLS

With the data input and instruction input functions, the audit trail in the input
subsystem maintains the chronology of events from the time data and
instructions are captured until they are entered into the system.

Accounting Audit Trail

A source document should show who prepared the document, who
authorized the document, when it was prepared, what account or record to be
updated, and the batch number of the physical batch in which the document
is to be included.
With direct entry data capture, the input program must attach certain audit
trail data to the input record e.g the identity of the terminal operator, the
identity of the terminal, the time and date of input, and a unique reference
number for the transaction that will be carried through the system.
In the case of instruction input, the input subsystem must retain a record
on magnetic media containing such data items as the originator of the
insructions, the type of instruction and its arguments, the results produced,

Operations Audit Trail

Some of the types of operations audit trail data that might be
collected are.
Time to key in a source document at a terminal
number of read errors made by an OCR device
number of keying errors identified during verification
frequency with which an instruction in a command language is
used.
Time taken to execute the same instruction using a light pen vs
a mouse

END OF
PRESENTATION